Candy Winner & CropStop News!

Okay, I'm a little behind announcing my candy winner (Valentine Magnolia Ink Magazine and stamped images) from those of you that left me a comment letting me know you participated in our last CropStop challenge (see original post here). The winner is..................................RENE! Please email me your address so I can get these goodies out in the mail to you. If you already have this issue let me know and I'll replace it with some other goodies! :)

We have a new challenge up this week and It's All About LACE! Head on over to the CropStop Challenge Blog here for the details and link up your card for a chance of winning a gift certificate to the CropStop store. If you win, don't forget to use my 10% off code (on my sidebar) to get an ADDITIONAL 10% off your order!! Even if you don't win, there are a bunch of sales going on so you definitely want to head over there and get in on the savings!

We have some amazing things lined up for April! You might remember from a previous post that our sketch designer Gloria has become part of the Spellbinders Design Team. Check out her fabulous blog here. To celebrate, CropStop is offering up additional prizes for the month of April.

Don't miss out on CropStop's April product highlight (click for details).....SPELLBINDER ARTS!

The CropStop Challenge Blog will be giving away Spellbinder Dies all month long for weekly challenge prizes in addition to the weekly Gift Certificate prizes! YES people....that means two prizes each week so you have an increased chance of winning!! If you use a Spellbinder die on your project, you will be entered into a drawing for a Spellbinder prize. Don't have any? Not to worry....CropStop will still be doing the weekly random draw for a $15 Gift Certificate to the CropStop Store. YIPPEE!! :)

We look forward to seeing your fab projects using Spellbinder Dies!!

I should be back soon with pictures of my 3-D project for the Magnolia-licious Easter-Spring Extravaganza Contest. You can check out the details of the contest here. I'm almost done....I think! Hopefully I'll have it up by the end of the weekend. Hubby scheduled a date weekend....I (heart) him soooo much so we'll see if I get any crafty time in. :) :)

Thank you for your beautiful, supportive comments! You all are such a joy and I appreciate that you have taken the time to visit my blog. It means the world to me! And.....keep coming back because I plan on having some more blog candy soon!

Big hugs to you all!
Rosie :)

CANDY WINNERS!

Okay, I finally got all the names written down on raffle tickets and had my son do the drawings for names. I wish I could have given each one of you something for your wonderful, sweet comments (maybe, one day when I win the lottery!).

Here are my Blog Candy Winners: (please email me your mailing address to: rosemary_bridges@yahoo.com)

The big blog candy prize shown here (plus Magnolia Ink Mag & 20 stamped images) goes to Kathy Billings (who said: Well you now have 61 followers. I love your blog candy and hope your darling little boy draws my name.)

Well girl, it worked because he drew your name....Now say, I hope Rosemary wins the Lottery...LOL!

2nd Blog Candy Prize (Magnolia Ink Magazine & 20 stamped images): Karen (who said: Congrats on your one year anniversary. Thank you so much for the opportunity to win some sweet candy!)

I didn't realize until I was uploading the photos that my silly boy was making faces when he was posing with the names (I was too busy focusing on the names). Made me giggle a little, haha!

Don't forget I have additional candy going on for a Magnolia Ink Magazine and stamped images if you join in our CropStop Challenge this week at: http://cropstop.blogspot.com. The theme this week is Spring and we're asking for flowers and butterflies on your cards. You only have until Wed. to join the challenge. If you link up to our CropStop challenge then go to my blog post here and leave me a comment letting me know you linked your project.

Thanks again everyone for your awesome support and for following me! I really appreciate it!! Believe me, I will have more candy throughout the year so keep checking back. :)

Hugs,
Rosemary

Weekend Update!

Hi everyone! I hope all is well where you are at. I just wanted to give you all an update and let you know I plan on drawing for the Blog Candy tomorrow, Monday, March 14th. Friday was a really stressful day. Of course, nothing could compare to the devastation that was felt in Japan. My heart aches for the people of Japan and my prayers go out to them as they try to rebuild their lives and country. I didn't hear about the Tsunami until I arrived at work on Friday morning. I couldn't believe the images I saw that morning. Then thoughts raced through my head for my fellow CropStop DT sister Kaori who lives in Japan. We found out later that she was safe so that was a huge relief.

