Magnolia Tilda Graduation Card

Happy day before Mother's Day! I hope your day will be filled with sunshine, warmth, and love. Bless each of you for all you do. The job of being a mom is one that is so underestimated. Mothers are WONDERFUL, STRONG, WISE, CARING, SHARING, GIVING, SELFLESS, PATIENT, NURTURING, AND A MIRACLE TO ALL. Being a mother is one of my most treasured gifts from God. I wasn't "Fertilla the Honey" so after many prayerful moments, I was given a gift that blessed me even more that I could ever imagine. I love my son - our son. If you are reading this, Darling, I love you and am so proud of the man you have become. Thank you for being my son. Thank you for the gift of motherhood. I love you. OK, enough mushy stuff! LOL I have made a graduation card to share with you today. I hope you like it. I loved making it. It features Celebration Tilda. Here is the cover:

I am having this thing about using up my vellum, LOL. When I added it to the card, it just blended into the background. So, I chose to add a doily under that which was perfect as the pink vellum was more defined. I cut the vellum using the Magnolia doily doohickey die. I used flowers from my stash, inks, pink and white baker's twine, EYELETS (remember those, LOL), ecru colored lace, and paper which was pink, green, and ecru. The elements are all on an ecru colored Bazzill base. Let's look at the interior:

The inside left has the pink, green, and ecru colors. I wanted to keep the inside flat so I used little posie flowers. In the center is a handmade flower with a chunk of lace doily in the center. Suspended from the center flower is a little cap and diploma charm. The inside right has the companion paper, vines made with Magnolia Doohickey dies, another handmade flower, and a poem that I thought matched the Celebration Tilda's "rah, rah" demeanor. Tilda just looks like she is exuberant, doesn't she? I just love that Tilda. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you will come back soon! I'd love a comment if you'd like to leave one. XO, Chris I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog - Color Challenge - ends 5/21 - pink, green, and ecru

Totally Gorjuss #131 - ends 5/19 - Pink and Green

Mother's Day Card with Magnolia, Sweden Die Cuts

Good morning ladies and gents,

Well, it hit just under 100° this week. Uggghhh - misery from heat until the end of November. I always dread this time of the year. Give me the crisp cool temps of winter any day! I have tomatoes on my plants already! My Bridlewreath plants have bloomed and passed within a week. I love those bushes! Our lilacs bloomed, too. The ducks and geese have flown over our home on their way back north.

Oh, guess what? We had an earthquake! We were watching TV when, all of the sudden, our house jolted sideways! Our lovely son, who was home from Oregon, said, "What was that?" I said, "I think the house just moved!" So, the conversation went on, and we concluded we had a minor quake. I checked the website that gives seismic activity in real time, but nothing was registering. However, when I checked the following day, there it was on the map. I love the science of Plate Tectonics. I knew by the movement we had that a plate had slipped beneath another plate as if the plate that was moving had been snagged and broke loose. When we lived in Vegas, I felt several quakes. One time, when I was teaching, I had a small reading group on the floor around my chair. I could see the carpeted floor ROLLING! Then, another time, when California had a huge quake, we felt it in Las Vegas, too. At that point, we heard it before we felt it. Our cat knew it was coming before the sound even hit! He ran to the bottom of the bed and splayed his little legs for better traction. Then, I heard the sound which was followed by the shaking of the house. I looked outside into our back yard and the water in our pool was sloshing around like a bathtub. The "waves" were so obvious that the water was spilling out over the top and onto the cool decking. That earthquake gave me pause for concern!

Now on to the good stuff. My favorite site for gorgeous flowers, Hooked on Craft, has a perfect challenge for spring. It's FLOWERS! Your challenge is to incorporate flowers into your creation. You know that it can be in the paper, elements, embossing, stamped image, embellishments - anything! The challenge runs from April 30 - May 26. What a perfect time to make that Mother's Day card! Why not go for it? Here is the prize Karen is awarding:

I'd like to share my card with you. Here it is:



The front of the card utilizes sever die cuts from Magnolia (lamp post, fence, tag background and foreground. I used my corner die and added some matching pearls. It's hard to see, but Tilda has a basket filled with glittered fruit. The flowers, of course, are from Hooked on Craft!

I thought you might like a closeup of the "garden."



Of course, I HAD to tuck some calla lilies in there. LOL I also took apart a stamen cluster to add individual baby flowers for additional interest. The leaves are perfect with this arrangement.

