Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Giveaway. Promise.

Remember this giveaway I announced back in November? Well, I moved to Nebraska since then & there was a snafoo in all that giveaway excitement, but now it's back! For reals.
CSN Stores sell everything from tv stands to yoga accessories to children's furniture to eco friendly pet products. Visit HERE to view the 200+ CSN Stores.

I'll be receiving this adorable & crafty-licious Arts & Crafts Box in Bubblegum Pink. Perfect for storing small crafty works-in-progress projects on trips! Once I review the item, I'll post it on the blog & give one away to a lucky reader! (Your choice in colors!) Yahoo for prizes!
So, sit tight & look forward to a fantastic giveaway coming soon!
Nikki

Blog Medicine.


My bestest pal Tia just recently had a freaky thing happen & was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. The left half of her face doesn't operate as usual & it's kinda bumming her out. It could stay this way for 6 weeks to 6 months. Seeing as I'm 1200 miles away & can't pal around with her & cheer her up, I thought you all could help me out. If you would, please leave a comment giving Tia "get better" messages. Tell a joke. Say hi. (I know you might not know her, but that's ok.) She's a faithful blog reader & I'm certain she'll read every one. Several times.
Thanks for sending happy thoughts to my friend.
Hope your head heals soon Tia!
Nikki

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

MoCo Tour (Angora)

It was just the girls & I last weekend traveling these small town roads. The place we visited, Angora, is unincorporated. Honestly, there wasn't much to see. And yet, somehow, when it's all over & we were reflecting on our day while eating blueberry pie on the porch and watching the sun set, we realized we still found fun & adventure. As usual.
Nikki
*To see this set of photos on flickr, click HERE.
*To view my up-to-date collection of all the MoCo Tour sets, click HERE.

{green}

The girls & I had planned to do a green photo hunt for St. Patrick's Day, but things got too busy & we ran out of time. They kept bringing it up &, finally, (a week & a half later) we got to do it. They had so much fun, they're picking a new hue for our next color photo hunt!

*Most of these photos were taken just walking up & down Main Street & back home again in Bridgeport, NE. A few were taken while visiting Angora for our weekly MoCo Tour.

Nikki

Monday, March 29, 2010

Week in Review: March 22-28

Most of the photos in this week's collage are part of the recent MoCo Tour I took on Sunday. I honestly didn't snap too many other pics this week. I was busy with tutorials, Etsy orders, writing, more campfire s'mores (& hot dogs too!) & trying to get my shop stocked up---which is turning out to be a lot more work than I realized.

My week ended with a sit on the porch, cuddled in cozy blankets with my 5 year old, eating blueberry pie & watching the sun set.

This week I'll be...
  • finishing up a basket I've been working on for an Easter swap I recently joined. I haven't done a swap in a while, so this should be fun!
  • ...dreaming about the "big girl" camera that I'll be getting soon for my birthday!! Yes, March will be over in a few days, which means April will be here soon. And so my birth-month celebration can begin. Friends & family are pooling together to make my dream camera prezzie a freakin' reality! I can't believe it. They are awesome!
  • ...working hard at getting ready for a hooplah 3-year birthday Etsy sale celebration. Getting my shop stocked up since moving to Nebraska has been harder than I thought. I'm a busy gal but I'm trying my bestest! My promise of sales & new stuff appearing in the store last week just didn't get fulfilled. I hate not being a crafty girl of her word. Although, maybe these NEW pins can fill in as a teaser? 
  • ...playing "nurse" to help get my family over whatever yucks are lingering. We all have coughs or sinus crud or sniffles or sneezes.
  • ...writing, photographing & all the usual newspaper-y stuff I get to do every week. (I've been gettin' more & more happy comments--& even emails--about my column. It makes me feel so giddy & loved!)
  • ...sneaking in a movie or two. I just received my free Netflix disc for my Wii, which streams instant movies. Oh wowzers! Crafting at night when all the fam is sleeping &/or snoring JUST got better. Bring on the popcorn & the craft supplies!!
*For a picture play-by-play click HERE.
Happy Monday!
      Nikki

Friday, March 26, 2010

Mini Cereal Box Seed Starters


I'm ready for Spring things. And this project gets me in the mood.
Start seedlings indoors with this whimsical spin on a peat pot.