Later that afternoon, I started seeing huge plumes of smoke coming from miles away. I thought maybe there was a controlled burn going on (in Oklahoma, they burn the grass on the sides of the road sometimes to help prevent huge grass fires). After a few hours at work, I started receiving texts and phone calls asking if I was okay. I was like, "I'm fine, why?" Then I was told that the town I live in had a huge grass fire threatening homes. I frantically tried to find information online, but there were not a lot of reports coming out because it had just started. I left work early since my son was in school and headed to my house. I was stopped at the corner of my road and told I couldn't go to my house. They needed to get fire trucks down the road. I waited in the church parking lot in tears wondering if I had a house to go to. Finally, the sheriff let me go, but said they might be issuing evacuations soon. I turned on the TV and found that there were several fires going on simultaneously across the state of Oklahoma. I frantically started packing suitcases and important mementos. Is it bad that I grabbed my Magnolia magazines and stamps, blog candy prizes, and the projects I'm working on?!?! My friend and husband thought I was crazy, but I know you Maggie lovers feel me!!

The fires raged across our state and many people lost their homes (the Governor had to declare a state of emergency). I am so thankful and relieved because I happen to be one of the fortunate ones. Although I kept seeing black smoke behind my house, I never got the knock at my door to evacuate. Yesterday, my husband and I drove down the street (in the opposite direction from the way we usually leave our Addition) and we saw for the first time how close the fire was to our house. It was only 1 block over. There was only one more row of houses between us and the fire.

So, of course, this weekend, we spent a lot of time as a family. It was even more important quality time because my husband was out of town all week. He was flying back home when the fires were raging, so I was dealing with the drama on my own. This weekend, we had a lot to be thankful for, but at the same time I could not get the tragedy happening in Japan out of my mind. I pray the Lord brings them some comfort and peace soon.

I am also blessed by the number of you who entered my blog candy. I had almost 100 entries. I decided I'm going to do two drawings....one for the main blog candy and another drawing for a Magnolia Ink Magazine with some stamped images. So yes....that means there will be TWO WINNERS!

Thanks for listening to me today.

Hugs,
Rosemary

CropStop Challenge #10-Flowers and Butterflies or Bees

The challenge this week over at CropStop is in honor of Spring, and we're asking you to use Flowers and Butterflies or Bees. I decided to go with Flowers and Bees because I wanted to use this awesome Honey Tilda image. I think she's adorable!

Before I continue with my card, I've got a special treat for you. I mentioned in my previous post that I was able to get some extra Magnolia Ink Magazines. If you join our challenge this week at CropStop, come back to this post and let me know your project is linked. I will draw a name next Thursday, March 17th for the magazine and some extra goodies from those of you that join our challenge. :)

Okay, here's my card (click on picture for larger view):

I used an older sketch (#88) from Friday Sketchers. The black cardstock is Recollections. The light yellow patterned papers for the base, yellow grid paper, and yellow dot paper came from my stash. The other two sheets of dp were black/white ColorBok paper I got from Michael's dollar bin. I colored some of the white areas with my yellow Prismacolor Marker. The large white center flower is Recollections and the rest of the flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts. The glass chandelier beads are from Hobby Lobby. The bee and flower brads on the right are from The Paper Studio. The black rickrack came from WalMart.

I used Honey Tilda for my image....isn't she the cutest thing ever?!?! I colored Tilda with Copics and chalk and added Star Dust Stickles to her wings. I used some Ultra Fine Black and Citrus Crush Flower Soft and I have to say.....I LOVE IT!! Because it's ultra-fine, the coverage is so much better especially for smaller areas. I used it on her hat, the middle striped area, and her socks. I used Glossy Accents to glue the flowersoft to my image and it worked great! The thin, narrow nozzle allows me to control the glue better. I think her socks look like fuzzy socks (which have now become a new obsession of mine....I LOVE FUZZY SOCKS!).

