Magnolia-licious blog hop winner of Ribbon Hair Tilda

Hi friends! Hope you're enjoying your weekend!! It's time to announce the winner of #221 Ribbon Hair Tilda from the You are So Special collection which is available at  Magnolia-licious.  If you want to see her all colored up, just click HERE. Thanks so much to everyone that hopped with us. I know it takes a lot of time and I truly appreciate your visit and the time you took to leave a comment! I wish you could ALL be winners! So without further ado...here is the winner of the adorable Ribbon Hair Tilda...

And #40 is....

Congrats Vicki!! Please send me your address so I can get your stamp right out to you! Thanks again for playing, and have a wonderful weekend!! Hugs!

using Copic markers for darker skin tones

Hi everyone!  For my Copic coloring class this month, I taught working with darker skin tones. So I thought I would post it here in case anyone was looking for information. I started with the colors I got from Suzanne Dean and her tutorial for African American skin tones which I used on the top left image. And then I just started picking up my markers and playing. Here are the skin colors for each image:  (click on the picture for an up close look)

Top left: 
E25, 13, 11, and 21 with R32 on her cheeks
her hair is E15,. 39, and 59

Top center: 
E13, 21 with R02 on her cheeks
her hair is the same as top left

Top right:
E15, 13, 11 with R02 on her cheeks
her hair is E97, 99, 17, and 29

Bottom left:
E11, 21 with R02 on her cheeks
Hair is E15, 39, and 59

Bottom right:
R02, E02, 01 with R20 on her cheeks
Hair is E19, 15, and 13

All her clothing is the same. For her leotard - R32 and 35. For her TuTu  G20, 21, and 24
for her crown, Y35 and 38 trim is done with a gold Spica glitter pen

For her tights, I used T1 with a bit of B41
R02 for her tongue and E31 for the inside of her mouth.

I found a tutorial a couple years ago about curly hair, and I truly wish I could find it again so I could give her credit for this technique. But for curly hair, I simply dot on the color in randomness. I start with the lightest and move through to the medium shade, then adding the low lights with my darkest color. I will then take the lightest and fill in any areas that are missing color. Do not blend! I think it gives such wonderful texture to curly hair and looks awesome no matter what color hair you're doing. Give it a shot, but make sure you have a light, mid, and darker color. Just use the tip of your marker to make the dots, so they're not huge. I think you'll love the result!

This adorble image is by Mo Manning at Digital Pencil Too.

I hope you find this useful! Thanks for stopping by to see me and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!!

Papertake Weekly with Peggy Loves Vintage

Hi friends!! Are you having a good start to your week? With it being Tuesday, that means it's time for a new challenge from Papertake Weekly, and this week is sketch week! I don't know if you've ever used any of Dawny's sketches, but they are always soooo fabulous and easy to follow! We are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp this week too, so you have a chance at a fabulous prize!!

  For my card this week, I combined an image from Peggy Loves Vintage (image is from Cutie Couples 1 cutouts) with Dawny's sketch which made this card so quick and easy!! Also, don't forget to pop over to visit Peggy on her blog. She's a truly generous soul and loves to post free images for your pleasure. So be sure to become a follower so you don't miss any!! And please leave her some love for the free images, too!

 I just printed the cute image out on Bazzill cardstock, combined it with some Nitwit Collections papers (Luv Bugs), added a bow along with a  heart made with Nesties, and called it done. Please be sure and visit Papertake Weekly to see what the rest of the fabulously talented design team has come up with, and then we'd love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with our challenge! You might win an awesome prize from Simon Says Stamp! Thanks for stopping by to see me today and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs! 

Magnolia-licious blog hop - Spring themed Mini challenge!!

Good morning, happy Monday, and welcome to the Magnolia-licious Design Team monthly blog hop for February!!  I'm the first stop along the hop this month, but be sure you visit the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog to see how you can participate in the challenge for a chance to win a magnificent prize from Diana and Magnolia-licious! All the hoppers will be listed there as well, so you can pop back there if you should get lost along the way. 

 This month we've got lots of "Mini" fun planned for you! The challenge is to use only Mini Magnolia stamps and make it spring themed! So I took that challenge and made a Mini Magnolia word book!  Now there are TONS of pictures to show, so I apologize for the length of this. But I'll make it worth your while to stay until the end by enticing you with a wee bit of calorie free candy!  Let me preface the pictures by telling you which images I used from Magnolia-licious:  Mini #268 Little Bunny Tilda, Mini #3027 Chicken Tilda, Mini #3028 Tilda with Three Flwers, Mini #452 Two Eggs, Mini #3047 So Spooky Tilda (with her broom cut off),  Mini #341 Tilda Blowing Hearts, Hippity Hoppity Easter mini sized images, #1 Vintage Tag Doohickey die, #18 Rose Leaf Doohicky die, and the Doohickey die flourish which I don't see in stock at the moment. Now here's lots of pics for which I'll be nice and quiet... (you can click on the pics for a nice close up, but please ignore all the mistakes!)

