Watchin TV Sneak Peek

Hey All! 

Nicole here!

I've got something really fun and cute to share with you 

today! And I think it's a really great way to peek the release... 

You should have found your way here from 

Sweet Stamp Shop Blog
Lindsay
Julie RanaeSavannah

Aga

 -- you came from here  Geny -- you came from here
Nicole
Leigh Ann

Last Mother's day I made my Mom a bag 

for work... 

My disclaimer here is:

 I am not a sewer. 

I like to play with fabric and my sewing machine... 

But. I am NO sewer!

So, if you're a sewer please forgive my 

messy and probably totally wrong sewing techniques! 

I decided to make some re-usable sandwich bags to go 

with her work bag for her birthday (tomorrow)

What are re-usable sandwich bags, you ask? 

Well, they look something like this: 

Basically, they are re-usable zip-lock bags!

Wanna learn how to make them? 

Here we go! 

You'll need: 

Sewing machine (or thread and needle)

Velcro 

Fabric (from your 'extra' pile) 

Vinyl (the thinnest you can buy! -- or any water resistant type fabric) 

 Here's how... 

First you'll wanna cut your fabric any size you like 

*on the seam* meaning... you know where you fabric 

folds over when you buy it? Keep it folded and cut a piece 

with the fold... like so... 

***Cut your piece of vinyl or plastic to match***

Now is the time you'll wanna cut and add all the 

'extras' on the front. Like stamping an image!

Ugh, I had to darken the lines with my sharpie

b/c my brown stazon is drying up. (and of course, it's 

the *one* refill I don't have!) 

Isn't that little TV the cutest?!?

Ok, set aside that piece...we'll be right back to it!

Now you'll wanna take the two edges from the 

long piece (without the plastic) and hem

Like so... 

Quickly grab your TV piece and run it through 

(no one will see this so no worries about being messy!) 

See here: 

Now is the ONLY tricky part in this whole thing... 

and it's not *that* tricky!

Take your plastic and a cut piece of velcro (cut a *little* smaller 

than the width of your piece) and your base fabric... and 

on the *wrong* side sew them together at the hem line... 

like this: 

Do the same thing to the other side with the 

different piece of velcro. 

Then bring the two right sides together and sew 

down each side. (making the hem as big or as small as you 

feel comfortable.) 

Looks messy! Don't worry... we'll fix !

Clear up the edges and cut off all the loose ends!

Then turn it inside out add some buttons or flowers... or 

just leave it as is.... and you'll have 

One Cute Re-uable Sandwich Bag!

That brown one would be perfect for 

pretzel sticks! 

Anyway!! Hope you *loved* our release so far! 

Now you're off to Leigh Ann and all her creative genius 

HERE

Also, don't forget to comment along the way for 

a chance to win this set. *and* you can still enter to 

win from yesterdays hop too! Winners will be announced 

sometime after the release. (to give everyone plenty of time to enter!) 

You can also get a bonus entry by sharing our release with 

your friends and letting us know that you did on our 

facebook wall. HERE

Thanks for stopping by! 

Big Hugs, 

N. 

SSS ~New Release Sneak Peek: Day One~

Welcome to the last stop in 

this sneak peek release hop! 

IF somehow you stumbled onto this 

and you'd like to start from the beginning... 

Go HERE (the SSS blog) for the 

official hop line up and links to all the fab ladies! 

Are you ready to see my peeks at the *new* 

Melvin and Vernie set?? 

They are just the cutest... I promise! 

There is little Vernie with her Masquerade mask

and feathers...You know what I *love* about this one... 

It doesn't *have* to be halloween! She would make 

for a really cute birthday card or invitation... 

let you imagination run!

Here is Melvin... and he's for sure *halloween*

But, it's cute!!

Make sure to comment on each hop along the way 

for a chance to win this *new* halloween set!

Bonus Entry: Share our sneak peek release hop 

with your friends, via facebook (or any other means),

head on over to facebook and let us know you did. 

AND you're name will go into the 'hat' twice! 

Winners will be announced Thursday 

durning the official release. 

Come back tomorrow for another peek 

using another *new* set! (and comment 

along for *another* chance to win!) 

Cheers, 

N. 

October's Get-Togethers!

Operation Julie's Smile!

Hello All!

Happy Weekend! 

If you're here for the hop (and to enter for the prizes!) 

scroll down to the next post!

I'm here with some bitter sweet news... our sweet friend and amazing

coordinator extraordinaire, Julie Ranae, has been under the weather of sorts. 

Poor Julie has been having horrible teeth issues... here is a little bit about

what's been happening... 

Many may know that a few weeks ago, Julie Ranae had to have emergency oral surgery resulting in the removal of her two front teeth. The dentist at that time believed the best course of action would be to remove the rest of her teeth and replace them with permanents. (as to avoid *years* of dental work) Relieved at finding a solution to this major dental problem .. she visited the office for dental surgery the week. Unfortunately, it wasn't the visit she was expecting. After the consultation and scheduling the surgery, the surgeon's office informed her that she would need to bring $4000 back to the appointment with her and they would proceed. This amount would not include the 'dentures' to follow.


