Nikky's world…

…well we’re back from Peterborough after the show and I just had to share this time’s little saga. I reckon it cant’ JUST be us that sh*t happens to, and if it does, it means we are both indeed the hand of death and the finger of woe after all. So…After arriving last night and raiding big M’s for a healthy tea (right!)  I got a craving for McNuggets, I LOVES ‘em I do!! And the OH also loves the Big Mac too. So after we both concurred that they are only a small portion and to hide our shame after sitting in already, we went and got in the car and went back through the drivethru for seconds!! Greedy fat pigs that we were!! Altho’ I do have to say we hadn’t eaten anything else except a bag of crisps in the car and we didnt actually have full meals so that makes it ok.  So we then had to sneak our calorie-ridden treats into the Hotel which houses the most miserable receptionist ever, so we tiptoed and sniggered our way back to the room and tucked in sharpish. Only  I had no curry sauce so the secret feast was spoiled totally for me and I almost threw a tantrum.  So there I am sitting minding my own business and all of a sudden there’s a shriek next to me. And I mean a shriek! Men are D.U.M.B.      There he is, sat in a chair dripping in caramel McFlurrie.  And I mean DRIPPING, as in dripping everywhere.  He doesnt move, just sits there looking at me like I should do something! And all he was bothered about was it was a brand new top and the first time out and he didnt have a spare with him! TUT!  So after I shouted at him uttering a few profanities, in typical man fashion he decided to stand up and just let it all drip everywhere else. So he got shouted at again.  Next thing,  trainers come flying out of the bathroom  - literally, flying in the air! After a minute or so I couldnt cope with the despair coming from the bathroom so I went in to find him trying pathetically to wash it off and I’ve never seen so much mess – watery ice cream goes a looooong looooong way.  Honestly, you have no idea and no, I do not have enough medals and yes, I do need one – a BIG one. So this was justice for overdosing on the old maccyD’s obviously.

So we get into bed to watch THAT Question Time with scourge of the earth Griffin (haha didnt he show himself up good and proper for what he is), and meladdo (who incidentally has a bottomless stomach and is skinny as a pin) decided to eat a stinky pot noodle. Yuk! My husband grazes constantly.  Anyway, he thought he could hide a certain smell with the stench of the stinky chicken and mushroom but NO! My nose is very sensitive and I protested in a rather loud screech – and, you guessed it, he jumped so much he threw his pot noodle everywhere!   When I tell ya that I despair now you know why.

So we get up this morning and before I leave the room I tripped on fresh air and have lightly sprained my foot. Great. Only me can do that. Whilst we were at the Studio, Kris had an encounter with something unpleasant which I dare not mench here but needless to say he hasn’t stopped going on about it yet and we will be dining out on that story for some time to come, ohhhh how much would some of you pay me to find out the juicy goss, hahahahaha it would be worth a forch! Any bids are welcome! Anyway, we do the show, and stop off in our fave place on the way home for a drink – and as I stirred my lushy strawberry milkshake I say “how funny would it be if I spilled ice-cream all down myself like you did last night”…yep. You guessed it.  So we both came home – in shame – and are clearly worthy of being on Jeremy Kyle. x

What a morning! Tsk tsk. Firstly I was rudely awakened at 7 with cat fur in my face where Mod had crept up and ensconsed his big ginger fatass on my pillow with my head still on it. Now I would normally shoo him off but I have to admit I quite liked the warm fluffy addition and he must have been feeling lonely as it’s the first time he’s ever done it. So I had a little furry cuddle with him for 10 mins till I had to go to the loo. I was so tired I got back into bed for another half hour but he launched – and I mean launched himself off in a fright.   So I just nodded off again and was woken again to the sound of a Jugonaut the size of Kennedy Space Station outside the house, banging and clashing and making a right old racket.  So I got up again to see what the hell was going off. I stuck my head out the curtains to have a skeggy and some random council worked in grubby overalls was looking at me in a frightened manner from about 10 feet away, I got the frikkin shock of my life!!  He was standing on top of a giant mound of dirt which was on the back of a massive lorry and was parked right outside the house filling in a tiny 2ft square hole they dug out last week, but because he was up so high he was on a level with our window! Good job I had me night attire on!  So I rapidly shut the curtains again not wanting to scare the poor fella, me and my haystack head on a  morning aint good, believe me, and determined to have a little longer snooze I crept back under the duvet. So then, I woke up at 10.30, yes 10.30 ! on a schoolday no less! eeeek! And now I’m all a kerfuffle cos my day is disrupted and I’ve got to go to the hairdressers in an hour or so. Hardly time to start work so I don’t think I’ll bother! I’ll wait till I get back and crack on later, so in the meantime I find a couple of hours spare to do some little bloggypoo’s and other stuff.

