Be happy every day

Hello! And a happy Monday to all.

I have my latest card here to show you--stating the obvious...LOL. This is a short post.





For the layout, I've used Moni's wonderful sketch that she has created for Stempeleinmaleins' Challenge No. 17.

I am also entering the following challenges with this card:

Passion for Promarkers - Week 101 (Congrats, ladies and Happy 2nd Anniversary!) - All the 2's. I have 2 images, 2 designer papers and 2 ribbons.

Papertake Weekly - Pale, Pretty Pastels

Stamp With Fun - Challenge 113 - In the Garden




This adorable image is of Happy Spring Tilda. She is from Magnolia's Butterfly Dreams Collection 2011. For the background, I have used an Alota image. I purchased both stamps from Magnolia-licious (although Diana doesn't carry this particular Alota stamp anymore).

That's it for now!

Thanks for dropping by. Appreciate your visit and all your wonderful comments very much. Have a wonderful and productive week!

Materials and tools used:

Tools: EK Success border punch Double Crochet Lace, Magnolia doohickey die Swirl and Leaf.

Misc.: Kaiser Crafts pearls, Tim Holtz distress ink stamp pad Tea Dye, ribbon from my stash.

Medium: Promarkers:
Face/skin--blush, ginger, apricot, saffron, oatmeal, soft peach;
Hair and shoes--henna, walnut, cinnamon, tan;
Dress and flowers--gold, mustard, buttercup, pastel yellow, ivory;
Bushes--forest green, leaf green, meadow green;
Plants--olive green, marsh green, pear green;
Stone path--cool greys 1 - 5, khaki;
Skies--pastel blue, tea green, cool grey 1.

Cherish

Hello and a happy Tuesday! This being the 4th Tuesday of the month, it's time for a new inspiration challenge at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog. And here's my DT card.

I was trying to make it look like she is taking a ride on the wings of the butterfly--although she really isn't...LOL.

Anyway, for the month of May it's my turn to be the hostess and I chose this picture.

I was at Home Depot in their paint department and they have an aisle section where they have Behr Paint colour samples. I was leafing through one of the Behr booklets and saw this picture. I looked at the chairbacks and that was my inspiration for this card...LOL. The chairbacks made me think of a layout that I could use. Do you see it? The 4 triangles to form a square? That's what made me choose this picture. I didn't even think about the colour scheme here--any colours would have done. But I decided to use it for my card anyway and I'm loving this combo.

The gorgeous butterfly image is from Magnolia and it's called Large Butterfly from the Butterfly Dreams Collection 2011 (available from Diana's on-line store Magnolia-licious).

I'm trying a new type of card (new to me...LOL) called a cross-over card--at least that's one of the name that I found for it.





Yes, I did glue the Big Butterfly image first to a black cardstock before I cut it out, so the back of it wouldn't look so messy.



Here's a closer look of the inside image. I've used a couple more of Magnolia images here, Beautiful Tilda (I adore this stamp!) from the Butterfly Dreams Collection 2011 and Big Daisy from the Jingle Jangle Collection 2008. All Magnolia things of course are available from Magnolia-licious. Oh and you don't want to miss checking out the new Sweet Rainbow Collection 2011--ready for pre-order!!!



I found a little poem on the internet that I like, so I thought I would use that as the sentiment for the inside of the card: (by unknown author)

Love is like a butterfly
It goes where it pleases
And it pleases wherever it goes.

Love is like a butterfly
Hold it too tight, it'll crush
Hold it too loose, it'll fly.




I am entering the following challenges with this card:

Creatalicious Challenge #22 - Flourishes
Paper Sundaes - Challenge #70 - Pop It Up!
Sundays with Crissy -Challenge #17 - Flowers
Flutterby Wednesday - Open Challenge
A Spoonful of Sugar - Challenge 153 - Things with Wings
Sir Stampalot - May Challenge - Magical Worlds



I wanted to show you what I did to the eyes of the butterfly. I've dabbed on some acrylic gloss medium to make it look shiny and glassy. Hope you can see the sheen. This took half a day to dry by the way.



That's it for me! Hope you will come and join us in our challenge. Please visit the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog and have a look at the other DT ladies' cards to inspire you further.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Appreciate the visit and just luvvv... reading you comments. Have a wondeful week. And go and create!!!



Materials and tools used:

DP's: Basic Grey Wisteria Jardin, Keeping Memories Alive Lavender Stripe, unknown yellowish cardstock with the art nouveau design on it.

Tools: Go Create Die, Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Bigz Die Elegant Flourishes, Martha Stewart monarch butterfly punches large and small, EK Success Paper Shapers Photo Corner Curved punch, McGill Baby Blooms punch, Michaels $1.50 flower punch, Punch Bunch Ash Leaf Small punch.

Misc: Half-Pearls from my stash, DeSerres acrylic gloss medium.

Medium: Letraset Promarker, ShinHan Touch and Letraset Pantone Tria markers, Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell Polychromos and Derwent Coloursoft coloured pencils.

A Birthday Flowerpot

Hello!
I've got another card to show you. I'm simply naming this one A Birthday Flowerpot...LOL... because I can't think of anything else.

