Wire Earrings

A few months ago I found some beautiful wire earrings online. They really inspired me to try crafting with wire, but I didn't get around to it until very recently.



For this project all you need is some wire, a pair (or two!) of pliers, and a bit of imagination. I got my wire from Michael's. It cost $10.99 plus tax (Canadian), but I got quite a lot of it.

Decide on a design. I picked a very simple design since it was my first time trying this out, but you can certainly be more adventurous. It might help to draw your pattern out on paper first so that you have a guide to follow.

I found the stainless steel wire kind of difficult to handle at first, but got used to having to put a little extra 'oomph' into it.

I'm really happy with how my earrings turned out. They're super light weight, elegant, and versatile.

If you try this project out, be sure to send me a picture of your finished product!

If you like this design, I strongly suggest you check out Lotus Handmade Hoops; their designs are so beautiful and whimsical!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Crayon Art Fail

I've been seeing this project all over Pinterest for months and I just couldn't resist giving it a try.

The first attempt was a complete fail.

I decided that I was too cool to glue the crayons to the canvas before trying to melt them, so they flew everywhere as soon as I turned the flippin' thing on. Excellent. Then I decided that I would try to make splatters all over the canvas by holding the crayon in my hand. I spaced out, and while I was day dreaming about puppies, kittens and unicorns, I burned my fingers. Yup. I also splattered crayon all over my hardwood floor, so now I have a beautifully waxy section in the living room (it's actually great for when your feet are itchy).

The second attempt went much smoother since I followed directions and didn't add any 'Nichole-isms' to the mix. I'm really happy with how it turned out! If you plan on giving this a try, you should be aware that not all crayon colours melt the same. As you can see above, the black and brown crayons held on for dear life, but the pink ones couldn't wait to make a mess! If I had my time back, I'd definitly use a heat gun instead of a hair dryer, maybe I would've had more luck with melting those tricky colours.

Is anyone else addicted to Pinterest? Follow me using the link by my profile picture :)

Also, I'm going to mention again that Google Reader is toast as of July, so please follow the blog through Bloglovin' if you'd like to keep up with me :)

I know that the blog doesn't get many hits, but the few readers I have are the absolute best! Thank you so much guys! I love you so much I could just squeeze the poop right out of you!!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Octo-Poo Time

I made these little octopus earrings the other day so I thought I'd share them with you!

I've been on a jewelry making kick again lately, but I don't need/ want anymore earrings or charms, so I'm thinking about selling them or giving them away.

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. I had a really bad day today at work, so I've been binging on junk food (which is probably not a great idea, but it's a very tasty one).

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Super Bookmark Fun Time

Not only are bookmarks useful, they are a great small gift idea. It's so easy to add a bookmark to a birthday card, or to pop a bookmark into a gift basket. It adds that little something extra when you give a money gift, or need something small to round out a present.

Bookmarks are also very easy/cheap to make, and you can personalize the crap out of them (not real poop, don't put that on your bookmarks... wrong kind of marker).

I'm going to show you how to make a really cute, personalized bookmark. This is a great project for kids and parents to do together, or for twenty-six year old women who like cartoon dogs to pop out of their smutty novels. You know, whatever.

Here's what you need:

Start by drawing your animal (or whatever pattern you've chosen) on the stiff paper. You'll need a bit of blank space under your design and to the sides.



Cut along the bottom of your design, and about halfway up. You want that extra bit on the bottom and sides left attached so that your bookmark will be able to grab onto the page.



From here you can either colour in your design or get a little bit creative. I used cardstock/coloured paper as an overlay and coloured in parts of that to get the look I wanted.



If anyone tries this out I'd love to see what you come up with! Send me a picture or link of your finished product :)

Happy reading!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Clay Cupcakes

I've been debating putting all of these cupcake charms on a bracelet. I made them a while back and they are just sitting around, not being used. Looking at them now actually makes me want to make real cupcakes, so maybe it's not the best idea to turn it into something I'd wear every day. I don't imagine I'd ever want to leave the house, since I'd constantly be baking and eating cupcakes...

