Tilda is Bringing Some Cheer!

Hello to each of you in the blogosphere! It's just about "Hump Day" again! I just cannot believe that July is almost over. Where did it go and how did it get away? At first, I thought it was just because I'm getting old and time is going faster. When you are younger, there is so much to learn that time goes slowly. Now, I'm NOT saying that I don't have much to learn - oh my gosh, that isn't so! It's just that, oh, I don't know, I'm getting old! LOL

Today, I am sharing with you our little Tilda as a cheerleader. Many, many moons ago, I was the university mascot for my school. I did that for a couple of years. It was a riot! I had so much fun! I got to travel with the teams and see so many places from Honolulu to New Orleans during Mardi Gras! I got to fly a Leer jet - sort of. I didn't know the pilot had put the jet on auto pilot, LOL. Imagine my surprise when the jet made a curve to the left and I wasn't the one doing the turning! I was just flying along in the sky thinking I was right where I was supposed to be! I think we were halfway to Guam! LOL Another time, I got a standing ovation from 10,000 people when I did something just a teeny bit risque during a half time performance. I made the newspaper, too! I was even written up by an famous sports writer/commentator named Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder. Maybe your hubbies would have heard of him. It was back in MY day! LOL So, cheerleading was a very positive experience for me! I think I lost about five pounds a game because I was sweating so much in that costume!

Enough of my babbling.

I have a new card to share. I think it's cute. I love how the inside turned out. I colored Tilda with my Copics. I went through distress ink withdrawal, but I had to do it. I colored and then used Stickles on the pom poms. They just look so cute IRL. I thought Tilda might help someone cheer up with her happy disposition. I left the inside lower half blank for a personal message. The top half was fun. I combined some small swirls I had to make the ones you see. Then, I enhanced the top with the gorgeous flowers. It just looks cheery to me.

Here are the shots:





Thank you so much for visiting! Please come back again to hear me yammer about what's happening in my kitchen, LOL! That's how my life is - not as interesting as when I was a working gal! I so love your visits!

XO,
Chris

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

1. Stamp Something - Embellish It

2. Papertake Weekly - Getting Cute!

3. The House that Stamps Built - Glitter

4. Papercraft Star - Anything Goes

5. Scrapbook Sisters - Candy

6. Kaboodle Doodle Challenge Blog - Stitching

A Beary Cute Card

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for stopping by! It's been a very busy week for me. I need a vacation! LOL I've been busy taking care of things around the house, cooking up a storm, tending to doctor's appointments, and working on cards.

I was just so tickled when I found I was selected to be a DT member for a wonderful site called Hooked on Craft! I am flattered that Karen chose me to be on her team. It is such an honor to have been selected! Karen has the most scrumptious flowers, adorable little stamps, as well as other embellishments such as mesh ribbon and pearls. The best part is that the exchange rate is pretty good! The store is located in Victoria, AU, and Karen does ship to the USA! Stop by and take a peek at her yummy craft goodies!



This is my first card for the Hooked on Craft Challenge Blog. Our challenge theme is Cute and Cuddly. I decided to jump in and make a tag card. The tag opens from the top to reveal the inside panels. I used layering, machine stitching, inking, die cuts, and lots of embellishments. Isn't that little bear stamp the cutest ever? I think it is just such an adorable image. It's perfect for so many sentiments. I colored my little guy and grass with Copic Sketch Markers (E35,E31,E53,E50 for my bear). I chose to go with a friendship theme for this card. I absolutely love, love, love the daffodil and tiger lily flowers you see in the lower left. I have a feeling that these are going to be one of my "go to" embellishments! I especially like that they aren't as high as some of my other flowers. They'll fit nicely in an envelope without distorting the envelope at all.



The next panel is on the inside top portion. I cut the shape with my Nestie die set. I left the sentiment area blank. I chose to place it at the top so that there is nothing behind it to affect the writing of the personal message. I chose to use a cherry blossom flower as the base for my button with baker's twine. I like the look.



I apologize for this photo. For some reason, I just couldn't get it the same color as the first two photos. Photoshop hates yellow, so there was no managing this at all. It's way too dark. I chose this sentiment because of it's sweetness. I added a trio of rhinestone stars for emphasis. I repeated the scalloped circle shape that is in the panel above. I enhanced it with a fancier scalloped circle done in green Bazzill cardstock. I was worried that if I added more flowers, it might look over done. So, I kept the decorative aspect the circled area containing the sentiment.

The following items may be found in the Hooked on Craft storefront. By clicking the link, you'll go right to the page!

Honey Bear with Flower

Daffodils

Tiger Lily Flowers

White Rosebuds

Teeny Tiny Mulberry Leaves

White Cherry Blossom

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you are in the mood for a fun challenge, stop by the Hooked on Craft Challenge Blog and join the fun! I love the topics that are coming up. You don't want to miss them!