So what I’m actually supposed to be doing today is finishing off my demo’s for our Create and Craft show on Friday, which is 10 am, another early start, hurrahhh.  Last time we went down we used our new gadget “the Tom Tom” to find a local craft shop but I don’t think I am allowed to go in this time, I spent an absolute forch! Actually I DAREN’T go in to be honest, it was a lush mountain of irresistable stamps. sigh.  And I must confess I have a plethora of crafty parcels winging their way to me at the moment (they’re for classes, yeah yeah yeah) , and that’s on top of going to the NEC on Friday, think I will just have to make sure I take cash only or I know what will happen!  REALLY looking forward to the NEC, there’s me and 3 of my fave people coming too, I just know we will have a sidesplitting day of fun and food and more hilarity than you can poke a stick at. And aching feet and legs and a  creaking bank account I shouldnt wonder too.  But I’m looking forward to it because I’ve never actually been a VISITOR before so that will be an experience, so if you go and you hear some kerfuffle ahead and can see elbows flying, it will be me, bashing and elbowing my way in, trampling you all with my elephant feet along the way, hahahaha!!  So if you see me and me cronies (and they ARE cronies!LOL!) make sure you come over and say hello, I will be the one bent double like a pack-horse craning under the weight of stash!

Right, I’d seriously better go now, I have a shedload of work to do really and I think I’ve come round now, having just devoured a fishfinger sarnie. yumster!  Don’t forget to watch or record the show Friday, have some cute demo’s lined up including more burgers! xx

been drooling again, I sooooooo wish I could wear heels, I NEEEEEEED all of these. Maybe I could have a shoe wardrobe where I can just stroke them and never wear them. Oh yeah, I just remembered I have that already! I am seriously thinking of finding someone who will train me to walk in heels again like whens I was a teenager.

…check these babies out…dontchya just want want want…

and theeeeeese….

and theeeeeeeeeeeese I REAAAAALLLY neeed…..

I’m in love, sighhhhhhh…..

and maybe these….

and my babies are STILL waiting for me after alllllll this time, come to me, come to me, I love you I adore you, I need you, you should be mine…..I think it’s fate they are still in stock and available in my size …..

wait for me, wait for me………………………. I’m coming to get you my lovelies…..

Well what a busy few weeks I’ve had – life just seems to be totally mental at the moment with not a minute to spare (‘cept the addiction I’ve developed to Restaurant City on Facebook, lol!).

Well I actually managed to join in this week’s challenge over on Polkadoodles Challenges so here it is…

The challenge for today is to follow my sketch and use Jingle Jangle Christmas papers and the Rubber Stamp collection but I failed to enter my own challenge correctly, LOL! Doh, what a div. So I used the Crimbley Doodles download collection instead which I must admit I DO love to bits, it’s so bright and colourful. I actually think this collecsh is good for mens xmas cards.

I’ve cut out the trees from a scrap of the paper and 3d’d them.  The wide message is from the Crimbo stamp set and I coloured it in with Copics.  Now, I went a bit mad with circles. First of all I pur-chased a yummy yummy new border punch the other day from EK Success which is called Swiss Cheese and I am in LOVE with it! So all the little holes around the edge of the card are using that baby and I ran around the edges of the circles with a black pen just to add definition as the papers are a bit busy (in hindsight I wouldnt use that punch on something this busy next time, but you know when you are just desperado to use a new toy, heheh). Then I also cut a hole using a new circle punch I bought the same day (had a total craft blowout, and I MEAN a blowout!) . I put an insert inside the card and stamped the snowflake on the insert, through the circle hole to get the positioning right. I added a bit of colour with copics again and some tidgy crystal gems I found. Then I decided to tie the ribbon thorugh the hole by cutting a small slit with a knife down the spine of the card. I’m in love with that red dotty ribbon it’s Sooo expensive looking and lush.  The Noel circle is also from the stamps and was perfect for the 2nd circle on the sketch.

