Smells Like Homemade

It's Whimsie Doodles' Release Day!

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Love is in the air at Whimsie Doodles!

Check out the newest members of our Whimsie Doodles' family....

Visit {here} to add the whole group to your own collection,

or just add your favorites from the bunch!

My card features the digger from the Valentine Messages set, which come with group sheets to print 12 images at a time or individually-- perfect for class valentines! This started out as a tag and kept growing until it was a full sized card :)

Oh, Carl...

2011-12-11T08:34:00.001-05:00

This morning the kids raced downstairs to see if they could find Carl...but it wasn't hard! That silly elf was on the kitchen counter making snow angels out of Splenda....

Carl, the Elf on the Shelf...

2011-12-10T08:32:00.001-05:00

So, have you heard of the Elf on the Shelf? It seems he's all the rage these days, and our elf, Carl, just arrived yesterday (yeah, he's a little late...) We woke up this morning to find him on the top pantry shelf fishing for old Halloween candy. He's pretty crafty-- he had made a fishing pole from a tiny craft stick, a piece of string and an ornament hook. Please ignore how messy the pantry is....

Stay tuned for more elf mischief :)

Scrapdoodles Card Share!

2011-12-07T12:17:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I'm going to share with you some ideas for very simple Christmas cards with some new goodies from Scrapdoodles!

First up is a card that features Pink Paislee papers and dimensional sticker, brown Tim Holtz ink and a tiny stamp from the "Christmas" stamp set by Karen Foster Designs.

My next card is even more simple-- one layer, with one stamp in one color! Too add a little extra something, I stamped the image on the inside of the card after I used a die to cut an oval from the front panel. I glued on a plastic rhinestone to the satin bow for some extra shine. The reindeer image is from the same set as the snowflake above.

This next bunch is a set of three skinny cards made by using (1) 8.5 x 11" piece of card stock as the base for all three, accents from a piece of decorative paper from Echo Park, and dimensional felt stickers from SEI. The Merry Christmas sentiment is from a stamp set by Pebbles, called Welcome Christmas.

The buttons on this one are from my personal stash, but make a fun alternative border-- especially when you have a busy patterned paper that can be the star of the show!

You can't get much more simple than this! A red background panel, small piece of patterned card stock with scallops punched at the bottom, and a tiny white card stock border, topped with a dimensional felt sticker.

This card is also super simple-- red card stock topped with a panel of patterned paper, a strip of aqua card stock for a pop of color, and a square of white topped with a dimensional felt sticker.

Happy Holidays!

Love, Nikki

Whimsie Doodles Tutorial: Mini Dry Erase Board

2011-12-06T13:15:00.001-05:00

I thought today would be a good day to share a quick and easy holiday gift idea with you! I was inspired after seeing a post on Pinterest for making coasters using tiles and decoupaging decorative napkins on them (super cute, by the way).

My idea is similar, only instead of using the finished product as a coaster,

I am using mine as a mini dry erase board!

Here is what you need:

- 4 x 4" tile (smooth works best)

- 4 x 4' piece of thin paper or tissue paper

- stamps or digital stamps

- decoupage

-mini easel or frame holder for display

If you are stamping with rubber stamps, simply stamp your image or sentiment directly on the paper or tissue. Then using the decoupage, adhere the paper to the tile. Cover entire top of tile with another layer of decoupage. If you are using digital stamps, you can print your images on regular paper, rather than cardstock, and proceed the same way once you cut the paper down to size.

Once your decoupage dries (I'd leave it overnight to be sure), you can use a dry erase marker to leave little notes, jot down a list or even take a message :)

The sentiment on my tile is from a retired Whimsie Doodles rubber stamp set.

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-12-05T00:30:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the month....NeW ReLeAsE DaY!

Check out these adorable new images....eeek! They are pictured together for your viewing convenience, but available separately for purchase on the Whimsie Doodles website.

Now go forth and visit all of the fabulous Doodlelicious Divas to see the gorgeous projects they've created with these new images! They're sure to get your creative wheels turning!!

2011-11-25T14:08:00.001-05:00

We are really excited to be having a 50% everything digital (with a miniumn purchase of $10.00) this weekend! The sale starts today, Friday the 25th, and ends at midnight (Eastern time) on Sunday, the 27th. You MUST use the code friday50sale to get the discount.

Happy Shopping!

For the kids table....

2011-11-15T10:58:00.001-05:00

Holiday parties are on the way and I thought I would show you a quick little place setting for the kids this Thanksgiving!

This super cute turkey is a Whimsie Doodles image, called Get Stuffed.

To make this little pocket...

Take a 4.25 x 5.25 piece of card stock, and score it at 3" on long side and on 3.25" and 1" on the short side. Fold up at the 3" mark, snip extra cardstock rectangles on top piece created when you scored. Fold smaller rectangle pieces around back piece and adhere.

Redneck Wine Glasses

2011-11-14T12:05:00.001-05:00

These glasses are all the rage at craft shows in the South this year, and since they run about $10-15 per glass if you buy them at one, I thought I would show you how simple it is to make one-- and what a fun gift idea!

All you need is a glass mason jar, a glass candle stick holder (mine are from Dollar Tree), and E6000 glue. Put a thick line of glue on the top rim of the candle stick holder, and adhere to the bottom of a clean Mason jar. Wait for it to dry and call it done.... for $1, if you already have some jars-- which I did! E6000 can be washed, so no worries! Now these are officially called Redneck wineglasses, but how cute for picnic centerpieces, or all kinds of things...

FANGtastic Printable....I hope!

2011-10-26T12:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is my first attempt at creating a printable, and if you can use them, please feel free to download this sheet! These are sized to make (12), 2" tags on an 8.5 x 11" sheet, and are quite cute attached to those plastic vampire teeth that you get this time of year! In fact, if you have a Wal-Mart near by, you can pick up a pack of 16, for $1.44. Not bad if I do say so myself! Since this is my first time uploading this type of thing, I'd appreciate any tips...I think you should be able to right click and print. Have a great day!

Frankenstein Treat Holder

2011-10-25T09:41:00.000-04:00

So it all started with these coupons....I'm slightly obsessed with those, you know. And I had these coupons that basically gave me full size candy treats of the M&M variety, on the super cheap. Knowing that I would the hero of the third grade and of my third grader, for bringing in the BIG treats, I had to think of some cute way of wrapping them up!

We've already made some mini Crunch Bar mummies this year for the reading class....

So, when I saw the Freaky Little Friends Whimsie Doodles set, I was totally inspired by the "Friend. Good." Frankenstein image.... and this is what I came up with!

You will need a 2.25 x 10" strip of green card stock, scored at the 1" and 4.5" marks. You will also need various scraps in black, white and the same green. I used a tab punch, 2 different circle punches and a border punch for the different details. I made Frankie's cheeks rosy using chalks, and his nose sticks out with the help of a 3D dot. I cut the strips for his mouth free hand.

Step 1:

Cut and score!

Step 2:

Fold and adhere!

Step 3:

Punch and adhere his hair!

Step 4:

Punch out eye pieces, nose and head bolts (aka tab punch) and adhere.

Add color to cheeks with chalks.

Step 5:

Add mouth detail and treat.....

New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-10-05T08:30:00.000-04:00

It's our favorite time of the month at Whimsie Doodles, and there is so much to see, that we're just going to jump right in! Be sure to check out the Doodlelicious Divas' blogs today and see their UBER craftiness first hand... they really know how to work some magic with these new images and cutting files!!

First up this month are our two Breast Cancer Awareness images!

100% of the profit from these images will go to Relay for Life for Breast Cancer.

Get 'Em Squished

Save the Hooters

Next up are some Halloween images that you are definitely going to want to add to your collection!

Skinny Witch

Skinny Witch Flying

Jayson the Pooh

Can you believe it is time to start thinking Christmas?!?! These will help get you in the spirit...

'Tis the Season

'Tis the Season Tags

Christmas Gift Tags

If you've been looking for a reason to try a sewing project with Whimsie Doodles images, these are great! They are perfect for both paper and fabric projects!

Have a Doodleliciously wonderful day!!

Scrapdoodles Card Share

2011-09-26T20:16:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday Everyone!

Scrapdoodles is stocked full of fun new papers and embellishments, and you can't help but be inspired once you walk in. On that note, today I have three, fall-themed cards to share with you.

Ingredients: Stamps and Decorative Paper: Imaginisce {You Rule}; Copics; Cardstock: Bazzill: Red, White; Accessories: 3D Dots.

Ingredients: Stamps: Unity {Lollipop Tree U and Me}; Decorative Cardstock: Creative Imaginations {Samantha Walker}, American Crafts {Nightfall: Starry Night}; Copics; Ribbon: American Crafts; Accessories: Button, Twine, Glue Dots.

On this card, I created little spiders using the iTop brad punch. I simply punched out the shape on black cardstock, and snipped two legs from each side (to make a total of eight on each spider), matted it on decorative paper, added googley eyes and added a string.

Ingredients: Decorative Cardstock and Paper Flowers: American Crafts {Nightfall: Night Watch, Halloween Night, Fall Leaves, Nightfall Spells}; Cardstock: Bazzill {Black}; Ribbon: American Crafts; Accessories: iTop Brad Punch, Twine, Googley Eyes.

2011-09-08T18:00:00.001-04:00

Whimsie Doodles is sponsoring some great challenge blogs this week. Click on the links below to find out how you can play along to be entered to win some Whimsie Doodles goodies.

Birthday Sundaes Challenge #25 {LINK}

Scrap-Creations Winter Wishes Challenge {LINK}

CRAFT Challenge #119 Children {LINK}

Whimsie Doodles Release Day!

2011-09-05T01:27:00.000-04:00

It's new release day at Whimsie Doodles! For our September release, we have a bunch of adorable images for you that are perfect for your Back-to-School and Halloween projects...and a little Steam Punk, too! These images are so much fun to color-- and we know you'll love them as much as we do!

They are pictured together here in the preview, but they are available as individual images on the Whimsie Doodles website {HERE}.