Here Julie is today, sitting without front teeth that were pulled with the belief that they would be replaced immediately.
It is an overwhelming experience for our dear friend and one that I hope our creative community can help with.




Here at sweet stamp shop we couldn't image one of our own 
dealing with such a great burden alone... we *knew* we had to help!


So, along with LOTS of other companies we're putting together 
a good ol fashioned donation hop! 


Let's help Julie get her smile back!!

There will be a benefit blog hop called

 'Operation Julie's Smile' that will take place Oct 7-9. 

 There are a variety of

companies and design teams 

who will be participating in this hop

 to help raise funds for this benefit.

So far, nearly $2,100.00 in prizes have been made 

available and will be awarded for both 

participants and those who donate.

Operation Julie's Smile is now accepting 

designers/teams who would like to be a part of the benefit hop. 

 If you are interested

in getting involved in this creative fundraising event, 

please contact Nicole Rixon (*me) at nicolehrixon@gmail.com 

 The deadline to be a part of the hop is Wednesday, Sept 28th. 

 Participants will be notified of the blog hop order between Oct 3rd-5th.

This blog hop is an opportunity to have fun, feature your design work and raise money for a friend in need. A donation button

will be made available to all who participate.

We already have the donation button in the top right corner of our 

blog for easy donation access... AND it doesn't matter if you donate today... tomorrow... or durning the hop... *everyone* who donates will be entered to win one of *several* BIG goodie bags (or boxes :) 

While I would *love* to swoop in and write Julie a HUGE check... it's just not possible ... BUT, *together* we CAN! 

Big Hugs to all!!

I look forward to hearing from you all! 

Nicole 

Sweet Stamp Shop Birthday Hop

Yippee!! 

I know I'm your *last* stop in this 'SWEET' hop!

*** Did you comment on each post in the hop?? 
If you did, you're entered
to WIN a special set!! 
There will be TWO winners!! 
So be sure to comment!**

You should be arriving here from 

Julie's Blog 

If you're stumbling on this and 

you'd like to start at the beginning... 

The Start!

Today I am wishing my Dad a very happy birthday... 

He's just about the best Dad around! 

Really! 

He's supportive of my shop and checks 

out my blog daily... he makes me laugh and he 'gets' me. 

He's generous and giving... he's everything I want to be. 

He's the reason I married such an amazing man. 

I owe my Dad, everything... 

So 'the core of it' is... 

I love him and I'm so thankful I get to call him Dad! 

Check out the birthday card I made with him in mind... 

I used 'Core of it' stamp set

You can find it in the shop: HERE

*remember*

We're having a sale this weekend 

(today through sunday) 

FREE SHIPPING

(on all us & canada orders) 

AND

20% off your total order! 

Coupon Code

DAD20

Visit the shop!

Sweet Stamp Shop

Happy Birthday Dad! 

Lot of love and hugs! 

Nicole

Playing Along with The Play Date Cafe`

Whew, it's been a little while since I blogged on something other than the Sweet Stamp Shop blog... it feels so nice! I love to make a point to do something crafty for *me* every once in a while! 

I was looking around The Play Date Cafe and this week they had the most amazing color board story! 

Check it out!

Right when I saw those colors in that combination... it just hit me! I knew I had *the* perfect photograph to go with the combo!

The only slight problem is... for some reason the colors in the photo don't come out as true to the colors that they should be.... eh, chalk it up to my poor photography skills! 

Jake and I had some pictures taken back (about a year ago) when we lived in the Bay Area (California). I really like that we did... it marks such a great time in our lives and a great time in our married life. It was the first time we lived 'on our own' away from our parents and other supportive units (in San Diego). We actually made it work and were pretty happy along the way! 

Well, I hope that you might have gotten a touch of inspiration from The Play Date Cafe color board and want to play along yourself!

Happy Crafting!

Nicole

Sweet Stamp Shop Grand Opening Blog Hop

You're at the end of the hop and you're almost at the SHOP!

Sweet Stamp Shop is OPEN!

You should be arriving here from the amazingly talented

Julie Ranae 

If not... 

go ahead and start here

Ready to see my grand opening project? 

I love the mushrooms in the Gnomies set! 

They're so easy to use (coupon code: GOH15) and color! 

Just a simple card with some pop ups. I also used some 

prisma colors... And, of course, the 'Gnomies' set...  

Can't wait for you to see all the sets in the *new* shop!

I love to use prismacolors! 

A part of the comment give-a-way might be a pack of prismacolors! 

I just can't wait to send you over to the shop but... 

By now you should have all the coupon codes...

 and here is the breakdown of the deals:

Buy 1-3 stamps sets get 5% off (with code)

Buy 4-7 stamps sets and get 10% off (with code)

Buy all 8 sets and get 15% off (with code)

If you're not sure where to get the codes 

go back the the first blog on the hop (here) for all 

the details! 

