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

I May Have a Computer Issue

YIKES! Today, my laptop is being very weird. I have it plugged in. It says the battery is only at 45%, and it has not changed all day long! Right there, in front of my eyes, it sits at 45% while plugged in. The little green light is on (where the plug attaches to the computer). I'm afraid it'll drop down to zip, and I won't be able to fire it up! It was fine yesterday. The battery was at 100%. Go figure. I think my little "Macalina" is too tired to accept a charge! Hmm, I know that feeling all too well! LOL I took the battery out and put it back in. No change. So, here I am while I can! On Tuesday, I'll call the Apple Store and order a new battery. Hopefully, that will resolve the problem. I still have my desktop MAC that is brand new and turned on only once, LOL! I just love my laptop. It goes where I go. This MacBook Pro is four years old. It's time, I think, to begin considering a new Pro.

I have another card to share with you. I hope you like it! I had fun with it. Here are the shots:



The door, Tilda, and the fence are each at their own depth. I didn't take a side shot to show the "layers" of depth. Each section is separated by dimensionals. I also embossed the background so that it resembled bricks. I used a Robin's Nest acrylic bead for the handle on the screen. There is grass around Tilda's little feet. I've glittered the crowns on her shirt as well as her wings, the perimeter of the sign, and the butterflies.



Here are the interior shots:



The inside is so bright and cheery! I so love this paper! I thought the polka dotted ribbon would be a nice accent. Then, I decided that I wanted buttons. So, there's one section of the interior.



I chose to vary the angle of the tag. Next, I used yellow striped baker's twine to wrap the bottom portion. I thought I'd use buttons in the primary colors. They also repeated the shapes found on the paper.



This is it - the complete interior. Doesn't it just look happy?

Thanks so very, VERY much for visiting! I love to read your comments, so if you feel like leaving one, I will treasure it! Thank you and enjoy your holiday!

XO,
Chris

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

1. Magnolia Stamp Lovers (ends 6/4) - embossed background

2. Catered Crop (ends 6/9) - recipe - Ingredients include: Colors: red, white, blue, yellow; Color Mediums: distress inks; Embellishments: twine; Tools: die cuts; Techniques: square card, distress inking; Theme: Summer

3. Allsorts Challenge Blog(ends 6/3) - Things with wings

4. CES Challenges (ends 6/4) - embossing

5. Totally Gorjuss (ends 6/4 ) - String's the thing!

Happy Three Day Weekend!

Well, the unofficial start of summer is just two days away! What do you have planned? I'm hoping to play with something that DS got for me for my birthday (this week). It's a Himalayan Salt Block! It is the most beautiful block of salt I have ever seen! It is maybe 9 or 10" square and at least 2" thick. The color is very close to a pale apricot. It's translucent and, yes, I had to taste it, salty! No, I didn't lick it! It is used for cooking! I'm thinking grilled scallops might be my first venture on Monday. I love playing with new kitchen goodies, and DS won my heart with this cooking toy! It can also be used to serve cold items and is pretty enough to go right to the table.

A sweet cyberfriend had my heart and prayers this week. Her town was hit by a very severe tornado. I was so worried about her all day. I logged on to a TV station in her area and heard my very first broadcasts from the station's constant on air updating. I had never heard anything like that before. What I saw on the screen gave me chills. I've only seen one tornado in my life. It was in the mid-1990s. I remember the atmosphere turned greenish yellow. As I looked to the south, I saw the "elephant's trunk" hanging from a very black cloud. I went to the teacher across the walkway from my door and asked him to verify what I was seeing. He did. It was not that big. It did touch down and do some damage. However, it was NOT like what I saw on my computer screen or on TV! Las Vegas wasn't the place one would see tornadic activity. The important ending to this story is that my sweet cyberfriend was safe and sound. She took shelter along with her family. Her area, however did not fare so well. There was much damage in her town in Oklahoma. Prayers were answered that day. Prayers of thanks are continually being given!

