Sorry

I am sorry that I have not posted on my blog in over a year. A lot has been happening in my life and my blog was not in my list of priorities. I have tried to address some of the things that were "not quite right" in my life and I am hoping that 2012 will be a better year for my blog. So, I hope to be back very soon! Thanks for checking here...and please come back!

Land of Magnolia

Wow! It's been a REALLY long time since my last post. Life has been extremely stressful these last several months. I will so happy when it all calms down and life regains direction and perspective. Anyway...enough of that! Let's get to my Land Of Magnolia entry! This is a long post with lots of pictures...and not all of the pictures came out great...sorry about that!

I entered Diana Crick's Land of Magnolia Contest. Since it was the first contest I ever entered like this, I was pretty happy with an honorable mention! The winning entries were amazing! So, to get an honorable mention was something I was pleased about. For those of you peeking at my blog that don't know what the contest was about, let me give you a quick reference....You had to write a story about the Land of Magnolia, using several specific words within the story. Then you had to create a "project" to illustrate your story using the Magnolia stamp line.

So, let me TRY and explain what my entry was. About the only way I can explain it is to say that it is a stand-up card book! Think something along the lines of an easel card...but put together in a ringed book. The pages stand up, rather than lay flat. Does that make any sense at all?

Here's a couple pictures of the open book to show you what I mean:


See how the pages stand up at an angle...kind of like an easel card.
Here is another look at it opened further into the book:

Notice all of the pages stand upright...not just the one you are on.
If you look at it, the "story" part of it is on the bottom of the page and the illustration is on the upright part of the page.

So, here is my entry into the Land of Magnolia Contest. Below each picture, I have placed the wording that is on the bottom part of the page. Some of the pages are two part...they open up. So, the storing will be below the open picture. Please let me know what you think at the end by leaving a comment for me.



Cover of the closed book

Once up a time, there was a beautiful land called
Magnolia. It was far, far away in a hidden valley.

Legend says the valley of Magnolia was created when an

angel came forth, parted the trees, and set a white picket

gate in the ground. The angel thought:

"Beyond this gate shall lay a land,

Where love shall have a start.

Pain and sorrow are left behind.

That sets THIS world apart.

It's not what you say, but what you do

That makes you very smart

Like angels who can't speak the words,

the love comes from the heart."

As the angel closed the gate bearing the plague that

simply said Magnolia, the snowy land beyond

glistened in golden sunshine. The angel winked and

flew away knowing that the enchanted land could only

be found by those who had a loving and caring heart.

One day, Edwin, and his childhood sweetheart, Tilda,

stumbled through the foliage and discovered the totally

unexpected and beautiful land called "Magnolia". Tilda

and Edwin had always been close. But now, as they

passed through the gate, both felt that feeling intensify,

each knowing that they were meant to be right here, with

each other.

As Tilda and Edwin wandered farther into Magnolia,

they took in all the beautiful surroundings. There were

flowers and trees, and butterflies and bees. There was a

pumpkin patch and a little mushroom grove where even

the worms seemed to frolic. The garden was a place

anyone would love!

Two-part page that opens...this is closed

Two part page that opens...This is opened.

Tilda marveled that the little land of Magnolia seemed to

harbor all the seasons...all at the same time! How could

it be that the sun was shining here, and yet they walked

just a short distance, and it was raining? And just a bit

down the path, there was snow! This land was just

magical!

As Tilda and Edwin ventured forth, they came across a

small coral. Inside was the most unusual horse they had

ever seen. It was polka-dotted! they played with the

friendly little horse for a bit before continuing their

journey.

As they rounded the bend, they entered a wonderful little

meadow, full of butterflies. They hopped, skipped,

jumped, and chased the butterflies for what seemed like

hours. "How wonderful is this?" they thought. Tilda

even managed to hold a butterfly.

At the edge of the meadow, they came across some

bicycles. How funny to find bicycles here they thought.

Who did they belong to? They decided to see if they

could find the owners of the bicycles.

They wandered for quite a while, but couldn't find the

bicycle owners. they found a swing. They found a

bench. They even found a letter addressed to "Alf and

Alva". But, who were Alf and Alva? THAT mystery

would have to wait for another day; it was starting to get dark.

