Mom's Birthday Box

So, now that my mom has actually received the gift, I can post the book box in which I sent her the gift! I saw this idea on Rachel Jakes' blog and I immediately fell in love with it. Thus, I had to give it a go. Rach is an amazing artist/crafter and I love all of her work. Be sure to go to her blog for the link to the tutorial for making the box. And take some time to look at all of her stunning creations and leave some comment love for her while you are there.

Without further ado, here she is, my favorite stamp of the You Are So Special collection (now available at Magnolia-licious).

Tilda has been colored in with copics to match the DP by Stampin Up. The DP is from last year and I don't think it is available any longer but there is one similar to it in pattern (but different colors) that is available. I just love my pinks and purples/plums so I had to have this one when it came out. The solid color cardstock is Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo.

Below is the inside of the book box. I have used the Vintage Tag Doohickey die on the front of the pocket on the left side and the Tilda Lace Doohickey die to decorate the box on the right side. Diana is out of the Tilda Lace die at the moment but if you contact her she can probably get it for you. The seam binding was originally white but was died with Glimmer Mists. It is so easy to die this stuff....I may never buy ribbon again. I love the crinkly/shabby look it has when it is done. Here is a tutorial if you'd like to learn how to do this. It is super easy!

The tag inside the pocket was made with one of my favorite Mini Magnolia stamps and Spellbinders Labels 1 dies. She is so versatile. You can use her for any kind of gift giving occasion be it birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. The sentiment is from Lizzie Anne Designs. I think this set may be retired now.

Inside the box you can see the beads I got for Mom for her birthday. She has one of those bracelets that you can add beads to. I got her a set that is mostly silver but with a little color. By changing out just four beads, she can change the color scheme of the bracelet. Hopefully she will wear it a lot. I know she was over the moon when she called to thank me a couple of days ago. I'm always thrilled when I find something she really likes.

And, finally, the back of the box. I couldn't very well just leave those scraps of pretty plum DP laying on the desk now could I?

I can't wait to make another one of these! Maybe for Easter to put some candy in.......

Cute Little Valentine

Hi everyone! I thought that today I would play along with a few challenges out there. Lots of love/hearts/pink/red going on in my craftroom recently! This little cutie was made with the new Mini-Magnolia stamps available at Magnolia-licious. These little mini's are just the most darling things evah! The whole card here is only 3 1/2 inches square. I have masked Mini Jam Tilda with Mini Tin Boxes for the front of the card. Both of these stamps and many more minis are available at Magnolia-licious. The card is an easel card that has been created with Labels 1 Spellbinders Nestabilities. The image on the front was colored with copics and then misted with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist (which doesn't really show well in the photo).

I have kept the inside fairly simple as the card is so small. The sentiment is from a set by Our Craft Lounge called Dr. Pea-nut and is stamped on a die cut made with Scalloped Hearts Nestabilities.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Magnolia-licious Challenge: Pink/Black/Red

Just Magnolia and Hanglar & Stanglar: Anything Goes

Magnolia Down Under: Love

All That Scraps: Queen of Hearts

Have a wonderful day!

i {heart} you - 7 Kids Challenge Entry

The challenge for the next two weeks at 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog is i {heart} you which means you have to use hearts somewhere on your project. Lucky for me I just put the finishing touches on this card this morning, and I think it qualifies!

The heart die cut was made from a die by Cottage Cutz (sold out now but they are taking pre-orders on it) at the Scrapping Cottage. I happened onto their site a few months ago and fell in love with the doily heart die. It cuts beautifully. I have used it with both my Big Shot and my Grand Caliber with no issues.

I have been working on painting with Distress Inks (and Stampin Up inks) for the last couple of weeks. I am taking an online class by Angie Hunt through the Color Me Creative Classroom on DI watercoloring. This was my first attempt. Angie makes it look so easy and I suspect with a little more practice it will be. I am still trying to get the hang of shading/shadowing. I know where they are supposed to go and I put them in. However, when I photograph the image, the shadows aren't nearly as dark as they seem to me in person. I think I just need to get more comfortable with more contrast. Do take the time to visit Angie's blog, her creations are absolutely amazing!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! We are still snowed in and probaby will be for a few more days. Off to bake some cookies and spend some more time in my craft room!

Magnolia-licious Highlites Challenge

The challenge this month over at Magnolia-licious Highlites is to use pink, white, silver, and hearts. Well, after searching through my craftroom, this is what I came up with. I couldn't get out to the store to buy more supplies due to the huge winter storm moving through the area now but I thought it turned out okay considering I was using up scraps.

After inspiration from Kylie, I decided to make a mini-pizza box using a Magnolia stamp called Mini Love Muffin (available from Magnolia-licious). As much as I love the Magnolia stamps, I think I like the mini's even more since I tend to like smaller projects. I thought the little white heart-shaped sprinkles on the muffin went well with the hearts on the DP. After I took my photos I realized that I forgot to put the stickles on the little hearts on the muffin but I have added that now.

I had only one scrap of silver cardstock in my drawers full of paper. I tried to pull the silver out by coloring the muffin wrappter to match. This was also my first experience with seam binding and I am rather liking the shabby look of it. Below the seam binding is a little border created with the Tilda's Lace die (also available at Magnolia-licious).

Of course, I had to then make a matching Valentine's Day card to go inside. Nothing fancy, just a simple card. Using Spellbinders dies makes it easy to whip up a card in a jiffy. Both images (on pizza box and card) were misted with Glimmer Mist but you can't really tell it in the photos. One of these days I'll learn how to take good photos of my projects...

I was considering the possibility of shoveling the driveway but I think for now I'll just head back to my craftroom and play some more! Hope everyone is keeping warm during this storm of the century. =)

Coloring with Copics: muffin wrapper - C1, C3, C5, icing on muffin R81, R83, R85, muffin - Y21, Y23, YR24, halo around muffin - RV00, RV000