I have a lovely card to share with you today. I hope you like it. I loved making it. I used a one of my favorite images from the Magnolia wedding collection. I also added lots of goodies to compliment the theme. Here is the first image:



The cream cardstock is dry embossed with lovely floral impressions. I made some rosebuds (the ones with pearls). The edges have been distressed and inked. I gave Tilda a pearl necklace and rhinestones in her hair.



The second page of the card shows the dry embossed cardstock very nicely. I used Nesties for the center element as well as some pretty flowers.



This is the third side of the wedding card. I just love that die. It reminds me of Battenburg Lace.



Do you ever surprise yourself when you finish a card and it looks better than what you had envisioned or felt surprised that it came together better than you had anticipated? This card did that for me! I surprised myself! LOL

Well, my sweet visitors, thank you for stopping by. I am so happy that you took the time to visit. I so appreciate that you dropped in. Please come again!

XO,
Chris

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

1. Magnolia-licious Highlights Blog (ends 5/31) - wedding
2. Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog (ends 5/29) - color inspiration challenge
3. Creative Card Crew - (ends 5/31) - anything goes
4. Stamp Something (ends 6/2) - Something Sentimental
5. Mark's Finest Papers (ends 6/3) - ivory and lace

It's a Terrific Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's a cloudy day here again today. It's been such a wonderful Spring! The longer we get clouds, showers, and cool temperatures, the better it is! Those 110°+ days are just lurking around the corner waiting to attack! So, we savor these cool days! It's only in the 60s today. Love, love, love it!

I have a card to share with you today. It's for the current sketch challenge at Magnolia-licioushighlites. The sketch is the creation of the amazing Suzanne Dean. This is my take on that wonderful sketch. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is. Give it a try!



OK, now for my card. I think I should have made it 6 x 6. I made it 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. I could have used a bit more space.



I love this paper. I bought tons of it! I love the colors as well as the designs. The butterflies have been covered with glitter. You cannot see it in the photo, though. It adds just a highlight of sparkle.

This is the inside of the card (DAH!). I love the sentiment.



Well, folks, that's all she wrote. Thank you for stopping by. Tomorrow is hump day - so, it's all down hill from there!

Blessings,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following sites' challenge:

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Bingo (diagonal lower left to top right) - ends 5/31
Claudia and Company - girl birthday (ends 5/28)
Paper and Such Design Blog - Birthdays (ends 5/21)
Cupcake Craft Challenges - In the Garden (ends 5/22)
Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central - birthday (ends 5/22)
Creative Inspirations Paint - Inspired by Butterflies (ends 5/21)
Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog - birthdays (ends 5/21)

It's a Mid May Monday!

Well, not quite Monday, but in a couple of hours it will be!

We've had a really windy weekend! I felt sorry for my little hummingbirds! I hope they hung on! They sure needed to! Other than that, it's been a great week!

I don't have a lot to chat about - relief, huh? LOL But, I do have a card to share with you. I made another graduation Tilda. This time, it's a girly version. The primary paper is a lovely black with silver swirls. So, I kept the black and silver theme throughout.
The flash sort of bleached out Tilda, but you get the idea.

This is the cover of the card. I used some silver ink to tip the flowers. There are also some silver roses. The sentiment tag has been elevated on pop dots.



This is the inside of the card. Again, I used the black and silver swirl paper as well as some black floral paper. The punched border strip is done on silver foil cardstock, but it looks white. There is a cap and diploma charm hanging in the loer right corner.



This is the inside, lower half, of the card. I've used a Magnolia stamp and added a cute little graduation themed charm suspended from the flowers.



Thank you so much for visiting. I so appreciate the time you took to do so.