We also have these adorable Halloween Gift Tags that are just perfect for classroom or co-worker treats! Click {HERE} to check them out!

My card today features Frankie...

I colored him using Copics and Prisma pencils. I didn't have a ribbon that I thought was just quite right for the papers I chose, so I sponged some green Pallette ink onto a black and white check ribbon, and it was just what I was looking for!

I even added a little glitter to his hair, and tiny pearl buttons to his shirt...

Thank you so much for dropping by and be sure to check in with the other Divas today to see what kind of projects they have made with the newest Whimsie Doodles' additions!

Digital Stamp DESIGN TEAM CALL...

2011-08-19T11:35:00.003-04:00

Whimsie Doodles is looking for some new creative team members to start designing with us beginning September 1st to February 28, 2012.

You don't have to have any experience with working with printable (digital) stamps....but you do need to have a printer.

We are looking for the following:

-A few Team members that will create 3 projects* a month (1 per week) plus a release day project.

*Projects include but not limited to cards and or any other type of craft related item using digital stamps from Whimsie Doodles.

-One Tutorial/Video team member that will create 3 tutorials per month, they can be photo tutorials or YouTube videos. This person is responsible for uploading the projects and posting them on the Whimsie Doodles blog. These projects can be any craft related type of project

-A few Scrapbook artists to create 3 layouts per month using Whimsie Doodles images.

To be considered you will need to have an active blog to upload your projects to and post to another online gallery of your choice...

Compensation: You will have access to all of the items that Whimsie Doodles sells as well as receive all new releases.

$$ for cards/projects using Whimsie Doodles digital stamps that are published in print magazines.

Please send your application to Whimsiedoodles@eastlink.ca (put in the subject line design team call)

Please include 3-4 samples that you feel are typical of your work.

A link to your blog and gallery

Call closes Aug 25,2011, acceptance email will be sent by Aug 29,2011

Scrapdoodles Design Team Wednesday!

2011-08-17T00:42:00.000-04:00

Sometimes less is more, and in the card making world, we call that clean and simple, or CAS for short. Today my cards are just that!

My first card features an adorable stamp set from Unity. I masked the little birdies before I stamped the sentiment to make it appear as if they were "in the words". They are actually two separate stamps. I added some extra color to the velvet flower by coloring the edges using two of the same Copics I colored the bird image with. It was already yellow, but I wanted it to pick up a little of the darker yellows in the birdie.

Ingredients: Stamps: Unity(Happy Chick Birthday); Copics: BV01, R83, YG25, Y02, Y18, YR12; YR82; Cardstock: White, Black; Designer Papers: Little Yellow Bicycle (Tiny Princess collection); Accessories: Maya Road (Velvet Stitched Blossoms), Dies (Scallop Circle, Circle), Scallop Edge Punch.

My next two projects feature the super cute Blast Off collection from BoBunny, and I didn't stamp a thing on them! First up is a simple pop-up card (tutorial on my blog). The image on the front is actually two stickers that I stacked. The bottom layer is a cardstock sticker from the collection, and there was a rocket image on it already, but it was a different one. I applied the dimensional one on top of the original for some pop!

Ingredients: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics (White, Red); Designer Papers: BoBunny (Blast Off); Stickers: BoBunny (Blast Off Dimensionals, Blast Off Cardstock)

My last project is a tag to go with the 'You Rocket' card, and features the same ingredients. I made the grass with a Martha Stewart Punch and some scrap green patterned paper from my stash.

Have a great day!!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!!

2011-08-04T21:43:00.000-04:00

It's new release day and to celebrate our August release,
we are having a little party with Lily Pad Cards!

Visit each of our Doodlelicious Diva blogs (click their links in the sidebar!!) today to see their card featuring our new August images and the Lily Pad color combo below...

Check out the challenge post at Lily Pad Cards to see what their Design Team has done with the August images and find out how you can win a $15 Gift Certificate to the Whimsie Doodles Online Store!

My card features the Stick Couple set! Oh-so-simple and oh-so-stinkin'-cute! The Fix-It Man reminded me of my hubby, so I just had to make a card with him :)

Stick Couple

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles (Stick Couple); Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers (Snow Storm Smooth, Hazelnut); DP: K and Company (Duct Tape and Blue Floral); Accessories: Wrench Charm, Screw Brad, Copics, Glue Dots.

Don't forget to go see the cute stuff our Doodlelicious Divas

and the Lily Pad design team have created!

Whimsie Doodles Tuesday Tutorial: Simple Pop-Up Card

2011-07-26T12:10:00.001-04:00

If you are anything like me, you find inspiration in many things, and often from places that you wouldn't always expect. This week was one of those weeks for me! I was inspired by this card my 8 year old made for one of his friends! I helped with the embellishments, but the rest of the card was his doing...

I was so impressed that he made this on his own! He doesn't see all of the fancy technique tutorials that we see on a daily basis. Reilly's simple pop-up card reminded me that a technique doesn't have to be fancy to have lots of impact, so today I am giving you directions to make your own simple pop-up card.

(1) Inside piece of cardstock measuring 8 x 10.5"

(1) Outside piece of cardstock measuring 8.5 x 11"

Whimsie Doodles Stamps

Embellishments (optional)

Adhesive and Scissors

Step 1:

Score and fold your inside piece of cardstock the the 4" mark. Using your scissors, snip two small lines in the folded cardstock as shown below.

Step 2:

Press the cut strip through the fold and press down to make the folds crisp.

Step 3:

Score and fold the outside piece of cardstock at the 4.25" mark, and attach the inside piece of cardstock to the outside piece, being sure not to get adhesive on the tab you just created.

Step 4:

Turn your card in the "landscape" direction. Add adhesive to the bottom half of the folded tab that you created, and attach your image. You will attach it differently for different images, but for mine, I wanted the feet to touch the bottom of the page.

Step 5:

You have a pop-up card! Embellish and decorate as you like!

My card features the adorable Castle Pearl image!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-07-05T02:27:00.001-04:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Today is new release day at Whimsie Doodles and I am using one of the brand new, already colored images on my card today. Talk about easy-peasy card making-- and perfect if you don't have a lot of coloring tools in your craft room. You can see the whole release on the Whimsie blog, or by clicking {here} to visit the Whimsie Doodles store. Be sure to visit all of the Doodlelicious Divas today to see what they are making using the new July images, too.

The inside features a funny status I saw on Facebook recently...

it will make my friend giggle for sure when I give it to her :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Don't forget your discount!

2011-06-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

Hello Blog World!

If you are anything like me, you love a good bargain, so don't forget to visit the Whimsie Doodles store with this special coupon code in hand....

Happy Shopping!

Whimsie Doodles Tuesday Tutorial

2011-06-14T00:39:00.000-04:00

Today's Whimsie Doodles Tuesday Tutorial would be perfect for a special Father's Day gift!

Here is what you need:

9x12 Catalog Envelope

Scoring Tool
Adhesive

Ribbon
Whimsie Doodles Stamps
Embellishments (optional)
Here is what you do:
Step 1:
Trim 3 inches off of the envelope from the open end.

Step 2:
With the opening of the envelope at the top, score in 2 inches from the right, left and bottom edges of the envelope.

Step 3:
You will have a 2 inch square in each bottom corner, score from inside corner to the outer point (diagonally).

Step 4:
Decorate the front of your gift bag now, staying within the score lines.
Step 5:
Crease the score lines and pop the envelope into a bag, carefully bringing the bottom corner squares into a point on each side. Give the points a crisp fold and apply adhesive to flaps that will fold in to the bottom of the bag, then fold flaps in to form bottom of the bag. The bottom will measure 5.75 inches by 4 inches.

Step 6:
Punch holes to create a ribbon closure and embellish the front to complete your bag!

I used a corner rounder to round the top corners of the bag. My bag features one of the images from the new "Dad's Tickets" set, and the worm from the "Shell-a-Bration" set.
Don't forget to use the code NIKKI10 at the Whimsie Doodles store, to get a discount on some Whimsie Doodles stamps!

A Special Coupon Just for You!

2011-05-30T09:09:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day, Blog World!

I just wanted to share a special coupon just for you to use over at the Whimsie Store, just because you are a Smells Like Homemade reader! I just know you'll find something you love there :)

Hugs, Nikki

Rex Loves Cake!

2011-05-25T17:01:00.000-04:00

I have a confession... this image (and another) has been colored since March, just staring at me with those adorable "I didn't do it" eyes, begging to go on a card, and I just did that today!!

What in the world was I thinking??

This cute little dinosaur is named Rex and is the subject of many adorable stamps over at Pink Cat Studios. This particular image is called "Rex Loves Cake". I colored him using Copics, and "sugared" the cake with Martha Stewart glitter. What do you think?

Ingredients: Stamps: Pink Cat Studios {Rex Loves Cake}, Whimsie Doodles {Party Monkey rubber set}; Cardstock: PTI {White}, SU! {Red, Turquoise}; DP: Imaginisce {Animal Crackers: Step Right Up}; Ribbon: May Arts; Twine: Etsy; Button: My Mind's Eye; Other: Copics, MS Glitter.

It's What's on the Inside that Counts!

2011-05-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

I'm all mixed up today... I thought for sure that my day to post for Scrapdoodles but alas, the Mommy Brain strikes again :) That just means more projects for you guys to see today though, so it all works out in the end! Today's cards all feature a decorated "middle", which I often neglect. It's not that I mean to neglect them, it is just that I spend so much time on the outside that I just leave it at that. So my challenge to myself today was to do a little somethin' somethin' on the inside of all of my cards...

My first card features an Imaginisce Snag 'Em stamp (love those $1 goodies!) names Whale. I thought it would make the perfect baby boy card. I stamped the whale in brown on kraft cardstock and used my chalks to color him. Then I added a few accents using a white gel pen (my old trusty assistant), and added some Glossy Accents to the water spray for some extra dimension. (I also used the glossy accents to "glue" on the tiny yellow button).

For the inside I used some alphabet stamps from my personal stash to spell out "congratulations", and stamped only the spray from the whale stamp, which I covered in glossy accents for a little extra.

