Brand New Challenge time again...

Hello, I know I keep saying it, but where is the time going?
The weeks are speeding past so fast, someone told me yesterday there are only 6 Thursdays until Christmas!! Well that certainly filled me with dread, I had so many ideas planned, but I don't think there's going to be enough time to do most of them!
We have a new very time consuming member of the family...

Her name is Bo, she looks like butter wouldn't melt right....

But boy is she hard work!  She is the hardest puppy I have ever had! She is the devil! but I don't think I could swap her, I just need to find a way to channel her crazy!

In my crafty life things have been very busy too, We celebrated our 3rd birthday at the shop this week, ate too much cake!  Christmas is in full swing too with lots of beautiful crafting goodies.

There are lots of lovely new things coming from Crafters Companion and Spectrum Noir, so watch this space as they say...

As its the beginning of the month, there is a brand new challenge on the Spectrum Noir Facebook page, this months theme is Anything goes, with a bonus theme of Winter/Christmas, here's a little something I made for the challenge...

 The star is MDF, and I stamped snowflakes and embossed them with white powder, and coloured with my Spectrum Sparkle festive collection set of pens, I also coloured the Wish wooden word.

The Elf is one of Sheena's lovely perfect partner stamp and dies, also I coloured with my Spectrum Sparkle pens

Colours used- Holly Leaf, Pine, Spun Gold, Berry,
Stamps used - Sheena's Little Elf stamp & Die
Sara Signature Traditional Christmas Stamps

I hope I have inspired you to create your own winter themed project and enter this months challenge, you can add your makes here...

Make sure you check the rules, they are slightly different this month, but above all have fun x

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

NEW PENS!!!!!!!!

YES I'M SHOUTING....THERE'S NEW PENS.....

How excited am I!
So for the last few weeks I have been working behind closed doors using some brand new Spectrum Noir pens called Illustrator, they are a brand new and completely and utterly lush!

Now if you want them you will need to tune into Hochanda now, as this is the only way you can get them for now, but what can you do with them?

So what are they? An alcohol marker is the simple answer

Why do you need them? They have a beautiful brush tip on one end, enabling you to blend your colours even better than you already can do and a fine tip on the other.

Are there some new colours? Yes and they all blend and co-ordinate

Anyway stop listening to me and go watch Hochanda...I will be back...

Happy Colouring

Nicky

The Colorista journey continues...

Hi everyone, gosh tomorrow is the end of the month! how did that happen? Today I am sharing a card I have made for the September Challenge on the Spectrum Noir Facebook page...did you enter yet? Well you only have one day left!!!

I have used  the printable elements from the free online course from Spectrum Noir lessons one and two, if you haven't signed up yet, you can click here to join, its an amazing course designed to help you get the most out of your colouring mediums, I mainly took inspiration from the video tutorial in lesson 2 which is all about colour theory, and I have used an analogous colour theme, as mentioned by the lovely Sara Davies, so if you want to know what that term means click above!

The markers I have used are: BP6, DR5, OR2, GB4, CG2, IB2 and TB2, I also enhanced the finished image with my trusty Colourblend pencils in Verdigris, Mulberry, Sea Urchin, Denim Blue and my brand new favourite acquisition a white Sharpie!

I printed out the lesson 1 sheet onto Neenah Desert Storm cardstock to get the 2 side flowers, and did the same with the bookmarks from Lesson 2, my printer loves the Neenah the images, it come out so crisp!  

So I hope I have inspired you to join the fun, if you want to join the Colouring Course click the link above, and if you want to add your makes to the September challenge click This link, but be quick!

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

Colourblend Pencil Birthday Card

Morning everyone, I'm starting to feel like someone is stealing time from me again, I can't believe we are half way through September already! And COLD? Last week it was stinking hot and was in shorts and vest today I'm in socks and jumpers, seriously considering putting the heating on!

Well its been a busy few weeks, I've been doing a lot of design work behind the scenes for shows already on and upcoming on Hochander, and received some exciting Christmassy bits today for future shows, sorry to swear there!

But last week was my good friend Maggie's Birthday, she loves music and purple, so here's the card I made her...!

The music paper is Maggie May by Rod Stewart...guess what her surname is? and yes she does have an uncle Rod, but not the actual one!

If you are wondering why I spelt her name wrong, its because me and my bonkers girlfriends all have nicknames, I can't remember why they came about but I'm Nicodemus, we also have a Reet, Rosie, Wendos & Trees!!! I know don't ask...