I embossed the white background behind Tilda with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. The scalloped circles were cut with my Nestabilities-Classic Scalloped Circles Large.

Here's a side view:

Thanks for checking out my newest creation! Now don't forget to link your creation to the CropStop Challenge. All you have to have are flowers and butterflies or bees. I should see a lot of you Maggie lovers linked up this week! :)

I want to remind you of my blog candy that runs through tomorrow Friday, March 11th. All you have to do is become a follower of my blog and leave a comment on the original post here. This week, I was able to snag a few extra copies of the "Will you be my Valentine" Magnolia Ink magazine. Since I'm now over 100 followers, YIPPEE, I'm going to add a magazine to the prize package along with some additional stamped Magnolia images!! The prize is growing! :)

Also,don't forget about my 10%-off code on my sidebar for your purchases at the CropStop store. They have a lot of stuff and they ship ultra fast!!

Hugs!
Rosemary :)

CropStop Challenge #9-Sketch and a Twist

Hi everyone! We announced some great news at CropStop last week....did you see it? Our very own sketch designer, Gloria, is officially on the Spellbinders 2011 Team!! To celebrate her awesome news, we did a little twist on our Sketch Challenge. If you follow the sketch AND use a Spellbinder product, you will be entered for a chance to win a Spellbinder gift from CropStop!!

Before I continue with my card, I want to remind you of my blog candy that runs through Friday, March 11th. All you have to do is become a follower of my blog and leave a comment on the original post here. This week, I was able to snag a few extra copies of the "Will you be my Valentine" Magnolia Ink magazine. Since I now have over 100 followers, YIPPEE, I'm going to add a magazine to the prize package along with some additional stamped Magnolia images!! The prize is growing! :)

Okay, here is Gloria's awesome sketch:

I kept my card pretty simple because I wanted to get it done asap. Here it is (you can click on the pictures for a larger view):

I flipped the sketch and put the sentiment strips on the left side and Little Bunny Tilda on the right side in place of the flowers. My frame is an older Spellbinder Die called Scalloped Edge Frame. I don't think it's available any longer, but you could use Lacey Squares instead. The lamb paper is from American Traditional Designs Welcome Baby Boy paper pack. The cardstock is from my stash. I embossed the yellow panel with Quickutz Diamonds and Dots. The pink and yellow flower ribbon was a freebie from Diana with Magnolia-licious for placing a $60 order.

Little Bunny Tilda is colored with Copics and chalk. I used some Ultra Fine Citrus Crush Flower Soft on her bunny ears and tummy...I LOVE THIS STUFF!! It gets really great coverage in the smaller areas because it's really fine. I used Glossy Accents as my glue for the flower soft. The thin nozzle helps me control my glue placement.

The eggs actually came from some Easter ribbon I received from Crafty Ribbons located here. I cut the eggs out of the ribbon and put Glossy Accents on the back around the edges to keep the ribbon from fraying. Once the GA was dry, I added popdots to the back and popped them on my card.

Here's a side view so you can see the dimension:

You have until Wednesday evening, March 9th, to link up your project (yes, that's tomorrow evening). It can be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, etc. As long as it follows the sketch, you can link it up. Don't have a blog? Then join the CropStop Gallery for free and load the picture of your project there. I hope to see more of you wonderful crafters participating in our challenges.

Hugs!
Rosemary :)

1 year Blog Anniversary, CANDY, and small prize winner!

It's hard to believe, but Sunday, Feb. 27th was my official 1-year Blog Anniversary! I never thought I would ever do the blog thing, but to have kept at it for a year....well, for me that's amazing. I'm not usually the most tech savvy individual, and I never thought I would figure out this whole blog thing. There is still a lot I need to learn, but I'm finding things get easier the more I get on here.

So, of course, to celebrate my accomplishment, I'm offering up some blog candy! The rules are simple:

1. Become a follower of my blog.
2. Leave me one comment on this post (only one comment per person please). If you want me to contact you directly then leave me your email addy too.

