Happy April 2012 Everyone:)

I am so very pleased to tell you all that

as of this month

Birdnuts Mixed Media

is 

1 Year Old!

Woo Hoo!!!

It's my 

1 Year Anniversary 

of my blog, 

and Oh boy has it been a

Fabulous Year!!!

When I finally decided to jump in both

feet and start a blog, I really didn't know

how it would be received, as this is

a late in life choice that I had made,

and I haven't looked back since!!!

In just 1 Year, 

I'm Gobsmacked to say,

that I somehow managed to get the 

attention of some 

Fabulous Internet Shop Owners 

who have so graciously 

invited me to be 

Guest Designer and

Resident Artist for Representing their Shops!

I've even managed through 

Graphics45

to have a couple of my Favourite Pieces

Showcased in their Customer Gallery.

I've had the Great Pleasure of having

a Fabulous Assortment of Wonderful Artists

and Artisans 'Friend' Me on Facebook!

Which I invite you all to 

send me a 'Friend' Invite as well!

(Badge on my Column)

And even Better is all of You!!!

As of this month, 

350 Followers

and 

over 12,000 Views!

in just 1 Year!

I'm So Proud!!!

So Thank You all so very much!

And do stay tuned as throughout

this whole Month of April 

I will be posting all sorts of

surprises!!!

So I want to get the month started with 

one of my 

Lovely Internet Shops 

that

I'm Proud to say that I'm

Artist in Residence for:)

Gail Schmidt

of

Shabby Cottage Studio

Gail has brought in a Beautiful Assortment

of New Goodies into her shop and

listed more Fabulous Tutorial Classes to boot!

From Wonderful New Line of Journals

for Art Journaling

to

Pan Pastels

and 

Supplies

In a Plethora of Colours to chose from!!

And one of Gail's New Items are

something I just love to play with!

The Crafters Choice

and

Balzer Design

6 x 6 Stencils!

So to Celebrate Gail's 

New Goodies

 in her Shop, 

I thought I'd give you a Mini Tutorial

on how I like to use the

New 6x6 

'The Crafters Choice' Stencils:)

Stencil Backgrounds 

for ATC's, (Artist Trading Cards), 

Envelopes, Journal Pages

and So Much More!!

For this mini tutorial, I chose the

Harlequin 6x6 Template Stencil

and Used 

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Using blank ATC Cards and Envelopes

for ATC's.....

...and a couple of my Favourite Script Stamps

and StazOn Black Ink....

....I started by stamping the blank cards

and envelopes with the Script Stamps....

...then with the 

'Harlequin'  Crafters Choice Stencil

I sprayed the blanks with

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

This gave me a great starting point for

creating this ATC Card and Envelope....

'Oh Deer Harlequin'

LOL!!!

(Yup, Me and My Deer Again!)

For for an added bit of fun, on the back 

of the ATC, I used a Library Card Holder

to sign my ATC with:)

The Fabulous Assortment of 

The Crafters Choice Stencils

and all the other 

Wonderful New Products 

that Gail has just listed

will certainly get your Mojo going

for some Fun!!

So I hope my Mini Tutorial gives you

lots of ideas on making some wonderful

backgrounds as a start to some 

Fantastic New Projects 

for you all!!

And do check back soon, 

as there's 

lots more ahead here on 

Birdnuts Mixed Media!!

Enjoy!!!

And the Melissa Samuel's Gift Certificate goes to!!!!!:)

Hi Everyone!!!

I am so Stoked!!!

And Gobsmacked!! LOL!

First off!!!

Huge Thank You's

to

Melissa Samuels!!

There will be a Special ATC

that I'll be sending this Dear Girl!!!

Now I know you all are jumping up and down

wanting to know who's the 

Winner of the $25 Gift Certificate 

to Melissa's Shop...

But I'd just like to say:)

This has been one of the most successful,

interesting, and fun Blog Giveaways I've

done this past year!

With the use of Facebook, and so many

of you jumping on board with such interest

in Making and Swapping ATC's

and all the encouragement from many of

you to 

'Let's do this again'!!

I'm just gobsmacked!

I had started off with the ATC Swap Challenge

part to be 5 Winner's picked for Swapping ATC's

and 

I'd send them a few little goodies with the

ATC's, that's still happening:)

But as you all know now, 

I had decided a couple of weeks ago when your 

ATC's started arriving

that it would be so much more fun to Swap with

all of you!

Oh Man!!! Then 33 Entries Later!! LOL!!!

I'm still making ATC's!!! 

(Almost finished and Envelopes are ready to mail!)

Here's just a few examples of the ATC's I've made

(some of them you've already seen on Facebook),

that you all will be receiving in the mail soon!!

As many of you know about me 

Nature is always involved in any of

my projects:)

This just ended up being a little twisted! LOL!

And a little 'girlie':)

These have been a blast to make!!

And I even managed to teach myself with

some experimenting some new technique's

I'll be sharing in future posts:)

So here we are:)

Over 1000 Page Views 

since the First Post for

this Challenge!!!