Anyway, I coloured the image with my Colourblend Pencils from Spectrum Noir:

Skin- Vanilla, Rose Peach, Saddle Brown, Geranium
Hair- Cider, Ginger, Walnut, Bark...
Flowers - Geranium, Fireweed, Boysenberry
Leaves- Grass Amazon Green, Holly
Banner- Periwinkle, Violet Blue, Deep Purple

The image is from Saturated Canary, I managed to grab some of the images before Krista closed down the shop last week, So sad to loose such an awesome site but I totally understand and respect her reasons for doing it.

I hope you have all been doing lots of colouring, keep doing it its good for the soul!!

Until next time

Happy Colouring!!!

Nicky

Summer is nearly over!

Happy Sunday everyone, gosh can you believe Summer is nearly over, tomorrow is a bank holiday and the children will soon be back to school or college!

I feel so lucky this year that I don't have to brave the school wear shop, or find shoes for growing feet, that will cost a fortune and be scuffed to bits in a couple of weeks as my youngest son has finished at school now and is moving onto college to study motor mechanics, and although I feel great about not having to do the rubbish stuff, like sew name tapes in (yawn!) it is making me feel quite sad too, as its the end of that portion of my life, but things have to move on and grow, and now its time for a new chapter!
And that new chapter includes being a part of the amazing Colorista design team and today I thought I would share a make I made for the launch of the Colorista colouring range of books pencils and pens  on HSN, the lovely Sara is on her way to the USA as we speak, and she is going to be launching all the gorgeous colouring goodies on Tuesday 30th August.

The colouring books are amazing and you are going to love them, the pages have been specially developed for alcohol markers and blendable pencils, unlike most books that are beautiful but impossible to use with markers these make blending a doddle! and even have colourable glitter too!!

No I must say I LOVE this A5Butterfly Garden pencil pads as they have stunning foiled elements, like this one I have used to make my card, unfortunately I couldn't get the foil to photograph very well!

 I used my Colourblend pencils from Spectrum Noir, have I told you how much I love these?!?!
my colours were: Pink Violet, Mulberry, Sea Urchin, Verdigris, Lake Blue, Avocado, Fern Green, Daisy, Saffron, Pumpkin and Citrus.

The Thanks for Everything sentiment is from the Diamond Press stamp and die sets, I tried to keep the card fairly simple as there was a lot going on in that picture!
I hope you like it and although the shows are in America, you can usually view them online, here are the show times:

Happy Colouring!

Nicky x

Colourblend Pencils are back!

After a little while the Spectrum Noir ColourBlend Pencils are now back in stock at Crafters Companion.
I'm so pleased as they are my favourite of the colouring mediums and it means that I can start showing you samples using these wonderful blendable pencils again.

The image is from Mo's Digital Pencil

And the pencils I have used are:

SN Colourblend Pencils
Skin - Rose Peach, Peach, Ginger.
Hair - Eggshell, Ginger, Maroon...
Dress - Sea Urchin, Boysenberry
Blanket - Maroon
Hat/shoes - Saffron, Pumpkin
Balloon - Denim Blue, Sage, Earth
Cake - Harbour Blue, Ginger

I love the softness of the pencils, and the way you can lay them down on the paper, and just keep adding layers to build the colour, rather than most pencils that have too much wax and fills the tooth of the paper too quickly.

I should also mention the papers

 they are from a wonderfully talented designer called the Sticker Kitten, and luckily for me she is a local!and at the moment The mulberry Bush ( where I work!!) is the first UK stockist...how lucky is that!

I have to go now as my hubby is waiting impatiently to pack the car as we off on our holibobs for a week, while i'm away don't forget the Colorista colouring course starts Monday the 15th, so don't forget to sign up and enjoy the content is fab and free!

Happy Colouring
Nicky

Exciting news from Spectrum Noir!

Good morning everyone !
I can't tell you just how excited I have been over the last couple of weeks about all the new goodies coming from Spectrum Noir, for quite a long time I have had to keep mum about it and it is so nice to finally be able to share.
A few months ago I was asked by head office if I could do some top secret colouring for promotional work of new products, what were they I hear you cry...? New colouring books!!

Now I know what you're thinking why do I need another colouring book? Well these are quite special as they have been developed especially to work with alcohol markers and blendable pencils, which means that instead of keeping the pages in the books, you can use them to make some gorgeous different projects!

