The Kira Nichols Etsy Shop

Plenty more to see at kiranichols.etsy.com! Bookmarks, planner clips, digital stamps, ornaments, and many more unique gifts. Thanks for supporting this artist!

It'll be a slow couple of weeks...

Well, the power cord on my netbook finally died (nooooooo!), and that's the computer where I do my blogging, keep my photos, etc. I guess I could upload pics and blog on this old computer that I'm on now, but I prefer not to... I like to keep all my pictures in one place so I know precisely where to find them. Anyways, I ordered a new cord and hopefully it will get here next week so I can manage to get at least a few crafty posts up! I'm also preparing to go out of town for Girl's Camp in less than 2 weeks, and finishing up a couple swaps before I go. Thus, it will be a slow couple weeks on the blog. I'm also expecting some rad supplies and a NEW 1" circle punch. I'll let you guys know if it's awesome or not, so you'll know which punches rock for future reference :) Anyways, have a beautiful long weekend! Happy Saturday night! Until next time....

Snorkeling Speedo Cat Reads a Book


Here's a silly painting for you all! It's a watercolor painting of a cat wearing a Speedo, snorkeling and reading a book. It's for the local library summer decorations. The theme is "make a splash in reading" or something to that effect!

Happy Thursday! Sorry about the grumpy post yesterday... I'm about to order a new good punch, so I feel a lot better now :) Plus, maybe I can return the broken punch to the store. We'll see.
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Even more rinchies and Marvy Uchida Paper Punch Failure

Here are the rinchies I made today, and the last ones I'll be making for a while because my danged 1" circle punch absolutely 100% died today, like broke in frickin' half.
Here's an image that kind of makes me smile, though. Here are most of the rinchies I've made over the last week or week and a half. Not quite enough to fill an 8.5'' x 11'' page though, so I'm not done. Ugh, I've been so frustrated with this dumb broken punch and the dumb brand because I've had problems with just about every Marvy Uchida paper punch I've gotten.
This one straight up broke in half. Both the metal part on the inside broke and the plastic casing snapped. Such a stupid design. In order to punch, you have to put pressure on the whole top of the punch, just like the old school punches with a huge button on the top you press. Only with this, it has a lever, so the weight is absolutely distributed improperly putting a TON of strain on that little joint where the top is connected to the bottom. Okay, given, I punch and papercraft probably 300% more than your average hobby scrapbooker, but I bought this thing like LAST MONTH. It should last much longer than that. I'm also unhappy with my other Marvy Uchida paper punches (the giant heart and tag ones) because the cutting mechanisms have become misaligned(probably due to that same cruddy design) and won't punch all the way through without a fair bit of wiggling. Lame. I also bought the 1'' square punch a bit ago and had to return it almost immediately because there were tiny burrs on the metal cutting mechanism that prevented it from punching completely from the get-go. So frustrating. I'm never going to buy Marvy Uchida punches ever again. I'm sure they're fine for light use, for most people, but I don't qualify as a light user. Why can't things just NOT be crap? Especially my 1'' circle punch, just when I need it most?! Grrrr, rest in pieces, you little garbage.

Okay, thanks for sticking with me through my silly rant. Not sure why, but this little punch failure really affected my temper! Anyhoo, I need a new 1'' circle punch, so the next brand I'm trying is Stampin Up. I hear good things, and they're a little more pricey, so I'm reallllly hoping for better quality. Wish me luck!
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Sweater Fish Plush

Here is the last of the Sealife Swap crafts! I made this little fish plush out of a sweater. I can probably never hope to be able to knit any sort of rad patterns like this, so I'm grateful for recycling.
All of the fins are made from felt with machine stitched details in rainbow thread.
Sewing thick and stretchy material like sweater is kind of a pain in the butt, and if there's a secret to it, I sure haven't figured it out.
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More more rinchies...

Blaaaargh! My craft room is a sauna. I found my room thermometer and it was 95 degrees up there! Yet, the lure of crafting is still too strong. The key is to stay hydrated. Made a few more rinchies for bottlecap pendants. Though I like it and it wouldn't be much bother to make each individual one, I'm planning on making enough to fill an 8.5 x 11" sheet and then reproducing them as needed. I know, I know, it kinda defeats the one-of-a-kind thing, but if I need bottlecap pendants in a pinch, I've got just got to pour em. I can save my crafting time for working on bigger ticket altered items, sewed stuff, illustrating and whatnot. I'm going to really go for this whole artist as a career thing... I think it's my life's calling. So, I'm guessing I'll be stocking my Etsy shop sooner or later. I'll keep you posted.