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Polymer Love

I used to always make beads and jewellery, but for the past few years I hadn't made the time. This past week I've gotten back into it by making myself some silly earrings. Pictured in the last photo is my first attempt to make Luna's radish earrings (from Harry Potter), but I did the coloring backwards, made them too long, and basically made them look nothing like a radish, so I'm going to redo them.

I'm really glad that I've gotten back into this hobby. I really missed it.

What do you do in your free time? Do you make and/or sell anything?

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

My White Whale - Office Edition

I'm messy.

I also love collecting things, taking things apart and I get distracted easily. All of these things mix together to make the perfect storm that hits my house on a daily basis. My office and my bedroom are the two worst rooms; the office because I have way too many crafty hobbies; and the bedroom because that's where my clothing explodes every day.

Today I tackled my first white whale: the office!

At several points I must have looked like a confused toddler, sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by piles of 'organized' things, trying to figure out where to go from there. There may or may not have been some silent weeping at various times. Oh, did I mention that when I start cleaning I lose my patience very quickly? Or that I transform from a tiny woman to an angry bridge troll who foams at the mouth? I didn't? Hmm.

But I did it! It's actually a workable space now, and I even made space for future piles of things (I'm being realistic).

Tomorrow we're suposed to be getting a huge snow storm (60 cm of snow - eep!), so I'll be trapped inside with no escape from cleaning the bedroom. I sure hope Boyfriend is ready for Bridge Troll Nichole 2.0.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

What are your white whales?

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Sunday Shmunday

I refuse to play hangman because it upsets me when the little stick man gets hung - and if you're as terrible at word games as I am, he'll end up meeting his demise almost every time- so Boyfriend and I invented a game called 'Non Death Word Game'. The rules of said game are simple, one person thinks of a word in their head and the other has to figure it out through guessing letters. You get six shots. Okay, so it's hangman, but no stick people are harmed during game play. Also, tonight I won for the first time, so WOOO! Non death word game champion!!

I. Am. Dying. At this picture of my mom and sister. I took this little gem while we were out for dinner tonight. It's a keeper for sure, in fact, I think it may merit a frame!

My sister's word during non death word game. I maintain that forky spooner is a real something... I just don't know what exactly.

I saw these book ends at Pier One today. They've inspired me to create something similar.

 Today I started a Smashbook. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's basically scrapbooking, but in a smaller scale, and much messier. I scribbled down a couple of Dr. Seuss quotes on my first page for inspiration. My bestie and I share a love of both scrapbooking supplies and messes, so I look forward to having many a messy page dedicated to her and our adventures together.

I hope that everyone has had a lovely Sunday :)

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Button Crafting

Thanks to my mom and Boyfriend's family, I'm now the proud owner of about a bajillion buttons! I've been dreaming up lots of fun things to do with them, but for now I'm having fun just playing with them. That's normal, right?

I can't wait to share all of the fun stuff I'm going to make with this bad boys! Button fever!
Does anyone have any ideas?

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Crochet Christmas Revisited

A few weeks ago I posted about a some crochet lights that I had done. When I got back to my hometown a few days ago, a friend mentioned how much she loved them. As a thank you for always being awesome, I decided that I'd make her a set, but there was a wee little problem - I only had my 6.5 crochet hook. If I were to do the same pattern with a larger hook, the bulbs would have been way too big (I know this because I actually tried... plop), so I altered the original pattern. Instead of increasing by six on each row, I increased by four.

Here's some crochet bibble babble for anyone out there who may be interested.

Bulbs:

Slipknot
Chain 2
4 SC in the first chain,
Increase to 8 SC in row two
SC 8 in row three
Inc. to 12 SC in row four,
SC 12 in fow five
Inc. to 16 SC in row six
16 SC in row seven
Inc. to 20 SC in row eight
Now decrease to 16 SC in row nine
Dec. to 12 SC in row ten
Dec. to 8 in row eleven.

For the bulb base I just did the purple part of the pattern above.

For the cord I just did a chain of 12 between each base that I attached.

You'll end up with a skinnier light, but I'm pretty happy with the result (I hope my friend likes them!).

