TILDA WITH FLOWER POT

Hi fellow crafters!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and are resting up for the start of a new week.  November kinda snuck up on us and the holiday season is a busy time for all.  Today I would like to share a card I made back in September for my Card And Tag Swap (CATS).  I wasn't able to post it since my partner was taking a blog break but I'm sure it's okay now LOL!  Anyways, the theme for September was "Flowers" so I decided to use my sweet Tilda With Flower Pot for my swap.  Still one of my faves among all my faves LOL!

This is the front of the card and I've used a SB tag die to keep the "window" closed.  I made a little flower box beneath the window.

When you open the window, you'll see Tilda with her flower pot peeking out.  My awning is made using SU! word window punch.  I saw this idea several years ago when this punch first came out and didn't make a note of the creator, so I apologize. I embossed the window panels with TH woodgrain embossing flolder (not sure of the exact name of this folder). And here you see Tilda peeking out, holding her flower pot.  I paper-pieced her coat.  Coloring was done using Copics.

This is the inside of the card, and again I've used an old SU! sentiment stamp and on the right I've left a blank spot for jotting a note to my partner.  We also had to make a tag to complete the set and this is what I made:

The cover swivels open so a greeting can be written on the inside.  

Thank you for stopping by today.  Now I need to really get started with my holiday cards as I'm always late!  Have a wonderful week and happy crafting to you all.

Warm Hugs,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Aloha Friday, fellow crafters and Maggie lovers!  I made my first (and only?) Halloween card!  I used "Tilda With Spiderweb" from the 2008 Autumn Halloween collection.  I had fun coloring her, but still need lots more practice coloring black hair!

I'll keep this post short.  Although you can't really tell in the pic, it's an easel card and I used my MS PATP Spider Web punches for the base, and MS Iron Fence on the card. Tilda is colored with Copics and I added some Golden Rod Stickles to her web. I kept the easel "stopper" simple, using only a bow, because I didn't want to cover the DP that says "Trick or Treat."  

Thank you for stopping by and if I don't get a chance to post again before Halloween, I wish you all a HAPPY HALLOWEEN and hope you get more treats than tricks!

Have a "BOO-tiful" day everyone!

MAKE A CHILD SMILE THIS CHRISTMAS - A Special Project

Hi fellow crafters!  Hope your week is going well and you're gearing up for the weekend!  I was tucked away in my craft room making some very special cards for some very special children for a very good deed adventure that my friend Kris has undertaken.  You can read all about this wonderful adventure on Kris's blog here.  In a nutshell, the cards are 4" x 4" and didn't require much fussiness so I was able to make these 15 cards in two days.  I felt wonderful after completing them because I know they are for a very special person and to do a good deed is spiritually uplifting.  So on to my meager cards:

I decided to work with only four different images so I could "mass produce" them so the basic layout is the same.  I had to hunt down some non-gender-specific images and I really don't have much (sigh!).  The sentiment on the little red heart says, "Have yourself a merry little Christmas."  And here's the whole lot that I'll be sending out to Kris tomorrow:

Kris, you (and your Aunt) have a heart of gold and I'm glad I was able to contribute a meager portion for this wonderful good deed adventure of yours.  The children will definitely smile when they receive their special Christmas present.  

To all you wonderfully talented crafters out ther, it's not too late to help contribute a card for this very special project.  Please visit Kris's blog for more information, and I know in your heart, you will feel wonderful to be able to help Make A Child Smile This Christmas!

In closing, I just want to share a sentiment stamp I bought over the weekend.  It reads, "A child's smile is one of life's greatest blessings" and we all know this to be true.

Love and Blessings to you all . . .

SISTER STAMPS - RELEASE #3 - NOW AVAILABLE!