All cardstock used is Bazzill, all DP are from Nitwit Collections,  images were colored with Copic sketch markers (sorry...didn't keep track). The word book was cut with my Pazzle Inspiration first in chipboard, then in the paper.  I used various Martha Stewart border punches throughout, as well as some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Prima. The glittered hearts I used are from Melissa Frances which I've had for about two years (I was so in love with them that I bought three sets of them LOL!)  Now it's time to head over to my fabulously talented design team sister, Barb! But before you go, if you leave a comment on this post before 11:59 Pacific, Feb 25th, you will have a chance to win #221 Ribbon Hair Tilda.

You can see her on a card right HERE. So please hop on over to Barb's blog and see what yummy creation she has to show you today. Thanks so much for hopping with us today, and can't wait to see what you come up with for the challenge! Have a great week! Hugs!!

Papertake Weekly - Putting on the Glitz with Ribbon Hair Tilda

Hi everyone!  So is everyone full of chocolate today? mmmmm....chocolate!! :0)  It's time for a new Papertake Weekly challenge that will be chock full of calorie free eye candy! This weeks challenge is "Putting on the Glitz" and we're being sponsored by the fabulous Wendy over at Digital Delights. For my card today, I used #221 Ribbon Hair Tilda from the You Are So Special Collection from Magnolia-licious! OMG...I LOVE this cutie patootie!  I totally fell in love with her and had to use her right away! This was made for a very special friend of mine, and she's already received it. I think she liked it a little bit. (smiles)

Of course she HAD to be in pink! LOL! I just couldn't see her in anything else. She's colored with Copic markers (R81, 83, and 85, and for the skin colors I followed the tutorial on Suzanne Dean's blog...I highly recommend it)  and then fussy cut and popped up on a circle cut with Nesties. The papers are from Nitwit Collections and the cardstock is Bazzill. I used a punch around the page set from Martha Stewart for the doily type layer. The flourishes were made with a Magnolia Doohickey die, and that beauitful heart is from Melissa Frances. I smeared a little bit of pink Stickles on top of the already glittered heart. I also used Stickles on the bib of her dress and hair ribbons and glossy accents on her shoes. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, ribbon and charm are from Stamp and Create.

Please be sure and visit Papertake Weekly so you can see all the fabulous creations by the rest of my talented design team sisters. Then we would love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with us! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Forget the romance!!!

Happy Friday everyone!! We are going to have a gorgeous weekend here! It's supposed to be in the mid 60's, and then winter returns to us next week. We'll probably have snow and freezing temps again. So I'm going to enjoy it while I can. I threw this card together really quick tonight! I LOVE these Moonlight Whisper stamps from Kraftin Kimmie!  This image is Charlotte, and I LOVE the twitch in her eye. LOL!

I kept this one VERY simple, and went wild with the distressing. I thought Charlotte looked just a smidge distressed and maybe just a tad frayed around the edges, so kind of tried to match the feeling of the card to her. I even took the machine stitching all over the place for this one. The DP is from Nitwit Collections and the cardstock is Bazzill. The sentiment is my very own, again to reflect what Charlotte might be feeling. I even took my scissors to that beautiful silk ribbon.  I'd like to enter this into Kraftin Kimmie's challenge "Seeing Red"  Boy am I'm pushing it on this one! I've got like five minutes left! LOL! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Peggy Loves Vintage - Free Vintage Valentine image!!

Hi everyone! We're on the downhill slide, headed for the weekend! :)  I sure hope you're enjoying your week. Are you tired of all the Valetine's yet? I LOVE this time of year. I think these are some of my favorite cards to make. I told my grandson Chris that the day is called "mooshy gooshy love day". LOL! So that's what he calls it now. Anyway, have you been over to check out Peggy Loves Vintage to see all the wonderful Valentine images she has? They're sooooo cute and they make for such a quick and cute card! And right now over on Peggy's blog, she's offering up this adorable freebie!! If you're not a follower of Peggy's, you should sign up! She gives away freebies VERY regularly! I fell in love with this adorable little Bell Boy hand delivering a special Valentine!