Ingredients: Stamps: Imaginisce {Whale}, personal stash; DP: Making Memories: Dilly Dally {Glitter Scallop Stripe}, SEI: On the Coast {Barnacle}; Cardstock: Kraft, White; Copic: Y02; Ink: Memento: Rich Cocoa; Accessories: Chalks, White Gel Pen, Scallop Edge Punch, Twine, May Arts Ribbon, Buttons, Inkessentials Glossy Accents, American Crafts: Chipboard Letters.

My next card features a beautiful 2 stamp mini set by Unity and Webster's Pages. Since the image is so detailed, I decided to simply stamp it in black. The inside is also simple in that I only stamped one of the butterflies in the corner. I though this would make an excellent graduation card.

Ingredients: Stamps: unity and Webster's Pages {Dream Big}; Ink: Pallette {Noir Black}; Cardstock: Black, Kraft; Accessories: May Arts Ribbon.

My last card is very springy! I also thought this would make a nice graduation card. I love these colors, and when I saw the matching cardstock stickers and stamps by Jillibean Soup, I HAD to make something with them. Oh and to change things up a bit, I put the sentiment on the outside and the image on the inside.... what do you think? The butterflies on the outside are from one of my all time favorite Martha punches. On the inside, the butterfly is colored with Copics and the trail is hand doodled.

Ingredients: Stamps: Jillibean Soup: Blossom Soup; DP: Jillibean Soup: Blossom Soup {Half Pound Blossoms}; Cardstock: Red, White; Sentiment: Jillibean Soup: Cardstock Stickers {Blossom Soup}; Copics: YG63, R59, R46, R27, R83, RV63, RV13, YG21, YR04; Accessories: Black Gel Pen, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, mini glue dots.

Super Sale at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-05-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

We're having a 50% off sale and it starts Friday May 13!

It will last through Sunday May 15 at midnight eastern time.

You MUST use the code MAY24

to take advantage of this fantastic deal!!

It applies to ALL digital stamps, but ONLY digital stamps.

Whimsie Doodles rubber stamps will not be available during the sale.

Click HERE to go straight to the Whimsie Doodles store and start making your wish list!

Tell Your Friends! Tell Your Neighbors! Shoot, tell your Mother-In-Law, for that matter!

This is too big of a deal not to share with everyone :)

Teacher Appreciation Courtesy of Whimsie Doodles!

2011-05-06T07:32:00.000-04:00

This week has been teacher appreciation week at our school (and probably yours!) and I wanted to show you a quick project I made using the Whimsie Doodles apple cutting file and a thermos I picked up from Dollar Tree! I borrowed this cute phrase from my DT buddy, Alicia-- the whole thing was a big hit at school! Have a great weekend.... and Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-05T00:32:00.001-04:00

Today is the May release for Whimsie Doodles! I have two cards to share with you today using the Science Girl and Hair Dryer images. Be sure to visit all of the Doodlelicious Diva blogs today to see more of these fun stamps!

Science Girl

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Science Girl}, Unity {sentiment}, Cardstock: PTI {White}, Stampin' Up! {Wasabi}; DP: Cosmo Cricket; Coloring Tools: Copics, white and silver gel pens.

Hair Dryer

Ingredients: Stamps: Whismie Doodles {Hair Dryer}; Cardstock: PTI; DP: We R Memory Makers, Cosmo Cricket; Ribbon: Mark's Finest Papers; Coloring Tools: Copics.

Thanks for stopping by!

Leahs and Gnomies and Bears, Oh My!

2011-04-19T08:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, so no bears! But, I wanted to show you some of the Whimsie Doodles images I've colored this month :)

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {various Gnomies, Cotton Candy Leah, Gypsy Leah}, DP: American Crafts, Making Memories, October Afternoon, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye; Cardstock: SU!, PTI, Mark's Finest Papers; Coloring Tools: Copics, Prisma pencils; Accessories: white gel pen, silver gel pen, stickles, MS glitter, Glossy Accents, May Arts ribbon and twine, Mark's Finest Papers ribbon, My Mind's Eye buttons, scalloped edge punch.

Scrapdoodles Day!

2011-04-06T06:13:00.000-04:00

Today is my day to share my Scrapdoodles creations! All three of my cards have small details to add dimension to an otherwise flat card. My first card features a cling stamp from Stampendous called "Party Balloons". I added a sentiment to the image by taking another stamp by Imaginisce, called "Take the Cake", cutting off the sentiment and clipping it in half. I was then able to stack it on top of each other as you will see below. To add dimension, I used "Glossy Accents" by Ink Essentials, and covered the balloons with it after I colored them with Copics and a gel pen. Then I experimented by heating it with a heating tool, which kind-of sort-of worked, but not as well as leaving it for a couple of hours to dry completely. The decorative paper is by Reminisce and is double sided (both shown).

In this picture, you can see the glossy raised dimension that the glossy accents adds.

My second card features another cling stamp by Stampendous, called "Full Fluffles". I colored him with Copics, and added accents with a white gel pen. I added dimension to the cake icing by using Stickles. The decorative paper is double sided and is made by Imaginisce.

My last card features an adorable Imaginisce Stamp from the Animal Crackers collection, called "Monkey". The sentiment is one of the banners from the "Tres Elegant" mini stamp set from We Are Memory Makers. I used two different double sided papers from Imaginisce. One is from the Animal Crackers collection and the other is from the Princess collection. To add dimension to this one I stamped the monkey image twice and colored one with Copics. Next, I trimmed the colored image and stacked it on to the uncolored one using Quick Stick adhesive to attach it. If you have never used a Quick Stick, you'd love it! It is glue but with the consistency of gel ink and a ball point dispenser! It is perfect for tiny details!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

It's New Release Day!

2011-04-05T05:07:00.001-04:00

Today is new release day at Whimsie Doodles!
We have lots of cute stuff for April and we are so excited to share it with you today!

Without further adieu.... say hello to our newest Whimsie Doodles images!

Gypsy Leah

Cotton Candy Leah

Circus Babies
These images are available separately and as a set!

Gnomies

All of these images are available separately as well as a set!

I have a bunch of Gnomies to share with you today!

My first card features a sweet little Gnomette sitting on a tree stump, and I thought she looked like she was missing somebody.. I colored her with Copics and added a second layer with her legs and the tree stump to add dimension. I also added some details with white gel pen and glitter on her hat!

I used this image to decorate the front of a mini-album to hold some pictures of me and my Gnomies! I colored the image with Copics and added Flowersoft to the leaves on the tree branch. I also added Glossy Accents to the buttons on their outfits and a little glitter to the belt buckle!

Enough Said. Right?

I colored this one with Copics and Prima pencils and baby oil. I added accents with the white gel pen and Glossy Accents

These images are so much fun and I know you are going to love them! As if they weren't enough, check out the sweet gift from Melyssa!

How about a reader freebie?

If you'd like the image below (and what is not to like--eeeek!!),

all you have to do is add it to your cart, type the word SURPRISE in the coupon section,

check out and you'll get it for free!!!

Be sure to visit all of the Doodlelicious Divas' blogs today to see the details on their creations!

Sweet Deal at Michael's today only!

2011-04-03T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hey Ya'll! Lately I have been getting my "coupon" on with my groceries and when I saw this awesome ad in my inbox this morning, I was inspired to share it thought this would be the perfect place to share super craft deals when I come across them :)

I love my ATG! I purchased mine from another place, but this is a great deal is far as I am concerned. So great, I may go grab one as a back up! The ad says this is for today only, so you'll have to get it today to take advantage of it.

Today's Daily Deal is the Scotch Advanced Tape Glider,

regularly $39.99, on sale for today only at $19.99

Making a Woven Background

2011-03-29T09:23:00.002-04:00

Materials:

Card base 5 1/2” x 5 1/2"

Sheet of decorative cardstock

5” x 5" coordinating paper A for warp base

5 1/4" x 5 1/4" coordinating paper B for mat

Paper trimmer

Stamps and Embellishments

Instructions:

Step 1

Cut strips of paper from the decorative paper. Using a paper trimmer, cut strips 1/2" wide and 8 1/2” long. Randomly select 9 strips and adhere one end of each strip of paper onto your 5" x 5" coordinating paper A. The strips should line up in a row with just a hint of a space between, these are your warp (the pieces that run top to bottom/up and down).

Step 2

Now randomly select 9 strips for your weft (pieces that run across or side to side). Begin to weave. Take a strip of paper and weave over and under for all 9 warp strips. Make sure your first weft is tightly to the top. Repeat this step for the remaining weft strips. Once done, tack all ends down with a dab of glue. Trim strips as you desire. For my project, I trimmed them all down to the 5" x 5" warp base.

Step 3

Mount your weave to the coordinating B paper. Mount the matted weave to card front centered to top. Add stamped image, sentiment or embellishment of your choice to the bottom right of weave.

The rubber stamped sentiment that I used on my card is from the

Sock-It Party Monkey stamp found {here}, in the Whimsie Doodles store.

Feelin' Lucky!

2011-03-16T08:27:00.000-04:00

I'm hosting this week's Whimsie Wednesday challenge on the Whimsie Doodles blog, which I am calling "Feelin' Lucky" in honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. This challenge is simple and all you have to do to play along is create a card using the color GREEN as your main color!

My card is very simple and uses the sentiment that comes with Lucky Koale.

I printed it directly on my card base.

Once you have created your project, link it up on the Whimsie Doodles blog using (you'll find instructions there) and leave a comment to let us know you have entered the challenge. You have until next Tuesday night, March 22nd, at midnight to upload your project, get it linked, and entered in our contest. We will choose a random winner to receive a FREE Whimsie Doodles image!!

Whimsie Doodles images are not required, but if you have some, we would love to see you use them! There so cute, how can you resist using a Whimsie Doodles image anyway??

Happy Birthday Whimsie Doodles!

2011-03-15T01:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our 2nd Birthday Blog Hop! We are so excited that you are here and we cannot wait to celebrate with you! In honor of Whimsie's second birthday, Melyssa has designed an adorable new rubber stamp set-- woo hoo! I love that it is Whimsie's birthday, but we get all of the presents!

