In Remembrance...

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.



Details on these cards are found HERE.

Hot, Hot, Hot and a Freebie!

We are heading into some pretty hot weather this Memorial Day weekend, and the challenge at the Just Magnolia blog is all about hot and spicy! Here is my take on hot, along with a whole cascade of flowers!

Challenges:

Just Magnolia--hot and spicy
Stamp Something--something with a birthday recipe
(designer paper, ribbon, a bow, and a tag)

I used designer paper for the scallops.
All the paper flowers are plain cardstock and buttons, rhinestones and floss from my stash.
there is OODLES of glitter ans Stickles...had to take
a shower to rid myself of all the sparkles!
I was inspired by the red and yellow rose from Wild Orchid Crafts.



I colored "Tilda with Bow"with my Copics, and
made her bow match the ribbon on top of the cake.
Since the outside had so much going on, the inside is simple.

NOW FOR THE FREEBIE!

If you stopped by last Saturday, you may
remember that I promised you something special
because I had reached 25 followers.

Notice that this is a shaped card?
Actually, it is a 2-layer cake!
I have the template for this card available here in
the template section of my blog!
(See the top under the header, or click here)



Feel free to print the template and make your own layer cake card.
All I ask is that you link back to my blog and give me credit.
Plus I would like to be able to see what you have done, so let me know in the comments section and I will come visit you!

Next, I am shooting for 50 members.
If you help me get there, by following my blog, there will be another special
card-making template.

Stay tuned for more ideas on making layer cake cards!

Swirls and Pearls

I made a quick little card yesterday that satisfies 5 challenges:

Cute Card Thursday--no designer papers
Stamptacular Challenge--swirls and pearls
Creative Inspirations--distressed
Pile It On--"out of the box"
A Spoonful of Sugar--celebrations

I used some swirl stamps I have to stamp the background of the card with Tattered Rose Distress Ink. I spritzed it with gold Glimmer Mist. The next layer, the solid pink paper, was dampened, scrunched up to wrinkle it, then smoothed out. Once it was dry, I sponged Worn Lipstick Distress Ink over the wrinkles to make them more prominent. I distressed the edges then sewed the pink card onto the swirled one. I punched an oval, then made a smaller scalloped oval for the ice cream stamp. I added little black dots around the scallops, and inked the edge with Weathered Wood Ink. I colored the sundae with Copics and added Stickles to the top. Like the little pink rhinestone?! Finally, I added "life is sweet" on top.
I made a swirl with my Nesties, distressed the edges with Worn Lipstick and Weathered wood Inks. I spritzed the rose with Glimmer Mist, and added Stickles to very lightly kiss the edges of the petals. In a darker pink cardstock, I punched 2 little scalloped flowers for behind the rose.
When I mounted the oval layers, I used Glue Dots to keep it up a little higher, and glued the string of pearls around the smooth oval, but just a hair under the edge.
Overall, I think it took a little over an hour...pretty good for me, as lately my cards have been a bit labor-intensive! I love to mix the distressed style with something a little more polished--it is so unexpected!

Thank you for dropping by.
It warms my heart to hear from you when you take the time to visit my blog.

A Gem of a Challenge

I recently found an adorable kitten digi-stamp for free over at the Pink Gem Blog. They are having their fourth challenge on their challenge blog--pink, burgundy and green. Here is the result of my planning and coordinating!

Isn't this kitten just too cute for words?
I am disappointed that the green paper that I used as one of the sentiment mounts, the center of the small flowers and for the loopy edge above the image is very washed out in the picture.
It was similar to the color of the green ribbon in reality.
The large flower is one I made with punches.
The sentiment is computer generated.
I bought a load of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts---that's the pretty rose!
The small burgundy and pink flowers are silk flowers from a bunch I bought at A. C. Moore.
I remove them from the stems, and make
my own centers...these centers have Stickles "Diamond"


Here is the inside.


The kitty was colored with these Copics:



I was hoping to enter for the Design Team call,
but I guess I wrote down the deadline for the challenge, not the DT call.
I am bummed.
Maybe next time.

Just Magnolia Week 56 Challenge

My dear sweet husband asked me to do a card for a couple at work who are getting married in the near future. As he is always willing to do anything for me, this was more than a pleasure! Plus, I have a couple of challenges this will work for.


This is Jane's sketch from the Just Magnolia Challenge for this week. You can see it HERE.
I had this image inked on the cold press watercolor paper from last month, when I made my anniversary card, and I was excited to try my Distress Inks again.

I am especially fond of using the Stickles "Stardust" on the veil!

My sentiment is computer-generated.
I like it so much, I am thinking of turning it into a rubber stamp.

Here are the ingredients:
Tilda and Edwin, Bride and Groom--Magnolia-licious Store
Papers--
Cosmo Cricket--"Something Special" (green swirls)
Sei--"Claire" (brown dots)
DCWV--"Floral #3" (solid green), Luxury Stack (off-white damask)
Stickles
Pearls
MS scalloped eyelet punch
sheer champagne ribbon
distress inks

Here is a view inside:

In addition to Just Magnolia, this is also being entered in the PaperPlay Challenge--Wedding Celebrations and Stamp Something Challenge--Two of something.