Two part page that opens...this is closed

Two part page that opens...this is open.

Little did Edwin and Tilda know...if they had just looked

through the trees behind the bench, they would have

found Alf and Alva's cozy little cottage. But, that's one

of the best things about the land of Magnolia. Something

special is always waiting to be discovered!

All of the images were colored with Copic markers. A think I counted 22 different Magnolia stamps used to create my book.

I know this post was really long. But, I hope you found it worth the time to look at my entry. Please let me know what you think...good , bad, or otherwise. I enjoy the feedback.

Thanks for visiting!

-Bonnie

Acrylic Post-It holders and calendars

Happy Tuesday from New Hampshire where it is STILL raining! Let me say, I am sick of it!!! Rain Rain Go Away!!!

Ok, so now that I have that out of my system, let me share my little acrylic post-it holders and desktop calendars. The post-it holders are made from acrylic picture frames flipped down. The calendars are made from a chipboard base that was covered with paper.

The papers for this one are from my all-time favorite Chatterbox Scrapbook Walls collection. The numbers are made with Quickutz. I think the flowers are from Prima (although in my stash, you can never be sure!). The pearl brads, eyelet, and miniature calendar are from my stash. Tilda is from the Yummy for Your Tummy Collection and is available from Diana's Magnolia-licious site here: http://www.magnoliastamps.us/

Here is another one:

I was kind of disappointed at how this picture came out...very yellowy...and I couldn't figure out how to fix it! The colors were actually very vibrant. The calendar is a LITTLE bit closer to the true colors. As with the above one, most everything came from my stash. Jam Tilda is also from the Yummy for Your Tummy Collection and is available at Magnolia-licious: http://www.magnoliastamps.us/

Here is a side view picture that gives you a better idea of what I meant by the frame being flipped down:

Well, that's all for today from rain-soaked New Hampshire. Please feel free to leave comments! Stay dry folks!

-Bonnie

Happy Birthday Gift Card holder

Hello.

Today, I wanted to share a Happy Birthday Gift Card Holder.

I think the paper is Moxxie Die Cut Stacks. They are double sided coordinated papers in a great shape. I simply cut the shape in half and used it to create a pocket on the back. The stamps are Hero Arts and of course, Magnolia! The Tilda stamp is #224 Lazy Summer Day Tilda and is available from Diana's Magnolia-licious site: http://www.magnoliastamps.us/store2/

The number is made with Quickutz. I used Copics to color it.

And yes...when I gave it to my friend, I put a real gift card inside the pocket!!!!

I hope you like it...and thanks for looking!

-Bonnie

Edwin Goes for the Gold

Since Diana posted the link to the panoramic view of Vancouver, I thought Edwin should go to the Olympics too! So, I made this quick and simple card. I thought it was fun to make while watching the Olympics tonight.

The rings and lettering are Quickutz. The "snow" is flower soft. The Edwin image is #147 "Edwin on Sled" and is available from Diana's Magnolia-licious site: http://www.magnoliastamps.us/store2/
I used copics to color my image.

Thanks for peeking!
-Bonnie

A little late for Christmas

I know I'm a little late for Christmas with this card. But, I think it's cute. This is the card that I made for my November Rain group...but it was late for that too...it didn't get in the mail until January! Maybe my life will catch up with itself in my next life!

I had to lighten the picture a bit. I hope I didn't lighten it too much so that Tilda looks washed out.

The DP are Basic Grey, from there Wassail line (don't you love that collection?). The present was made with a Quickutz dimensional die. The charm is one from my statsh (I've had them for years and don't know who makes them anymore). The sentiment stamps are from Just Rite and Tilda, or course, is a Magnolia...#224Lazy Summer Day Tilda available from Diana here: http://www.magnoliastamps.us/store2/

Please leave a comment and let me know if you like it!

-Bonnie

card swap

So, here is my last post for today.

This is the card that I made for my Christmas card swap for my Cabana group.

It is a tri-fold card made with bazzill bling card stock and closed with a ribbon tie. The snowflakes were stamped and then embossed with holgraphic embossing powder to give them a sparkle. The sentiment is stamped with a midnight blue ink.

