Lucas turns 6 today....

I was asked by one of my friends at work to make a card for his little boys birthday.
I always think of it as a real privilege when people trust you to make that special card for someone who is special to them.
First of all - Happy 6th birthday Lucas!!!!
This is the card that I made for him...... (he loves yellow, green and trucks - 2 out of 3 ain't bad!)...... next time if Dad can give me more than 24 hours (lol) I promise to try and get all 3!! lol

Here are some of the close ups for you to see....

I love this little robot. He's a Kanban topper.
It was a difficult card to photograph as it has lots of metallic papers on it and they just reflect the light.
I loved making it though and I hope Lucas loved having a card with his name on it and a card that was unique to him....
Back to sample making today - I am at Craftworld in Hillinton this Saturday - if you are in the area be sure to pop on over and say hi!
Happy crafting
Nikki x

A card for Mum

Not my Mum....... but a commission for a friend who wanted a card made for her Mum's birthday....... and it had to contain pink!!!!
What is it with people wanting pink put on their cards........ does the world not know that I don't do pink...... it should be purple! lol

I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this card but I like where I ended up!
This is the whole card....

And here are some close ups for you...

Sorry about some of the lighting issues with the card.
I had to take the pics late at night as the card was being collected in the morning. Oops.... I must look at investing in a photo tent and some lighting for it.
Anyway, the person who was giving the card loved it, so that's the main thing.
Cards this shape are great for using up backing papers and little bits and bobs as you get to decorate the outside and inside along with the front panels.
The 'MUM' was done with chipboard letters that I coloured, then shaded, then embossed with holographic embossing powder to give lots of sparkle..... I do love a bit of sparkle......
Prep work this week is for the demo that I will be doing in Craftworld, Hillington.
This Saturday from 10am - 4pm.... using all the latest Do Crafts yummyness.... Would be great to see you if you have time to come along and say hi.

I'll show you some of my samples over the next few days.
Back to work for the mo...
Happy crafting...
Nikki x

My latest commission

Well one of them.... oh okay then.... two of them! lol
These were both created for a 15 year old girl, I don't know if she liked them but I know her Mum loved them.

If you are ever asked to make a card for someone that you don't know - think black and white..... They are a classic colour combo that works for all ages.

What have you been creating?
Nikki x

Lilian turns 70

I was asked to create a card for a lady "Lilian" who is turning 70... oh and I was to add some pink into it....
Lol - I don't do pink.... but hey it wasn't for me!
This is the card that I came up with,

It's not the kind of card I would normally do, but I like it.
The lady who is sending it really likes it - I just hope that Lilian does too.

I've got a thing about paper flowers - ooh and buttons... and ribbons....
Who am I trying to kind - if you were to stick the word craft onto anything I would buy it! lol
The sun came out today which was nice.... thundery clouds are rolling in now, but it was nice while the sun was out for a little while.

Today I am working on another commission - more pink!!! lol.... I have pink ink covered hands, a very odd look for me.....
Back tomorrow with a couple of other commission cards to show you.

Til then... happy crafting xxx
Nikki x

A little flower frame...

I created this little canvas.. well just because I can really!
I thought it would look good as an embellishment on a card and then it could be taken off and used as a magnet.....

I love using Do Crafts crackle glaze. It gives an amazing effect and you can use it on card to create a really interesting background.
This little canvas is 7cm x 7cm.... the flower is one of the new big bloomer flowers from the Happy Days range..
I'll have this at my demo if you want to see it up close.

Have a craft filled day xxx
Nikki x

Katy's Kitchen

After talking to Katy at Do Crafts head office about the cherry paper in the Happy Days collection I started to play with the Happy Days collection and this is what I made for her.....

I think this would make a really sweet gift for anyone who likes to spend time in the kitchen.
I love making these little signs for people, it's a great way of using all your paper techniques and favourite products without the fear of things being thrown away so quickly......
I like the personal touch that you can add as well.

What kind of signs would you make?
Are there any techniques or tutorials that you would like me to create and I can add them to my list for the blog?

Have a great day........ off to finish off some colouring tutorials that I am creating with the Michael Powell stamps......
Happy crafting

Nikki x

A little bear house

I had sooo much fun creating this little house for the Creativity Club over at Do Crafts...

 I loved coming up with this and if you are a member of the Creativity Club you can pop on over and get the templates for it - free!!!!
I will be making sooooo many of these on the run up to Christmas as I think they will be brilliant for Advent calendars and little Christmas street scenes...... I also think it would be a great way to keep the kids happy over the "summer" holidays...... They could make dolls houses or dioramas..... great little keep sakes.

If you are a member of the Do Crafts Creativity Club and you do make one of these, I would love to see what you create. Make sure you upload it into your Do Crafts gallery and I will pop on over and leave you a comment.

Happy crafting
Nikki x

Down came the rain........