Before I show you the new images, let's get to the nitty gritty on how today's BLOG HOP will work, shall we?

Each participant must visit each Doodlelicious Diva design team blog, as well as this one, and leave a comment. At each blog you will collect a letter, which you will unscramble to receive 20% off in the Whimsie Doodles store until midnight on Thursday, March 17th!
In addition to the HUGE discount you'll receive by hopping and unscrambling, we'll draw one random winner to receive a HUMONGOUS prize: The new BABY JOY rubber stamp set, a set of hand made cards designed by the Doodlelicious Divas and a $25 gift certificate to the Whimsie Doodles store!

And now for the star of today's show.... this is Baby Joy!

I decided to use non-typical baby colors for my Baby Joy card. I stamped in black and used Copics to color the image. For the sentiment, I stamped the full "A New Little One to Love and Adore" as pictured above, and used my scissors to snip out just part of it and attached it as a tab on the side of my image panel. This is a great way to stretch your sentiment sets out-- and maybe even use them for a different occasion than they were intended. The possibilities are endless!

Have you figured out what my letter is yet? I gave you some clues in the beginning of my post :) If you haven't guessed already, my letter is....

Now, on to the Diva blogs, to see their amazing cards and projects! Don't forget to gather your letters and leave some love at all of the stops!

Nikki {You Are Here}

Go forth and HOP! Have fun! Thanks for stopping by!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-03-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

The Easter Bunny is on it's way and he's got lots of Whimsie Doodles images in his basket! Today is our March digi-release and we are so excited to share these adorable new images with you!

Before we can get to Easter, we must celebrate St. Patrick's Day as only Whimsie Doodles can-- with total cuteness, of course!

Clover Leah

Lucky Boy

And, this month, how about a versatile Leah that you can use for an adorable birthday card, or even for someone who needs their spirits lifted...

Balloon Leah

Easter really is around the corner, and these images will surely get you in the Easter spirit!

Simple Bunny

My Peeps

Easter Leah

Got Bunny?

My projects feature Balloon Leah and Simple Bunny.

I colored Leah with Copics, and I didn't have a button that was just the right shade of aqua, so I punched out a circle and glued it to a clear button..perfect match!

I was aiming for a vintage bunny look on the Simple Bunny, so I decided to color him with Prisma pencils and gamsol. For a matching shabby ribbon, I stamped "Easter Wishes"directly on the ribbon with Tim Holtz ink. I thought the result was subtle and just what I was looking for!

Check out these creations from our Doodlelicious Divas with these new images... and be sure to stop by their blogs today to get the details on their cards!

Nikki {You Are HeRe!}

Sheri

Tobi

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! On March 15th, we're celebrating Whimsie Doodles' 2nd Birthday with a blog hop, prizes and MORE new stuff! You won't want to miss it! Thank you so much for stopping by today-- have a great weekend!

Whimsie Doodles Sneak Peeks!

2011-03-04T05:00:00.001-05:00

Do you see what I see?

Visit the Whimsie Doodles blog today to get a look at more sneaky snippets!

It's ScRaPdOoDlEs Day!

2011-03-02T00:02:00.000-05:00

It's my day to share some projects with you for Scrapdoodles! I am in love with all of the new Cosmo Cricket and My Mind's Eye papers-- be sure to stop by there and check them out!

My first card features a Penny Black stamp called Party Animals...

I used Copics to color the image and these adorable banner stickers to add a festive sentiment. The decorative papers I used are actually one double-sided sheet. On one side it has the super cute candles and on the other it has a tone-on-tone birthday cake design on aqua paper.

Party Animals

Stamp: Penny Black (Party Animals); Designer Paper (Imaginisce: Birthday Bash-Wish Big); Bazzill Basics; Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Stickers: Making Memories (Design Shop: Summer Birthday); Copics: R29, R59, YG61, YG63, N3, C4, E55, YR15, YG67, E23, YG25, E35, E25, E29, YG11, B04, B01, E31, YR18, Y21, E33, R05, E17, BG53; Other: White Gel Pen.

My next card is a paper-pieced card that started out as a tag. I actually cut the sentiment off of the image stamp so that I could use them separately (one of the neat things about clear stamps). The buttons are little poofs of exhaust behind the car...

Vroom

Stamp: Imaginisce (Snag 'Em: Let's Roll); Designer Papers: Cosmo Cricket (Joy Ride); Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Buttons: Cosmo Cricket (Joy Ride); Sticker: Cosmo Cricket (Joy Ride); Other: Mini Brads, Pop Up Glue Dots.

My last card features another Imaginisce Snag 'Em stamp. To make the sentiment I used a sticker from the Joy Ride sticker sheet, and then stamped "plane" on decorative paper (after I cut it away from the image stamp), and stamped the word sweet on decorative paper and hand trimmed them before adhering them to the cardstock strip. I hand-doodled the dashes behind the plane with a black gel pen.

Plane Sweet

Stamp: Imaginisce (Let's Roll: Plane); Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Decorative Paper: Cosmo Cricket (Joy Ride); Stickers: Cosmo Cricket (Joy Ride); Other: Copics, Circle Punch, Black Gel Pen.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I hope you find time to get creative today :)

2011-03-01T18:57:00.002-05:00

Whimsie Doodles is so excited to be sponsoring the latest challenge at the Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge blog. Make sure to check out this post for some great eye candy, including some samples from a few of our Doodlelicious Divas! Get all of the details on how you can win FREE images from Whimsie Doodles and there is even a special discount code!

Repurpose a Musical Card!

2011-03-01T10:36:00.001-05:00

I was planning to save this project until Earth Day because it is all about re-purposing! But, I decided that we should re-purpose all year through (and most papercrafters do!), so here it is! This tutorial will show you how to take a card that has a sound mechanism and turn it into your own. Enjoy!

You will need:

-greeting card that plays music or sound

-cardstock

-ruler

-adhesive

-cutting tool

-embellishments

-Whimsie Doodles stamps

Step 1

Open Card and remove the paper flap that covers the musical thingamajig.

(This photo shows what it looks like when you open the flap that covers the musical device, before you actually cut it off).

Step 2

I've decided to open my card from the top for a 4.5 x 5.5" card, and drew my cutting lines with marker for you to see. Now, draw your cutting lines as guides. Then using a paper cutter, craft knife or scissors, cut away the excess cardstock.

Step 3

Now cut cardstock to cover the inside of the card, being sure not to get adhesive, especially wet glue (trust me I know from experience!) onto the pieces of the musical device, and leaving the top flap of the new cardstock open. (So, you are only going to use adhesive on three sides of the cardstock when you apply it.) If you completely enclose the musical device, the music won't play! (This too, I know from experience!) It is also best to go ahead and stamp or write your sentiment now, as the musical device makes the inside card base a bit lumpy!

Step 4

Now decorate the outside of the card as you like, and you'll have your very own repurposed musical card! My card is playing The Hamster Dance as I type-- hee hee!

Oh, and to make the Sock Monkey look like he is holding on to the balloon's string, I punched a tiny hole at the top and bottom of his hand. The balloon is a punched oval that I used scissors to "pinch" in where it is tied and a scallop punched at the bottom.

Have a great day!

Repurpose a Musical Card!

2011-03-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

You will need:

-greeting card that plays music or sound

-cardstock

-ruler

-adhesive

-cutting tool

-embellishments

-Whimsie Doodles stamps

Step 1

Open Card and remove the paper flap that covers the musical thingamajig.

(This photo shows what it looks like when you open the flap that covers the musical device, before you actually cut it off).

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Now decorate the outside of the card as you like, and you'll have your very own repurposed musical card! My card is playing The Hamster Dance as I type-- hee hee!

Have a great day!

Tuesday Tutorial: Pop-Top Gift Can

2011-02-15T00:40:00.000-05:00

I know by now you all know that I am a sucker for all things containers, especially those that can be used as gift wrap for little treats! How about altering a can that the recipient pops the top on to find a special treat inside, just for them?? These pop-top surprise cans are some that I have admired from afar and wanted to try for ages, so today I am sharing the instructions with you!

What You Will Need:

Pop- Top Can (I used a small can of peaches...)

Liquid Adhesive (I used Tombow Mono Multi-- my fave!)

Decorative Cardstock

Embellishments

"Safe-Edge" Can Opener

Whimsie Doodles Stamps (of course!)

Step 1

Flip your can over and using your safety edge can opener, remove the bottom of the can and empty its contents. Clean the can and the bottom you have just removed.

Step 2

Next, decorate the outside of your can as desired....

Step 3

Fill the can with small prizes, money, candy or even if a gift card, depending on the size of the can you have chosen to use. I filled this can using tiny plastic dinosaurs for my son's buddy. I also stuffed crinkled paper underneath them, so that they wouldn't wiggle around so much and give away the surprise!

Step 4

When you used your safety edge can opener, it created a small lip that you can add adhesive to. Add your adhesive and hold it tightly in place for a couple of minutes (or if you are impatient like me, you can place something heavy on top for a couple of minutes.)

Step 5

Flip your can over and add your embellishments! I had this super cute fishie paper and decided to use only a super cute sentiment to make a tag! The sentiment is from the Whimsie Doodles set, Shell-a-Bration!

Robot Love and Pink Cat Studios!

2011-02-08T15:53:00.001-05:00

When I saw the adorable robots on the Pink Cat Studio website it was love at first BYTE (hee hee...I couldn't resist a little robot humor this morning-- I think I may be sleep deprived and delirious!). Seriously, these images are super duper cute and robots are THE thing with my little ones, so I had to use these for their Valentines... and guess what?!?! I'm being featured on the Pink Cat Studio blog today-- woo hoo!

These are bookmarks for my Reilly's reading class. For the girls I used the Boy LuvBot, and for the boys I used the Boy Robot digital stamps. These were so easy to make! All I did was shrink the image down to about 1.5" and used my trusty old circle punch to punch out the images. Next I colored the images with Copics and added a couple of white gel pen accents. The background cardstock is from the Lil Robots collection by My Mind's Eye...so stinkin' cute. I attached the matted image to the pre-made page markers I bought at Staples and Waaahhh Laaaahhhh...