The picture doesn't really do it justice. It came out really nice.

Accordian Folders

OK...so here is another first for me. I tried my hand at accordian folders. I think they came out pretty good. I am happy with them.

I used Fancy Pants paper and the stamps are a Magnolia Ornament and Tilda with Yule Hat.

This is what they look like from the side opened up:

Tilda Drawers

I wanted to post a picture of the set of drawers that I did. It was the first time I did something like this and I think it came out pretty good.

I used Chatterbox papers (my favorite line!)...and dotted the top with dew drops. The stamp I used on the top is called Tilda holding Magnolias.

This is what it looks like from the top with the drawers open. Like a dummy, I forgot to take a picture of it from the side. But, the drawers fronts are color coordinated and have little brad "pulls" on them.

I think for my first attempt, it came out pretty good. I just wish I took a picture of the sides.

Sweet Tilda

This is Tilda sitting on a cupcake. Sorry the lighting is not so great.

I used a Quickutz for the cupcake and cherry. I used mulburry paper for the wrapper so it would look kind of moist, and a Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch for the bottom of the frosting.

This is the inside of the card:

Tilda card

Well...I suppose it's time I posted something!

This is a monochrome card I made...a first for me. I tried using only black, white, and gray. Then for a splash of fun, I used red and some glossy accents on her boots to make them look shiny! Monochrome is harder than you think! It's not so easy to get different shades of gray.

Yikes!

Holy Toledo Batman! It's been a long time since I have posted on my blog! Where has the time gone???? I've been wrapped up in a new project at work over the summer that has kept me super busy (but it went REALLY well...yeah!!!!). And then I spent last week in the hospital after major surgery (bummer!) But, I am finally able to get on my computer and check my email.

You should check out Amy Leggate's blog...she is giving away some AWESOME blog candy!
http://scrapbookingobsession.blogspot.com/

I promise to post something with actual substance (ie...cards!) really soon!

Thanks for checking in!
-Bonnie

Tilda Circles

I told you in an earlier post that I had a lot of catching up to do! This is the last of the cards I have to post for now.
The challenge that I wanted to complete was to find a way to use all of these circles that I had punched out and left over. I think it came out cute!

Skating

This is my Edwin and Tilda skating card. One of many I made on my weekend trip. Cutting around those skate blades by hand was a pain!

Hopscotch

Here is my Tilda playing hopscotch card. The "stone" is a dew drop and each of the hopscotch squares is seperate. Tilda is popped up off the card so she looks like she is jumping.

Tilda with Lilacs

Here is Tilda holding lilacs card. I couldn't, for the life of me, get a good picture of this card. It looks a bit fuzzy.

Edwin Card

Here is one of my newer cards. The card was cut using my Cricut "Wild Card" cartridge.




I think if I were to make this card again, I would make the inside of the card another color so you could see that the top layer is odd shaped.

My B-day

Saturday, May 2nd was birthday and National Scrapbook Day! My scrappin buddies surprised me with a cake for my b-day (among other WONDERFUL things!).

Left to right...me, Marilyn, and Paula. Newbie Julie is behind the camera taking the picture!

Thank you guys for making my birthday so great. You guys are the bestest!!!!

Cabanas

OK...so we have a theme crop each cycle of our scrapbook group. This cycle, the theme was Travel Destinations. Did we pick Paris? Did we pick Egypt? No! We picked Albuquerque! SO, after the last them crop, we had to bring it...and it had to be big! Well, if you are going to Albuquerque, you're most likely there for the balloon festival. So, that was what we did. This "special shape" balloon was the result of a hoola hoop, some plastic table clothes, some duck tape, and a blower motor. MacGuyver would be proud!

The ballon was 7 feet tall and about 7 feet wide too! It has a "wicker basket" on the bottom, though I am not sure if you can tell from this picture. Left to right are my table mates: Marilyn (tourist), Donna (passenger), Paula (zebra-launch coordinator), and me, Bonnie (the pilot).

We won the theme crop...we're two for two now!!!!

Sorry!

I need to apologize! It's been a while since I uploaded anything to my blog. It's been a bit crazy for a while. But, I do have lots of new things to upload. I will try to get to them this weekend.

