TILDA WITH PEONY TAILS!

Happy midweek fellow Maggie friends!  I have decided to play along in another Color Challenge at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog.  The lovely and talented Norma has chosen Blue & Brown for this challenge.  I very rarely, if ever, color with blues, so my Copic colors are limited, and I agree, I still need a lot of practicing to improve my Copic coloring skills LOL!  Anyway, here is what I came up with:

My card base is my usual 5.5" x 5.5" and I used SU! chocolate chip, followed by baja blue.  All of the DPs are from the Kaiser Craft 6"x6" "Le Chateau Collection" pad.  I really liked the print with this "Friendship" sentiment and decided to "offset" it so I wouldn't cover the pretty DP.  I die-cut the flourish from SU! kraft CS and used Cheery Lynn's Tropical Flourish die.  The little "Love" sentiment is also from this paper pack, and placed on a Memory Box "Ringed Buckle" die-cut, and I added a hemp bow with a little blue flower.  The huge flower at the top I made myself with Maya pleated brown ribbon and topped it with a blue rose from WOC. I wanted to mimic the ruffled peony flower.  Both Tilda and Love sentiment are mounted on foam tape for dimension.

This is what the inside of the card looks like.  I kept it flat and simple.  The sentiment you see at the top is from a talented and sweet friend from Idaho (you know who you are...and thank you very much!).  I die-cut it using my SB Labels 18 and distressed both layers with DIs.  The jotting panel again is very plain for easy mailing.  

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and for all the encouraging comments I have received.  I appreciate them very much.

Enjoy the rest of the week, and have a wonderful weekend doing what you love.

Warm Aloha Hugs,

Just Magnolia and H&S Challenge: Pink + Lace + Pearls

Hi fellow Magnolia fans!  Happy Saturday/Sunday to you all, and I hope you are enjoying your last weekend day before returning to work (if you do work!).  I told myself to settle down and make a card with a Tilda since it's been a while and I surprised myself by actually completing it!  I want to join the challenge at Just Magnolia and hAnglar & stAnglar and it calls for the color pink, pearls, and lace.  So this is what I came up with:

This is Tilda With Daisy from the Sweet Crazy Love collection...and I just love her!  I used a white lace trim on the bottom and topped it with some small pink fabric roses, and added some pearls to the flowers in the lace trim.  I cut Tilda out with a SB Labels Four die, and colored her with Copics.  I also added a pink vine from Memory Box called "Delicate Vine" and added some tiny pink pearls.  For the sentiment, I thought I would "dangle" the heart from the top of the card with pink pearls LOL!  And here's the inside of the card:

Very simple so it can lay flat when I mail it (postage has gone up again!).  I used the same lace trim and SB die for the jotting area, added a pink gingham bow and topped it with a fabric rose and that's it!
Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and I hope to get back into cardmaking very soon, especially with all the lovely new images from the Sweet Crazy Love collection! Have a wonderful day . . . every day!


Warm Aloha Hugs,

A Mix of Some Fun Projects

Happy Sunday, fellow crafters!  Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and having fun.  I'm still not quite ready to do some stamping and coloring, but that's okay because I had a few projects I had to work on for several different occasions.  Here they are:

I needed some small gift bags to tuck some goodies in and came up with these.  The first isn't quite finished as I have to add a sentiment on it.  It was made using a Sizzix Scallop Circle Bag XL die.  My GF Linda taught me how to make some flower butterflies so I've been busy making butterflies!  I added some feathers to my butterflies and used one of them on the first goodie bag (thanks Linda!).  

I used the same Sizzix die for these and added butterflies again.  The pretty stems are from my sweet and lovely friend Suzan (my paper florist!).  

These goodie boxes were cut using a Sizzix "Box, Heart & Key" die.  The sentiment is adhered to a SB Fancy Tags die.  The flower was die-cut from a MFT Die-Namics Prima Donna Petals die that I just love because it naturally "cups" itself when you put them together.  Beneath the flower (that you can't really see) is another die-cut piece from Memory Box called "Ringed Buckle" and I thought it made a pretty "doily" for the flower to sit on.

Here's the whole lot of them that I gave to fellow crafters at a "Class" I attended on Saturday.  We had a lot of fun and made so many fun projects. Sorry this post was so long.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by.  I wish you all a wonderful (upcoming) week, and happy crafting!

Warm Aloha Hugs,

TILDA WITH COZY HEART

I can't believe I actually sat myself down and colored a few things with my new Sweet Crazy Love Collection stamps!  The inspiration came from the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog for January, and the lovely and talented Cabio wants to see Pink, White, Red on our creations and my new Doodlebug "Sweet Cakes" 6x6 DP pad has just the colors!  So, this I what I came up with:

I don't know if it's my imagination, but the newer stamps seem to be a little bit smaller than before...but, hey, it's less for me to color!  You can get your Magnolia stamps and also some Memory Box dies (and other goodies) from Diana's Magnolia online store, simply by clicking on the icon on my sidebar and you can shop for oodles of goodies!  Deets on my card are below.  I used foam tape for the sentiment and Tilda.

CS: PTI Select White for card base; red linen; Bazzill Diamond

DP: Doodlebug "Sweet Cakes" 6x6 pad

Stamps: Magnolia Sweet Crazy Love Collection:  "I Love You" and "Tilda With Cozy Heart"

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black and angel pink (distressing); Copic markers

Others: MS PATP "Sweet Heart," Nellie Snellen heart die; Memory Box "Ringed Buckle" die, WOC rose

Thank you for stopping by today.  I wish you all a wonderful week, and until the next time, happy crafting!

Warm Aloha Hugs,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year Everyone!  Hope you all enjoyed the holiday festivities with family and friends, and had lots of yummy things to eat!  I can't believe my last post was in November!  Well, lots of family things have been happening, some good, some not too good, and I truly lost my interest for crafting.  I can't even color with Copics anymore!  I have been busy creating other things, but just not coloring in an image.  So today, I have a few things I'd like to share with you.

I totally am in love with the Tim Holtz "Vintage Cabinet Card" die and have been playing with it since November.  The finished size is about and A2 card, just a little smaller, so it's easy to mail.  I've used Basic Grey 6"x6" Capella paper pad for all of the cards below.  Here are a few of the cards I made as thank you cards and for the new year since I didn't make a single Christmas card.  I finished around 12 of these cards as they were so fast and easy.

The inside is basically the same layout, just different DPs that coordinated from the pack.

I made a few with this sentiment on the front and inside.

Thank you for stopping by today, and now that I have some new Magnolia stamps, I'll be playing with them soon for Valentine's Day.  Have a wonderful day, and happy crafting!

Warm Aloha Hugs,

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,