To Those of The Netherlands

To my dear friends in The Netherlands,

As I watch the procession of cars bringing some of the victims of MH17 home on television, I am so touched and saddened at this senseless loss. Please know that those innocents are in my thoughts. I am so touched by the lovely tribute to those that were lost is being shown by the citizens of The Netherlands as they gather on overpasses and the highway to show their respect. God bless each of you.

Love to each of you,

Chris

Magnolia Violet Stamp So Cute, & So Underused!

Hello Dearest Readers,

Have you visited the Magnolia-licous Store lately? If you haven't been there, go and check out the new products Diana has listed. Diana is currently taking orders from the Doo-hickey Die Club, Vol. 2. I just received my Vol. 1 and love it! The dies are sweet, and you get a lot. Vol. 1 had 13 dies in it! Vol. 2 is Christmas themed and also has lots of dies! Once the supply is gone, they're gone for good. Also new to the store is the new Magnolia Pink Lemonade Collection. I'm tellin' ya, the stamps are getting cuter and cuter if that is at all possible!

It's that time again at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog - time for a new challenge! This time, the challenge is to create a card or project using a Magnolia accessory stamp. No Tildas or Edwins on this one! I am sure there is a stamp in your collection that hasn't been used in a while. It could be an animal, scenery, or object stamp. How's that sound?

I have had this adorable stamp for a while and just let it sit there waiting its turn to get inked up! LOL The name of the stamp is called "Violet." It is from the Chasing Butterflies Collection. I love that it is wrapped in what looks like newspaper.

The image was colored with Inktense Watercolor Pencils I added some lemon yellow embossing powder to the center of the flower to give it some texture. I did have the petals colored, but when I added some pink Kindyglitz to the sentiment, I thought, "What the heck, do the flower petals, too!" Well, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much better the flower looked with the pink glitter on it! It just "perked up" the card front!

The sentiment stamp is a Wee Stamp from a delightful group of stamps called Flower Fairies. It is my very favorite Wee Stamp(set). You can find it HERE. The lace and flowers are all from my supplies while the dies are Noor Design and Marianne Design as well as a Magnolia Doo-hickey Die, Lace Coaster. It is tucked behind the polka dotted mat. I cut it in half since only a little peek was showing. The paper is from Wild Rose Studio.

I sure hope you will join the Accessory Stamp Challenge! Please visit my teamies blogs to see what lovelies they have created! They are sooooooo cute! Don't forget to leave a comment on the team members' blogs to be in the running to win a prize from Diana. Besides, we love to be loved, LOL!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today! I so appreciate you taking time to do that! Also, thank you for the sweet comments here and on my Facebook page and Magnolia-licious page. It means so much! I hope my card will give just a little inspiration.

XO,

Chris

"W"ednesday Wee Flower Fairy

Hello Dearest Readers,

Happy "Hump Day!" Wednesday is a good day because the weekend is just around the corner! I hope this post finds you well. I'm so happy to see that you've stopped by! Thank you!

Today is "W"ednesday at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog! Becky and I have cards to share. I hope you like them! Today, I have chosen to use a stamp from the Flower Fairies Wee Stamp Set by Sylvia Zet. I especially love this set as you get three greetings, two fairies, and a little flower cluster grouped together. It's a really great bargain, too! I was inspired by the gorgeous work of Elaine Livesey. Her coloring technique and card design is stellar! She is a such a dear and so very helpful! ((((hugs Elaine))))

Here is my card:

My image was colored using Distress Inks and Derwent Watercolor Pencils. I did not use the Derwent Inktense this time, just the regular pencils. I'm finding that using both mediums gives me the ability to get some depth of color. I used the most yummy Pion papers entitled Vintage Garden. These papers are so beautiful, I just cannot bring myself to cover them up! So, this card is missing a lot of embellies, LOL!

The beautiful ribbon was sent to me by my sweet friend, Rosie. Thank you hun! (((hugs to you))) The ribbon, color and flowers printed on the ribbon, are a perfect match with the Pion paper. The color of the ribbon in the photo is a little off. It matches the color of the printed images with perfection! My paper on which I stamped the image also is showing an off color. It is the same off white as the Pion papers. I wonder how to fix that? The sentiment is a mini from Magnolia-licious. Because it is a mini, it's one I use so much of the time. You can find it here. The card stock is Bazzill. I had one sheet of this deep rose color so I thought I'd use it up. It's probably discontinued now, LOL. The little flowers are from Impression Obsession. The scrollwork die behind the image mat is Joy Craft.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today! I hope my card will give some inspiration.

XO,

Chris

Magnolia Big Daisy Card

Hello Dearest Readers,

I hope this post finds each of you having a wonderful weekend. It's a beautiful day today. The sky is a gorgeous azure blue. That's one of the pluses living in the desert.