Brightly colored mini cereal boxes create cozy little homes for seeds as they work their way through the soil to become big grown up flowers.
Glue the top of the box closed with a glue gun. And then take a knife & cut open, along the "dotted" lines on the front of the box. Did you know there were "dotted" lines?? When my bro & I were kids, we used to open our cereal boxes that way sometimes, slice open the bag of cereal, pour the milk right in & eat it from the box.


Fill boxes with dirt & seeds. *Dymo labels as plant markers are optional.* A Sharpie works just as swell.
I have been keeping mine on the windowsill. Make sure when you water that you have a flat dish underneath. (The water seeps out of the corners of the box.) Over time your box will warp from the waterings.
When your seedlings are big enough, transplant them to big pots! Yay for flowers! And recylcing!

Nikki

Thursday, March 25, 2010

MoCo Tour (#2: The Broadwater Series)

Saturday Susan & I traveled 15 miles away to the village (yes, you heard me right) of Broadwater. Population (as of the 2000 census): 140. It was SO much fun!! And, I got to use one of Susan's Big Girl cameras. I felt so awesome. I bet I looked awesome too. (haha!) I'm getting practice in for when I get my OWN camera for my birthday this year!! (Which is in 2 weeks. Holla!) I can't wait to return to Broadwater & do some more photo hunting. Honestly, I think we woulda stayed longer that afternoon, but the locals seemed a bit unsure of who we were & what we were doing there. It was obvious we had our cameras & were taking pictures--of EVERYTHING!! But still, we had a lot of people driving by really slowly, people whispering & talking, looking our direction, even coming out of there houses to strain their necks & see what was going on. It made me feel really odd. It didn't seem like curiosity. It was like "suspicion". It was an unwelcome feeling. It's not like I was vandalizing their village. I left my spray paint & bat in the car. I joke, I joke.
{And I should state that I only speak for myself here.}
It made me wonder if there is an etiquette. We said hello, we didn't cross private property or do anything rude or disrespectful. I better figure out the "how-to's" of small-town photography, because I plan on doing a lot of it. And I want to be welcomed back into these amazing little places I keep discovering every week.

Anyway, our adventures were fantastic! We had lovely blue skies all day...it was a happy afternoon.  

To view The MoCo Tour: Broadwater complete set of photos on flickr, click HERE.
Wheeeee!
Nikki

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Felt Hoop Artwork Tutorial

I'm not sure why, but I have a bunch of these embroidery hoops that I've picked up at thrift stores through the years. I am always trying to think of what to do with them. And recently, I thought of this super fun--& easy--artwork that kid's can make in a jiffy!
All you need is felt, an embroidery hoop, scissors & some fabric glue OR a glue gun.
The fun thing about this artwork is that these hoops come in ALL different sizes. And you can find circular or oval-shaped hoops too.


Felt can be purchased in rectangle pieces or sold by the yard. You'll need a large piece of felt to use as the base for building your artwork on. Once the felt is tightly attached in the hoop, trim off the excess to about 1/2" all the way around.

You'll eventually want to fold the felt over & glue the edges to the backside of the hoop. You can do that now or wait until your design is created. It doesn't really matter.

Now the fun can begin! Pull out your felt & craft away!

For smaller artists, cutting felt in random shapes is easiest. You can even arrange them to look like a mosaic.

One of my daughters found pre-cut owl shapes in my felt stash, with sewing machine embroidered details.

For the cherry pie, I attached a cream colored crust with a wavy edge & cut out cherry circles in 3 colors/textures of red.

To attach the decorative pie crust top, I used pinking shears & glued the pieces to each other with a weaving/lattice effect before actually attaching it to the pie.

Make sure little ones DO NOT use a glue gun. Fabric glue also works.

I hung the food inspired artwork in the kitchen. I'm thinking I need another one up there...
For the pizza artwork, the girls had fun picking their own pre-cut toppings & building their own custom pizza.
Nikki

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

MoCo Tour {numero uno}

This is the first Morrill County photo hunting adventure that I took 2 weeks ago with my friend Susan & the girls. I had so much fun that I decided to make a weekly thing of it. (Susan recently dubbed them "MoCo Tours" & I love it!) We just grab our photo gear, hop in the car & roam. We don't know what we'll find. Discovering where I live & seeing my surroundings in this way has been an adventure. And I want to share the fun I have! Going out also helps me get photos & inspiration for my {WhiMSy love...in print}newspaper column & MoCo Photo feature each week.
Click HERE to see this 1st MoCo Tour set on flickr. I can't wait to show you the latest MoCo Tour I took last weekend!