Happy National Scrapbook Day!
-Bonnie

New Card

I made this card for Joyce, who wanted a baby shower card for her daughter-in-law. She wanted me to use this Tilda stamp, include butterflies, and make the primary color pink. She like the insides to be blank so she can write her own messages in it. She has a true appreciation for the cards I make...which is why I like to make them for her!





I like this card becasue it is very dimensional...so dimensional that it is kind of hard to fit it in the envelope! The flower is two layers and she is popped up sitting on it. The butterflies are popped off the card tto with their wings curled in flight...but you can't really tell from the picture!

Oh well...I like it!
-Bonnie

Challenge Layout

Like my friend Paula, I had to do a challenge layout. We were all given the same exact supplies. We were allowed to add up to 3 items. I added card stock, flowers, and dew drops. This was kind of a hard challenge for me. It had several embellishment items that I would never normally use and the color theme was something I wouldn't choose either. But, I tried my best!




If you want to see Paula's challenge page, look on the right had side of my blog for the link to Paula's One of a Kind Design blog.

Calendar

Sooooo...I was told by my friends that I needed to post the 2009 calendar that I made on the blog. It's one of the few projects I have made that I am actually pretty happy with! Unfortunately, the pictures seem a little fuzzy to me...hopefully it's just my eyeballs being fuzzy and you guys like it!



All of the month titles were done with Quickutz amd almost all of the die cuts on this calendar are also Quickutz. Yeah...I'm a little bit of a Quickutz freak...what's your point?

Hope you like it!!!

March Homepage contest

This is a card that I did for the March homepage challenge on the Magnolia-licious yahoo group. The guidelines were...the primary color had to be green and there had to be three of something. So, I punched out a bazillion shamrocks in several colors and shaped them so they pop off the page (you can't really tell that from the picture). Notice the 3 gold coins that fell out of the pot of gold?

February Layout Challenge

I made this card for the February layout challenge. They provide a template for you to follow and you design and create the card. So, here it is...my first Magnolia card!

-Bonnie

Welcome to my blog!

SOOOOOO....Paula, who is my very talented and sometimes goofy (in a good way!) friend, has been bugging me to start my own blog. So, here it is! Are you happy now Paula???

Here I will share some of my creations...scrapbooking, cards, calendars, general crafting, etc. But first, let me share with you where the name of my blog comes from. My "kids" are of the four legged variety...less trouble and no college expenses!!! But, in all honesty, they are probably MORE spoiled than the kids with 2 legs!!!!

So, let's take a look...



This would be Jazz. Her real name was Jasmine. But, I always called her Jazz. She was a Lhasa Apso. She was the oldest of my "kids". She was my constant companion. She saw me through some good times...and some bad times! Man, could she snore!!!!! We did everything together. She was with me until the ripe old age of 14. She is in puppy heaven now...but, FOREVER in my heart.





This would be Gidget. She is a Yorkie and the baby of my "kids". She is now 4. She keeps me laughing every day! She is the funniest little dog. Even Paula, who is not a fan of little dogs, LOVES her! She has a ton of personality! She came to us from my brother Jim in Kansas. She flew home with us on a plane and nobody even knew she was there! She became Jazz's eyes when Jazz could no longer see anymore. I kid you not...after Jazz fell down the stairs once, she started running in front of Jazz and rerouting her when she was headed for the stairs. I joked that my dog had a seeing eye dog!


There is another one here...not mentioned in the Title of my blog. This is Mittens...aka...Mitty Kitty Fat Cat! She is not in the title of the blog for one reason and one reason only...just how long do you want my title to be???? She is another one of my very funny "kids". It was not unusual to see her washing the faces of Jazz and Gidget. She would walk up to them and just smack them up side the head occasionally! She was the momma of the "kids". She came to me shortly after Jazz and lived to be almost 14. She is now gone with Jazz. And I am CERTAIN they are both raising heck with my dad!



So, those are my kids...and this is the start of my blog. I look forward to showing you some of my stuff. I'm not sure exactly how often I will post. But, please check back!


As I say all the time..."This is me...take it or leave it!"
Toodles!
-Bonnie