This little cutie patootie was cut out with circle and petite scalloped Nesties, and then I used a Martha Stewart border punch.  The cardstock is Bazzill Basics and  I thought this paper from Nitwit Collections was just perfect for this image! The bow is made from May Arts silk ribbon and I added a little heart charm from my stash.

So please be sure and visit Peggy Loves Vintage! She has a huge assortment of vintage images!! And then pop over to Peggy's blog and sign up to be a follower. Don't forget to grab this adorable image before you leave, and please leave Peggy some love while you're there!!  Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Papertake Weekly - Heart to Heart

Hi friends! Wow...it's been an entire week since I've posted anything! I've been taking kind of a break and spending some more time with family. I've stepped down from half of my design teams as I just didn't have enough time between working 10 hours per day and crafting for so many teams to spend enough family time.  So I'm taking a break for a while. They've all been so fabulous and understanding of the situation, and I love them all dearly! With that being said,  it's time for a new challenge from Papertake Weekly, and this weeks challenge is Heart to Heart and we're sponsored by the fabulous Katharina over at Whiff of Joy!!  

For my card today, I used an adorable Magnolia stamp and I don't even know what her name is. She hasn't been released yet, but I thought she was so cute and I love her sitting on the window sill of #532 Romantic Window from the You Are So Special collection at Magnolia-licious.  Oh my gosh, this window is a "must have"!!!!!  The stamps are colored with Copic Sketch markers.  Papers are from Nitwit Collections and cardstock is Bazzill. The ribbon is May Arts silk ribbon from Stamp and Create, and the flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts. Punches used are Martha Stewart lacy heart border punch and branch punch, and then I also used heart and scalloped heart Nesties. Added some machine stitching along with some faux stitching and I called this one finished.

One of my New Years Resolutions was to finish the inside of my cards before I put it down and moved on to the next project. Believe it or not, I have been doing it and it's February already! I'm so proud of myself! LOL! I was tired of having about 100 cards sitting here without the inside of them finished. And I would never send out a card that wasn't finished on the inside. So needless to say, I've even sent out more cards already this year too! How bout that??!!! Can you see this huge smile plastered across my face?? LOL! So anyway, please be sure and visit Papertake Weekly to see the other fabulous eye candy that was created for you by the rest of the DT, then we hope you grab your paper and glue and play along with us in the challenge! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Magnolia-licious DT sketch challenge for February

Can you believe that January is already gone?? What the heck!! It seems like Christmas was just last weekend! With a brand new month, comes a brand new Design Team challenge from Magnolia-licious. This month, our wonderful hostess with the mostest is Ms Patti Jo! Patti Jo asked us to use pink, white, silver, hearts, and you can use green for flowers. Isn't that the most perfect challenge for February??!! Awesome choice Patti Jo! You've got to check out the rest of the fabulous creations by the Design Team over at the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog! They're truly gorgeous!!

For my card, I used #3030 Tilda with big ribbon from Magnolia-licious. She's from the You Are So Special 2011 collection. I really love her pose! :) She's colored with Copic markers and I wanted to make her all glitzy and glamarous, so I used lots of diamond Stickles on her dress and socks. The DP are also by Magnolia.

I used some Nestabilities for the frame that Tilda is sitting in, as well as the hearts. A Martha Stewart border punch created the hearts border along the horizontal piece, and I dry embossed the piece of cardstock.

the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the flat backed pearls are from Kaiser. Stickles are all over this card. LOL!

So that's it for me today! Please be sure and visit Magnolia-licious Highlites to see the rest of the gorgeous creations from the design team. There will be more to come as well. The majority of the DT have been at CHA (I'll be there next year YAY!!!)  Hope you will join us in the challenge! thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! If you're being affected by the nasty winter storm that is sweeping it's way across our nation, please stay safe and warm! Hugs!

Papertake Weekly - anything goes with Lili of the Valley

Hi friends! I sure hope you're having a wonderful start to your week! It's Tuesday and that means it's time for a new challenge from Papertake Weekly! Since it's the first Tuesday of the month, that means the challenge is an "anything goes" challenge, and you have an option of using flowes. We're being sponsored by the awesome company Lili of the Valley. I LOVE their images and have used this adorable Rosie With Cake. Isn't she just the cutest??!!

She's colored with Copic markers and then cut out with oval and petite scalloped oval Nestabilities. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the leaf punch is Martha Stewart. The ribbon of course is May Arts 100% silk ribbon from Stamp and Create, and the crown charm is from one of my other favorite shops, Bunny Zoe's Crafts.

Please be sure and visit Papertake Weekly to see the rest of the wonderful creations by the Designers, and then we would love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with us! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!