Our little fam has been so busy since moving here 3 1/2 months ago that the girls haven't even had a chance to get out & explore much. Needless to say, this first journey was a grand event. When we got home from our trip, Zoey said "Mom, today was so special! How'd it get to be that way?"
Nikki

Monday, March 22, 2010

Week in Review: March 15-21

My week was filled with good times & happiness & the fun never stopped!
I don't even know where to begin....

  • The family had our first campfire since arriving in NE, complete with s'mores! Howsabout that?

  • I made green rice krispies. And then the next day I made pink rice krispies. (Please don't ask me how many I ate.)

  • Crafty fun with the girls! (Tute coming this week. I know, I think I said it would be ready last week. But it wasn't.)

  • Rollerskating! (I didn't skate. But I did take a scooter around the rink a few times. I have never been to a roller-rink where rollerskates, rollerblades, skateboards, wiggle board thingies AND scooters were ALL allowed. Craziness!)

  • Handmade good times. (Again, last week was when I was supposed to have all this new stuff in the shop, but I didn't. This week is the goal. I swear. Along with a WhiMSy love ETSY shop {late} birthday celebration sale!!)

  • I'm gonna get a BIG GIRL camera for my birthday! The plans for this long-awaited birthday present were finalized last week....when I finalized them. haha! (I have birthday camera-prezzie donors too! Now I am just having to decide which camera & how much I can spend. Decisions, decisions. I am overwhelmed. But, I am pretty sure I narrowed it down to a Canon.)

  • St. Patrick's day. (The girls & I greened it up as much as we could. Do you remember being a kid & "painting" on bread with colored milk & a toothpick--& then toasting it? Well, we did that.)

  • Crafty Night! (The first month of Crafty Night was a lot of fun. I still need to think of an awesome name. I am excited about the possibility of having it grow & grow & meeting more & more happy crafters!)

  • Like last week, my favoritest highlight of this week was another photo adventure! This time, the girls stayed home. My pally-wally Susan & I hit the road. We drove 15 miles away to Broadwater, &--um--I'll be blogging about that later. (It deserves it's own special post.) But anyway, I've decided to make a weekly weekend thing of my photo adventures. It is so fun getting to know these little towns & my surroundings. It also gives me inspiration for the MoCo Photo newspaper feature AND my column. I think I need to do a collage on my blog each week of these adventures...
Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.
Happy Monday!!
♥ Nikki

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring-a-ling-a-ding!!

I have had the most amazing first day of Spring---& a fabulous weekend to boot!
(And it's not even over yet! Yowza!)
Enjoy the first day of my most favorite season ever!
Happy Spring!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Crafty Night!

I've started a monthly Crafty Night & yesterday evening was the kickoff. (I need to come up with a catchy name. "Crafty Night" is kinda b-l-a-h.) 6 ladies joined me to make some of those popular flat-backed marble magnets. SUPER easy to make! And super DUPER fun! It felt awesomely terrific to get all crafty. I've been so busy with so many other things that it's been a while since I've gotten to spread my mess everywhere & have a happy handmade time.
I know I've got a lot of new local fans & followers, so I thought I'd extend an invitation to you all to come join me for the next Crafty Night on Tuesday, April 13th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. @ New Life Assembly in Bridgeport. I'll post details & pictures of the next project & additional info as this date approaches. Please email me at whimsy-girl [at] hotmail.com if interested! Thanks!

Nikki

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

King Louie


Last week my girl's & I found out some very sad news. A cat friend of ours passed away. Lou was my parent's pet & the girl's begged to take him home every time we visited. Lou got very sick & had to be "put to sleep".

I remember going to an animal shelter 13 years ago with my mom--& Lou picked us as his family. (When my mom held him, he clawed onto her shirt & wouldn't let go.) "Yeah, I guess we'll take this one."

He was our cat. He knew me before my hubby did. And he was a friend during a time in my life where I was broken & needed a good furry companion to comfort me.

I named him "Lou", short for "King Louie". But we all joked that it was short for "Lucifer". He was an evil little bugger at times.

Telling my girl's about this was heartbreaking. I've never seen such a sadness & pain consume my sweet Zoey in such an instant. My heart felt things it's never felt before. For some reason, it all made sense to Pazely. She associated Lou's recent grey speckles in his black fur as a sign of "getting old". And that, to a 5 year old, meant Lou's time on earth was nearing an end.