Hearts and flowers for the girls...

And an old school label maker 'to and from' on the back sides..... so robotic!

Pinewood Derby Trophy Winners!

2011-02-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

This is just a little "Way to Go" for my boys for winning trophies today in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby races for siblings and the Wolves... both got second! Woo Hoo!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-02-05T04:20:00.001-05:00

Today is new release day at Whimsie Doodles and we have a ton of new images to share with you! Be sure to stop by the Whimsie Doodles store {here} and check out the new stuff-you're gonna want it all :)

My first two projects feature Tic Tac Toe game from the Valentine Games set...

This one has a metal game piece (thank you hubby for cutting them metal for me!), so that could use these cute little magnets with them as game pieces. I paper pieced the title and blocks on the game board.

This tic tac toe game board is made from cardstock, but I used Shrinky Dinks to make the game pieces...

To create the game pieces, sand your Shrinky Dink paper lightly, then run print as you would on regular cardstock. I colored with Sharpies and then followed the directions on the package for shrinking!

My last project features Stuck on You Koale...

I just love this little fella because he reminds me of my boys :) All of my coloring is with Copic markers.

Be sure to visit all of the other Doodlelicious Divas today to see what they have been doing with all of the new images! Thanks for stopping by.. Have a fabulous weekend!!

Whimsie Wednesday Challenge #66: Head of the Class

2011-02-02T00:45:00.000-05:00

Nikki here with your new Whimsie Wednesday challenge!

One of my favorite things to do is to create treats for my sons' classroom buddies, and since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, my challenge for you today is to

create a Valentine themed classroom treat!

My projects today feature the new ValenTINIES and the Valentine Minis...

We put candy in each paper baggie and attached them to rulers for each student.

These are mini bookmarks I made using pre-made page markers from Staples that come about 30 to a pack and are very inexpensive. In the pack, they come in yellow, blue and green. These are going to be Valentine treats for m son's reading class.

Would you like to play along and enter to win a prize? Once you have created your project, link it up here on the Whimsie Doodles blog using the Link button below today's Whimsie Wednesday post, and leave a comment to let us know you have entered the challenge. You have until next Tuesday night, February 8th, at midnight to upload your project, get it linked, and entered in our contest. We will choose a random winner to receive a FREE Whimsie Doodles image!!

Nothin' Says I Love You Like Soft Lips....

2011-01-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

So I have been playing around with ideas of things to fit inside of these test tubes I purchased online (I know-- so stinkin' cute with the cork stoppers, right??) and I found that the Soft Lips brand of lip balm fits neatly in there and I am really easily entertained, thus the title..... hee hee :)

My project today is for the Moxie Fab World: Tuesday Trigger Challenge (Holy Smokes...that's a mouthful!), which was to take inspiration from this photo of fudge hearts from Martha Stewart Living...

You may be asking yourself, "self, how in the world did she get her project about soft lips from Martha's fudge?". I'll attempt to take you through my train of thought, which I must warn you, can sometimes be a bumpy ride, and have a couple of stops in What-in-the-heck-ville.

So the first thing that struck me about this photo were the candy wrappers! The accordion folds lead me to make the medallion base for the tag on my project. I was also inspired by the soft Valentine color palette, the heart shaped fudge, the silky satin ribbon, the scallops on the box and the swirls in the design of the decorative paper...what can I say, it was a very inspirational photo. Keep in mind, it is a photo of fudge. I speak the language of chocolate quite fluently. Let me break it down:

1. Valentine Color Pallette. Check.

2. Heart Shaped Fudge (on my project the Heart Shaped punch). Check.

3. Silky Satin Ribbon (Silky can mean Soft...like Soft Lips, right?) Just making sure you were paying attention:)

4. Scallops on Box (Ruffles on Ribbon). Check.

5. Swirls in the Card Stock (Swirls in the Love Stamp). Check.

6. Bonus! I used chocolate brown ink on the love stamp.....and the above fore mentioned sweet treat is chocolate. Check.

Ingredients: Stamp: Unity, Punch: Marvy Uchida, Ribbon: May Arts, Twine: Paper Trey, Button:, Card Stock: My Mind's Eye {Be Loved}, Buttons: My Mind's Eye, Lip Balm: Raspberry Soft Lips, Test Tubes & Cork Stoppers: LCMLab.com, Ink: Memento, Copic.

P.S. I used the Copic to color the edges of the heart and medallion!

Whimsie Wednesday Challenge #65

2011-01-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

In today's Whimsie Wednesday challenge, Melyssa challenged us to make a tag! Here is mine, featuring the Penguin Hugs image from Whimsie Doodles. I used Copics and Prisma pencils with baby oil to color the image. The swirly clip is actually an ornament hook leftover from Christmas.

Join us for our challenge if you can-- as always, there is a prize!

Happy Birthday Melyssa!

2011-01-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today we are celebrating the birthday of our Whimsie Doodle leader extraordinaire!

Happy Birthday Melyssa! This card is for you :) I combined a couple of Whimsie sets here, Fish Tales and Party Monster, and made it a Pirate-y Birthday Blowfish.... Arrrrgh.

Love you girl! Hope you have a fabulous day!

2011-01-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

Make sure to check out today's post at the Creative Craft World blog. Whimsie Doodles is sponsoring their new 'Cute and Cuddly' challenge. There will be some Doodlelicious eye candy and a chance to win a $10 Gift Certificiate to the Whimsie Doodles online store!

It's Scrapdoodles Day!

2011-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is my day to feature some new projects for Scrapdoodles!

My first card features the most adorable Magnolia image, called Little Mermaid. When I started to color this image, my intent was to match it with this perfectly beachy cardstock, but I found that this little mermaid has a mind of her own :) Once I colored her in these colors, I couldn't imagine her any other way! Since I didn't have the perfectly matched cardstock, I made my own by coloring the edges of the purple matted piece with the same colors I used on her fin. Then I cut strips of the embossed blue cardstock from Bazill Basics and inked the edges again with a Copic marker. Then to blend it a bit, I used the colorless blender pen and the result looks like it was supposed to be that way... oh how I love it when that happens! I finished the card by making a medallion out of the same cardstock I used on the background. This image is so amazing (and so much fun to color!!) that I wanted it to be the star of the show!

Here is a close up of my Copic coloring and the sparkly detail I added with Stickles.

What I used: Copic Markers, Bazill Basics Swiss Dot Embossed cardstock, white cardstock, Stardust Stickles, Fancy Pants Rusted Sun Buttons, sentiment from Unity Stamps, image from Magnolia, embroidery floss, glue dots and May Arts ribbon.

My next project started out as a birthday party favor and wound up as a gift for my sweetie this Valentine's Day! I started with a button keeper jar from Doodlebug Design, that I filled with chocolate hearts. Then I made a scalloped white border for a strip of adorable cupcake paper from Little Yellow Bicycle and attached it around the body of the jar.

Next I added a ribbon around the neck of the jar. I made a sentiment tag by stamping the sentiment and then trimming around it and attaching it with a pearl corsage pin that I colored using a Copic. I curled the end of the pin with needle nosed pliers so that it won't poke anyone!

I colored and cut out a cupcake image and adhered it to the top of the jar. I added stickles to make it glittery, just like the cardstock.

Here is the finished product....

What I used: Copic markers, Stardust Stickles, white cardsotck, Little Yellow Bicycle cardstock (Cupcakes Galore with Glitter), May Arts ribbon, Doodlelicious Design button keeper jar, Unity stamps (I'll Always Love You).

My last project is a set of three tags that I was thinking would be fantastic to attach to treats for classmates or co-workers.

What I used: Copic markers, Imaginisce stamp: Enchanted Collection (Dragon), Fancy Pants Rusted Sun buttons, Cardstock: Fancy Pants: About a Girl (Brooklyn), My Mind's Eye (Be Loved), We R Memory Keepers: Be My Valentine (Together), white gel pen, embroidery floss, May Arts ribbon.

More Dollar Spot Goodness....

2011-01-12T20:53:00.000-05:00

Here are some more containers from the dollar spot, just in time for Valentine's Day! These little hearts are featuring more of the Valen-tinies from Whimsie Doodles...

Love is in the air.......

2011-01-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

You know Dollar Spot treats are my favorite kinds and my post today features some plastic heart boxes that I picked up from Target a couple of days ago. They have lots of fabulous containers for Valentine's Day this year... eeeeek!

All of my boxes feature the Valen-Tinies set from Whimsie Doodles and were colored with Copics.

The medallions that they are attached to are a quick and easy embellishment that my friend Melyssa often uses. It's a fun way to add some color and dimension to an otherwise plain jane background. For an awesome tutorial on making these medallions, check out {this one} on the Whimsie Doodles blog!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2011-01-05T06:19:00.001-05:00

GOOD MORNING WHIMSIE DOODLES FANS! It is the 5th of the month (my most favorite time!) and we have some fantastic new images to share with you today and they will definitely help you get your Whimsie Doodles fix... well, at least for a little while, right? I mean, really, can you ever get your fill of Whimsie Doodles?? I know I can't :) After you take a gander at the new images below, scroll down to see some of the goodies I have been making with them!

First up are the new Valen-tinies! These adorable cuties are sized to fit in a 2 inch punch or Nestie perfectly. They are just right for tags or mini cards, but can easily be sized to fit a standard sized cad as well! We can't wait to see what you can do with these!

Little Leah is off to a Birthday party, here's Gift Leah.

Penguin Hugs is the perfect image to warm up your loved ones during the cold winter!

What's not to love about Toadly?? He is CA-UTE, with a capital C!

Does this little sweetheart look like anyone to you? Melyssa is a big Criminal Minds fan, and we she made this image, she immediately thought it looked like the computer guru on the show (and we totally agree!!). Say hello to Penelope!

This one is for all of you Star Wars fans! His name is R2...

And what is Valentine's Day without a little heat? This cutie's name is Little Hottie!