Our son and daughter-in-law are traveling in Europe. Does a mother ever NOT worry? Anyway, they will be leaving Barcelona and heading into the Basque region. Nevada, where we used to live, has a wonderful Basque population in the northern region of the state. We loved eating at the Basque restaurants when we would travel through northern Nevada. Here is a photo of our darling children:

Isn't that a sweet photo? I hatched the one with the hat! LOL The photo was taken in Barcelona at Paseo Maritimo. Emily, the daughter I never had, is such a wonderful addition to our family. I told her she is the heart of our family. She is amazing. Eventually, they will make their way to Belgium via France. If anyone knows of a good beer tour in Brussels, please let me know! LOL

I have a card to share with you today. I used an older stamp from the 2008 Jingle Jangle Collection. It is called "Big Daisy" and is really a striking stamp. I love the visuals you can get with multiple images. Here it is:

You likey? Me likey, LOL! I did some masking to get the multiple images. I didn't want to clutter the front of the card so that the focal point remained those gorgeous daisies. I made this card with an adult in mind, so I wanted to keep it simple. I simply fell in love with the floral paper! That was the inspiration for this particular card - the paper! LOL It is Echo Park - For the Record. I just love the greens, blues, and yellows found in the flowers. I had some Making Memories yellow that was a perfect match. The butterfly is a Cheery Lynn die. I painted over it using Glamor Dust so that it would sparkle. The card shape was created using Nestibilities Grand Die Set. I inked the edges is Dark Moss. The mulberry daisies are from Prima. The sentiment was a gift from my sweet friend, Rosie **mmmwwaahhh**

I hope you got a little inspiration from my card. I'm not a big easel card fan, but I enjoyed this one. I think it was because I really loved the colors! I love bright and cheery!

Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you will come back again very soon.

XO,

Chris

Tilda in the Forest Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

Hello Dearest Readers,

I hope this blog post finds you well this bright, sunny Tuesday! It's been very humid here in the desert southwest. We've had a lot of thunder and lightning, but, at our home, just a spit of rain. It's supposed to be this way all week long, so, hopefully, we'll get some much needed rain.

My sweet husband brought home five bags of DELICIOUS Rainier Cherries. Oh, they are so pretty. Here is what they look like:

Aren't they gorgeous? They are fat, sweet, and such a treat! Their "season" is very short, so finding them in the store is always fun! I sat and pitted three bags yesterday. I don't know what I'm going to bake with them yet. I know that whatever I decide, it'll taste great! I wish I had room in my freezer. I'd freeze some to enjoy during the winter.

Today begins a new challenge at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog! The new challenge is…

Christmas in July!

I really had a hard time with this card! I just couldn't get into the Christmas mindset because it was just too hot outside! I did manage though. Here is what I came up with.

If anything, just looking at the card makes me feel cooler! LOL My Tilda is Tilda in the Forest from the 2012 Christmas Story Collection. You can find her HERE

I also used some dies to create the forest. The large frame is a Memory Box Spring frame die. I did some trimming so it didn't look like Spring (or should I say branch pruning, LOL). I, then, backed it with some soft snowflake paper on which I built my forest and snow bank. You cannot see in the photo, but I've added Crystal Stickles to the trees, bushes, and snow. The birds are also a Memory Box die set. The green bushes are created using a branch punch. The silver foil sentiment is a peel off sticker. The small pine trees are from a Memory Box die as well. The snowflake dies are, I think, Cheery Lynn. I used a Fiskars crimper to make the textured snow.

That's pretty much the whole nine yards! I hope you like my creation and found just a little inspiration for you to join the challenge at Magnolia-licious! I hope you will leave a comment for me. I so treasure them and read each and every one! Thank you so much for leaving some love for me! Diana has a prize for one lucky gal who leaves a comment on the DT blogs. It could be you!

Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you will come back again very soon.

XO,

Chris

Bikini Tilda Sends You Sunshine!

Hello Dearest Readers,

Hello from the HOT, hot, hot desert! It's been a "hundred and stupid" all week long! For those of you who are new to my blog, things happen when the temps exceed 105° F. (45° C.). People stop thinking, LOL. It's just too hot to think, LOL! So, the term "a hundred and stupid" is often used. There is a plus, though. Crime goes down! Even the bad guys don't want to venture out because it is too hot! LOL

I have a fun card to share today. I decided to ink up Bikini Tilda and pair her with some bright, tropical paper. I love using black around bright cheery papers. It just accentuates the gorgeous colors! Want to see my creation? Well, here it is:

Here is another angle:

It was just a quick, fun card! I hope you like it.

Thank you for stopping by! Come back soon!

XO,

Chris