The girls & I drew pictures & wrote messages on balloons as our way of saying goodbye to Lou. We said a few words & then sent the balloons off towards kitty heaven.
We will miss you Lou.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Week in Review: March 8-14

I've been fighting the yucks all week. But it hasn't gone past sniffles, sneezes & sinus stuff. I've hardly gotten any sleep & it's taken me all week to feel caught up.
On Thursday I spoke to a MOPS group via Skype about 'craftin' with yer kidlets'. It went OK. I was nervous & it seemed to go by so quickly. I hardly remember what I said.
Oh, & I decided, since I work at the newspaper, to actually start READING it. I discovered an auction happening down the road on the weekend. So, I checked it out & ended up staying almost all day. I bid, & won, a few crafty themed items including 29 pounds of vintage fabric. No, I'm not crazy. And yes, I weighed it.
The highlight of my week had to be a photo adventure I took on Sunday afternoon with the kidlets & my new pal Susan.We drove around Morrill County & snapped pictures left & right & up & down. I even introduced Susan to the jumpy photo. Yahoo!!!! We all had a blast! I cannot tell you how happy this adventure made me. If I wasn't smiling on the outside, I was smiling on the inside. The whole time.
I didn't get so much craftin' in this weekend. But this Tuesday I'll be having some crafty fun with the ladies of my church. Should be fun! Giggles, munchies & craftin'. That's the plan.
I've got a fun tutorial I'm finishing up this week for the blog.
And a late--but worth the wait--celebration for my Etsy shop happening this week!
*Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.
Happy Monday!
Nikki

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Springtime Crafty Fun!


Artist Class is offering a 4 week session filled with online crafty projects & juicy tid-bits of handmade extras! 12 artists have offered 12 projects throughout the session & yours truly will be among them! (There's something new & crafty EVERY day!) The theme for this session is: Garden Party. I can't wait to check out all the lovely projects to inspire & ready me for SPRIIIIIING!!!!!!
Sessions are normally $59.00, but the Garden Party has a special discount of $49.00. AND, with my artist's discount code, you only pay $39.00! Visit Artist Class at http://artistclass.typepad.com/ for all info, images, projects & artists.
Registration starts today. Classes held from April 5th to May 1st.
Click HERE for a direct link to register.

discount code: whimsylove
 (use this code when purchasing your session at Artist Class to receive the $39.00 price!)

Disclaimer: For every person that joins this session & enters the code "whimsylove", I will receive a commission.

♥ Nikki

Friday, March 12, 2010




Been so busy this week. So busy, in fact, that I have snapped nary a photo. And that is sad.
And I'm tired. I really don't know what fuel I'm running on.
And now I'm feeling sickly. Mostly sinus stuff. And sneezing up a storm.
Golly, I sure hope to take it easy this weekend. I know what will make me feel better...
Writing.
Crafting.
Photographing.
Yes, that is my recipe for this weekend.
Hope yours is alovely one!
♥ Nikki

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

B-n-W

Pazely drew this picture last week when we were outside playing in the sunny warm weather. As you can read, she had a good day.
 (Those are my feet. My giant boat-size shoes actually look rather cute there. That's a first.)

Anyway, I'm playing around more with editing my photos into black-n-white pictures because......(drumroll, please).....I will be taking snapshots for possible publication in the weekly newspaper. I say "possible", because if there's room each week, John (also known as the editor, but I've started calling him "Big J". He hates it.), will stick it onto a page, & if not, we'll try again the next week. I'm really hoping it becomes a regular weekly feature. I think people will like it.

The whole goal is to take photos around my county of things that the regular folk might not have ever even noticed. I'll get to go on adventures, discover parts of my new small-town world & share them with the locals. It could be anything. Random & interesting is the goal. I would love it if people actually saw the photos & went out to "see for themselves" or even said to themselves, "I didn't know that was here!" or "That Nikki is one clever cookie." (haha!)

My friend Susan (also known as: my co-worker, a blog fan, the lovely lady who asked me to be a part of The Bridgeport News-Blade, & John's sis) came up with this idea. We had a hoot brainstorming a title for this new feature at 2:30 in the morning. We ended up with "MoCo Photo: a random perspective of Morrill County". (MoCo=Morrill County). We chose a cool font & a cool layout. We think it's hip, edgy & quite awesome! My first photo, which comes out in tomorrow's paper, is a TTV shot I took of a basketball hoop in the church's back yard area. 

Though all the photos will not be TTV, I'm going to celebrate by buying another old camera to aid in my artistic photographic passions. Ebay, here I come!