Be sure to visit all of the Doodlelicious Diva blogs today to see what they have created with the new images-- you won't want to miss all of the Doodlelicious eye candy!

NiKkI (You are Here!)

sHeRi

And here are some of my projects using the new images...

This first picture is of a set of mini cards (I'll be sharing individual pictures of each one in the Mini Series later this week). I used the same layout and papers on each to make them feel more like a matching set. It's an easy way to create Valentines for a group!

There are three full bags of kisses in this bottle..... who on Earth do I love enough to give all that chocolate???

This bottle is a recycled juice bottle. I made labels for both the front and back, and once I cut out the image of Toadly, I added him to the front label using 3D dots. All of my images are colored using Copics.

Sneaky Sneaky Sneaky

2011-01-04T08:50:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is new release day at Whimsie Doodles and you know what that means.... today is sneaky snippet day at the Whimsie Doodles blog!

Here is a snippet of one of my projects... what do you see??

My Online Christmas Card

2010-12-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

To all of my blog world buddies, on this Christmas Holiday, I wish you...

and many...

I'll be back in a few days, because I'll be enjoying my holiday and....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lots of Hugs, Nikki

Not-So-Expected Colors for Christmas

2010-12-19T16:01:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday, ya'll! Today my card features another one of the Leahs from Whimsie Doodles, in some unexpected colors for Christmas. This is one of the few times I colored before I picked out papers... I just let the colors happen--LOL. I thought the orange and green gave the image a warm and fuzzy feeling, which is perfect for winter and the holidays, regardless of the colors! All of the coloring is with Copics.
The countdown to Christmas is on... 1 week and counting!

Whimsie Doodles is having a SUPER SALE!

2010-12-12T23:18:00.000-05:00

Whimsie Doodles is having a sale beginning today and ending on the 19th at midnight...

Is it a bag or a box??? Well, both...kinda.

2010-12-07T06:58:00.000-05:00

Try this quick and easy way to wrap your Christmas gifts using items you already have on hand! First take a box from your pantry, such as a cereal box, and cut off the top flaps. Next, wrap the box as you would a regular gift box, leaving an inch extra on the open end to fold in neatly and tape down. Then punch holes and add ribbon for handles and TAH DAH! Instant gift bag box!

My gift box bag features a tag with Winter Leah from Whimsie Doodles.

Make a Wish...it's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2010-12-05T06:35:00.003-05:00

Greetings Blogworld! Today is my most favorite day of the month.... New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!! Be sure to stop by the Whimsie Doodles blog today to see all of the fantastic new images for December. My sample today features a new rubber set.... YES, I SAID RUBBER! WOO HOO!

The name of the set is 'Have Cake', and my project is a gift card folder for my son's teacher. The designer paper is from Basic Grey and the fancy paperclip are some super cool baubles I picked up in a 4 pack at Dollar Tree last year (ya'll know I how I love Dollar Tree). I decided the clip is heavy enough to use as a page marker and it is the perfect compliment to the Borders gift card inside. This rubber set is so much fun to paper piece (check out the pennants on the side picture). Those pennants would be so much fun to spell out a title on a scrapbook page, too...right??

Here is what else you find in this set...

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I think my life has finally slowed down enough for me to get a little more creative-- yippee! Looking forward to posting more often this month. Lots of Hugs, Nikki

Whimsie Doodles BLOG HOP DAY!!

2010-11-04T05:48:00.001-04:00

It's Blog Hop Time! We are so excited about the November release that we decided it was time to par-tay! You know the drill...just "hop" from blog to blog, leaving a comment at each stop, following the list of names below. At each blog you will collect a letter and when you unscramble them, you will have a code that gives you 10% off at the Whimsie Doodles store until midnight November 5th, and leaving a comment at each design team blog puts you in the running for the fabulous prizes below! We will choose and announce the random winners in the morning (Friday), so be sure to do all of your hoppin' by mIdNiGhT tOnIgHt! YiPeE!

And remember... please do not post the unscrambled code in your comments!

We want everyone to hop along and figure it out on their own :)

So onto the Fun stuff....

Today is a Fun day at Whimsie Doodles! We are so Freakin' excited to Finally show you these Fabulous November images! Can you guess what Fantastic letter you are getting For the word scramble??

Oh wait, let me show you my project for today First...

My cards Features three new images.... Snow Girl's Basket, Toque Leah and Toque Koale!
And if you haven't guess it yet, my letter is F!

Here are the prizes up for grabs:

-Readers must hop to all of the design team blogs (see list above if you get lost along the way) for a chance to win the entire November release, to be announced on Friday, November 5th, which is our release day. Holy Smokes Batman! That's a great prize-- but wait, it gets better....

-A second reader (who completes the hop) will win their own Avatar and digi stamp. Melyssa is going to turn the winning blog hopper into a Whimsie Doodle! How awesome is that?!? You want to see what I look like as a Whimsie Doodle???

So cute!! If only my hair looked that good every day ;)

I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to be a Whimsie Doodle??

Just in case you forgot which way to go,

HoP tHiS wAy...

Alicia

Andrea

Joy

Linda

Melyssa

Nikki {YoU aRe HeRe!}

Sheri

Next up on the Hop is Sheri! Leave me some love in the comments and Hop On my Friends! Have fun!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2010-11-02T23:21:00.001-04:00

Today is my day to show you some of the cute stamps that I have been lucky enough to work with from Scrapdoodles! Since we got past Halloween this weekend, I thought it was high-time to get my Christmas MOJO in motion....

My first card features a beautiful image from Unity Stamp Company called "All Santa's Reindeer". I simply stamped the image in black and used Copic markers to color it.

If you look closely, you can see that all the names of Santa's reindeer are part of the scroll design around his antlers...

Supplies: Stamps: Unity Itty Bitty {All Santa's Reindeer}; Copics: E27, E57, E35, E33, E42, YG23, G07, R20, R21, RV13; Designer Paper: Imaginisce {Apple Cider paper pad}, Pebbles {Tree house Collection: Trunk}; Ribbon: American Crafts; Ink: Pallette Noir; Stickles: Stardust; Other: White Gel Pen, Nestabilities, Button, Twine, Solid Cardstocks: Olive, Ivory.

Finishes Size: 3.25 x 5.5".

My next projects are the perfect "little something" gifts to have on hand and can be filled with most anything! All I did to make them was create a belly band using decorative cardstock and wrap it around a waxed paper treat bag. I added a pre-made label sticker for the "to and from" portion and colored images with Copics to add a little extra festiveness!

Supplies: Stamps: Imaginisce Snag 'Em Stamps {Reindeer}; Copics: YG23, YG25, R20, R21, RV13, R59, R46, R29, E57, E00, E27, E33, YG63; Decorative Paper: Imaginisce {Cottage Christmas: Peppermint Stick}; Sticker: October Afternoon Label Stickers {Very Merry}; Stickles: Stardust; Other: White Cardstock, White Gel Pen, 3D Dots.

Supplies: Stamps: Imaginisce Snag 'Em Stamps {Santa Gnome}; Copics: YR01, YR82, Y18, R21, YG63, YG99, YG25, R59, R29, R46; Decorative Paper: Imaginisce {Cottage Christmas: Peppermint Stick}; Sticker: October Afternoon Label Stickers {Very Merry}; Stickles: Stardust; Other: White Cardstock, White Gel Pen, 3D Dots.

My next card also features an image and sentiment from Unity called "Merry and Bright". It is one of their Itty Bitty Stamp sets and is oh-so-cute! It would also make adorable gift tags!

To give the decorative cardstock a little dimension, I inked the edges lightly. If you've never tried that on a card, you would be amazed at how much more finished it appears when you do!

I also made my own special ribbon by stamping the sentiment directly onto it... I love to do that!

Supplies: Stamps: Unity Itty Bitty {Merry and Bright}; Decorative Cardstock: My Mind's Eye {The Merry Days of Christmas: Santa's Forest}; Ribbon: May Arts; Stickles: Stardust; Other: White ad Olive Carstock, 3D Dots.

My last project is a simple wish list that got a fun 3D touch by adding a build-your-own snowman! It is a little difficult to tell in the picture, but the snowman's nose is poking out...

Stamps: Basic Grey {Snowman}, Unity {Mitten Weather}; Copics; 3D dots; Stickles {Stardust}; White and Blue Cardstock.

Have a great day! I hope my projects helped to get you in the Holiday Spirit!

SOUPer Cute!

2010-10-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share a cute little snowman soup gift that I made using the Snowman Soup stamp set from Whimsie Doodles! It is on sale today-- check out the info here.

And in other exciting news... Whimsie Doodles is having a BIG GIANT BLOG HOP! There are some cool prizes up for grabs, so br sure to join us next Thursday, November 4th, for all of the fun!

Easy Hot Cocoa Holder

2010-10-26T14:26:00.002-04:00

Today's project is a simple hot choclate holder that houses the pre-made packets that you purchase at the grocery store! It's so simple and fast and makes a wonderful little "thank you" or "thinking of you" gift, or even makes a fun attachment to a larger gift or gift card.

Here is what you'll need:

4.25 x 11" piece of Cardstock

Straight Edge

Craft Knife

Small Hole Punch

Brad or Grommet (for closure)

Stamps and Other Embellishments

Hot Chocolate Packet

First, take your cardstock and score it along the long side at 1" and 6-3/8".

Fold up the bottom 1" portion and secure it using a brad, being sure to keep it towards the bottom of the folded piece. Now on the longest section, punch holes at the 1-3/4" and 2-3/4" marks (these measurements taken from the scored line at the top), staying fairly close to the edge of the cardstock. These holes will keep your cardstock from tearing when you insert the cocoa packet.

Next, take your straight edge and use your craft knife to make two slits in between the holes you punched.

Inset your cocoa packet...

And, embellish as desired...

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2010-10-05T05:43:00.003-04:00

It's here-- October release day at Whimsie Doodles! I know you will love these images just as much as I do. Check out the newest must-have additions to yourWhimsie Doodles collection and then scroll down to see my project for today!!
P.S. Don't forget to visit all of our Doodlelicious Divas' blogs today to see more of these new images in action!