Thanks for the visit. I am so humbled by the great people who have stopped to see what I have been making, and your sweet comments. You make my day!

See you soon!

Soft Green and Light Aqua

Saturday was quite muggy around central Connecticut, and I spent it at my newly installed but still disorganized craft desk! I was excited by the Colour Create Challenge posted on Thursday, to use the colors of soft green and light aqua. It is a delightfully happy combination! I have used it to make this card, not only for Colour Create, but also for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge and the Creative Inspirations Challenge.

Flying Tilda stamp--Magnolia-licious storeGo Girl sentiment--Kolette Hall
Congratulations-Stampin Up!
Designer papers:
My Mind's Eye, "Totally Girl"
Doodlebug Design, "Spring Medley"
Soft green and aqua solid--stash

Quickuts star dieNestabilities scalloped oval die
Spellbinders Floral Accents dies
Stickles "Diamond"
Copic markers
Distress ink "Broken China"
Star sparklies--stash
button


Here is a close-up so you can see her sparkly wings--even at my age,
sparkly things are so much fun!


I added a big button that has a cat's eye appearance
to make the star look bigger and more prominent.
I did some decorative stitching around the Tilda image.

Here is the inside:


I can think of so many occasions for this...might be a graduation card for my niece!
Enjoy the rest of you weekend!

Exciting News!

I can't wait to share the news!

I made the Top 5 in the Magnolia Down Under Challenge this week!

Thank you SO MUCH to the Design Team for this award! This is my very first award, so it is extra special! The award was for my Good Tree of Life card; if you haven't seen it, click here and you can!

In addition to this award, I woke up this morning to find I have 25 followers! Thanks to all of my followers for stopping by to visit! I love to go back and check out what you are up to on your blogs, and follow you too.

Watch the blog over the next day or two, and I will be posting a little thank you that you can download for your card-making arsenal.

Have a great Saturday!

The Good Tree of Life

My heart is so humbled after reading all the comments shared by so many of you, regarding my exploding box! I am pleased that you visit my blog and take the time to share your thoughts and kind words.

I have a new card to share today. It was made for 3 challenges:
Crafting Life's Pieces Challenge--sketch
Stamptacular--tree
Magnolia Down Under--black, white and one other color (lime)


The lime green color didn't translate well in this photo--bummer!

Tilda image--Magnolia
Tree and floral swirl for the border--Magenta
Solid lime green cardstock--Stampin Up!
Dotted green cardstock--DCWV, "Nana'sNursery, Baby Boy"
Black and white scallop border--ATD "Story of Us"
Copic markers
Distress ink for the edges, and Tilda's hair
All images were stamped with Memento tuxedo Black ink onto white cardstock

The tree is popped up from the card, and Tilda is popped up in front of the tree.

Addendum, Saturday May 22, 2010:
Thanks to the Magnolia Down Under Design Team for choosing this card
as one of their top 5 cards for their Week #46 challenge! Whoo-hoo!

Happy Birthday Magnolia-licious!

Week One of the Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group's 2nd birthday is underway, and I have finished my entry. This week was also my birthday, so I did a little goofing off as well! I received some fun new toys for my crafting nook too! Can you believe I never had a die cutting device?!
The exploding boxes that the design team for the Magnolia-licious group made are both gorgeous and fun, and I decided to give it a try. Because I can't ever do things the simple or easy way, I did a little web-surfing for "exploding boxes" to see what ideas are out there.

Check Here for the link to the directions I followed for my exploding box.

The outside of the box looks like a gift, pretty, but plain.

There is nothing plain about the happy little hello
waiting inside the box:

My box isn't very big.
Roughly, it is 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and 4 inches tall,
not including the bow.

Here is a close-up of the mini Tilda fairy!
(She was a birthday gift from my son--not sure
what I was planning on using when I started the project,
but she is just the right size!)

I used a spray of silk lilacs for the inside flowers.
Mini Tilda is done with Copics and Stickles on her wings.
the ribbon is something I scavenged from some store packaging I had received. Hang onto something long enough, and the right use tends to present itself!

There are various DP in this project:
Basic Grey--Boxer--Henley (green)
Glitz Design--Plum Crazy Polka Dot
TPC Studio--Purple Brocade
Solid Purple--unknown

I rounded the outside corners with my Creative Memories corner rounder, and distressed the edges with Peeled Paint and Dusty Concord inks.
Sentiment--Stampin Up!
Rock Fern punch--EK Success

I hope you enjoyed this and give it a try--especially if you like flowers!
If you try it, give me a shout, so I can check your box out!

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken or "What a Way to Go!"

I was web-surfing the other day, and I came across this recipe for

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken. It looked good, so I printed it.

We made it tonight.

Amazingly delicious.

So simple.

Could have eaten the whole thing myself.

I didn't.

We managed to save the leftovers, and I even have a picture for you.


If you even remotely like the ingredients on their own, go to
Kevin and Amanda's Recipes
and get yourself this recipe...
juicy, delicious recipe.