So, without anything further... 

Let me be the first to reveal 

SWEET STAMP SHOP

Cheers, 

N. 

*all coupons shared over this weekend are only good through Aug. 8th

Ok, so have you checked out .... CAS-ual Friday and their challenges? I have been meaning to participate for

like. forever. 

But, here I am FINALLY and I couldn't have come in on a better week!

Don't know what I am taking about... check them out HERE

CFC13-The Long and Short of it:  Create a 4 x 9 card and 
keep it Clean And Simple!

Ready to see my take on this week's challenge? 

I used some new Sweet Stamp Shop Stamps for this rock out card! 

I just love the little speakers! 

I'm so excited I got to play along! 

Thanks for checking it out and if you get a chance play along and let me know! 

Cheers, 

N. 

I'm still here!

Hello All! 

I'm still here... if you've wondered where I have been check out my new stamp line here: www.sweetstampshop.blogspot.com

Anyway! I have been a busy bee... here are some of the cards and projects I have made the last month:

I've been busy! 

No worries! I won't wait so long to post again! 

I'm still using this blog as my personal blog... so stay tuned. There is lots more to come from the wild and crazy world of Nicole!

Cheers, 

N. 

Nicole's been up to something....

Gosh, I find it hard to know where to start.... 

I have been keeping a rather large secret..... 

But, I think it's about time I give up just a little tiny weenie bit of it... don't you? 

Well, many of you know that Market Street Stamps so graciously allowed me to design several stamp sets for them (in May and coming in June).... and it was all together just the most fun thing I have done in some time.... So, after great thought and several discussions with my partner in crime (my husband :) for the past several months I have been scheming and planning my entrance into the business world with my very own line of stamps. 

I don't want to give too much away too soon.... but, I am just so excited about it all I just had to share. It's been consuming my life for the last few months and I can finally say something about it!

I am in the final weeks of preparation and I hope by the beginning of July I will have my 'soft' opening for friends and family. With a 'grand opening' sometime in August.

The website is now in the caring hands of my designer... the first release is being carefully produced (here in the USA!)... packaging is in it's last stage... lots of lists are being made and being crossed off....

I am so close to making all my hard work a reality... and I am so excited to share with you a peek of what's to come.

My new stamp line is called....

Sweet Stamp Shop

and I have hand drawn all the sets .... and without giving too much away too soon... you all are going to love the designs! Wanna peek?

There might be a Gnome set.... 

And.... there might be an apple set coming. :)

Now the cat is out of the bag I will be back again soon with more peeks... I am starting with a pretty big line so I have lots of peeks to share...

Stay tuned!

Ohhh, one last thing.... I would really like to start my official design team search. So, I want to extend the offer first to my blog readers and their friends.

If you might be interested in being on my team...

Email me
(nicolehrixon@gmail.com)

with your...

Name
Examples of cards you've made
A link to your blog
Previous design team experience (totally not a requirement!)


I can't wait to hear from all of you and I hope that you stay tuned to see whats to come! It's pretty exciting!

Happy Crafting,
Nicole

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Hello All.... 

Are you ready to hear who won the big post-a-palooza 100th post give-a-way??

I'll first have you know that my trusty assistant (my husband) and I went through each blog/facebook comment and made sure that everyone got the amount of entries they deserved. Including not entering those of you who did not leave a means of contacting you.... sorry, it was the rules. :) 

Normally, I would use one of those randomized comment choos-ie thingies... but, because people could earn extra entries... we did it the old fashioned way... 

See your name somewhere in there? ... :) 

Ok... drum roll... 

He is reaching in and shuffling around for the big grand prize winner... 

He's got one... 

The Winner is... 

Drum Roll... 

Drum roll continuing...

Yippeeee!!!

Emily you're the big winner...  

"Wow! What an awesome giveaway! I can't wait to buy your stamps from Market Street Stamps when they are released! I'm a follower and a fan of your facebook page :-)"

-Emily
http://www.createserendipity.net
createserendipity@gmail.com

I am emailing you right after I post this to get your address!

But WAIT!

I decided to draw one more name for the choice of one of my newly designed stamp sets from Market Street Stamps... 

Are you ready for Jake to pull another name... 

Start the drum roll!

Ohhh, he's got one... it might be you... 

Could it be .... is it .... 

It's Viji !!!

Yippee... I was hoping that we'd pull your name! You sent over the most people to comment and went above and beyond in your entries... I think you had something like 7 entries... so the odds we'd pull your name was pretty good... and I am so glad we did!

I'll email you the minute I post this and you can choose which set you'd like to have from the May release! (Market Street Stamps)

Thanks everyone for participating... The next few months are going to be so busy for me... I have such huge things in the creative works... I cant. wait. to. share. 

Stay tuned! 

Yippee Emily and Viji !!!