The paper in the Colorista books is a superb quality suitable for blending of your markers and not only that the pages also feature colourable glitter or foil...how cool is that?

(This is one of the promo images, check out that awesome foiling)

But that's not all that's coming your way there is going to be new marker and pencil packs specially designed to compliment the books.

And if all that wasn't enough there is something extra special coming in the form of a FREE,
yes FREE colouring course HERE is the link to sign up, you don't have to go anywhere, be there at a certain time or talk to anyone you don't know, you can even sit and do the course in your knickers!! But please be assured you will learn so much.

Now its all going to launch on HSN in the US on the 30 August, and a couple of weeks later here in the UK.
Keep checking back here as I will be sharing some of the samples that I have made for the shows, but if you want to get a sneaky peak of some of the projects made using the colouring pages and new markers then you can check out the dedicated Pinterest page HERE.

In the mean time, keep doing what your doing and ...

Happy Colouring!

Nicky

Yay, Summer finally arrived!

So Summer is finally here, long may it last!
Summer Loving is also the challenge them on the Spectrum Noir Facebook page this month too, its almost like we planned it!
The design team have been hard at work giving you some awesome summertime inspiration, here's the card I made for the gallery...

I love this little guy from Mo's Digital Pencil, reminds me of beach holiday fun with my boys when they were little!

I coloured him with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers in these colours:

Skin - FS2, FS4, FS6, TN3
Ring - FL1, DR1, DR2, DR6
Shorts - TB2, TB9, FL2, OR1
Towel - OR1, GB1, GB3

I hope you can enjoy this beautiful weather while we have it, and if I have inspired you to make something for the Summer Loving challenge then you can add it by clicking here and following the link, don't forget there is always a prize for the winning entry.

Happy Colouring!

Nicky x

The World is Your Oyster!

This week my middle boy turned 21! I can't believe it, the time has passed by so quickly

I swear five minutes ago he was just a baby!
Well now he is actually an adult the world really is his oyster! And with that tenuous link! I made him this!!!

I used a technique I've done before to make all the backing papers as I couldn't find a paper I really liked. I  used Spectrum Aquatint inks and glycerine to create the background.
I used 06, 53, 30 & 37.

and then over stamped using the Sara Davies Just for Men Collection Stamps, Urban graffiti and Street Wise, using Tim Holtz Distress inks in Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed. I wanted the colours to really co-ordinate, so that the stamps blended into the background.

The 21 stamp is from Woodware, "the world is your Oyster" is on the same sheet.

 I wanted a bit of a WOW so created a bespoke exploding box,

I used Sara's Star dies from the same Just for Men collection and stuck them to some thick acetate, I keep die packets for this, its nice and stiff so doesn't make things too wibbly wobbly!!

You can check out my original tutorial here.

I hope you like my creation, Dougie certainly did, he hasn't stopped showing everyone!

Have a great day today, thanks for popping in...

Happy Colouring!

Nicky x

Tutorial Time !

Hi, hope you are all well.  I have a new blog post on the Spectrum Noir Blog today, Click this link to find out how I made this lovely art card...

I used my Spectrum Noir Aquablend pencils

Thanks for popping by...

Happy Colouring!

Happy Fathers Day !

I would like to say a massive HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the wonderful dads out there, you do an amazing job, and to celebrate here's a card I made for my husband a wonderful dad and step-dad, and a man who can fix just about anything...
   

and yes I happen to thing he is Mr Amazing!

I used my Spectrum Noir markers to colour this Mo Manning image, Mr Fix-it.

Skin - FS2, TN2, EB2, FS6

Hair - EB6, EB7

T-shirt - EB1 and Clear Blender

Jeans - TB1, TB4, TB8, TB6

Toolboxes - DR1, DR2, DR6 / IG3, IG4, IG6

Toolbelt - EB5, TN4, GB2

Drill - DG1, DG2, DG3, DG4, IG3, IG6

I hope you all have a great day,

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

Goodbye gorgeous lady...

You may be wondering where I've been over the last three weeks or so, well I needed to take some time out, as we've had a family bereavement which has left us completely numb.  My husbands step mum passed away after a two year battle with cancer, she was such a lovely lady who lit up the room with her warm smile and large heart, she will be missed by so many .

One thing she loved was being outdoors and tending her beautiful garden which she filled with all kinds of plants and flowers, and as today would have been her birthday this daisy card would have been for her...

I used my Spectrum Aquablend pencils, the stamp is from Stampendous, its one of those stamps you can use over and over and always find a new way of using it.