Here are the images for the card's interior:





Once again, I've used machine stitching, die cuts, corners w/ matching pearls and a pretty little envie. Inside the envie is a sweet tag for a hidden message. You could also remove the tag and insert a gift card instead. Aren't the interior flowers pretty, too? I love, love, love the colors. Did see that burgundy calla lily? Gotta have one in every cluster! LOL



The inside features more die cuts and another sweet Tilda. The blank space is perfect for writing a personal note.

This is how the interior looks when opened:



Here is my flower supply list from Hooked on Craft. Just click the name of the item to go directly to the page at Hooked on Craft.

Pink Berry Head Stamen
Yellow Calla Lilies
Orange Chrysanthemums
White Chrysanthemums
Fuchsia Chrysanthemums
Cherry Blossom
Paper Rose
Fuchsia Carnation
Small Peach Carnation
Medium White Carnation
Green Linear Mulberry Leaves
Lobed Mulberry Leaves
Teeny Tiny Green Mulberry Leaves
Medium Green Mulberry Leaves

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you got some inspiration from my creation. I also hope you consider making a trip to "The Land Down Under" for your flower needs. These gorgeous blooms are only a click away! Hooked on Craft

XO,
Chris

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

Addicted to Stamps #29 - ends 5/12 - Mother's Day
Creative Inspirations Paint - ends 5/5 - Flowers
Dream Valley Challenges #31 - ends 5/12 - For a Special Lady
My Sheri Crafts #84 - ends 5/12 - April Showers Bring May Flowers for Mum
DL.Art Challenge - Thankful Thursday Challenge - ends 5/12 - Mother's Day
The House That Stamps Built - DCC 425 - ends 5/8 - Card for a Woman You Love

Magnolia Tilda & Edwin Easter Card

Happy April, Tootsies!

Were you fooled yesterday? I was fooled into thinking that my knees wouldn't hurt - ha! They do - a bunch! Ugh - the joys of aging!

I have a delightful Easter card to share with you today with is available on ETSY. I cannot believe that Easter has arrived so quickly!

This card featured three Magnolia stamps - the basket, Bunny Tilda, and Bunny Edwin. I've accented their costumes with touches of matching glitter and also did the eggs in Tilda's basket. There is lots of layering and distressing. Aren't the flowers gorgeous? They are from Hooked on Craft. I have listed the items from Hooked on Craft as well as their links below. If you EVER want to invest in beautiful paper flowers, please look at the items at Hooked on Craft. You won't be disappointed!

Let's take a look at the card I made for the Easter Challenge. This challenge will run from April 2 to April 28. So, get your jelly beans all lined up and create something wonderful!

Here is the first photo:



I love the carrot treat boxes and thought they would work perfectly to help set the stage for the Easter card. I know the card is hard to see because of the size constraints. There are close ups below.









Let me take a sec to draw your attention to the flowers. I am so in love with the calla lilies. I chose to use both pink and blue calla lilies for this card. There are also small pink roses, a larger white rose, and perfect white leaves. The other flowers are from my stash. I love the metal charm and the metal eggs. It just adds a special touch.

Here are images of the inside of the card. Aren't the butterfly and felt bunny on the bow too cute? Love 'em!







Here are the related links to the items on my card which are available at Hooked on Craft:

1. White Rose - 20 mm

2. Pink Calla Lilies

3. Blue Calla Lilies

4. Pink Roses - 14 mm

5. white leaves

6. butterfly

7. pearls

I hope you like what I've created. I love the springtime feel. Do come back often to see what I've been up to.

Happy April!

XO,
Chris

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

1. Addicted to Stamps #27 - ends 4/13 - Easter

2. Creative Inspirations Paint - ends 4/7 - Easter

3. Magnolia Down Under #140 - ends 4/6 - Easter

4. Paper Sundaes #114 - ends 4/7 - Easter

5. Totally Papercrafts#110 - ends 4/8 - Easter

Meet Lilyrose, the Dragon!

Hello sweet readers,

March is quickly winding down. Another month has flown by! I have a card to share with you which features Lilyrose, the Dragon.
I thought this stamp was just too cute! I wanted to use it on a card for a little boy. Here it is:



This little card features copper accents and twine. It's hard to see, but there is a strip of punched vellum beneath the green twill ribbon. It matches the shadowed figures on the paper. I accented Lilyrose with glitter in three shades of green. I also chose to put a pale orange crocheted doily behind her. I added a Brontosaurus charm (even though Lilyrose is a dragon), just for fun!

Here are closeups of the card's interior. I chose to keep it VERY basic. I'm experimenting, LOL.







