Sunday, September 30, 2012

Good day sweet readers,

The leaves at the higher elevations are ablaze with color. My little hummingbirds have migrated south, and flocks of geese are flying and squawking as they head south for their winter homes. Fall is here. I marvel that those tiny hummingbirds have the knowledge and strength to fly so many miles and return to the same spot each summer. Geesh, there are times when I can't remember something when I walk from one end of the house to the other! LOL

Well, it's also Halloween time! I love Halloween! It's also Halloween at the Hooked on Craft Challenge Blog!. This month, we would love to see you create a Halloween card or layout. It can be cute or scary! Just have fun! This challenge will run from October 1, 2012 until October 27, 2012. Karen has provided the following items as a prize for one lucky gal. I wish I could enter because I love, love, love the calla lilies! LOL



The Hooked on Craft Design Team has provided wonderful examples to get your mojo going. Please visit their blogs to see the details on their wonderful creations. Here is my example. I chose to make a witch's hat-shaped card.



Here is a close up of the cluster. Look at all those scrumptious goodies!



I just had so much fun creating my version of this shaped card. I had seen several like it and thought it was just such a cute idea that I had to give it a try. Do you like it? Here is the image for the interior:



There are so many little details included in this project. Sorry about the shadow at the bottom of the photo. I'm short, so I couldn't get past casting a shadow. I have used the following products available at Hooked on Craft. Just follow the links to learn more about the products I've used!

Orange Mesh Ribbon
Butterfly Trinket Pin
Teardrop Trinket Pin
Purple Water Lily
Orange Tiger Lily
Gardenia
Skeleton Leaves
Orange Calla Lily
Purple Calla Lily

The inside of the card has a little Magnolia Tilda Witch standing on the hat's brim ribbon. I also used another one of Hooked on Craft's beautiful gardenias! There is an empty spot for writing a personal message. The top panel has the sentiment and a little fake candy bar. It was nice that I got to use my rarely used paisley Nestie dies!

Thank you so much for visiting. I am so happy that you chose to take the time to stop by. I hope you will return soon!

Love to you,

Chris

Monday, September 24, 2012

Magnolia-licious Inspiration Challenge - Use Buttons!

Hello sweet readers,

How are you this fine Tuesday? It's officially Fall! Woo-hoo! This is the start of my favorite time of the year which lasts until late March! The downside is that the natural lighting in my craft room is now really poor since the angle of the sun is so different now. That means relying on electricity. I know my photos will look dull and flat now. Ugh!

Before we get to the Button Challenge details, the winner of the last random draw (chosen from those who left comments) is...

#14 - MYRNA


Myrna, if you will e-mail your address to me, I'll get something out to you shortly! My e-mail is to the right.

DISCLAIMER: My husband while watching a football game in the family room was asked to pick a number. If you didn't win, blame him! LOL

Our new challenge at The Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog is to find inspiration by using buttons in your design! How fun is that? You will have two weeks to complete the challenge. One lucky gal will win... **drumroll please,**

>

How fun would that be to win? I love, love, love surprises! Diana is so very generous. I hope you will take the time to do a little creating! Make sure your card has a Magnolia image as well as buttons. That's all there is! Here is the inspiration photo to get those creative juices flowing:



Here is my card design based on the button inspiration:



For my card, I chose to modify my Tilda with Heart Balloons stamp. Then, I replaced the balloons with buttons. I layered the "ground," and added some punched Autumn leaves as well as a die cut fence, tree, and little flowers. The following products may be found in Diana's amazingly supplied store:

Tilda with Heart Balloons - Sweet Crazy Love Collection

Spruce Doo-hickey die - Sweet Christmas Dreams 2011 Collection

Magnolia Cloudy Sky paper from the Bon Voyage 2010 Collection

Fence

Let's look at the interior panels. I had a lot of fun with the top one. I remembered I had a bag of chipboard buttons. My sweet husband found the Rubbermaid bucket that holds my chipboard and after emptying the entire bucket, I found the package of buttons at the very bottom! LOL Figures, huh? I took the button paper that I used for the card and glued it to the chipboard to cover the top surface. Then, I covered it with Crystal Accents (I think that is what it is called), and allowed it to dry for 36 hours just to be safe. Add a doily, a tag, ribbon, buttons, and flowers, and the top was done! Here is the photo:



You can find the Doohickey Scalloped Tag here.

Here is a photo of the bottom panel:



As usual, I kept this panel simple so that the person sending it can add a personal message.

I hope you will take the time to visit the other Design Team Members' blogs and see their gorgeous creations! We love to shop at Magnolia-licious and take full advantage of poor Diana by making sure we get our 2% credit dollars, Diana's wonderful prices, preorder opportunities, and free shipping on orders over $75! I love those credit dollars. I've been so surprised when I wanted to get something and there was the money right there for me to use without actually spending it from my wallet! Diana had saved it for me!

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you will leave a comment for me. I can't wait to see what you create!

XO,

Chris

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Magnolia-licious Color Inspiration Challenge for September

Hello Dearest Readers,

I am so very excited to have been asked to join the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog Design Team! This is my first submission, and I hope you like what I have done!

Before I share my newest card, I'd like to congratulate the winner of my last blog entry candy draw. My sweet husband picked a number at random, and he picked.....

Number 4 - Candy!!!


Candy, please e-mail your mailing address to me so I can send you a little somethin' somethin'.

I'll be doing this again using the comments from this blog post. Just leave a comment for me and you'll be entered into a random number draw to be announced when I post my next card! How's that?

Here is the photo that I used to draw my color inspiration for my card:


When I looked at the colors in the photo, I saw burgundy, pink, green, cream, and brown. From that, I chose to emphasize the burgundy, cream, pink, green because we're heading into the Fall season. Here is my creation:


I chose to use Goosebump Tilda which I masked so I could use the Open Gate image from the 2010 Hoppy Easter/Spring Collection. I have colored my images using Distress Inks.

In addition to the stamps, I also used some delightful Magnolia dies (as well as other dies) to add those extra special touches to the card. The first die is called Tilda's Doily Doohickey Cutting Die. Also used, but tucked behind the mat, is the So Wrapped Lovely Heart Folded Tag Doohickey Cutting Die. Inside the card, I used Leaf and Swirl Doohickey Die #4

Here are the images for the interior of my card:






I saw something romantic in the photo of the chair and corner grouping. I wanted to add a little romantic look to my card as well.

I hope you will join in the Magnolia-licious Challenge! There is always a wonderful prize for one lucky participant!

Have you seen the new Magnolia Ink magazine? What a source of inspiration! There is something in that treasure trove for everyone including step-by-step tutorials, new products, contests, and oodles of perfectly beautiful and adaptable cards! One thing you may wish to consider is ordering a yearly subscription from Diana so you can lock in current prices. Remember, the value of the US dollar varies from day to day and country to country. If you click the link below, you'll find the subscription signup in the column on the left!

If you haven't been to Magnolia-licious, you don't know what you are missing! Click the link above and browse through the wonderful products Diana carries for us to use. Diana's prices are wonderful, you earn credit dollars with your purchases, and her preorder stamp collections have the best prices ever! You won't be sorry! You'll be addicted! Diana's customer service is the best I have ever experienced!

I hope to see your wonderful creation entered in this month's Color Challenge!

XO,
Chris

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