The bulbs before they're stuffed

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Friday Finds - Fancy No-Pants-y Edition

30% Off Sale & Free 2-Day Shipping at ModCloth

My addiction to ModCloth continues to be a problem to my wallet, but a proud supporter of my fantabulous wardrobe. Today is the last day of their fancy sale on sale items! I perused through all of the items and picked out my top three favorite things (they all turned out to be dresses), so above you will find my pants-less choices to bring in the new year.


This camera bag from Janine King Designs is rocking my socks right now. My socks don't know much about camera bags, but I love that they only use faux leather to make their bags, and that there are limited quantities of each item, so you're basically guaranteed something unique. :)

I've been singing the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song ever since I found this awesome mug cozy on Schmutzerella's Crafts. It's a free crochet pattern, so you can make your very own (and choose your favorite turtle's color)! Michelangelo has always been my favorite!

I hope that everyone is having a great day! In the comment section, please let me know what you'd like to see more of in the new year. I love getting your feeback and I read every email and comment. Welcome to all of the new readers and subscribers :)

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

DIY Wrapping Paper

Head on over to Spree Studio to see my guest post on how to make your own wrapping paper. While you're there, check out the other posts from my friend Lauren (the head honcho at Spree). She did a guest post for me yesterday and she's one lovely lady!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Squeaky Clean, Jellybean!

The holidays are upon us! If your family is anything like mine, you are in constant danger of being blinded by camera flashes. I like to paint up my face before these events, mostly because I'm so pale that I'm almost transparent, and also because it makes me feel extra lovely. Plus, nobody ever warns me before a picture is taken, so I'm usually stuffing my face or picking my nose/teeth/whatever else needs picking... may as well have nice makeup on with a picture like that, right?

Before I saw this video on YouTube a couple of years ago, I had actually never cleaned my makeup brushes; I didn't realize that they needed cleaning! It's actually really important to keep them sanitary, because not only does the leftover gunk give you monster pimples, it can actually cause infections.

On that cheery note, here's my brush cleaning routine:



Specialized makeup cleaners are expensive, so unless you have allergies to these products, grab some extra virgin olive oil and some antibacterial dish liquid. Put equal sized blobs on a plate.



Swirl your brushes around in the middle of the plate, mixing the oil and dish liquid together. It's important to get just as much of the oil as you do the soap because too much oil will make your brushes greasy, and too much soap will dry them out. Mixed together, these ingredients disinfect and condition your brushes (making them clean and soft). It helps if you go clockwise a few times, and then counter clockwise after that. Using the same technique, swirl your brush around in your palm under cool running water.

Clean!



I made this little thingamajig to hang and store my brushes upside down. While they're drying, any excess water has a place to escape instead of staying in the bottom of the brush (where it can grow stinky friends and loosen the glue holding your brush hair in place). I should note that I only use brushes with synthetic hair, and this method works just as well for them as it would on real haired brushes.

So there you go! Pick your nose with pride at your Christmas party, because no matter what they catch you doing when they take that suprise photo, your makeup will be beautiful, and your face free of grime!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

Homemade Holiday Cards

I love this time of year! There are a million different crafts and snacks to make at home, and I'm trying to squeeze in as many as I can. That being said, crafting can be an expensive habit if you're not careful. Every year I save gift tags, cards and paper I like, and I use them to make new things the next year. I know that sounds a little insane, but I keep my crafting stuff pretty organized, so I don't have mountains of scraps to climb over in order to get around the house (yet).





What do you think? I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Most of the supplies were recycled, but the rest I got on sale for less than ten bucks total (and I still have lots of leftovers).

Next project: wrapping paper!

Hugs and poops,

Nichole

A Crochet Christmas

Last year I found this cute pattern on ravelry, but alas, I didn't know how to crochet. As soon as I learned how, I couldn't wait to make these little Christmas lights for my house!

Yay! Holidaaaaays!

The pattern is really simple and it's not a bad first project if you want to learn how to crochet. I didn't follow the pattern exactly (because I'm impatient and twitchy handed), but I'm really happy with how they turned out. What do you think?





Hugs and poops,

Nichole