I decided to use my scalloped pennant dies. I prefer these over my Nestie set of pennant dies because of the little holes in each scallop. I use both sets, but prefer the set with the little holes. I did pop these up on pop dots. I used orange and white baker's twine to suspend them.

I hope you like this little card. I am such a dinosaur lover and the dragon stamp immediately won my heart. If you have a little dinosaur lover in your life, I have a card for you!

XO,
Chris

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

CES Challenges #79 - ends 4/6 - No Girls Allowed!

Party Time Tuesdays #61 - ends 4/3 - Anything Goes

Dutch Magnolia Lovers#29 - ends 4/6 - Color Bingo (brown, white, and beige

No! No! Hair Removal Unit Review - It's a NO-NO - Unit Problem

Good morning readers,

About four weeks ago, I decided to order the No! No! Hair Removal unit by Radiancy. It took a little over a week to arrive, but I was patient and so ready to give it a try. I wanted it solely for usage on my face. That is something that we, as women, do NOT openly discuss. Yet, we seem to discuss other more personal issues more openly - just look at the television commercials and what they are promoting nowadays!

When my No! No! arrived, I quickly plugged it in and gave it a good charge. After five hours, I wanted to see how well it worked. I was left a bit perplexed. It wasn't actually removing hair. If you think that is how it works, it isn't. The unit was working as the facial hair was reduced to a stubble (hardly soft). I could see the little puffs of smoke each time it singed a hair. I knew that this was a process that would be effective over time. I was prepared to be patient. Over time, the unit is supposed to stop the hair from growing. On my face, it was just burning the hair and leaving a wiry stubble! Thank goodness the hair is blond!

What I began to notice was after two very short strokes with the roller moving the unit forward, the blue light (which means all is well) turned to red (which means you are not doing it right). I'd lift the unit from my skin and repeat the process. Again, blue went to red. I wrote to No! No! about this concern.

Customer service didn't respond right away. I waited a day and wrote again. I began my message with the statement that "...after spending over $300 on a No! No!, I expect to receive a response to my inquiry!" The following day, I received a reply that did not address my primary issue of the red light continually coming on.

I used the No! No! for only two weeks before I needed to recharge the unit. The red light on the unit did not turn off. It was on constantly. The machine doesn't work when the red light is on. Time to charge the unit.

It was then that I discovered that I had inadvertently tossed the charger. UGH! I don't have children to blame for losing the charger, so the only thing I could have done which caused the charger to vanish was that I must have tossed it with the packaging! I promptly ordered a new charger for approximately $40 including shipping. I am now up to an approximate total of $370.00 invested in a No! No! Another week passed with no usage as I waited for the charger to arrive. When I ordered the charger, I also wrote to the company and asked if they might expedite sending the unit since my 60 day free trial period was ticking down. No answer from customer service. No speeding up of the delivery. It took a week via UPS.

Yesterday, the new charger arrived. I charged the unit up once again. After almost six hours, I decided to give it a go. After one 1/2 inch glide, the blue light turned to red. The red light did NOT turn off rendering the unit useless. I turned the unit off and on and repeated the process. I did this about four times before giving up. The No! No! was not working at all.

I decided to do a little experimentation. The instructions stated that if the wire is damaged, the unit will not work. Perhaps I had inadvertently damaged the wire. Since I had never used the wider tip, I decided to give the unit a test using the wider tip. If the wider tip has never been used, the wire would be in working condition. I replaced the facial tip with the wider tip. The result was that the unit immediately went to red again!. That told me the unit had a problem.

I immediately sent off another e-mail asking for someone to call me. I briefly explained the highlights of what I typed above. As of now, no one has called. I will give them until tomorrow afternoon. If I don't hear from them by that time, I will be returning the unit to any address I can find! You see, in all of the information provided, I could not find a phone number or address! If you are considering purchasing one of these, please do make sure you get the contact information. I do have a corporate address that was included in the original box. That will be where I'll return it.

So, in MY experience, the No! No! Hair Removal Unit is a NO-NO! I'm sure it works well since searching Google resulted in many positive experiences of others. I guess I just got a bad unit. It didn't work long enough to see any results. Remember, it only worked for two weeks before dying.

I guess I'm going to invest in laser hair removal. I was so hoping that the unit would meet my needs. And....good luck with customer service!

XO,
Chris

And Now, the Rest of the Story...

I did receive an e-mail with a telephone number to call which I promptly did. I explained the issues, and Radiancy's customer service representative sent out a new unit. Additionally, I have received a label for mailing back the old one. My 60 day trial period will begin again with the previous weeks erased. So, we'll see what happens. I'm glad that they were kind enough to give me a phone number so that this could be resolved. Stay posted!

