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!

King Easter Bunny Egg Shrine

Easter is ALMOST here. It's this weekend... and I'm kinda sad it's going to be over soon because I've been having so much fun making bunny crafts. This is a wee egg shrine to the king of the bunnies (Elahrairah!)
It;s made from a paper mache egg that has been cut open on the side. They're hollow, so there was a nice little cavity to fill with glitter and bunny-delight.
I tried to shine the light right up in there so you can see the pretty glitter inside :) I think that glitter is my favorite part!
The edges where I cut using a hack saw were kind of rough, so I lined the border with seed beads. Then I glued on some resin flowers. Doesn't that dresden make such a good crown?  Tee hee!


And in other news... THIS! I bought this ridiculous golden crystal-encrusted bunny ring for myself and I'm in love with it. It's so much sparklier in person. It's fitting for this weekend, but I'll probably just wear it all the time. Got it from this Ebay shop: Seperwar. Happy Easter, friends!

Pompom Easter Bunny: A review of "Adventures in Pompom Land"

Okay guys, I'm kind of excited about this bunny I just made :) Haha, it's really nothing great, but it's so soft and cute... And I think I've finally found something to do with my ridiculous stash of yarn, since I rarely ever want to take the time (or sit still long enough!) to knit or crochet. When I learned to knit and crochet, it seemed like yarn came from EVERYWHERE. So-and-so's grandma is getting rid of yarn, so-and-so found a huge yarn stash at a yard sale for so cheap... And I ended up with puh-lenty of yarn :) And it's just been sitting there. Anyhoo, Sterling Publishing sent me this book:

 "Adventures in Pompom Land" by Myko Diann Bocek. So freaking cute. Seriously. There are so many cute animals, a fox, a hedgehog, squirrel, birdies, a lamb! a kitty!etc. It was hard to pick a project, but I decided to make the bunny because Easter is soon, and I'd like to make some more decorations.
 The only time I attempted a handmade pompom was when I saw a tutorial on how to make one on a fork. It was cool, but not very puffy...kind of sparse. This book shows you how to make BIG OLE fluffy, dense pompoms that you can then shape with scissors to create wee puffy creatures. I didn't need to buy any new tools, so that was wonderful. A big trick is using A LOT of yarn :) Which is why I am so stoked about the stash-busting possibilities of this craft. This bunny is about 5'' tall and used up about 1/2 skein of sport-weight acrylic yarn.
 The techniques involve a little bit of needle felting for features like legs and tails, which wouldn't be super-efficient to make out of pompoms. And there is gluing, thank goodness. I'm all for shortcuts, and any glue is hidden in the finished product among all the fluff.

Now, when I initially flipped through the book and began to read some of the instructions, I got a little confused, but once you jump into the project, you can totally tell what they're talking about. There are pictures, and they help...but truly, I didn't get some of the ideas until I had the pompom in my hands.

All in all, I actually think I'm going to use this book to bust the heck out of my yarn stash and make things of yarn that are actually super cute. Things that I wouldn't be embarrassed gifting to somebody (unlike some of the knit monstrosities I've created in the past! Sometimes yarn can be so hideous when you do all the wrong things to it.)

Bottom line on Adventures in Pompom Land: I like it, I'm gonna get some use out of it, and BOOM, a new fluffy skill! I recommend.




Squirrelly Scene Altered Coaster

My, my, it has warmed UP in Alabama this week... I was complaining about the cold, but now I remember the hot! Here comes spring. I made this altered coaster for the Alpha Stamps Spring Fling 4x4 Swap. 
 Check out my moon beads :) If you want more info on the swap, see the newsletter!

I hope everybody had a good weekend. I did! 

New Video Tutorial! How to make a Pop-Up

Hey friends! I made a new video to show you how to make Pop-Up Cards with multiple levels. I had quite a few requests for this tutorial... So ask and you shall receive! Happy Thursday!



If you have a suggestion for my next video, leave it in the comments. I'm grateful for ideas :) 

"Hey, Maw! I done caught me a Squirrel Fairy!"