 Ok, all together now: Yahooooooo!

Nikki

Monday, March 8, 2010

Week in Review: March 1-7

Last week was full of...
...cupcake making. (I hadn't done this in a while. Shame on me!)
...computer playin'. (I'm so happy it's back!)
...warmer weather. (The girls & I took advantage of some good times outdoors.)
....jumpin'-jumpin'-jumpin'.
...book art making. (I've sold 9 pieces of book art this month! Woohoo!)
...scrapbooking. (I decided to cut & save my weekly newspaper columns. Am I a dork?)
...receiving some fun news. (My mom, dad & grandmother are coming for a 5-day visit mid-April!)
...writing. (I now sleep with a notebook & pen under my pillow.)
...dreaming of new handmade projects. (I've decided THIS has to be the week that I crank out some goodies. Have you seen how tiny my Etsy stock is? Eeep!)
...yummy popcorn. (Oh how I'm grateful for new friends & their secret popcorn recipes.)
...good days.

Next Week I'll be speaking via Skpe to a MOPS group, planning a fun crafty night for ladies in my church, cleaning the art studio, folding book art & more of the same: playing, jumping, making, dreaming, writing...

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

 
Happy Monday!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

1+1=11


I made cupcakes today to celebrate 11 years with the Mr. 
He surprised the girls & I with breakfast from the diner this morning.
And I got some lovely flowers & a mushy card.
 I even hung a vintage "Happy Anniversary" sign I recently thrifted.
We had no big plans, though I admit I was hoping for a surprise romantic evening rendezvous.
Instead, we relaxed & took it easy in our cozy home.
And now, I shall share a cupcake with my man...

Friday, March 5, 2010

Bloggy Birthday Winners!

Congrats to zachsmama, Heather of Dollarstorecrafts.com & Wendy of Blue Rock Gourds!!!
You have each won a Vintage Bottle Cap Badge from WhiMSy love!!
Thanks for playing along everyone--- & for all the happy bloggy birthday wishes!
(More anniversary fun tomorrow!)
♥ Nikki

P.S. If you lovely winners could please email me your addresses, I'll get yer prizes shipped off first thing next week!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Leaping Lizards!

Guess who's back--- with all 10 fingers, on her recently repaired & {finally} delivered computer?!?!
 ME, silly!!!

Aaaaand....I've got something fun for ya: A new way to take JUMPY photos! (Which came about by accident.) I was setting up my camera to take a jumpy photo & RIGHT before the camera *clicked!*, it fell over. On its backside.

And then I had an idea. AHA!!!! With the camera pointed up to the sky you get a WHOLE. 'NOTHER. VIEWPOINT. (Up my nose.) 

 Isn't it fun?! Just another way to spice up your soaring snapshots.

Nikki

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Freezer Paper Stencils (Part 1 of 3)


I've wanted to try using freezer paper stencils for a while. And last weekend I was finally able to play around with it while making t-shirts for the Virtual Bowling Bash. Due to this being a last-minute idea, my design is really simple. I plan on trying this technique again very soon using more detailed patterns.
(*And I had to break this tute into 3 parts because I'm having trouble loading numerous photos with my blog app for the iPhone.)




I found my freezer paper at Walmart--located with all the foil, Saran wrap & baggies. The roll was about 6 bucks & it holds 150 ft of white paper which is shiny on 1 side. It is used mainly for wrapping meats or other foods & keeping them fresh in the freezer.

First, draw out a design & cut it out of the freezer paper. You can also find an image via the Internet, print it out, place it atop your freezer paper & carefully cut out using a sharp blade.





Iron the freezer paper onto your shirt (or fabric, or whatever you're decorating). Use a dry iron. MAKE SURE THE SHINY SIDE OF THE FREEZER PAPER IS FACE DOWN & TOUCHING YOUR FABRIC. (I really don't know what would happen if the iron came in contact with the shiny side of the paper but I am sure it'd be a mess.) After you iron, a temporary bond is created. ((So stinkin' cool!))








Put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to prevent paint from seeping through the backside of the shirt.

Now you can begin dabbing on your fabric paint of choice. I didn't have time to dab. I tried spray paint, but that didn't work. (Possibly because I was using white paint on top of a dark shirt?) So, I made a screen using a large oval emroidery hoop & some sheer curtain fabric. It's the exact same screens I use when I do that "faux" screenprint technique I've mentioned on here in the past. (found here: DIY Screen Printing.)

Click HERE for part 2 of 3.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone