Shaker Frenzy

I just love these little shaker boxes. Mostly because they are so darn easy to make.

I think that my halloween cards this year will be all little shakers!

And the glitter is glow in the dark, how cute is that~!

Happy Shaking!

Cheers.

N. 

Easy as pie... Sha Sha Shaker Box Card!!

Let me know if you want me to post the directions for this lovely little gem!

Maybe even a video!

Shaker Boxes with glitter on a card.... could it get better, 

I think not!

Poor Boris had a bit of a lab accident~ green glitter everywhere!

I don't know if I have mentioned, but... I tutor/afterschool care a fabulous 13 year old named Ciana...
and we have great fun (after homework, of course!) in my craft room. I knew
the minute she saw this card she'd want to do one too.

It just so happened that her brother's birthday is this week. So, she wanted to
make a shaker birthday card.

Here it is :) With glow in the dark glitter!

Cheers. 

N. 

Rhinestones... Birds... and Irons!

Hello All, 

As promised in my last video, I finally have done something with those heat set rhinestones!

And I have this funny feeling that you'll see how easy this is and want to have the supplies handy for when you want to customize your wardrobe. 

So, you'll need...

Basic double stick Fusible Webbing. 

So so so easy to use. 

1.Peal off paper from one side of fusible webbing

2. Iron on to side of fabric you want to be 'sticky'

3. Cut out pattern

4. Iron cut out fabric to whatever clothing you want. 

Steam-A-Seam 2 lite

Rhinestones

Just make sure to buy heat set ones.... 

If you really want the best, go with these

Jolee's Rhinestones

You'll need the hot fix tool... this is the best one... 

A bit more $ than the Imaginese one, but I think worth it.

Jolee's Hotfix Tool

Fabric

I used Heidi Grace's fabric from Joann's... Love love love the patterns... 

It's like my favorite scrapbook paper making it's way onto fabric and getting itself sewn/ironed onto all my articles of clothing, Thank you Joann's!

Bird Cage Fabric

Then, this is what you too can make... in about 20 minutes. 

Is it the best thing I have ever done? No,

But... when I did this first shirt ideas kept coming... so many fun ideas to share with you soon... 

Keep posted!

Not such a great picture... but I wanted to show the whole shirt.

Up close of the little birdies.

Proof I will actually wear it... 

and for those friends and family peeking in on me... 

Proof I have in fact been working out as much as I am complaining I am. :) 

Thinning mid-section courtesy of Tyler, the personal trainer I so loath. 

Cheers.

N. 

Happy Bird-Day :)

Another little A Muse treat! 

Made this for my sister-in-law's big 30th birthday. 

So Fun!

Nicole's shopping cart

Greeting Farm Stamps

Glimmer Mist (Glitter Spray)

Prima Flowers

Above are some of the links I promised.... some items are being rather hard to find. Yuck. I will continue my search and be back at you later!

Cheers
N

Send some love

You know what I always love to give.... 

Cards. 

I like sending them, making them, and gifting them. 

There is something about sending a note in the mail that email will never replace. 

Inspiration

Sometimes all you need is a little 

jump - start....

a little, inspiration. 

I hope thats what you get when you stop by my blog. 

And every great while... I get my inspiration from another creative person's blog....

like... 

http://papertrufflez.typepad.com/paper_trufflez/2010/08/birch-forest-at-dusk.html

She is quite talented! Isn't she!?!

Here is my card from the inspiration Julie provided :) 

Here's to being inspired! Happy Crafting!

Cheers. 

N.

Adhesive Review

Quickutz Letterpress Review Video

My video tips on how to get the most out of your letterpress machine. 

If there is something else you might have hoped to see in the video, let me know and 

I can try my hand at another video! 

Excuse my video quality and my chatty-ness.... 

It just encourages me to continue to tape and add more video's so they can get better and better!

Cheers, 

Nicole

Card Happy

Another quick card... 

Boy, it was windy outside...

So, getting the card to stay up was a bit of a challenge... 

Result of Wind: I have taken better photos before ;) 

Cheers!

Nicole

Challenged 'Pink'

Hey, All!