Happy Sunday/Monday fellow crafters!  Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  Mine was quite eventful and I had lots of good food to grind!  Okay, today I'd like to share a card with you and it is from the 3rd release from Sister Stamps!  I played with "Yuki" which means either Blessing or Snow.  She is so adorable, enjoying her stocking full of Christmas toys!  There are three stamps in this release and you can see them on my sidebar.  Click on the icon and there you will find a list of where you can purchase them.  So, here is my "version" of Yuki enjoying her Christmas toys:

My card base is 5.5" square (PTI cardstock), layered with Bazzill (red), then a green dotted CS which I punched out the border with my new MS "Scallop Snowflake" border punch that I got from an HSN special, and finally a rectangle of DP from We R Memory Keepers-Merry & Bright stack.  The Christmas tree is die-cut from Lifestyle Crafts/QuicKutz "Nesting Trees" and I added some teeny-tiny punched sakura flowers (thanks Jenny!) and I know, I overdid it!  LOL!  I meant so scatter a few, but there were so many in the package I just went gung-ho and I thought oh well, the tree could use some sparkle! I also added some white flock to the cuff of the stocking to give it a warm, fuzzy feel.  So that's it.  Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you all a wonderful week, and as the holiday season is rolling around so fast, I'm sure you'll all be busy crafting away so have fun!

Holiday Hugs . . .

C.A.T.S. Swap - August 2011

Hi crafters!  Hope your week is going well so far and I'm sure we're all looking forward to the upcoming weekend!  Today I have something very special to share with you.  The artist is a sweet friend of mine and many of you know her in blogland as "Mama" of LuvntheJourney!  Well, she was my partner for August for the CATS swap hosted by Joy.  You sign up and are committed for three months.  Go check out the details on Joy's blog...I believe the sign up is still open!  

Going back to my partner for September, when I say "artist" I mean she's extremely talented and often times I wish I could craft with her all day!  You'll see what I mean when you see her awesome creation below.  The theme for August was ribbons and she made the cutest, sweetest little velvet flowers!  I had to ask her to tell me how she did it!  Anyway, here's her awesome creations:

Isn't this an incredible triple easel card?!!!  And her coloring is just awesome.  If only you could see it IRL.  I'm so happy because I get to have several colored images from her!  If you want to know how Mama made this card, go check our her blog here for all the details.  In addition to a card, she created a matching tag, and that's what CATS stands for . . . Card And Tag Swap!  

One more thing I want to share with you...Mama also sent me a Birthday Gift and look at how she wrapped it...and colored this beautiful Anya:

Oh besides being talented, she is so sweet.  She wished me a Happy "21st" Birthday and I admit, those younger days were great ones, but now I can only wish to be young and vigorous again, LOL!  Thank you so much Mama!

I thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed seeing this lovely creation I received.  

Until next time, enjoy life, stay safe, and hug the ones you love.

A Hug for you, from me,

CARD AND TAG SWAP - AUGUST 2011

Happy Tuesday/Wednesday fellow crafters!  I'm back with my Card And Tag Swap (CATS) for August.  My partner is the wonderfully talented Mama!  It was a bit nerve wrecking for me because Mama does beautiful work and I'm so many notches below her caliber but I bit the bullet and thought as soon as I got my swap done, my stomach would settle down and there's no more fingernails to bite on LOL!  The requirement for this month's swap was to use ribbon.  Sounds easy enough right?  WRONG!  I wanted to use it in a different sort of way besides just tying a ribbon around my card and tag and adding a bow, so I decided to make little ribbon flowers.  (Caution:  Long post!) Okay, enough blabbering so here's my humble card for Mama:

About a month ago, Sugar Nellie came out with some new images for the Sherbet Pips line and here I've used "Candy Pip" on the cover.  I put some teeny-tiny buttons on her dress and added some small bows to the top of her head and on the flourish leaf.  

For the inside of my card, I used "Cherry Pip" and added a picket fence on both sides, some die-cut grass, and pink ribbon flowers and a little bow for her hair.  The "jotting" piece fits just inside/behind the picket fence and here I used some pleated ribbon topped with some velvet ric-rac trim, added a flower and the butterflies.  I wanted the jotting piece to look like a "house" behind the picket fence but I didn't do a very good job at it.  Below you can see the jotting piece removed from behind the fence:

Lastly, I finished my tag with another Cherry Pip.  I made it so that the cover swivels open:

Well, that's all I have to share today.  Thank you for being so patient in viewing all the pics.  You can join in the fun and sign up for the next quarter's Card and Tag Swap by

visiting Joy's blog and at the very top, you can click on Joy's message for more info.  Have a wonderful week, and thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Warm Aloha Hugs,

C.A.T.S. July Swap from Joni!