XO,
Chris

Wedding Card White Elegance with Magnolia Valentino

Hello my sweet readers,

Happy March! It sure came in like a lion! Hopefully, it will leave like a lamb. My heart aches for those that have been in the tornado affected regions. I am so sorry. Know that you are in my prayers. So much loss and devastation. (((hugs and kisses to each)))

Today, I would love to share a card that I created using gorgeous flowers from Hooked on Craft. Hooked on Craft's Challenge 18 is to use more than one fold. There are so many options for this challenge! Go for it! The best part is one lucky person will win a sweet prize from Hooked on Craft's generous owner, Karen! The More than One Fold Challenge runs from Monday, March 5 through March 31. Remember, your card must be a NEW creation. Please do not back link.

I decided to make an easel card. This is my second easel card ever! LOL. I'm a square kinda gal, I guess! LOL I chose to make it all in white with a wedding use in mind. I also chose to print the stamped image onto fabric to enhance the texture. I love how the image turns out. This card also has just a touch of silver around the image, on the sentiment tag, and under the flowers which support the upper portion. Click on photo for a larger image. Here it is:



I sure learned a secret when printing on the cloth - it'll come out better looking than your stamped and inked image, LOL! Mine sure did! I thought that Valentino would look horrible, but was I pleasantly surprised! His little shirt is pink while his leggings are a pale blue. I chose to do the feathers on the arrow yellow while his hair is brown. It was hard to capture the colors in the photo. Photographing white is not easy!

I chose to use Marianne Design dies, Nestabilities, a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the center circle, pop dots, silver foiled cardstock, white Bazzill, pearls, and the following flowers from Hooked on Craft.

Large Rose
Water Lily Flowers
Calla Lilies
Carnation buds
Medium Rose
Small Roses
Chrysanthemum
Handmade Angel Charm


Here are some additional photos:









Thank you sooooo much for visiting! I so love that you took the time to do so. I hope it was worth your time. Remember, Hooked on Craft has the most amazing paper flowers. I just love them! Yes, I have my favorites - the water lilies, the calla lilies, the daffodils, the tiger lilies. Oh my, I think I just love ALL of them!

Have a wonderful week.

XO,
Chris

A Shabby Chic Tilda Card that I LOVE!

Hello Wonderful Readers,

Well, February is now coming to a close! Was it a good month for you? I thought the month went very well. Hopefully, March will go as smoothly!

Did you watch the Oscars? I think Angelina Jolie stole my legs! My legs look just like hers - long, slender, and fabulous peeking out from a slit in my gown. If you believe that, I have another one to tell you! My legs resemble turkey drumsticks! LOL. How would it be? *sigh*

Oh, I have a card to share with you. It took me four days - at least eight hours per day to work on it. Hey, the time factor is not correlated to the quality of the card - just the slowness of the creator! However, I absolutely love, love, love how this card turned out! I hope you like it, too! Wanna see it?



When I was scrapbooking, I often printed our heritage photos on linen or this type of cloth. Well, once again, just before going to sleep, I remembered that I had done that. Well, next, I lay awake contemplating how to pull it off. I began by creating the masked image, coloring it as usual, and then taking a photo of it. Next, I printed it out on the fabric. After that, I just went to work on the card itself. I did a lot of distressing, inking, and machine stitching. I didn't put a sentiment on the little tag. I figured I'd leave that off until I found a good time to share the card.

Now, for the interior. I wanted to keep it soft. I chose a printed companion paper that I thought added a splash of color. I used my Bow Easy to create the bow. Inside the loops of the bow are pop dots so that it won't flatten out. I added a glass pebble with a butterfly image showing through and three small little flowers. Isn't that paper pretty?



I wanted to keep the last page simple. I flipped the Bazzill cardstock so that the smooth side is up as opposed to the textured side. I chose to repeat the flowers from the left side for continuity. Then, I went through my button basket and found these two antiqued brass/pearl buttons which match the metal on the charm found on the front of the card.



This is the interior:



Well, there you have it! I love doing shabby chic cards. I hope you liked it! Have a wonderful day! I'll be back on Friday with another creation!

Love to you,

Chris

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

Dies to Die For - ends 3/16 - Use a Die

Die Cuttin' Divas - #54 - ends 3/6 - Try this Recipe

Party Time Tuesdays - #57 - ends 3/6 - Anything Goes

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - ends 3/10 - Punches

Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central - ends 3/3 - Say It with Flowers