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 . . .

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