If only I could be so lucky as to find a teeny tiny squirrel with wings fluttering around my backyard... So I suppose if I want fuzzy fairies, I have to make them on my own. This little glass dome is featured on the Alpha Stamps Newsletter this week :) I've been posting a lot of AS projects lately, huh? But they're fun. 

I've put this little catch on my mantle. It makes me laugh a little every time I see it. Makes me want to get more glass domes and make fairy mice and bunnies as a nice little set. Happy Sunday. I've been feeling good lately.

Rooster Pendant

Good morning! Or is it? Daylight Saving Time is a beast isn't it? I don't mind gaining an hour in the Fall, but this spring forward stuff is feeling brutal right now. Cheer up and look at this cheery rooster pendant.

It sort of looks like a medal or award or something, huh? You win the medal for Champion Clucker. I wish I had a chicken I could award it to. For the time being, I'll have to just watch this live streaming chicken cam from a farm in Canada. You can even hear them cluck! Thanks Nichola for sharing that...

Here's the Alpha Stamps product list:
Clear Oval Pendants
Colorful Bead Mix
Thin Gold Border Stickers
Acrylic Leaf Mix - Fall Harvest
March Kit Fiber Set


The Otter Fairy Shadow Box

I have decided, this is what the tooth fairy looks like. Four inches tall, butterfly wings, and oh yeah, it's an otter.
I drew the otter, then watercolored and cut it out. Cute little guy, huh?
The background is painted with acrylics and sprayed with glimmer mist for a little sparkle :) Then all the embellishments are from my planty stash. I have a shoebox full of little branches and leaves and things that I've collected and butterfly wings and feathers and stuff.
 Then I popped it all into a shadowbox frame! Oh, and I added the "Be Good" metal pieces since this is a gift for a young friend who is going off to college soon... A good reminder for a college kid, right? Happy Tuesday, friends!

PS. I did tell my sister to tell my 4-year-old niece that this IS REALLY what the toothfairy looks like. She said she will :)


Easter Parade! Egg-shaped Accordion Book

Looks like Easter falls on the last Sunday in March this year, so this little Easter Egg Book isn't too early :) 

 The inside is a wee Easter Parade that folds out accordion-style... Bunnies in dresses, kitties in top hats, chicks driving a car. It's wacky, and it's flipping adorable. Alpha Stamps has 8 new collage sheets just full of ridiculous vintage animals doing cute things in cute outfits. I mean, baby chicks playing in a string quartet, COME ON! I got to look at some baby chicks peeping in the tractor supply store last weekend...So cute. I want some.
Anyway, here's a product list of loverly thingies I used to make my book. If it sounds fun, go join the Easter Parade Swap over at Alpha Stamps this month. I hope you're having a great weekend!

Product List:
Find this stuff at Alphastamps.com!




Stampotique Stamp Release! Hop! Check out my cards!


Today's release day for Stampotique and we're partying with a BLOG HOP! The Stampotique Design Team, and some of the stamp designers (like yours truly) have made some great stuff to make you drool over the new designs...

 For the new release, I made a set of cards to show off my new images :) I drew lots of birds in this release, because you know how I feel about birds... The stamp on this card is "Stack of Birds."
 "BirdyBonnets"
"Bacon and Ham" (You might recognize these little oinkers from a valentine's card I made for Bobby a couple years ago!) 

"Some Budgie Loves You" Do you guys recognize Pipo and Popcorn? :)
 "Toucan and Budgie" but I stole the sentiment from "Some Budgie Loves You!"
 "Waving Spotted Monster" because what's a stamp release without a new monster? Thanks for looking at my cards! All of these stamps are now for sale at Stampotique.com! Go TREAT YO'SELF.


Hop through the all the links and leave comments along the way for your chance to win some new stamps.  Winners will be chosen randomly and announced on the Stampotique Challenge Blog.

If you want an additional chance to win some Stampotique goodies, jump in at the Stampotique Designer's Challenges.

If you're just seeing this post here on my blog, and you want to hop along, you will want to start at Stampotique Designer's Challenge

From here at Oops I Craft My Pants, you'll want to go to visit the magnificent France Papillon.

Have fun hippity hopping :) I hope you like looking at all the new stamps!

The whole March release collection can be viewed on the Stampotique website.