Like everyone else we have had more than our fair share of rain over the past week or so....
I had a demo yesterday at the other side of the country so would have been up early anyway... but the roaring noise that came from outside woke me up early..... I couldn't work out what it was so went to investigate....
The burn at the side of my house had burst it's banks and the water was flowing fast and bringing trees, stones and mud down with it.
This was the site that I found (these pics where taken outside at 5am, in the pouring rain.... sorry about the quality)...

and this one of how they came to deal with it all this morning.....

On a brighter note....
Last week at work I was giving an Oreo cupcake.... made by the lovely Julie....
It was blinking yummy......

I'll be back tomorrow with some crafty projects to show you.
I had a brilliant demo yesterday at the lovely Inkspot in Hamilton... shame about the weather...
Lots to show you ....

Nikki x

Winners announced!

Thank you all so much for taking part in our first ever blog hop. And I wanted to say a massive thank you to all the very talented ladies who made the wonderful creations for the blog hop.
I loved every hop post that I read - a massive THANK YOU ladies from me!
I am already planning the next one.

Here are the winners of the candy and prizes that I offered on the day..... all chosen by random...

1. Set of 6 WOW embossing powders

Barbara
Please email me your snail mail address.

2. Set of 6 WOW embossing powders

Linda
Please email me your snail mail address.

3. Set of stamps created and made by Chris

LisaG
Please email me your snail mail address.

4. Digi from Ellephantastic.
Pinkies Sparkly Creations
Please email me and I will send your email address to Helen so she can get your digi sorted out.

5. Crafty bits from me.

Angeluskat
Please email me your snail mail address.

Thank you so much for taking the time to be a part of our hop.
Congratulations to the winners of the candy.

We'll be back soon with another hop so please come back and join us then,
I'll be back next week with some crafty projects to share with you all.
Have a fabby weekend
Nikki x

Our first ever blog hop!!!

Well today is the day of the first ever Crafting Cafe blog hop - I am soooooooo excited!!!

The Crafting Cafe is a wonderful group over in the land of Facebook. They are friendly, kind and helpful. Everyone has their own talent and I love nothing better that chatting to them all and seeing all the wonderful things they have created.

So, today is our first hop - if you take part in the hop and would like a badge for your blog - here you are,

We would love to see the blogging world filled with these little purple frogs!

So how does a blog hop work.... well if you are reading this.... well done! You are at the start of the blog hop!
From here you hop onto the next blog (I'll give you the link for that after I've shown you my card).... on that blog you will find a link to the next blog and on you hop to all of the blogs.....
If you get sidetracked or lost along the way.... pop back here as I will have the whole blog hop list on the bottom of my post...

In this hop we are offering some prizes......
There will be some embossing powders from WOW...... some stamps from Chris......... a digi from Ellephantastic...... and some crafty yummy bits from me!!!
To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is comment on every post in the blog hop.... easy..... the hop runs for 24 hours. After that I will go through the hop and see who commented on all the posts. I will then use the random number generator to allocate prizes - this is open to everyone no matter where you live.

So the theme for the blog hop is friendship....
Here is the card I made for it,

I used one of the Do Crafts heartwarmer toppers - I adore these... there are lots to chose from and they have covered just about every topic that you can imagine! The come in different sizes too - perfect to finish off any crafty project.

Now from here you need to pop on over to Lindsay's blog - let's go and see what she has created.... you will find her blog ...... here!
Remember to leave a comment on all of the blogs in the hop to be in with a chance at winning one of the fabby prizes!!!
And a massive thank you from me for stopping by my blog! xxx
Have fun with the hop!!!
Happy craftin,

Nikki xxx


If you get lost along the way.... here is the complete blog hop list......

1. Nikki Smith - www.what-nikki-did-next.blogspot.com
2. Lindsay Elise Jolly - http://craftymonster81.blogspot.co.uk/
3. Andree (Ace Cards)  http://acecardsandree.blogspot.co.uk/
4. Lynne Anne Digney http://lyndi-littlegirlblue.blogspot.co.uk/
5. Janna Gay http://www.janna-scrappingintheattic.blogspot.com
6. NJ - http://pinkdelightcraft.blogspot.com
7. Emma Goddard - http://www.emmascardsuk.com/
8.Dawn Lancaster- http://dawn-dawnscrafting.blogspot.com
9. Lisa Garrow - http://lisagarrow.blogspot.com
10. Sylvia Anderson-http://sylviaskards.blogspot.co.uk/
11. Celia Harrington  .http://celiascardcreations.blogspot.co.uk/
12. Debbi Powell - http://cards--galore.blogspot.co.uk/
13.Crafty bits-http://carolinesspicecrafty-bits.blogspot.co.uk/
14.Helen Laurence aka Ellephantastic http://ellephantasticcardsandcrafts.blogspot.co.uk/