Happy Aloha Friday!  Today I have a DELIGHTFUL card to share with you!  I signed up to play in Joy's "Cards And Tags Swap" (CATS) and if you'd like more info, check it out here.  For July, I was honored to have as my partner the super talented Joni of Crafty Hula Hands.  This month's challenge is a color challenge and we were asked to use the colors Red, White, and Blue.  Gulp!  I'm NOT good when it comes to coloring or working with blues!  Poor Joni, but lucky ME!  Look at what she made for me:

Isn't this the CUTEST card and tag set?!!  THANK YOU, JONI!  I LOVE THIS!  Joni has colored Marci to perfection.  If only you could see it IRL!  I love how the pretty blue bow really picks up the same shade as the blue in the DP, and the red punched border and flowers brightens the card.  Joni also added some crystal lacquer to Marci's swim tube...like real plastic!  Wow!  So much detail to her coloring and layout.  Joni also sent me those beautiful silver charm butterflies!  I LOVE butterflies, so thank you, Joni!  I need to get me more shades of blue Copic markers, so I can practice!  It was truly a fun swap.  Thank you Joni for being my partner, and thank you Joy, for hosting this swap!  

I wish you all a fun-filled weekend, doing what you love, and being with the ones you love.

Warm Aloha Hugs,

Congratulation Tilda Helps Celebrate a Friend's Birthday!

Good morning crafty crafters!  Hope your week is off to a great start.  I believe challenges helps motivate me and gives me the inspiration to create something.  I decided to play along with the Just Magnolia and hÄnglar and stÄnglar challenge this week and they want to see "Pink, Purple, and Pearls" so this is what I came up with:

Okay, I'm not good at photography, but the dotted "tan" looking DP is really lighter IRL, like the top portion of the card, but I just could not adjust the pic to show the true colors so please ignore it for now.  Here is "Congratulation Tilda" #233 from Diana's Magnolia-licious web store.  Simple click on her store icon on my sidebar to shop 24/7.  I stamped this image with Memento black tuxedo on PTI CS and paper pieced her dress, party hat, and gift using DP by Maja Design.  I also punched out the butterfly using my Doohickey butterfly punch from the Maja DP and also from PTI CS and layered it.   The small purple roses beneath the pink rose looks almost black! Sorry about that.  I've added pearls to her shoes, the butterfly, and a white pearl flourish beneath the butterfly although it's hard to see in the pic.

Thank you for stopping by today.  I'm sorry I haven't been blog hopping lately, but I've been cleaning up my craft room AGAIN because I somehow lost my "workspace" and had to put things back where they belong and it ended up taking quite a bit of time (sigh!).  I'll be visiting blogs shortly and wish you all a wonderful day!

Hugs,

A RAK FROM SHIRLEY!!!

Just look at this BEAUTIFUL card I received from Shirley!  It is so lovely and elegant, just like her!  Her coloring knocks my socks off!  I'm such a bad photographer and I know I'm not doing her any justice, so I apologize.  She is so detail oriented and there are so many elements she used and put together so beautifully!  Just look at her gorgeous coloring!  You can find more of her wonderful creations here.  Thank you so very much, Shirley, for sending me one of your masterpieces and the SB Fancy Tags Three that I will definitely put to good use.  What I appreciate and treasure most is the friendship we have developed, and I am grateful for that.  Ahhhh, the wonderful world of blogland!

And here's a close up of her card:

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYONE! 

Sharing Calendar Artwork for July, August, and September 2011

As promised earlier, today I'd like to share calendar pages for July, August, and September, made by Tammi.  My pics don't do justice to her beautiful creations.  They are so dimensional IRL, and I get to enjoy them every day.  I still can't believe it's July already!  Please enjoy these wonderful works of art and I know it will give you inspiration.  Today, my GF and I went to a rubber stamp expo and bought some cute 6" x 6" mini albums and we thought we'd make calendar pages for 2012 . . . keeping fingers crossed we actually make them LOL!  Anyway, please enjoy these calendar pages:

Have a glorious weekend, stay safe, and enjoy your Fourth of July celebration!  Tomorrow I will have something else to share with you so stay tuned.

Hugs,



Butterflies!

