An Uneventful Week

I've had an uneventful week! I guess that could be viewed as a good thing, right? Nothing exciting happened. Our son is fine, my DH is fine, the cats are fine, I'm fine. I didn't cook anything exciting, nor did I bake anything special. What a BORING WEEK!

I have a card to share today. Since the 4th of July is right around the corner (wasn't June 1 just a couple of days ago) I thought I'd make a patriotic themed card using Tilda in Star Dress. She looks so cute. This card has lots of layering. I hope it doesn't look like a target! LOL I added Stickles to Tilda's dress (stars) to add a touch of sparkle. I made a double bow using my Bow Easy. I had soe red and blue flowers, so they went on the card, too. Here it is:



Here is the inside. There is a strip of star ribbon on the bottom to hold the tag into place. I love that star ribbon so much!


It's a really simple card. I just had fun with a new-to-me-technique of using a border punch around a circle. It looks OK, I guess! LOL.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you will visit again.

XO,
Chris

NOTE: I started writing this post on 6/27 but didn't finish it until tonight, 6/30. I hope that doesn't disqualify me from participation in challenges. That's the first time I've ever saved a draft, so I didn't know how the dating was configured.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Die Cut Dreams Challenge Blog (#92 ends July 2) - Red, White, & Blue

2. Scrapbookaholic By Abby (#8 ends July 9) - Red, White, & Blue

3. Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central (ends July 3) - Red, White, & Blue

4. There She Goes Clear Stamps (#113 ends July 4) - Use multiple dies

5. Pile It On (#26 ends July 2 ) - Going Round in Circles

6. Off the Wall Craftiness (#56 ends July 7) - Red, White, and Blue

7. Craft Us Crazy (#11 Ends July 6) - Red, White, and Blue

Exploring My Inner Pioneer Woman

I love Ree Drummond. I love her light heartedness. I admire that she pitched her business attire and found herself quite comfortable living ranch life (while still doing well financially) - smart woman! Then, there was me - waking up, donning my heels and dresses, and loving each and every day for 32 years. I'm still trying to do the best I can while quietly attempting to be a better person each day. In true Ree Drummond style, I cooked my heart out this weekend. My sweet DH appreciates my endeavors. The house smelled delicious. I baked, I cooked and cooked, and cooked - from Friday until Sunday.

I started on Friday by making a huge pot of spaghetti sauce. My mother and grandmother would be very proud of me. It was rich with meatballs and Italian sausage. I, like my mother before me, let it simmer all day long to reduce and thicken. My home smelled like my childhood. I found myself wondering if I had instilled this slow simmer technique in our son. He loves to cook and is quite good at it. Did I teach him to let the gravy simmer for a long time? In the evening, I put the gravy in the fridge so the flavors would marry even more. Saturday night, we had homemade rigatoni pasta with the scrumptious gravy.

Sunday, I put on my Ree Drummond hat once again. I made a Brussels sprouts salad with dates, almonds, dried cranberries, and a mustard vinaigrette. I served this with Asian style sausage and green beans served over rice. My DH LOVED the sausage and green beans. I couldn't get him to ever eat them at a restaurant. Same thing with anything Brussels sprouts. But, he did manage to eat some of the salad. He kept telling me how delish the sausage and green beans were! Success!

Now, on to a card to share with you.

I've been working hard and trying to improve my skills. I started this card a while ago and just got to finishing it this weekend. I think I actually began it in March! On the front, I've masked two stamps to create the background. Then, there is sweet Tilda in the yellow dress. The yellow just didn't photograph well. If I tweak the brightness, it'll bleach out the other colors. So, her dress looks yucky! She and her balloon are elevated on pop dots. I wanted the walkway to look like gravel. I hope I succeeded. This is also my first attempt at creating black hair. I like it! LOL. Here are the pages of my card:



This is the inside left. I stamped a Magnolia butterfly image and added some glitter to it for sparkle. It's elevated on pop dots as well. The print of the stamp looks weird for some reason in the photo. The lens didn't see what was on the paper very well.



Inside right:



Both interiors:



I have to make a Father's Day card for DH. I've been procrastinating in case the one I have for sale doesn't sell. I could just change the sentiment on the front and use that card. *tee hee* When we first met, DH and I went trout fishing in central Nevada. He had this expensive rod and reel. He made me a line from a willow branch and added the line with a hook attached. He showed off his fancy gear. I just flicked my willow branch into the stream and immediately got a trout! My DH was quite chagrined! LOL Then, I tossed my little hook back into the stream again and caught trout #2! DH never caught a fish at all. LOL So, that card is reminiscent of our fishing date, LOL.