My project today features the Get Basted turkey! You know I can't resist funny stuff like this :) I personally think this would make the perfect hostess gift for a Thanksgiving dinner hostess (with a sense of humor!). I used a combination of Copics and Prisma Pencils to color the image and then I inked the edges of all of the papers with my Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink-- my fave! I hope this little guy puts a smile on your face! Thanks for stopping by for a visit!!

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Get Basted}; Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers {Hazelnut Tan, Snow Storm Smooth}, PTI; DP: We R Memory Makers {Grandma's Pantry}, Ribbon: Mark's Finest Papers; Other: button, twine, 3D dots, Copics, Prisma Pencils, baby oil, white gel pen.

Dollar Spot Fabulous-ness :)

2010-09-16T10:13:00.000-04:00

Now that almost all of my favorite places have a dollar aisle, I am in heaven everytime I go shopping and find something fun to alter... my trip to AC Moore last week was no different! I picked up these cute little keychain notebooks thinking they would be perfect to attach to my kid's backpacks or lunchboxes to leave them little notes and reminders. These adorable little things are 2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide--- eeek! Why is everything that is tiny so stinkin' cute?? This morning I altered them... so easy!

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Stitch'Ems, Halloween Funny Tags}; Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers {Snow Storm Smooth}; DP: Target Dollar Spot Halloween Pack, Cosmo Cricket; Copics; Adhesive.

Tuesday Tutorial: Paper Clip Bookmark

2010-09-07T11:31:00.002-04:00

Today's tutorial is a cute bookmark made from jumbo paper clips that are available in the office supply sections of most large stores. I'm planning on making Halloween versions for my son's Language Arts classmates for a Halloween treat!

Supplies

Stamps (School Goodies Set Used Here)

Chipboard (medium or lightweight)

Paper scraps

E600® or other strong adhesive

Jumbo paper clips (available at most office supply stores)

Die cut machine and dies or Paper punches

Ribbon (and other embellishments, if desired)

Adhesive

Step 1

Die cut 2 shapes from chipboard using dies and die cut macine.

Step 2
Die cut two of the same shapes from above from paper scraps.

*For added texture, you can dry emboss cardstock shapes with an embossing folder.

Step 3

Adhere paper shapes to chipboard shapes with adhesive. Sand or ink edges as desired.

Step 4

Color image and trim (using a die or scissors) and adhere to one of the large chipboard pieces (on the decorative paper covered side. Embellish if desired.

Step 5

Apply strong adhesive to undecorated side of larger chipboard shape and place jumbo clip into the adhesive. Then top with embellished chipboard shape.

Step 6

Allow at least one to two hours to dry, then add some ribbon to paperclip.

Front

Back

Why Do Witches Fly on Brooms???

2010-09-05T00:30:00.000-04:00

(Scroll Down for the Answer!)

Today is new release day at Whimsie Doodles and we cannot wait to show you all of the new adorable images!! We have fall covered with some super cute new back-to-school images and lots of fantasic Halloween images--- eeek! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Be sure to visit the Doodlelicious Diva blogs (you can find their links in the sidebar) to see some of these images in action today-- you won't want to miss this fun stuff!

School Goodies

Freaky Little Friends

Halloween Funny Tags

The answers are seperate and they each have a "back" with the answers on them.

So, you can print double sided...the front has the question and the back has the answer.

FYI-- Hurricane Earl paid a visit to our dear Melyssa's town, and at my last check, the School Goodies set was not yet in the store, so if it isn't there by the time this post goes live, Melyssa will get it added ASAP. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Here are a few projects I created using the Halloween Funny Tags. You know how much I love making classroom treats for my little ones to share, and these little funnies are just perfect for that!

Ingredients (for all tags): Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Halloween Funny Tags}; Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers {Snow Storm Smooth}; Copics; Hole Punch; Ribbon: Mark's Finest Papers {Luxury Satin, Sheer Black Dot}, American Crafts {Brown Dot}, Offray {Sheer Orange, Purple Grosgrain}; Ink: Tim Holtz Distressing Ink {Vintage Photo}.

I have more projects with this set ready to go, and I'll be psoting them later this week, so stay tuned! Thank you so much for visiting today!! Come back soon!

I have BIG news!

2010-08-18T10:01:00.000-04:00

I am sooooo excited to announce that I have been chosen as a design team member for Scrapdoodles! Scrapdoodles is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and has EVERYTHING you could ever want for card making and scrapbooking! It's like heaven for a papercrafter and today I am sharing some projects i made using the goodies at Scrapdoodles!

All of my projects today feature rubber images from one of the newest Imaginisce lines, Apple Cider. There isn't anything more perfect for fall! When I color, I use mostly Copic Sketch markers, and often pair them with Prisma pencils blended with of all things...baby oil! Sounds weird I know, but it smells good, and when you are coloring with pencils, it blends the lines beautifully.

My first card features the Apple Snag 'Em Stamp. Just because the image is small doesn't mean you have to make a tiny card (this one is the standard card size--4.25 x5.5") or that you can't use it as the main image on your project. I colored the apples, leaves and basket using Copic Sketch markers. The brown sentiment square is actually one of the 3 x 3 card blocks from the Peebles Tree House Collection. I thought the colors were perfect for fall themed cards and proof that you do not have to have a million stamps in your arsenal to create cute cards.

Below there is a close up of the apples so that you can see the shading, and below that you will find all of the details of the other fun papers and embellishments I used.

Ingredients: Stamps: Imaginisce {Apple Cider Collection: Apples}; Designer Paper: Imaginisce {Apple Cider Paper Pad}, Peebles {Tree House: 3x3 Cards and Trunk double sided}; Copic Sketch markers {R59, R27, R29, E30, E35, E27, E18}; Ink: Tim Holtz Distressing Ink {Vintage Photograph}; Ribbon: American Crafts; Buttons: Bazzill Stitchin' Buttons {Sugar Daddy}; Border Punch {Martha Stewart}; 3D dots.

This little card also features a new image from Imaginisce, Raccoon! It was love at first sight when I saw this little guy :) The green sentiment square is again one of the 3 x 3 blocks from the Peebles Tree House collection. All I did was mat it with another patterned paper from Peebles, and actually cut out my colored image and applied it to the center of the square with 3 D dots to give him some dimension. The finished sixe of this card is 4 x 4".

Ingredients: Stamps: Imaginisce {Apple Cider Collection: Raccoon}; Designer Paper: Peebles {Tree House: 3x3 Cards and Trunk double sided}; Copic Sketch markers {E29, E35, E25, E42, C4}; Prisma Pencils {Light Umber, Black}; Ink: Tim Holtz Distressing Ink {Vintage Photo} Buttons: Bazzill Stitchin' Buttons {Sugar Daddy}; 3D dots.

My last project today also features the adorable Raccoon, but on a tag. I hand cut a tiny heart and attached it in between his hands with a 3D dot, as well as attaching the image itself with 3D dots. Along the edge of the brown square I used a paper piercer to pierce the paper, and then a white gel pen to connect the dots for a faux sewn look.

Ingredients: Stamps: Imaginisce {Apple Cider Collection: Raccoon}; Designer Paper: Imaginisce {Apple Cider Paper Pad}, Peebles {Tree House: 3x3 Cards and Trunk double sided}; Copic Sketch markers {E29, E35, E25, E42, C4}; Ink: Tim Holtz Distressing Ink {Vintage Photograph}; 3D dots; white gel pen; Scrapdoodles ribbon by the foot.

Thank you so much for visiting today and I look forward to seeing you again soon!

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2010-08-06T06:49:00.001-04:00

It's NEW RELEASE DAY at Whimsie Doodles! Woo Hoo!

We have a brand new set of adorable images called Punny Enough. Check it out...

And we have a new WhimsieCuts set....

Be sure to stop by the Doodlelicious Divas' blogs today to see the glorious creations they have made using the newest Whimsie Doodles loot!

And......Please join me in welcoming a familiar face back to our team as our Guest Designer for the month of August, Kelli Caslow! Eeek! So glad you are with us this month Kelli!

My samples today feature the new WhimsieCuts! The first is a card that says 'Life is Beautiful'...

And my second project is a glass jar that I decorated with vinyl I cut using the WhimsieCuts files...

What do you think?? I love the swirls in all of the birdcage images. I couldn't resist using them in both of my projects, even though I usually wouldn't be able to resist the Punny Enough images :) Never fear though, you'll be seeing those later on in the month!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Friday Free For All Challenge at SCS

2010-08-06T00:08:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone-- this little card is for the F4A challenge at SCS, hosted by my dear friend Sivlia today! The theme is "It's Garden Pickin' Time", and I made this card with the blueberries from the Whimsie Doodles "How Sweet" rubber stamp set because my granny had just gotten back from picking blueberries when I spoke to her the day before yesterday-- so I just had to :)

I colored the berries with Copics and the basket was "kissed" with a stamp from Mark's Finest Papers.The basket and berries ar popped with 3D dots.

Tuesday Tutorial: Cardstock CD Cover

2010-07-20T10:01:00.004-04:00

Today's tutorial is an easy CD holder that can be personalized to hold anything from a cd full of your favorite tunes, a collection of your best recipes or pictures for grandparents!

What You'll Need:

Glue dots or other strong adhesive

Paper cutter and scoring tool

One sheet of 8½" x 11" cardstock

Scrap pieces of cardstock

Decorative Paper (Optional)
Stamps or Digital Images

Small Velcro® dot (or other closure)

What You'll Do:

Step 1

Trim your 8½" x 11" cardstock to 7-7/8" x 11". Discard 5/8" x 11" section. Score along 11" side 3" in from each end.

Step 2

Cut cardstock along the 7-7/8" side at the 3" mark so you have two sections: 3" x 11" and 4-7/8" x 11".

Step 3

Turn 3" x 11" cardstock and fold in small flaps, adhering one over the other. I already added extra adhesive for the next step in this picture.

Step 4

Attach the band you just created, flap side down to the bottom half of the center panel of your large piece of cardstock.

Step 5

Fold up bottom flap over the top of the and adhere, creating a pocket.