45 New Followers!!!

and

33 Fabulous ATC Entries!!!!

Anyone interested in

doing this next month???

Leave me comments on this post if 

you're interested in being part of another

ATC Swap Challenge and Gift Certificate

Giveaway Later Next Month, and any interesting

ideas of what theme you all would like, 

and I'll get it put together, 

as Next Month is my

1 Year Anniversary:)

of

Birdnuts Mixed Media Blog:)

Woo Hoo!!! LOL!!!

So I suppose you want to know who the 

Winner is???? LOL!!!

(I'm such a tease!!)

Using the Random Generator Site

and listing each of your Entries

in order on the previous post.....

The Winner of the

$25 Gift Certificate to

MelissaSamuels.net 

is.....

#9

Diana D. Dardin!!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

( oh man, can you see the confetti flying!!! LOL!)

Congratulations Diana!!!

I just wish I could have awarded all of you

Gift Certificates as you all have 

Entered Fabulous ATC's!!!! 

And I hope the fun of Swapping at the

least is enough for encouraging you all

to do this again, as I've had a blast

and I'm so proud to be 

Swapping and Collecting 

all of your Fabulous Entries!!

I just hope you'll enjoy receiving my ATC's

in the Swap as much!!

So Big Congrats to Diana D. Dardin!

And you all will be receiving your Swap ATC's

soon in the mail! 

( Coming from Canada you never know 

how long it's going to take in the post, as 

you all are all over the place!!

Canada, U.S.A., England, Greece!!! LOL)

OMG!!! The postage!! LOL!!!

And I'm leaving the 5 Winners of 

the little extra's a surprise:)

Ok, Leave me those Comments and

Let's do this Again!!!

Enjoy!!!

( I certain have!!)

Oh Man!!!! What a Fabulous ATC Turnout!!!

You All Rock!!! LOL!!!

Wow!!!

I have to tell you all that this Fabulous

ATC Swap Challenge 

and 

Gift Certificate Giveaway

with

Melissa Samuels

Has been amazing with all the Attention

and Entries!!!

I'm Gobsmacked!!!

So here's the plan!!!!

Today is the Deadline for Entering your

ATC's in the theme 'Sweet'.

And 5 of you will be picked by

the Random Generator Site

to Swap ATC's and receive a few little

extra goodies:).....

But here's the news:)

All Entries are going to be

Swapping ATC's With Me!!!

That's right!

I've gone bonkers!!!

LOL!

Turns out I made enough ATC's to actually 

consider this, ( although last night I had more

Fabulous Entries, so I'm scrambling to make

some more! LOL)

All ATC Entries ( up to 3 per person!)

Are Entries for the 

$25 Gift Certificate to

Melissa Samuels Shop!!

Woo Hoo!!!

So in the meantime, as tomorrow I'll be 

Announcing the 

Winner

of the 

$25 Gift Certificate!!

I wanted to Share All the Fabulous ATC

Entries as they're all Amazing and Wonderful!!!

I'll also be sharing with you all the 

Links and Shout Outs 

for many of these Fabulous Artists Entries!!

So lets get to it!!!

(if I've made any error's, please Email me

and I will correct asap! There's a ton of

information here, and I don't want to 

mess it up!! LOL)

There is no order here, it's as they come!!!

First up!!!

ATC by 'Flutter BeforeYou'

'Fish Girl' Entry #1

ATC 'Soul Sisters'

by Flutter BeforeYou

Entry #2

ATC 'Love's Old Sweet Song'

by Flutter BeforeYou

Entry #3

Flutter BeforeYou 

has both a Great Blog and Etsy Shop!

Please check them out!!!

www.flutterbeforeyou.blogspot.com

and 

www.etsy.com/shop/flutterbeforeyou

Next Up!!!

Chocolate Bunny by Jennifer Ingle:)

( and I don't think Melissa Samuels 

will mind this:)

Jennifer is a Design Team Member for

Retro Cafe Art Gallery and many other

Wonderful Companies, and she's used

some of Retro Cafe Art Gallery's 

Fabulous products:)

Jennifer's Blog 

'Just Jingle'

www.justjingle.blogspot.com

And the Next Up!!

ATC 'Life is a Beach'

by Anitra Fritz:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Down by the Sea'

by Anitra Fritz:)

Entry #2

ATC 'She Loved to Swim with Fish'

by Anitra Fritz:)

Entry #3

Please take time to check out Anitra's Etsy Shop 

'Cute Art World' at

www.etsy.com/shop/anitrabear

Next we have:)

'Sweet' ATC by

Diana D. Darden :)

Entry #1

ATC 'Sweet Faults'

by Diana D. Darden

Entry #2

ATC 'Sweet Corn'

by Diana D. Darden

Entry #3

Diana has a website I'd love to have

you take time to check out at

www.dianaddarden.com

Next is:)

ATC 'Sweet Pea'

by Eugenia Strange:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Sweet as Pie'

by Eugenia Strange

Entry #2

( Using the Famous Retro Cafe Art Gallery Dollie!!)