Not much to write this week... 

Stamps are a great resource for creating backgrounds. I also 

really like the technique of stamping an image several times in a base 

color and then once in a highlight color. It adds so much with such ease. 

Check it out!

Creating a background: 

Adding it to the perfect card!:

This card deserves a 'sexy' close up! :

The inside said ....'Tickled Pink"

Cheers!

Nicole

Then, time flew bye...

You might wonder, 

Nicole where the heck have you been??? 

And I could start in with my excuses of wedding season, including my 

very own brother, summer fun, vacations... etc. 

BUT, 

Fact is I have no excuse. I am back and I plan to re-dedicate myself to my 

beloved blog. 

So, onto bloggy stuff. 

How cute is this box. It's a 'birth' day gift for a friend who is having a baby. 

I used the slice and some odds and ends in my craft room... isn't the butterfly motif the cutest. 

Anywho, I won't be a stranger now that I am back and I have some time to create!

Happy Scrapping!

Wedding Themes

Theme, Concept, Idea.... 

Do you have to have one for your event? 

YES!

Here's why. 

The first expression I get when I tell people that they should have a theme is one of shock and dislike. I mean it's like I just asked them to have all their guest dress up as the wizard of oz characters while they enter on the brick road.... this is not what I mean when I say theme. 

Theme is not a dirty word, its an understanding of the vision you have for your day. A theme could be as straight forward as 'Victorian Country' or as broad as 'Modern Elegance'. Having a concept or theme for your wedding from the beginning is crucial for a seamless event. 

That's why I believe a concept board is so important. After I sit with a client and get the general idea of their vision I go home and apply that vision to a tangible board. Something that can be taken to the florist, the venue, the ceremony... etc. 

For example, this concept board was built for a bride who wanted 'Organic Elegance'... the bride wanted the magic of the outdoors with the elegance of an indoor event. An outdoor reception with all the grandeur of the most beautiful ballroom. This bride wanted earth friendly products, recycled, reused... but amazing. 


The Concept I Created:

A concept board doesn't mean that everything on the board is going to be used... but it's a great starting point for your theme. Changes will happen. At least you can visually see exactly what your dreaming of... 

So start coming up with a .... theme!! 

Happy Theme-ing

Come visit my website at 
www.sweetromances.org

Nicole

Wedding Lust

I love weddings. 

No, really.... I LOVE weddings.

I mean if I could plan my wedding over and over and over, oh baby, I would. 

I know that a lot of people say that they wish they could re-live their wedding day but I am totally one of those nerds who wish they could start at the beginning and do it ALL again. 

I mean it's interesting, when I look back at my wedding, I loved literally every moment of planning. I loved working on every detail and the actual day was way more than anything I could have ever imagined. 

So, it's no surprise that I am now a part of the wedding event industry. Now I can actually detail as many weddings as my little hands can handle. 

Which brings up my thought for the day, 

Details... Why?

Between the catering and the venue... 

How can a bride decide on the little escort card theme... 

and does it really matter? 

YES!

It is my firm belief that the wedding ceremony should be all about the bride and groom and the reception should be about the guests... all these amazing people that have supported the bride and groom to get to this special day. 

Guests L O V E details. 

Think about some of the best weddings you've been to. 

Odds are they had good food, an open bar, good music, and great details... like a candy bar... or a photobooth...

Here is some eye candy to get your detail brain in high gear.... 

The best weddings are in the details.... trust me... 

Detail it out people.... Detail it out!

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello! 

Some of you might already know that I recently, finally, started my business. 

Sweet Romances 

Event Stationery and Design

www.sweetromances.org

I am so excited to start my new journey! It's the best of my two favorite things, paper-crafting/design and parties! 

After my wedding I just knew that somewhere in the event industry there was room for 

my talents... and now there is. 

So, this blog will change a little. It will still be the paper crafting ideas, suggestions, and advise that you all have come to know and love... but, now it will be linked with my business. After all in Sweet Romances...  this is just One Sweet Romance... there are sure to be others!

So stay tuned to see the changes and let me know what you think! 

Here's some eye candy for what the future has to bring.