I would definitely appreciate it if you would advertise this candy on your own blog to spread the word, but it's not necessary to win. Here's a picture of my blog candy:

I don't want to keep it up too long because I have a bad memory and will forget about it, LOL! So I'll take comments until Friday, March 11th 11:59 PM CST and announce the winner by Monday, March 14th.

These are the items shown in the picture:
Magnolia Stamp: Tilda with Newly Hatched Chick
2 Cuttlebug Embossing Folders: D'vine Swirl and Swiss Dots
4 Packaged Flowers from Recollections Boutique Fleur Line
1 Jar of Recollection Flowers
Package of Pink Buttons
Circle Rhinestones/Pink Butterfly Rhinestones/Clear Butterfly Rhinestones
EK Success Punches: Heart & Star/Butterfly & Circle/Tree & Snowflake
CTMH Clear Shapes
CTMH January Stamp of the Month "Find Your Style"
Paper Studio Flocked Brads
Martha Stewart Double Edge Punch-Monarch Butterflies

Prior to advertising this blog candy, I had 59 followers! I wanted to do a special drawing for a $15 gift certificate to CropStop to reward one of you who was already a follower. So, I put your names in a hat, and had my son draw a name.

The winner of the $15 Gift Certificate to CropStop is...........................CRICKET!

I will send Cricket an email, but if you know her you may want to let her know she won my small drawing.

Thank you all again so much for your awesome support! I really appreciate each and every one of you!

Hugs,
Rosemary :)

Claudine Hellmuth inspired Magnolia Card

I'm back again with another Claudine Hellmuth inspired creation (see my previous post of my ATC). This time I made a card so I could use this fabulous Magnolia image called Sister and Brother. I fell in love with this stamp the moment I saw it, and knew I wanted to use it on some scrapbook pages of me and the hubby. My scrapbooking has been on the back burner lately, but I was itching to ink this image up. Then today I came across an older picture of me and the hubby and thought I would try to do another photo collage. I think it turned out pretty darn CUTE! I've got some other ideas of using my Maggies with photos and can't wait to make some framed art to hang in my son's room. :)

Now don't forget, you still have time to enter our CropStop Challenge-Making a Claudine inspired Artist Trading Card (ATC). But HURRY, because you only have until Wednesday evening (tomorrow) to link up your project for a chance at a CropStop gift certificate (there are only 3 people who have entered the challenge so far, so you really have an awesome chance of winning!).

An ATC is only 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and they go together pretty quick, especially if you use your Maggie stamp as the base of your photo image instead of hand-drawing the body like I did on my previous post. ATCs are also a great way to use those Magnolia Minis! Many people make ATCs ahead of time, and then add them as the focal image to a card. There are all sorts of things you can do with an ATC.

Okay enough talking and on to my card:

Here's a side view:

These are the supplies I used:

Image: Magnolia Sister and Brother (stamped on Neenah Smooth with Memento Ink)
Image Coloring: Copics and Chalk
Edges of Paper: Walnut Distress Ink
Glitter on Image and around Heart: Star Dust Stickles
Sentiment: Heartfelt Creations Classic Message HCPC3354
Blue & Pink Paper: Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby
White & Kraft Cardstock: Recollections
Flower/Lace Border: Recollections Boutique Fleur
Accessories: EK Success Real Estate Punch/Spellbinders Labels 1/Cuttlebug Swiss Dots /Buttons from my stash

I'm also going to enter this in Magnolia Stamp Lovers Blog Challenge to use Buttons and Bling.

I left the card in front of the coffee maker so my husband could see it in the morning. He probably won't like the picture of his face because he's lost a lot of weight since then and his face isn't as chubby. But, I wanted to surprise him with his own card and just remind him that we think He's the Best! We love you bunches honey!

As always, I'm a little behind on things and March 1st sprung up on me before I knew it. I celebrated my 1-year Blog Anniversary on Sunday, Feb. 27th....yep, it came and went and I didn't get my blog candy posted! YES, I have some blog candy that I need to post so check back in a day or two....I still have to take pictures of it!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to join in our CropStop Challenge.

Big hugs and love to all of you!
Rosemary :)