Currently Eugenia doesn't have a blog or shop

but we'll be working on that with her!! LOL!

Thanks Eugenia:)

And more to come!!!

Next Up!!!

ATC 'Sweet Girl'

by Renee Stien:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Girl with Wings'

by Renee Stien

Entry #2

Renee has a Fabulous Blog called

The Tin Goat at

www.thetingoat.blogspot.com

Which I encourage you to please go visit:)

Thanks Renee:)

And Our Next Entry is....

ATC 'Tempus Fugit'

by Lois Romeo

Entry #1

ATC by Lois Romeo:)

Entry #2

ATC 'Circus'  

by Lois Romeo:)

Entry #3

And another Fabulous group of ATC's and

and Wonderful Artist that doesn't have a blog!!!

We'll have to work on you too Lois!!!

Thanks for Entering:)

And Wait!!! There's even more Entries!!!

Next Up!!!!

ATC 'Sweet as the Day is Long'

by the Fabulous Mary Jane Chadbourne:)

Entry #1

ATC 'A Corner of Heaven'

by Mary Jane Chadbourne

Entry #2

Mary Jane Chadbourne

'Desert Dreams Studio'

has a Fabulous Blog and Etsy Shop

www.desertdreamstudios.weebly.com

and

www.etsy.com/shop/desertdreamstudio

Also Mary Jane Chadbourne is one of the

Fabulous Artists who are teaching at

Artful Gatherings this Summer!!

And our Next Entry is from....

ATC 'Cutie Pie'

by Tracey Stockman:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Crave'

by Tracey Stockman:)

Entry #2

What's up with no Blog Tracey!!!

Gotta work on that!!! LOL!

Thanks for Entering!!!

Hang in there Everyone

There's Even More!!!!!!

Next Up!!!

ATC' 'Pink Sweet'

by Shelly Mendenhall:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Sweet Blue'

by Shelly Mendenhall:)

Entry #2

ATC 'Sweet Green'

by Shelly Mendenhall

Entry #3

One of the 'Book of Days' Journal Group

Sisters:) You rock Shelly!

Thanks for Entering!!!

And Next!!

ATC' 'Sweet Bear Factor' ( I named it! LOL)

by Joy Northrup:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Sweet Sensation' ( Ok so I named this one too!)

by Joy Northrup:)

Entry #2

ATC 'Sweet Dollie Devine' 

(LOL! I named her too!!!)

(Woo Hoo! Retro Cafe Art Dollie!!)

by Joy Northrup!

( I hope you don't mind my naming them Joy!!)

Thanks so much:)

Joy Northrup as 2 Wonderful Links to Share

www.flickr.com/autumnsensation

and

www.etsy.com/shop/paperpetite

Please check them both out!!

And Next is....

ATC 'Lovely'

by Emma Jones:)

Entry #1

ATC 'Sweet Hearts'

by Emma Jones:)

Entry #2

You did good Emma!!!

Thanks so much:)

And Last but Certainly Not Least:)

ATC 'Hey Babycakes'

by Jennifer Gerwig

Entry #1

ATC 'Angel Food Cake'

(How Sweet!!!)

by Jennifer Gerwig:)

Entry #2

Jennifer has a Wonderful Blog at

www.jensunchartedterritory.blogspot.com

And again, I encourage you all to drop by

Jennifer's blog and have a boo!!!

And Woo Hoo!!! Right at the Last Minute

Tonight just as the Deadline is about to Happen....

ATC 'Cute Baby Cakes'

by Gigi Butterfly!!

Entry #1

ATC 'Bending over Backwards'

by Gigi Butterfly!!

Entry #2

Gigi Butterfly has a Fabulous Website that

you just have to go check out as she's one

of British Columbia's Fine Artists!!!

http://www.gigibutterfly.com/

Well!

Isn't this Fabulous!!!

All these Entries and there's still time

as the Deadline is at Midnight tonight!

Friday March 23rd!!!

Any more Entries will be showcased

in tomorrow's Blog Post which will

be Announcing the 

Winner of the 

$25 Gift Certificate to

www.MelissaSamuels.net

Woo Hoo!!!

( Ok so I'm pooped now! LOL!)

Big Thanks to all of you who have Already Entered!!

And Big Hugs and Thanks to my Dear Melissa!! xoxo

And on a quick personal note, as I have been receiving 

emails from some of you:)

from the previous blog post....

Our Dear Oliver Howard, ended up

in Emergency Surgery, and has had

all the Bladder Stones removed and was

in hospital for nearly 3 days, but I'm

thrilled to say that he's home now resting

and seems with all of the stitches to have

had a zipper put in!

He's now my new p.j's bag:)

Prognosis is good, but has a ton

of tests ahead of him for the next 

few months, but the boy is 'Magical'

and coming along well:)

Thanks for all the Fabulous and Heartwarming

Emails and Messages on Facebook!

May have to get him his own page! LOL!!

xoxox

See You All Tomorrow!!!

Enjoy!!!