Blessings,
Chris

Just Chillin'

I cannot believe the temperatures so many of you are feeling this summer! My heart goes out to you! I know that when our A/C has gone out during the heat of the summer, it has been horrible! When we lived in Las Vegas, there were those times that we borded the pets and got a hotel room so we could sleep at night in the cool air conditioned room. Hang in there. Just a little tidbit of historical info - when the early settlers to Las Vegas wanted to stay cooler at night, they would wet their bed sheets and sleep outside! If the upper sheet dried during the night, they rewet it again so that they could stay cool - ER.

I've been working on a couple of cards. I'd like to share one with you today. It's in honor of those of you who are hot or on a diet! Go figure. The two are NOT connected at all! LOL

Here is Miss Tilda staying to keep cool while NOT watching her waistline! It's weird. The actual colors in my original photo are much more intense. When I uploaded them to post here, they got all washed out. I'll never understand. *sigh* I colored the image w/ distress inks, added some little ribbon bows to Tilda's pig tails, and added some pretty flowers and glittered accents. The rhinestone heart is a pale blue set in silver. Tilda is elevated on pop dots. I added additional glitter around the edge of the paper on which Tilda was painted. I also used a MS border punch behind the scene.



Here is the inside of the card:



The top half features a punched circular border as well as a horizontal punched border. I cut the banner from glittered cardstock in a pink that matches the borders and the ice cream dish. The bottomhalf repeates the punched borders and also adds some fuchsia branches tucked under a leafed rose and bow.

I really enjoyed creating this card. It all came together so well. Some cards just flow so easily while others seem to create bumps in the road to completion!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope that you will come back again. If you would like to leave a comment, please do, do, do! I so love that you cared enough to leave a little love. Each one is so uplifting, appreciated, and what keeps me moving forward. I so appreciate you for visiting and leaving them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

XO,
Chris

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

1. Magnolia Stamp Lovers (ends 6/31) - Summer Colors

2. Little Miss Muffet Challenges #14 (ends August 2) - Summer

3. Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge #41 (ends July 28) - Summer

4. Just Magnolia - What's Cooking

5. Stamp Something Challenges(ends July 28) - Something Embellished

6. Totally Gorjuss #90 - Punch or Die

In a Crafting Frenzy

Wow, I just cannot believe that it is almost mid-July! We've had our monsoon days for a week and a half with a bit of rain as well as wonderful thunder. For those who have been with me, you just know I love, love, love the thunder here in southern Utah! It just rolls and rolls off the canyon walls. It's unlike any thunder I've ever heard. So, we're drying out now. Hopefully, we'll have another visit from Mother Nature's summer monsoon!

Some of you have asked me about the little embossed stamp that I used on my Father's Day card. Here it is:



These came in a little set of four small embossing folders and one metal die. It's available at HAPPY SCRAPPIN' SCRAPBOOKINGYou can find it HERE. The owner, Sharon is a very close friend. She ships the day after you place the order. You won't be disappointed!

My DH hates cole slaw. He'd rather eat spinach than cole slaw. Well, I found a copycat recipe for KFC's cole slaw (which I love). I gave it a go and voila! My DH now loves cole slaw! The recipe is a "no brainer." You can Google it and see the entries which are all the same (Look for copycat recipes). If ever you don't have buttermilk in your fridge, just add some vinegar to the milk and wait about 10 minutes. It'll work perfectly! If you want the recipe without searching for it, e-mail me. I'll be happy to send you a copy!


I've been making some cards. The one I'm going to share tonight took me about four days to do. Why does it take me so long? Ugh! I hope you like it. I'm going to put it into my Etsy store and see if anyone else likes it enough to purchase it. I'll add a specific initial to Edwin's shirt! I love how it turned out. What do you think?



DH wanted a teeny tiny star by Edwin's eye, so, if you look closely, you'll see it on the side of his right eye (as you are looking at it). The circle is elevated on pop dots, and Edwin is also elevated. His shirt awaits a nice white alpha!

This is the interior top:



Here is the interior bottom:



The little ticket at the bottom is removable for later use. LOL I stamped it with midnight blue ink.

I think my DH would love a card like this for him, too. I could tell by his ahhhs and ohhhhs. He's such a wonderful support! I love him to death!

Thank you for stopping by. I so appreciate your taking the time to visit and hope that you will come back again to see what's new.

Blessings,
Chris

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

1. Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog (ends July 25) - Photo challenge

2. Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog #63 (ends July 16) - Red, White, and Blue

3. Order of the Opus Gluei #108 (ends 6/17) - Red, White, ?

4. If the Shoe Fits, Scrap It! #85 (ends 6/14) - Red, White, & Blue

5. Send a Smile for Kids (ends 6/15) - Red, White, and Blue

6. Our Daily Bread Designs #67 (ends 6/15) - Red, White, and Blue

7. Paper Creations Ink #4 (ends 6/17) - Red, White, and Blue

8. Pattie's Creations Design Challenge#25 (ends 6/14) - Red, White, and Blue

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