Hello Maggie friends out there!  Hope your week is going well.  It's almost mid-week or it already is for some of you.  The deadline for entering the Just Magnolia and hÄnglar & stÄnglar Week 112 Challenge is almost closing so I'd better post this quickly.  The theme is:  Butterflies!  I've chosen to use some paper from DCWV Mariposa and the papers are very glittery in gold and covered with butterflies so I've kept my embellishments on the very simple side with not much frills or it may be overkill.  I don't know why, but in the picture, the twill ribbon I used from PTI (Sweet Blush) looks pink whereas IRL it's quite similar to SU!'s Blush on the peachy side.  Anyways, here's my card:

See how pink the ribbon looks?  My card base is also PTI Sweet Blush, 5.5" square, and the mat pieces are a gold metallic CS.  The lonely flower is from Magnolia.  I colored Tilda with Hawaii Flower with Copics and added some gold Spica gel pen over the butterfly and her hair for some sparkle, although you can't see it in the pic.  Here's a pic of the inside of my card:

On the bottom of the card, the black "border" you see is actually part of the print on the DP.  I cut a slit on that black line to create a "pocket" for my notecard to slip into.  It's rather hard to see because the notecard blends in a bit.  The next pic shows the notecard removed:

I folded a piece of the PTI Sweet Blush CS and die-cut it with my SB Labels One die leaving a bit of a hinge on the top, then die-cut two more pieces from the DP to cover the front and back.
Well, that's it for this card.  Thank you very much for taking the time to stop by.  Have a wonderful day wherever you are, and happy crafting!

Hugs,
Cami

An Oldie But Goodie - Sitting Summer Tilda

Hope your weekend is getting off to a good start and the weather is being nice to all of you!  I had a chance to work on a card and thought I'd do one for the Magnolia-licious Highlites Challenge.  The theme is Black + White + Pop (one other color).  I thought it would be fun to play along but oh does my coloring "black" hair suck!  I know I need to keep practicing and that I will do, but at this point, I gave up for now so what you see is what you get for now LOL!  I chose to use red as my Pop color and I know for sure I'll be challenging myself to use other colors, too!  So, here is my failed "black haired" Tilda:

I don't have much to say about this card as the DPs and flowers are from my "supply box" and it's filled with odds and ends from previous projects.  The heart die is from Nellie Snellen  (MFD 022 Heart) and the flourish is from Marianne Design Creatables (LR0116).  I decorated the inside also but kept it very flat while trying to maintain the same theme:

My card looks bare like something is missing but I decided to stop here so Tilda doesn't get "lost" among all the dots LOL!  Kinda plain and simple but I know I'll just mess it up if I add something I'm not sure of at this point.  Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.  I truly appreciate your critique so I can consider it in my furture cards.
Have a wonderful, fun-filled weekend, stay safe, and happy crafting.

Maggie Hugs,

Celebrating a Birthday with Tilda with Balloon!

Happy mid-week fellow Magnolia friends!  First of all, I'd like to apologize for the spam mail that went out last evening/this morning.  Deb from our Magnolia-licious Yahoo group was very helpful, patient, and encouraging while I was stressing out trying to get rid of that "virus!"  THANK YOU, DEB!!! I was working on this card to enter in the Just Magnolia and hÄnglar and stÄnglar Challenge Week 111 that calls for "Paper Piecing to dress up our Images" when the trouble began!  I won't get into too much details, but the recipe is below if you are interested:

Recipe:
Stamp:  Tilda with Balloon - You Are So Special Collection 2011; Happy Birthday seal from Whimsy "Birthday Letter Seals" by Raindrop Echo
CS:  Bazzill (white), SU! (Red Rose)
DP:  gcd Studios (Petit Blossoms - double sided)
Other:  Die from Cheery Lynn Designs - Fanciful Flourish

Again, I apologize for the spam mail, and I wish you all a wonderful evening/morning.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by and for your encouraging comments.  They are much appreciated.