Step 6

Decorate the front of your CD holder as desired. My sample features the new set Shell a bration!

Step 7

Add a small piece of Velcro (or other closing mechanism) for a closure.

And here is the finshed CD cover...

...with a CD inside!

Oh, SuMmErTiMe... I'm So Glad You're Here!

2010-07-07T07:11:00.002-04:00

So if you knew me in life outside of papercrafts, you'd know that I often sing random snippets of songs... and since it is summer, one of my favorites is Toes, by the Zac Brown Band. My husband and I were lucky enough to see them in concert before they got super popular, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to-- but I digress....:) Anyway, my challenge today is 'Toes in the Water, Rump in the Sand', which is the first line of the song (minus the rump part, and plus another not so g-rated word for rump), and my original thought was to use the new super cute Laid Back Dottie, because she has both water and sand in the background-- what could be more perfect, right? Well, then Melyssa went and created this awesome free image for our Facebook fans (click here to join us and get it!), and I started looking at the frosty beverage in Dottie's hand and sang the the rest of the verse (in my head so that nobody started throwing tomatoes at me)... I've got my toes in the water, my "rump" in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand, life is good today.... Well, beer is great if it is your adult bevie of choice, but some of us prefer a frosty bevie of a different kind, and in this case, it's a margarita!

So what is the challenge? It's to create a project that features sand, water or frosty beverage (or all 3 if you are feeling ambitious!), in honor of three of my favorite summertime things! Once you create your project, link it up on the Whimsie Doodles blog post for today (you should see the Mr. Linky), and leave us a comment to let us know that you are entering the challenge! We will choose a random winner to receive a free image! You will have until next Tuesday night, July 13th, at midnight to upload your project, get it linked and entered in our contest. And good news, we're going to start doing this every week for our Whimsie Wedneday challenge-- Woo Hoo! So, make a card (we'd love for you to use a Whimsie Doodles image, but it isn't required), and invite your friends to play along, too! We can't wait to see your summertime creations!

And without further adieu, here is my card featuring the new Facebook Freebie!

Have a great day, ya'll... and stick your toes in the water today if you get a chance ;)

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2010-07-05T07:00:00.002-04:00

Greetings, Whimsie Doodle Fans! Thank you so much for stopping by to see one of my favorite new releases, Science Guy! This cute little fella is near and dear to my heart because my Reilly turned 7 in June and we had a mad scientist's bitrthday party, complete with a cake shaped like a flask with cotton candy smoke coming from the top!

Here is the real Science Guy...

And here is my card with Whimsie Doodles' Science Guy...

Eeek! I think he is adorable!!

I colored him with Copics and Prisma Pencils, and added a few details with a white gel pen and blue Pixie Dust glitter. The paper I picked up at my LSS last week, Scrapdoodles. It's made by K and Co. and is really Science Fair paper, but I thought it was perfect for this little guy. The gears are something I've had in my embellishment stash for so long that I have forgotten who made them! I attached them with 3D glue dots and gel adhesive. I kept the layout simple so that this cute image and cool designer paper could run the show!

Thanks again for stopping by, and don't forget to leave a comment on the main Whimsie blog for your chance to win one of these new images!

Do You See What I See?

2010-07-02T07:04:00.000-04:00

I am so lucky to be staying on the Doodlelicious Divas design team at Whimsie Doodles :)

Thank you Melyssa for keeping me around!

Today is sneaky snippet day and this is my teaser.....

Can you guess what this image is??? Come back on Monday to see the whole card!

Whimsie Doodles Blog Hop

2010-06-30T05:55:00.001-04:00

Our newest memebers of the Whimsie Doodles design team start work tomorrow, but before we could let our original Doodlelicious Divas go, we had to have just one last blog hop! You should be hopping around gathering the letters from each of the 11 blogs below:

Nikki {You are here!!}

Once you gather all of your letters, you will have a discount code for 50% off of this adorable Sentiments-Edibles set in the Whimsie Doodles store!

Today my post is brought to you by the letter...

My cards for the day feature the new Sentiments-Edibles!

I couldn't resist making a set of cards that use a bunch of these!

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Sentiments-Edibles}; Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers {Hazelnut Tan, Yum Yum's Blue Eyes}; DP: Cosmo Cricket {Boardwalk}; Ribbon: Mark's Finest Papers; Accessories: Nesties, PTI Buttons, Embroidery Thread, 3D Dots, Scallop Edge Punch; Coloring Tools: Prisma Pencils, Baby Oil, Copics; Ink: Tim Holtz Distressing Ink {Vintage Photo}.

From here you should be visiting Joni's blog! Enjoy the Doodlelicious eye candy today!

The Easel Card

2010-06-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

Today's Whimsie Doodles Tuesday tutorial is the easel card, which has been a staple at SCS for the last year or so! There is a tutorial there as well if you find that my instructions aren't clear! I love this card because it's perfect for displaying one of your favorite images, and very easy to make!

Here is what you'll need:

One 4 1/4" x 11" piece of cardstock

One 4 1/4" square piece of cardstock

Scoring tool

Adhesive

Additional cardstock & designer paper for card inside and card front

Stamps or Digistamps

Ink, Coloring Tools and Embellishments

Step1:

Start out with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of cardstock and score at 5 1/2" and 8 1/4".

Prefold all score lines (mountain, then valley).

Step 2:

Add adhesive to the 2 1/8" x 4 1/4" section of the large piece of cardstock, facing up. Add the 4 1/4" cardstock square to the card base, lining up the top of the square with the top of the 2 1/8" x 4 1/4" section.

This will create the "easel" in your easel card!

Step 3:

Decorate the inside of your card, being sure to add an extra layer or embellishment towards the bottom to help your card stand.

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Missy's Therapy}, Unity {KOTM sentiment}; Cardstock: SU! {Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise}; DP: Paper Pizzaz; Accessories: Mark's Finest Papers Ribbon, Stickles (Thanks Suzanne!), Making Memories pin and 3D dots.

Suzanne Dean and Mojo Sketch 142

2010-06-12T19:25:00.000-04:00

Don't be toooo jealous when I tell you, but yesterday I got to spend the afternoon in a one-on-one class with Suzanne Dean, Copic extraordinaire! Since I am a self taught Copic color-er (is that a word??), I was thrilled to learn some techniques from her! She makes it look SO EASY! I must have told her that a hundred times during our class. When I got home last night, I was inspired to colr some images and this is one of them from the June release at Whimsie Doodles. I've realized I need to buy some more Copics so that I have more groups of 3 shades in my favorite color familes, thoguht I did learn a trick to make one myself... but if I tell you... well, you know.

This sketch is this week's MOJO sketch! It's been such a long time since I played along with one of those and what fun it was.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Tuesday Tutorial: The World's Easiest Gift Card Holder

2010-06-08T06:56:00.003-04:00

You know I like to show you all the quick and easy stuff and today's tutorial is no different! This is a gift card holder that is so fast and easy that you can make it in minutes.

Here is what you'll need:

One Envelope (I used the invitation size)

Stamps or Digistamps

Cardstock and Designer Paper (Optional)

Adhesive

Ribbon

Step 1:

Fold your envelope in half, with the flap to the inside of the fold.

Step 2:

Cut the flap along the score mark, so that the flap is now in two parts.

Step 3:

Lick (or use adhesive) to adhere the left portion of the flap down to the envelope. Cut and remove the right portion of the flap.

Step 4:

Add ribbon for use as a closure if desired. Stamp and add embellishments to finish!

Easy peasy, right?

My project features one of our new Geishas, Miyako Tea.

It's New Release Day at Whimsie Doodles!

2010-06-05T06:01:00.002-04:00

It's time for our June releases at Whimsie Doodles! There are so many adorable new images, so be sure to visit the Doodlelicious Diva blogs today to see some super cute samples! You can see all of the images on the Whimsie Doodles blog by clicking {here}.

Here is my sample featuring Mr. T, from the Sock Monkey Collection! I used my computer to generate the sentiment, which says "I pity the fool..." on the front, and on the inside it says " that forgets your birthday (that would be me...)". I added some gold to Mr. T's chains by using what else? A gold paint pen! I used the out-of-the box technique on his tail.

Ingredients: Stamps: Whimsie Doodles {Mr. T Sock Monkey}; Cardstock: Mark's Finest Papers {Lime Squeeze, Snow Storm Smooth, Speedy the Cat Black}; DP: ; Accessories: Ribbon {Mark's Finest Papers}; Copics, Prisma Pencils, Baby Oil; 3D dots; Gold Paint Pen.

Cookie Sheet Magnet Board

2010-06-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, so today's Tuesday Tutorial is a lot less like a tutorial and more like a 'you should try this', hence the name change in the title today. I was inspired my my trip to Dollar Tree this morning and thought I would share....

First I bought a cookie sheet (oh how I love $1 goodness... it's the best kind of retail therapy) and used my Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the handle on one end...

Then I flipped it over to the back side and covered the body of the cookie sheet with decorative paper (mine is actually made of fabric) and added a ribbon as a layer on my cardstock and as a handle through the holes I just punched.

Then I stamped clouds and cut them out, and added magnets to the back of each one.

The clouds are from the rubber set 'Every Other Day'. I am already thinking of a Christmas version using the Gingers.... eeek! Have a great day, ya'll!

FS173

2010-05-30T10:35:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Emily (aka Scoopy) on being chosen as this week's featured stamper on SCS! your gallery is wonderful, and I had a great time browsing all of your beautiful creations! I chose to CASE her Preppy Whales card found {here}. (And yes, I totally had one of those purses!)

Here is what I did different:

-different colors

-different stamps

-different background paper

-I colored my images (Gamsol Magic)

-I matted my image panel rather than hand drawing a border

All of my supplies (stamps, papers, cardstock and ink) are available from Mark's Finest Papers.

Ingredients: Stamps: Ladybugs and Carnations; Cardstock: Snow Storm Smooth, Speedy the Cat Black, Lemon Slice; Designer Paper: Basic Grey (Lemonade); Ink: Pallette (Noir); Accessories: Prisma Pencils, Gamsol.