Anyways, I also made some more watercolor textures so I can start creating scrabble tile thingies. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my canned air because I hid it because I'm terrified of it in the hands of others. I think I hid it so a playful husband wouldn't tease me with it. It'll turn up. Happy Saturday Night, friends.
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Narwhal Box

Here it is! This is one of those monogrammed boxes from Michaels.... They were on clearance after Christmas time for 30 cents, so I have a few of em. It had a "w" on it, so I covered that up with a little watercolored narwhal and some other stuff.
I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend :D I went thrift store shopping today and got some pretty rad stuff to alter. Maybe I'll post about the treasure I found tomorrow!
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Fish & bubbles handcarved stamps

More stuff from the sealife swap! I loved making these little fishy stamps, and I'm probably going to make a few to keep for myself...
Here's the little fishy. But the stamp is upside down. Oops. You get the idea, though.
Then some bubbles to go along with em. I have been using that other bubble texture stamp A LOT lately, to embellish envelopes and whathaveyou.
And the whole set in a box. I'll show you how I embellished the lid of the box tomorrow. Happy Thursday!
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Ocean Themed Loaded Charm Bracelet!

Here's another Sealife Swap project! My partner really likes loaded charm bracelets, so I took a shot at one. Not my usual, but I think it turned out pretty cute!
I needed some smaller charms, so I made little resin ones with pennies, dimes and buttons. You can pour resin on practically anything! It's fantastic. Then the rest of the beads and stuff I pulled out of my stash.

Happy Tuesday! We get our other car today!
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Sealife Embroidery Zippered Pouch

Yay! My partner in the Sealife Swap received her package, so I get to start posting the crafts I sent :) I did this embroidery with bubbles and different fish and ocean creatures.
Then I made a fully lined zippered pouch out of it! It's about 6''x6''... Plus it has a little jewel zipper pull :D
I hope everyone's Monday has been a great start to their week. Mine was busy, but GOOD! I rescued a turtle!
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Rinchies!


Made some rinchies today that will most likely turn into resin bottlecaps! I'm doing my very first craft fair in October... And I'm pretty excited about it!!! I think I'm going to sell bottle cap and scrabble tile pendants along with some various other crafty things. I'm thinking fabric bowls, shrinky charms, magnets, and whatever else I can come up with from now until then. Anyways, happy Sunday night :)
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Watercolor Texture Birdies



Did a wee bit of experimenting today with watercolor backgrounds and white acrylic ink! Made a couple of interesting little birdies... I'm going to have to do a little more experimenting, because I'm not 100% about how they turned out.
And, I had to throw this in, because he was just so cute over there dancing, hooting and saying things for a Rice Krispie while I was writing this blogpost :)
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Fishy Resin Pendants

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been kinda slacking on my posting... I've been working on a lot of swap projects, but I just sent a package out yesterday, so I'll be able to post those goodies soon! Also, it's just been so hot up in my craft room. Hard to motivate myself to get up there more often than I must! So enjoy these resin bottlecaps and a scrabble tile pendant. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
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Owl project WIP, kinda....


For your imagination, a little watercolor owl that I can't tell you what I've used him for... Happy Wednesay!
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Postcards for Elder Cannon

Our good friend from back home just left on his mission a couple months ago and my husband and I are trying to write him every month. These are the postcards I whipped up for this month:
Wow, I realized that although I know what an alligator looks like, I can't draw the proportions right from memory... Looks more like a t-rex. Oh well! At least it SAYS gator on it.
And a simple cut-n-paste from a 50's era learn to count book... Great job, time to eat some pie! Happy Tuesday!
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Another Squishy FIsh

Here we have another watercolored fish. This one's much fatter than the other two! I kind of want to go on a painting frenzy because there's a set of watercolors I really want... Anytime Geninne gets something new, I just WANT it because she is my biggest art hero. Well, the new watercolor set is $259.00, sooooo I'll have to be really patient for that one. But can you imagine the colors?!!!
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Happy Mother's Day!



Here are the cards I made for the moms in my life! I hope all you women out there have a beautiful mother's day.
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Junk and stuff garden sign

My garden was a big sea of green and brown, so it needed a little bit of color! So I made a little garden sign out of some wooden stuff from Michaels and some junk beads and jewelry I had laying about.
Isn't this fishy guy cute? I couldn't resist... I went to Michaels on Wednesday, saw it for 59 cents and needed it. It added some much needed color to my garden. I can't wait till the tomatoes start turning red and the sunflowers start blooming... I still think my garden's in the need of more outdoor decor.
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