XO,
Chris

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

Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog - Glitzy (ends 5/21)
Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Graduation (ends 5/21)
Art Impressions Stamps - Decorate the interior - (ends 5/19)
http://ssdschallenge.blogspot.com/- Use Old Supplies (ends 5/20)

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope your Mother's Day was wonderful and filled with love! I had a quiet day! I started a card, visited w/ a friend, chatted on the phone with my DFIL and DS, and laughed a lot. All is good!

It is so windy here today. As I sit at my scrap table, I watch the hummingbird feeder blowing in the wind! Some gusts have been over 50 mph! My hummers are back. Yesterday, though, we had two interlopers at the feeder drinking the nectar. They were about the size of a parakeet but much slimmer. They were a gorgeous green with red heads. They scared the hummingbirds away. Today, though, the hummers have had the nectar all to themselves. They are just soooo cute when they stop dead in the air and stay positioned before swooping in or out. Bless their little hearts.

I finished a card yesterday. I thought I'd share it with you. I made a "grown up" card, LOL. Tilda is dressed to the nines, and I'm sure she's wearing Christian Louboutin pumps even though you cannot see his signature red soles on Tilda's shoes. I know they are there because I did the coloring, LOL! I hope you like her (and the card). Here it is:

The base of the card is a pale blue. I coupled that with the palest pink and burgundy. The patterned paper has foil inserts which make it just so pretty. I paper pieced Tilda's chair, added a spray of flowers. The greeting has been elevated on pop dots. The insert behind Tilda has been dry embossed. Note the pearls going around the shape. Here she is:



The first interior panel is just companion paper with machine stitching. I did repeat the pearls around the die cut. (My stitching lines are straight and that's a good thing, right? LOL)



The second interior panel features that gorgeous paper with the foil inlays (also on front of card). Because the paper is so stunning, I wanted to keep this simple. Maybe I should have added more flowers. What do you think? I could place them in the lower left corner.



This is what the interior looks like:



I just love the colors on this paper! They are so rich.

I have three brand new Tilda stamps for sale, if you are interested. I bought duplicates - again... If you are interested in them let me know. I have Tilda holding the little lamb, Tilda w/ an eyepatch and the barrell w/ the anchor resting against it. Both are from Pirate theme grouping. I haven't even opened their packaging. I think I have a duplicate of the flying angel Tilda, too.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I love that you took the time to visit. I so appreciate your visits.

Love to you,
Chris

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

Hello May, Goodbye April

Good morning! It is very early and I've been up for HOURS! I woke up and just couldn't go back to sleep for some reason. I hate when that happens and I lay in bed trying so had to go back to sleep. Then, the longer I try, the more thoughts race through my mind. So, two and a half hours later, here I am writing to you, dear readers.

I have a card to share with you today. First, however, I would like to share the story of the teapot. One day, I came across a blog that had an adorable teapot card. As I read, I learned that the mother of the author of the blog had drawn four differently styled teapots for her. The gal posted the patterns on the blog to share with others. This was one of the four. Sadly, I didn't bookmark her blog! I have no idea who she is (and I don't have the other three patterns, either)! So, I deeply apologize for not giving this wonderful blogger credit where credit is due. If you know the name of her blog, please let me know. I sure would like to use the other patterns and give the blog owner credit.

I love how this card turned out. It is so pretty in real life. There is lots of layering on all three "pages" of the card. I've also used machine stitching and pretty doilies throughout. Tilda was colored with inks. The background paper pictured on the inside of the card isn't quite as dark as it looks on the screen. The solid color on the front of the card is quite true. I used pearl accents on the spout (it looks like swirling steam) and along the edge of the teapot opening. Iand even added tiny little pearls on Tilda's "ears."

Here are the shots:







Have a wonderful day everyone. Thank you so much for stopping by. I love your visits and love, even more, the comments you share!

XO,
Chris

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

1. The Crafty Pad - Pearls and Swirls

2. Creative Cowgirls - Mother's Day

3. Creative Inspirations Paint - Mother's Day

4. Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Flowers

5. Stamptacular Sunday - Mum's the Word