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 . . .

Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog - Color Challenge #6 - Pink & Green

Wow!  The weekend is almost here!  Hope you are having a good week!  Second post for me this week and I'm surprised at myself.  I couldn't wait to play with my new "Tilda with Rain Boots" and decided to enter this is the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog Color Challenge #6.  You can get all of your Maggies from Diana's Magnolia-licious online store simply by clicking on the store icon on my sidebar!  Come join the fun!  Here's my card:

I started with a white 5.5" square card base using PTI CS, layered it with some Bazzill dotted CS.  I die-cut the heart with my Cheery Lynn "Heart to Heart Lace Doily" die from this pretty DP by Pebbles "Ever After".  I punched a piece of white CS with my MS picket fence punch, and also my MS grass punch from some Imaginisce "Garden Party" Collection pad.  I layered them and placed them on a piece of the DP then die-cut the heart shape.  I stamped Tilda on PTI CS with Memento Black Tuxedo and colored her with Copics. I've also added some Viva Glass Effect Gel on her boots to give it some shine although you can't really tell.  The little white flowers you see on all four corners are photo corners from Jolie's that I've had for a very long time as well as the "Love" metal sticker.  I also finished the inside very simply using the same theme.  I usually write my message on a piece of onion skin paper and adhere it over the  DP:

Copics used:
Skin: E00, 50, R20
Hair:  E35, 33, 31
Dress, hat and boots:  R85, 83, 31, RV00
Thank you for stopping by today.  I wish you all a safe and fun-filled weekend!

Maggie hugs,

MINI EASTER TILDAS ON A MINI HANDMADE BASKET

Happy mid-week fellow crafters and Maggie lovers!  Hope your week got off to a good start and now we're almost half way to the weekend!  I finally was able to complete a mini basket that I started over the weekend and only now have the "real mccoy!" to share.  I bought the Grand Labels Eleven die set from SB although I don't own the Grand Calibur yet.  I get to use my sister's Big Shot Pro when I need to.  But I wanted to see if I could use it at home and found that the second from the largest die fit through my Big Shot!  I started scoring and cutting to see what else I could do with it and came up with this:

This is the front of the basket.  It's tiny and perfect for the mini Tildas!

The basket measures approximately 3" wide, 2" deep, and 2-1/4" high.  With the handle it's about 4-1/2" high.  I used a piece of DP 6" x 8.5" for the die, and a strip of CS 1-1/4" x 8.5" for the handle.

The next pic shows the back of the basket.  Notice, I'm not naming the images because at the moment, I can't remember them!  My sweet friend Suzan stamped and sent them to me!  (Thank you, Suzan!)
The third pic shows the right side of the basket and I left the other side of the basket blank because that is where I will add a tag for the recipient.
The fourth pic is from the top looking down into the basket.
If you would like to make a basket like this, I have some pics of how I scored and cut the Grand Eleven Labels die below.

If you have questions, you can email me for clarification.  Sorry this was done so haphazardously, but at the time I made these notes for my own "memory jogger" so I could make more baskets!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  It's either blurf or blog and sometimes I am not able to do both in a day so I hope you understand LOL!  I'll be making my rounds to visiting all your wonderful sites soon! 

Maggie Hugs,

TILDA WITH FLOWER POT

Happy Sunday!  I was able to find some time to sit and make a card, and decided to play with "Tilda With Flower Pot" from the new Butterfly Dreams collection.  They are all so beautiful and I love each one equally!  I have a passion for butterflies and this collection is now my most favorite (so far!).  So here is my simple card:

After looking at the stamped image for a while, I "thought" I saw two teeny-tiny butterflies on the flowers in the flower pot.  Maybe I "wanted" them to be there because I love butterflies!   So I colored them in yellow with my Copics and you tell me if you think they really are butterflies or not LOL!

I immediately fell in love with this DP by s.e.i. "Couture/Chintz" and couldn't wait to add a Tilda.  The pic has a glare because this DP has a metallic sheen over the blue/aqua flowers.  I did not want to cover the paper too much so I kept my embellishments to a minimum, and there's not even a ribbon!  I chose instead to use some black crochet lace trim to keep the balance with the black mat piece (PTI True Black CS) under the PTI Aqua Mist CS mat piece.  I'm so happy I was able to get several stamps from this collection from Diana's Magnolia-licious online store.  You can, too, by simply clicking on the store icon on my sidebar.  

I truly appreciate your taking the time to stop by today.  Have a great day and have fun doing what you love.

Maggie Hugs,  

This 'n That - Long Post (Warning!) - Featuring Tammi's Calendar Cards

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!  Did you play any tricks on anyone or did someone play one on you?  The beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2011 is here and I hope you are experiencing better weather where you are!
I haven't been in the "mood" to really craft of make something really special, but before I go on, I'd like to share with you Tammi's calendar cards for April-May-June.  I thought I'd be early this time so you have lots of time to see her work!  Here goes:

Aren't these just adorable?  Look at all the artwork and Tammi's beautiful coloring!  I flip through them every day and still am so amazed at her gorgeous work.  I know you'll get alot of inspiration from these!

I haven't been stamping or coloring images, but I took a break and started making some paper flowers with my new SU! Fun Flowers die.  I had so much fun doing "mindless" work.  I made them in several colors and used the pinks for a Make 'n Take we recently had at a friend's house.

Sorry the lighting is very bad.  Before die-cutting the petals, I cut a piece of pink tulle that had some nice "frosting" and glitter on it, laid a piece of copy paper on top of that, then placed it on my die so the frosting and glitter wouldn't clog my die.  I staggered the layers and the tulle so the glitter would show up more.  Here's a close-up of the flower:

I made another book/box card for a special friend and brought it along with me as a sample of our project for that day.  I used a large Prima chocolate brown flower topped with a yellow Prima rose:

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today.  I'm trying to catch up on emails and have been visiting blogs most of the day today.  I'll be sure to get around to more of your blogs. Enjoy your weekend, stay safe, and hope you get some crafting in!

Hugs,

Cami