Hugs from Hawaii,

Tilda With Rain Boots

Hello Maggie friends!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  In Hawaii we celebrated King Kamehameha Day on Friday so many people had a nice 3-day weekend!  I decided to participate in the Just Magnolia and hÄnglar & stÄnglar Challenge Week #111 using a sketch by the wonderfully talented Jacque and Flowers Galore!  I'm also entering this in the Magnolia Stamp Lovers Challenge where "Anything Goes."
I found a pretty DP by K & Co called Watercolor Bouquet and I love the tiny flower print so I've used her here.  I won't elaborate since I've paper-pieced Tilda's dress, boots, and hat bow.  The flourish is from Cheery Lynn "Faciful Flourish" die.  That's about it, and here she is:

I used sage green Flower soft and sprinkled some tiny pink flowers in the grass.

I kept the inside of the card very simple and tried to maintain the same layout as the front, and added a jotting area for a personal note.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today.  I also want to thank those who sent me an email inquiring about how I was because I hadn't posted for a while.  I appreciate your concern and am grateful to the many friends I have made in blogland!  Have a wonderful new week and hope you get in some crafting time.

Maggie Hugs and Warm Aloha,

Hello Little Butterfly - I'm Back!

Yes, it's been a long winter for me...lost my desire for crafting for a while, took a blog break, went on vacation and just returned, and was inspired again by all you wonderfully talented peeps out there!  I came across Jacque's card using the beautiful DCWV Mariposa DPs and was so inspired to create something with that DP.  Only, mine is a 12" x 12" pad and Jacque's was smaller and more in proportion for cardmaking so I was a bit disappointed.  Then I saw Norma's front panel step card and thought I could still use the Mariposa DPs in a different layout.  So, putting the two inspirations together, I came up with this card:

I followed Norma's instructions to make this front panel step card that measures 6" x 6" lying flat.  I colored Tilda with Copic markers. Details for this card are listed below if you are interested.

Recipe:

DP:  DCWV Mariposa

CS:  Bazzill (white) and black linen (mat pieces, fence)

Stamp:  Magnolia - Hello Little Butterfly from the Butterfly Dreams collection

Hair:  E25, 31, Y21

Body:  E00, 50, R00 (cheeks)

Dress and Boots:  R29, 27, 24, 22

Apron:  E42, 41, 40

Other:  MS grass border and garden gate punches; small flowers from my stash, leaves from Michael's

I will be catching up with you all to see your wonderful creations.  Sorry for the long absence but things should be getting back to normal!  Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and I've missed you all!

Big Maggie Hugs,

MINI MAGNOLIAS - A SPRING SCRAPBOOK FROM SHARON CAUDLE!

Happy Sunday to all of you and I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  Imagine, only one more week until Easter!  For me, I'm happy as a Lark and hopping like a bunny because I was gifted with Sharon's magnificent "Spring Album" that she created in February for the Magnolia-licious Blog Hop which was a Spring Themed Mini Challenge using the adorable Mini Magnolias!  It arrived in the mail today, and all I can say is, "WOW! OMG! I can't believe she sent it to me and I'm actually holding it!!!" I'm so very Blessed to receive Sharon's beautiful masterpiece...an Easter Blessing to me! I am awestuck seeing her creation IRL!  It's incredible work! THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHARON!  I love it and will always treasure this gift.  Before I share some pics with you, I know you will want to know more about how Sharon created this and you can find more info on her blog here.

This is the front of the album and below are pics of each letter that spells SPRING!

Aren't these pages absolutely divine?!!! Look at all the Mini Tildas she colored and cut out and popped on each page.  Her work is incredible and there are so many lovely details.   Sharon has lots of close-up shots on her blog here so you can see the detailed work.  It's definitely a labor of love and I am so happy to be able to hold it in my hands, and to keep staring at all the mini Tildas.  It's incredible, but we've all come to know Sharon's works of art and she is a perfectionist with great attention to detail.  If you need inspiration, you'll find a lot on Sharon's blog.  Go check it out if you missed it in February! 
I know you've enjoyed today's post and I thank you for stopping by to share with me my gratitude and appreciation to have been gifted with this magnificent Spring Album.  We belong to the BEST Magnolia-licious Group on Yahoo because incredibly talented people have the biggest hearts and share and teach all of us to keep learning and improving on our skills.  Thank you to ALL of you in our wonderful group...and if you're not a member yet, please join us here.
Maggie Hugs and Blessings . . .