The colouring on the Noel is  a bit pants, I do find that the Copics bleed a lot if you’re doing fine work. I do like ‘em but I’m not sure I don’t like my Tombow pens better and wish I’d bought into that range more now, think I will have to switch! I think Copics are great if you have the entire collection so you can have all the colour tones but I personally think that Promarkers are better cos I like the finer tips, Copic tips are too big for colouring fine detail.  And I am a big watercolour fan and you just can’t beat your waterbrush for getting some great shading. Oh well, no doubt there are trillions of peeps who will be screaming at me now but its just my opinion! (and I do have all 3 brands and Marvy le Plume too).

Right, what else has been happening lately…ooo lots and lots…

Create and Craft are keeping me totally busy with show after show, we seem to be on twice a month at the moment and the CD’s are becoming more and more popular, yayyy, thanks to all of you who have bought one then another and another…thanks everyone.  It makes me feel all squishy inside when I know you all love the designs, as a designer you, well I, am always a bit insecure about my own stuff and I always have a few wobblers when I put a CD together (“I dont think it’s good enough, I need to put more on, I’m not happy with that”) blah blah blah. Luckily Krissy gives me a good hard slap around the smackeroo now and then otherwise I would never make the show, so he keeps me on the straight and narrow bless him.  So this last week we launched Not For Girls which is a brand new Mens collection on a double – yes, double, CD. I have to say, I’m a bit of a mentalist as I really love doing men’s stuff and it was great doing this CD. There are lots of grungey designs on there with some distressing and ephemera with loads of cool tickets and bits and pieced to cut out and ink.  The show itself was really popular and we had to increase stock as it almost sold out within about 10 mins I think, but the show itself almost finished me off before we went on air, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a stressful morning! I don’t want to relive it all again but lets just say it involved a computer from Noah’s ark and a laptop which wouldnt play – as we went live on air I didnt actually know if the PC was going to work or not and we couldnt show the Crimbo CD or Candy Doodles because we couldnt get them to work! Needless to say there was lots of pointing and whispering and shuffling around of the program whilst we were on which is why you all got to see loads and loads of the samples! I can laugh now but I am scared, as I woke up that morning having had a nightmare about the very same things!! I think I am psycho!

So, our next Create and Craft show is 23rd Oct at 10am and there will be a couple of new things on there as always so make sure you check out the show – it’s also a great way to see some of the samples close up and personal too.  Ooo how lovely the postie has just been and delivered my first set of brand new rubber stamps for the next show for me to approve! Oooops I shouldnt have said that! ;D  I love it when things turn up, so I’m off, I need to go play, sorry TEST them out! ttfn campers! xx

At last it seems like I had a productive day, has only taken a couple of weeks! Must be cos the OH was out the house all day at his geekfest thing. He came home with a tale of £13.95 for a pack of 4 x AA batteries and something about his mate exclaiming obscenities and showing him up – makes a change, it’s usually the other way round!

Right, I am actually going to post some piccies, dont fall out of your pram, but yes, I have pics!  This week over at the Polka Doodles challenge Ruth asked us to make our own DIY flowers and this was my offering…
…have to say I do love this card, sometimes the best ones are those you chuck together in 15 minutes without any thought arent they…I used papers from the Jingle Jangles CD and my luscious-ty lush brand new Flourish stamp from the Daisy Doodles Stamp collection which I am totally in love with.  As a designer I love it when I create something which I really like, but then when I actually come to use it in an everyday setting it turns out even better than I’d planned – it doesnt always happen and it makes me feel all fuzzy inside…I was a little nervous about designing my first sets of stamps, so many choices to make and lots to consider but personally I think they turned out great.

If anyone is looking for some fab inspiration I’ve just uploaded all the show samples onto the website gallery so make sure you  have a look, you can get a really good feel for the products on there.