Have a wonderful week! Thank you for stopping by and reading my small book above, LOL. I so appreciate your visits and comments. Thank you sooo much!

XO,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Magnolia Stamp Lovers(ends 6/18) - Anything Goes

2. HookedonCraft Challenges(ends 6/24) - Anything Goes

3. KB Challenges #17 (ends 6/19) - Anything Goes

4. Catered Crop (ends 6/23) - Follow the Recipe: Colors: Blue & Green, Stamps: Nature (buttefly, tulips, and sky stamps, Color Medium: Painted Ink, Embellishments: pearls, lace ribbon, pearls, Tools: Die Cuts, sewing machine, Techniques:sewing machine

5. Paper Sundaes #73(ends 6/18) - Girly Girl

6. Catch the Bug Blog (ends 6/18) - Pearls and Lace

7. Creations by GillM - Sketch w/ circle shapes

8. ECP Challenges #40 (ends 6/23)- photo inspiration (I chose colors yellow and green)

A Magnolia Tilda Father's Day Card

With Father's Day quickly approaching, I thought I better get myself into gear and make a card! So, I hunkered down and got to work! I used one of the new Sweet Rainbow stamps of Tilda and put a different spin on the card. Instead of having a little boy on the front, I put gorgeous little Tilda while continuing to keep the card masculine by using "manly" (LOL) colors - brown, green, and grey.

I chose to use Basic Grey papers, Bazzill cardstock, Robin's Nest dew drops, Prima flowers, machine stitching, embossing, punching, and anything else I could think of! I had some fake cattails, so I used them to help set the stage for the fishing theme of the front.

Here are the shots:









The little charm says, "World's Greatest Dad." Some elements are on pop dots. I love that little stamp! Tilda just is too cute!

Thanks for stopping by. Sorry for the quick post. I hope you liked my card and will come back soon!

XO,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Amber's Crafts & Stuff (ends 6/14) - special man

2. The Paper Variety (ends 6/14) - Father's Day

3. Lexi's Creations (ends 6/11) - Father's Day

4. Craft Your Days Away (ends 6/9) - Father's Day

5. ECP Challengs (ends 6/9) - Father's Day

6. Ladybug Craft Ink Challenge Blog (ends 6/13) - Male Theme

7. Fussy and Fancy Challenge (ends 6/16 ) - A card for a man or a boy

Hooray for Hump Day

It's Wednesday, everyone! It's all downhill from here! You CAN make it - repeat, "I CAN make it!" Then, you have two days to kick back! That's one of the nice things about retirement - everyday is the weekend!

I resolved my computer issue for the time being. Thank you so much for caring. FYI, I left the unplugged computer on and drained the battery. Then, I let it sit overnight to make sure that every ounce of "juice" was out of that battery. I checked to make sure that there were no lights showing on the computer. There were none which told me I could now plug it in. I didn't turn it on, I just plugged it in. By afternoon, it was up to 100%! It still drops its charge too soon for my liking, so I guess I'll eventually need a new battery. I have to thank my DS for telling me what to do.

I have a new card to share today. I hope you like it.

I used one of the new Sweet Rainbow Collection stamps. Tilda is flying her kite. It's soooooooooooo cute! I did some paper piecing to create the scene behind Tilda. There are Stickles on the kite, hairbows, and eggs in the nest just to add a little sparkle. Here is the cover of the card:



The left interior card features a handmade pleated ribbon flower, lace trim, and a punched border. Also are die cut leaves and removable stamped tag tucked into the pocket.



The inside, right, of the card is fairly basic. I used a die for the brown, a border punch for the tan sentiment area, and a slotted bow. I love those bows because they are so neat and tidy looking.



Thank you so very much for visiting. I hope it was worth your time. I sure love when I am able to share with you. Please do come back again!

Blessings,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Creative Craft challenges - restful color challenge

2. KB Cute Monday (ends 6/5) - Anything Goes

3. Stamp with Fun - In the Garden

4. One Stitch at a Time(ends 6/4) - Fourth of July/PIcnics

5. Crazy 4 Challenges - Favorite vacation spot or activity

6. Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge Blog - Here Comes Summer