Coincidentally the challenge on the Spectrum Noir Facebook page this month is use flowers, you can interpret this however you want, as long as you are using your Spectrum Noir products. You can add your project here!

That's all from me today, we are off to raise a glass or mug (tea of course, it is breakfast time!)

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

Another Birthday..another cake!

So I mentioned earlier in the week two birthdays ...

...my youngest boy turned 16 this week, I can't believe the time has flown so quickly!

He's grown from this...

To this...

He has grown into such a handsome but cheeky chap...What did I make him?

I love this Mo Manning image I bought it back in 2012 and was worried I had used it for him before, but I upon checking discovered it was his cousin that had received it!

Of course I coloured him with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers and pencils-

FS2, FS3, FS6, 009, 089

TB2, TB4, TB8, BT9, 073

CR8, CR10, DR3

The papers are from Kaisercraft, I even cracked out my old Cricut machine to cut out the numbers!

I also made him a cake...

He asked for chocolate...it certainly was chocolaty!

I had seen a similar cake on the internet, and although I didn't use the same cake recipe I did follow the instructions for making the piggys!

I had forgotten how much I love baking and making the kids cakes, but of course they are getting a bit old for that now.

Well it certainly has been a busy few weeks, life doesn't seem to want to slow down any!

until next time...

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

Too many birthdays...too much cake!

Last week it was my husband and youngest sons birthdays, two days apart...that's bad planning!
So I spent a lot of time organising and making, here's my husbands card...

He's having a tough time at the moment and just wanted to remind him... I love him!

This Digi stamp is called "Trunk Love" and is from a company called Just Inklined.

I used my Spectrum Noir markers to colour him in, these were the colours:

GG2, FS2, CR2, FS8, CG2, DG2, GT1, BT9, and the Blender.

I downloaded the love papers around Valentines day for Free but I can't for the life of me remember where from...Ironic!!

(So if you recognise them maybe you could let me know so I can update)

I spent hours making him a photobook from Photobox, Oh my Gosh how many hours did it take!!

but by golly when it arrived it was beautiful, I had never done one before by so so glad I did, I cant wait to get cracking on another one soon.

Thanks for popping in again to see me, I will be sharing Harrys card soon too x

Happy Colouring

Nicky x

Time stealers at it again!!

Where did the last 3 weeks go?
I seem to have lost all sense of time at the moment, with so many things going on all at once I feel as if I need to stop the ride and get off!!

So what have I been doing? I couldn't actually tell you! I feel like I've done everything and nothing all at the same time! do you ever feel like that?

I did however take a lovely relaxing class of ladies this weekend for some therapeutic colouring, with the Spectrum Blendable Pencils, I showed them how to colour this gorgeous Make it Crafty Cherry Blossom image,

The colours we used were: 036, 039, 034, 035, 063, 097, 083, 106

You could here a pin drop, once I had stopped talking of course!

 Everyone working hard! Erica and Karen were as quiet as church mice...

 Rita, Kirsty, Paige, Sue, Ruth, Erica and Karen

 Ruth doing a marvellous job...

And Paige, doing a fabulous job, she didn't have her sister for company this month as she had returned to her native Canada, So a big thank you for joining us again.

All the ladies work was stunning, I hope it has inspired them to keep going, they will very soon be better than me!

I run this class on the first Saturday of every month 2-4pm at The Mulberry-Bush, Lower Henwick Farm, Thatcham.

You can view some of the other classes that they run HERE

(Booking is essential as places are limited)

Brand new Spectrum Aquablend pencils

Have you got the new Spectrum Aquablend pencils yet?

Well I can tell you they are stunning, they may be my new favourites!

 I recently made this card for the launch of the new pencils, they are one of those products you want to reach for time and time again...

The stamps are of course from Sheena Douglass, and gave me plenty of scope to use lots of colours.

The colours I used were:

Cherry, Strawberry, Carrot, Fig
Grapefruit, Banana, Sapphire, Dark Slate

Although the butterflies look as though they are cut out and mounted...they aren't! Its just a bit of clever shading with the Dark Slate pencil, I did in fact fussy cut out the areas around them, leaving them in the base card, it took a little patience and a very sharp blade in my craft knife!

I hope you get a chance to play with these soon, you certainly won't be disappointed, and if you do please share you makes with us either on the Spectrum Facebook page or down below in the comments box.

Happy Colouring

Nicky x