I've used another gorgeous image from Magnolia's Butterfly Dreams Collection 2011--I'm so loving this collection! This stamp is called Tilda with Flower Pot. Isn't she just adorable? If you would like to purchase this stamp, it is available from Diana's on-line store Magnolia-licious. Also, while you are there, have a look at the newest Sweet Rainbow Collection 2011. Oooh...I can't wait to get my hands on those oh, soooo... cute images.
To create the background, I've used another Magnolia stamp, the Chabby Chic Fence from the Shabby Chic Summer Collection 2008. I don't see this currently in stock at Magnolia-licious, but if you let Diana know, she can order it in for you.

I'm using this card as my entry into the following challenges:

Just Magnolia hAnglar & sTanglar - Week 107 - Donalda's sketch

Fussy and Fancy Friday - Week 38 - A Recipe: 3 papers, 2 embellishments (flowers and pearls), 1 ribbon.

Paper Sundaes - Challenge #69 - Birthday Creations.

Stamp With Fun - Challenge 111 - Green and Pink.

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Challenge 142 - In the Garden.

Papertake Weekly - Bloom and Grow.

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge 152 - Anything Goes.

Crafts and Me - Challenge 35 - Anything Goes.


Here's a picture of the inside of my card.
I'm looking for a birthday poem for the left side--haven't found one I like yet. If you happen to have a nice one, maybe you wouldn't mind e-mailing to me...LOL.
For the right side, I've put a blank space to write my personal message on with a couple of garden images tucked at the bottom left corner: the same Shabby Chic Fence and the Snail (small).




Thanks so much for dropping by to see what I'm up to...LOL. I appreciate the visit. Have a wonderful weekend. It's a long weekend for us folks in Canada...woo-hooo.....Happy Victoria Day!!!


Materials used:

DP's: Provo Craft Soft Serenity Mauve Stripe, American Crafts Baby Miss Muffet, one sheet from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl paper pad

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eleven, EK Success Retro Flower punches medium and small, EK Success Leaf punch.

Misc.: Ribbons and pearls from my stash.

A Gift from the Heart - Mini Easel Card

Hello! Happy Sunday. This is a short posting just to show you my latest card.

I've created a scene for the cardfront using the mini stamps from Magnolia. This card measures only 4 inches in diameter. I've used a new Spellbinders die called Heart Circles.


I've made this into a mini easel card.

I used 3 Magnolias stamps to create the scene. All the stamps are from the You Are So Special Collection 2011. They are: Mini Leaning Tilda, Mini Shy Rose Edwin and Mini Romantic Window. All these stamps are available from Diana's on-line store Magnolia-licious.

Here's a close-up of the scene. I've added some stickles/glitter glue to the roses.

A few challenges that I am entering with this card:

Stamp Something - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me - Challlenge 34- punches
Papertake Weekly - Fancy a Punch
Totally Gorjuss - Challenge 80 - Not Square
7 Kids College Fund - Challenge #21 - Circles
Emerald Faeries - 1st Challenge - Anything Goes


That's all!'

Thanks so much from dropping by. Your visit is very much appreciated. And thank you also for you lovely comments. They do make my day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

DP: one sheet from My Mind's Eye Playful Posies paper pad.

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Heart Circles, Standard Circles, Classic Ovals; McGill Jumbo Punch Daisy, Martha Stewart Daisy Punch, EK Success Paper Shapers Photo Corner Curved Punch, EK Success Leaf Punch.

Misc: Recollections Pearls, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Stamp Pad Walnut Stain.

Thinking of You

Hello! It's the second Tuesday of the month and it's time for a new challenge at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog.

Woo-hoo...I'm the hostess for this month of May and for this colour challenge I've chosen one of my favorite colour combos: black and white plus one other colour. Here's my DT card.


When I first thought of using this colour scheme, I thought I would probably choose for my other colour either red, pink or purple. Then I bought this DP that the craft store was clearing out--it's part of a Halloween paper collection...heh heh. I like the shade of green and I thought it looks good combined with the black. It's sort of a medium olive green. Hmm...I've thought of a more elegant name for this...chatreuse green--yeah, that sounds better! LOL. The combo is a bit out of the ordinary, but I like trying new stuff.


I've used this Magnolia image called Tilda With Butterfly Jeans from their Butterfly Dreams Collection 2011. It is available from Magnolia-licous on-line store, as well as the other stamps that I've used on this card. For the background, I used Lazy Summer Flowers from the Lazy Summer Days Collection 2009 and the sentiment stamp is Just Sittin' Here Thinking of You.

As with most of my Tildas, I've cut her out and mounted her on pieces of foam tape to give the card a more 3-dimensional look. I've added some stickles to the butterfly on her jeans. I've decorated the underside of the card front with more of the DP and a blank space to write personal messages.

A few challenges that I am entering with this card:

PaperPlay Challenges - Week 18 - Show us your style. My style is using Magnolia Tilda images--my favorite, paper edges distressed with ink, hand-made flowers and easel cards are my favorite type of card.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 101 - Use 3 different stamps. Got that covered--see above.

ABC DT Challenge - April showers bring May flowers.