Well, at Haggie last week I was a really good girl. I did spend lots of cash in a very short amount of time (one stallholder seemed horrified when I said I’d spent up and it was only 11am! I wasnt lying!), but I didn’t actually get a lot but what I did was useful things and have all been used already, except for a couple of reels of ribbon.  I topped up my copic collecsh (bit disappointed in the ol’ Copics, prefer Promarkers because the nib is smaller) with some key colour choices. My fave buy of the day is this little beaut…

…this bag is HUGGGGEEEEEEE! Didnt really buy it for crafty stuff or Sizzix, more as an overnighter bag – it opens really wide and it was an absolute bargain I thought.

Well yesterday I managed to actually get out the house and see my luvverlee chumlee Jozza for a coffee at her favest place, Costa.  Felt bad dragging her away from the lovely Maddie who had been spilling chunks all night and was off school pawly sick, but the cappuccino and slab of choccie cake heaven soon took over the guilt complex.  And we had an obligatory trip to Tesco afterwards which resulted in me spending £29 buying 2 jumpers for DH, a space hopper and top for my niece, a treat each for the cats and a pack of gorge Owlee socks for moi. Me and J will match cos she got them too and at 3 bar for a pack of 4 another bargain I thought.

When I was in Peterborough on Monday we found this emergency supply…had to get me a couple of course and needless to say i did have an emergency later which required one – how handy was that!…

So a busy week all in all but not as manic as it has been lately, must admit.  I’m currently working on my next CD which has now turned into a double CD because I’ve already filled one and I have so much more I want to do with it. It’ll be released on C&C on 2nd October so watch out for it, I think it’s going to be a popular one! Right ttfn! x

…sorry been so long! Been mega busy this past couple of weeks preparing for the next Create and Craft show and being doomed with technology too! Any of you following my twitter/facebook etc will know that I am currently titled “The finger of woe” as I seem to be breaking anything that has an electrical pulse at the mo! In the past 2 weeks this has resulted in breaking a laptop, a 32GB SD card which miraculously now only holds 6mb (!!?fuming, only had it a month) and my PC. ANd I MEAN break! All 3 kaput! Had to go to the pooter shop and everyfink! Makes you realise how much some of us, ie me, actually LIVE on our pooters these days, it was like having my arms cut off not being able to get on, and this was with the backup of Noah’s old pc which is relegated to the DH.  Anyway thought my pooter woes were over at last as everything is reinstalled and I managed not to lose too much data thanks to the nice pootman, till today. And then the printer wars restarted. Yes folks, I have now busted my 4th, YES 4th, printer in less than 3 months. I’ve lost the will to live. Honestly.  I feel like hiring a hitman to go into HP and blow the place up.

Anyway, what else…this blogeroo is very piccy light lately but with the acquisition of a rather nifty new camcorder which is (almost) idiotproof I promise to post some more piccies soon as I get chance to wipe my big girl botty and tidy up enough to take some photos of the cards I’ve made recently!

Well, this will be the last post of the week (cough and first) before we hit Create and Craft on Tues 15th at 9am – then the rest of the week will be mental with packing and I’m currently working on the next new thang as we speak. Well not EXACTLY as I’m obviously typing right now but you get my drift.  And talking of new stuff, if you like rubber stamping you really should check out C&C on tues morning as I think you might likey like…there aint much stock on these so you should snaffle em up pronto – most of the design team don’t even have them yet either! (Yes I am in the doghouse over it i think!)

Well it was Haggie show yesterday and I did manage to purchayse a rather luuuurvvleeee Sizzix storage bag whicj I adore. And twas a bit of a bragin I thought. All black and white giant gingham and oh my, I adore it! I didnt buy it for my craft stuff, oh no, it’s too lvoely so it will be my new overnight bag which I desperado need. I also thought if I had a real nice bag instead of a crummy carrier to take my polyfilla down to C&C I might be less inclined to leave half my wardrobe and makeup and straighteners in the green room. Hence NOT having to make a 5 hour round trip to go get them back.  Ta dahhhhh! Another bright idea by me.

Right it’s gone 1am and I have no idea why I’m still sat here I have an early start for the next few days and i need my booty sleep – there are enough bags and sags on this toosh without having Tesco carriers under my red eyeballs too!