7 Kids College Fund - Challenge #20 - April showers bring May flowers.

Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar - Week 105 - Anything goes.

My Mum's Craft Shop - Challenge 4 - Cute & Girly.

Polka Doodles - Week 18 Challenge - Easel Cards

Everybody-Art-Challenge - Challenge #141 - Flowers

Papertake Weekly - Fancy a Punch?


I hope you will join us in our Challenge. The prize is a $25 Gift Certificate from Diana's Magnolia-licious.

And to inspire you, please hop over to the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog and have a look at the fabulous cards and projects of the other DT ladies--really...they are fabulous!

DP's: Cloud 9 Design Witches Brew Luster Eye, DCWV Black & White Splats.

Tools: Marianne Design Creatables, Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles and Classic Scalloped Circles and Grommet Tags, Coluzzle Circle Template, Punch Bunch Daisy punches medium and small, Martha Stewart Daisy Dot Edge punch (used the small flowers for the flower centre) and Rose Leaf punch.

Embellishments: Making Memories brads.

Misc.: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Stamp pads Black Soot and Crushed Olive, Studio G glitter glue.

A Happy Day!

Hello.
Just a short posting here to show you my latest creation.

I've used 2 Magnolia images here:
Mini Dancing Party Tilda from the Mini You Are So Special Collection 2011 and
Summer Background Fairytale from the Fairytale Collection 2010.

Both of these stamps are available from Diana's on-line store Magnolia-licious.


For this card, I've used this wonderful sketch that Stacy has created for Inspirational Card Sketches #113.

This is also my entry for the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss - Challenge 78 - 123 (1 flower or sentiment, 2 images and 3 DP's)

ABC Challenge - T is for two or more images

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes


I'm still finding it harder to colour these minies--easier to colour outside the lines...LOL, but I'm getting more use to it. I've scaled down my card size a 5 1/2-inch square from my usual 6" square, as I think it looked better proportioned that way.

Thanks for dropping by. Your visit is very much appreciated. One more day and then...woo-hoo...have a wonderful weekend!!!


DP's: We R Memory Keepers comstock collection Buttercup, one sheet from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girls paper pad, one sheet from DCWV Holiday Stack paper pad

Tools: EK Success Retro Flower punches medium and small, Punch Bunch Ash Leaf punch medium, Joy Craft leaf die

Embellishments: Recollections Autumn pearls

Misc.: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Stamp Pad Vintage Photo

Marker Storage

Sorry, no card today, but oh, look, look!!! Look at what I made. Woo-hooooo....don't you love it?

My craft table is neat and tidy right now, but we'll see how long that will last...LOL.


I've had this idea of a storage box for my markers for well over a year, but only got around to making it now. I got so frustrated because when I work, my markers are all over the place on my table that I have hardly any clear space to work on...LOL.

It's actually not hard to make that now I wonder why I kept putting it off.

I used this type of CD rack to make the shelves. I bought mine at Lee Valley Tools. (Link to their catalogue item if you're interested here.)


If I place a CD jewel case on every other rail for the shelves, then the space in between 2 shelves is just right for my markers. The CD cases you can buy at your dollar store for about 25 cents each--even at Future Shop they work out to about 40 cents each.


You can make this as wide as you need. One tower measures 10 3/4 inches high and 5 1/8 inches wide. You just have to make a box to accommodate that height and the width of the number of towers you want, in the inside of your box. I used 2 pine boards (4-ft long, 5 1/4" wide, 3/4" thick) which I bought at Home Depot. I have a scroll saw to cut the 2 end pieces and then I just screwed them in place. I used a foam board to cover the back. Hmmm...I bet you can make the whole thing with just foam boards--so much easier!

I have 3 types of markers: Letraset Promarkers, ShiHan Touch markers and Letraset Pantone Tria markers. The barrels of all these 3 brands are of about the same size. You can fit seven markers in each shelf. There are 10 shelves within a pair of CD rails, so each set can accommodate 70 markers.


I don't have any Copic markers, but I think the Copic Markers are the same size as the Touch markers, so this will work just fine for them. I don't know about the Sketch or the Ciao markers, though. I do believe they are slimmer in size, are they not?

OMG, I didn't realize I had so many markers until I had them laid out like this. Wait a minute though! I didn't spend as much money as you think!!! I only buy markers when they are on SALE...LOL...I am a cheapskate!

The Letraset Pantone Tria markers were the first ones in my collection--they are my favorites. I started with them when my local art store DeSerres (formerly Loomis Art Store) had a clearance sale. Little did I know that they were clearing them because they were being discontinued. Boo hoo hoo...I cried when I found out. But hey, I stocked up on all the colours that I could get. The markers were about $.099 - $1.29--woo-hoo...almost like they were giving them away--I was like a kid in a candy store!!!

The Promarkers are what replace the Pantone Trias I believe. I could be wrong, but it's the same barrel size and similar nibs. The Promarkers and the Touch markers, when they are on sale, are about $2 - $2.39 each.


That's it. Sorry no card this time, but I just wanted to share this.

As an afterthought, I am also sharing this with the ladies at Top Tip Tuesday.