So nitey nite, see you the end of the week! xx

p.s. soz about the spelling mistakes, anyone who knows me knows me knows I am  (eats shoots and leaves) a stickler on the old spelling B but I am wayyyy too tired and bleary eyed and besides, spell what I say not as I do and all that so I’m letting this one ride). Please dont hate.

Well things have been sooo busy lately I’ve been neglecting MY blog  a bit in favour of Polkadoodles challenges, Forums and loads of other stuff  - phew, talk about a busy few months, since the beginning of May I just feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground. Until this week, that is and I seem to have all of a sudden caught up and de-stressed a bit.  I even got to the point this morning where I had some free time, yipppeeee – needless to say I didnt know what to do with myself! I even cleaned and tidied my craft room/bedroom yesterday (well, ok it was a 2 day job really and still needs a dust) and I am SO proud, I can actually see the carpet now! I had reached the point this week where I couldnt actually walk because I’d spilled an entire box (and I;m talking a BIG box) of brads, jumprings and hinges all over the floor and couldnt be bothered to scrape around in the dust and filth to pick ‘em up.  Anyway, dont let this fool you, I DO have loads to do including a tax return which needs some urgent attench but I just decided to kinda take it easy this weekend and I’m just finding it all a little bit weird to be honest!  Anyway, I also realised it’s been ages since I populated this blog with anything of interest so enough drivelling, or is that dribbling, on with the piccies!…

Most of these are actually samples which were made for the TV shows so I suppose I’m cheating a little! heheheh…I love Polly in her Princess cossie here holding her little star…this is obviously from Jingle Jangles but you could use both her and the backing paper for any time of year I think…I’m not really a red and green crimbo kinda girl but I do like this card…

One of my fave bits of the CD is the Festive swirls which is a collection of dreamy papers which give a real frosted effect, I love this collection and again I do think you can use it all year round even though it has holly, it’s soo subtle you just don’t notice it…

I’m massively into paper pleating, rolling, you name it at the mo, feel like I’m getting very “samey” I think and need to change my current stylee!..

This is the card I demo’d on Create and Craft for the CD launch. I just LOVE my owls (sorry if thats really vain but quite often as an artist I find I like something when I create it and then I go off it cos I’ve moved onto the next thing, but I just love these little fellas (you’d never believe I HATE birds would you!)…anyway, this is one of the stampies but if you didnt see the show I traced around him with a Quickie Glue Pen and then heat embossed him so he looks like he’s actually been stamped. A fab technique if you love stamping and the look of stamping.  My 2nd fave thing on the CD is those squirly funny shapey message tablet thingies I made – I adore them! …

Well, I’ve got me a laptop to try and fix before I throw it out the window – MEN! broke it again! So I think that’s enough picfest for today folks! xxx

I just came across these piccies of my two bootiful pud-tads and I do love ‘em sooo…who could resist these little faces….I just love all those whiskery bits round their faces, Mod loves it when I stroke his whiskies..he’s sporting a few scratchwounds here…and who can resist this big fat fellah, he is OBSESSED with boxes at the mo, every time I turn round he has ensconced himself into whatever cardboard is around…

but don’t be fooled by all this cuteness these two blighters may look like butter wouldnt melt but the truth is far far from it!…I’m leaving these 2 boxes on the bed in hope that it keeps their fat furry backsides off my duvet…(notice how Scootie’s fatass is busting out of his box, lol!)…

ooo its very exciting over at PD towers lately, we have a brand new forum so now we can all meet lovely lovely peeps of a like-mindedness!

So what are you waiting for, go join! like NOW! ….

…crikes, 2 posts in one day, get the flags out! Just had to show you this lovely card I got through the post this morning from Ann, how sweet this lovely lady is to make this and send it…she’s used Candy Doodles images here but I think it’s awesome how she’s made the 2 little Fudgey’s hold the ribbon in their mouths, awesome idea! Also, I hope you can pick it up from the rubbish photo’s I took (sorry Ann, bit of a lighting issue this morning, the pic doesnt do you justice) but she’s used embroidery threads for the flower stalks and then knotted them through for the flower centres and they just look gorgeous, what another faberoo idea…thankyou Ann for your lovely card, it’s very sweet of you…