You'll see what I mean. You'll be planning when you can
make it again before you even finish what is in your plate.
You might even be plotting where you can hide the leftovers
so no one else can find them in the fridge.

I might need a twelve-step program for this.
I won't be there alone.
Hubby will be with me too.

Wait...
he offered to put away the leftovers...
wonder where the chicken went?

New Home Card

My son is feeling much better today--thanks to all for your well wishes!

I have a second card done today...just in time for the Just Magnolia Challenge this week, and I am also entering it in the Magnolia-licious Highlites monthly challenge as well.


I went a bit non-traditional with this card, which for Just Magnolia needed to have 2 Magnolia stamped images. Here I have used the house stamp and a rose stamp. No Tilda on this card!

Stamps--Magnolia images with Memento ink
Coloring--Distress Inks
Papers--Burgundy from my stash
DP from DCWV "Once Upon a Time" stack
Stickles
1/8-inch brown satin ribbon
2 brown flowers--Prima2 gold floral brads
Sentiments were computer generated

I cut the corner bracket out of the DP, as well as the straight border that runs across the bottom, under the roses. I stamped the house (it is actually a stamp with 3 houses on it) onto hard press watercolor paper, then cut out one of the houses. The roses were stamped onto DP and enhanced with some Copic shading. I cut out several extra stamped petals and added those for dimension. Stickled the edges, as well as Stickling accents to the house.

I mounted the images and the cloud (cut freehand from the DP)
with 1/16" Dots to lift them off the background.

Inside is a piece of DP that had the swirls on it already. I printed my sentiment, distressed it with colors from the house, mounted it on piece of burgundy cardstock, and added the 2 little flowers with gold floral brads.

Spring Recipe Card

Yesterday I received my cards from the Spring recipe card swap from the Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group! What a delightful thing, to find a package in the mail full of handmade recipe cards! My son was sick and home from school, and he had a minute when he passed out, so after taking him to the doctor (he has strep throat---feeling better today!) I wasn't thinking about the recipe cards that I had eagerly been awaiting! Not only did I receive beautiful cards, but I have new recipes to try out!


Today I am sharing my contribution to the swap. I didn't want to spoil the surprise, but now that the cards have been sent, here is Strawberry Pie Tilda!
I was so excited to find the cute little strawberry brad for embellishing (it's by Doodlebug)! I ran out of the ribbon that I used for the swap, so when I made my card, I used a slightly different ribbon. Tilda is done with my Copics, one of my first efforts. I pinched the flowers, because I wanted the embellishments to keep a somewhat low profile, so that the cards could fit into page protectors in an album...that is how I am planning to store them, and enjoy them!
I must say, this recipe is truly one of our family favorites! When I was barely a teenager, a neighbor shared this pie and recipe with us, and that was over 35 years ago! Yikes! I sound so old! Good thing you are only as young as you feel, and generally I feel a lot younger than my actual years! Maybe I keep young by coloring...more sophisticated technique than with the Crayolas of my childhood, but I still love it just as much!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
My hubby is continuing to work on my crafting nook..maybe I'll have pictures after the weekend! I was using it a little, though most of my tools and supplies are not moved in yet.

Calm Seas

Happy Monday!
I had a beautiful Mother's Day, spoiled rotten by the kids and the hubby! I hope all the other moms out there were just as fortunate!
Today I have the chance to share a card That I made as a submission. It wasn't chosen for the magazine, but now I am free to share it. I will also be entering it in the Cute Card Thursday "Boyz-to-Men" challenge this week.


Edwin is colored with Prismacolor pencils, and the background paper came with that wonderful compass and map pre-printed! I used brass grommets in the 4 corners and knotted some twine into them. the card itself is kraft cardstock, as is the cardstock that the Stampin Up! sentiment is stamped on. Edges are inked and distressed, and I've added some sea shells collected on our annual summer trip to Maine...there is even a whole sand dollar! Edwin is standing in some real Maine beach sand (if you know Maine, there aren't many sandy beaches...mostly rocky shores!)
I really had great fun making this card...I hope you like it!

A Mother's Day Card

Mother's Day is a bittersweet holiday for me. My Mom passed away 11 years ago on May 4th, so although I enjoy having my kids around and adore the special things they do for me, I am also missing my mom. I was also very close to my mother-in-law, and she passed almost 5 years ago, so I don't have much opportunity to make cards for this holiday.
This year I made a Tilda card to share with a dear friend, who recently moved to be closer to her daughter's family. I know she is so much enjoying her time with her grandsons, and I wanted to honor our friendship with a card. I hope you enjoy it.

My daughter will be home for the weekend today, and
"all my chickens will be in the nest!"
(We are also going to Ikea for the last couple of things for the craft alcove!)
PS-I entered this card at the Stamptacular challenge!

I hope all of you who are mothers have a wonderful weekend.

Stamp Something Challenge

Good Morning again! This is too many posts in one day (tee-hee!) but if I don't get
this new little Tilda card entered into the drawing over for the Stamp Something Challenge today, I'll be too late!

I was drooling over the beautiful Distress Ink coloring over at Kim Piggot's blog yesterday, and I decided to to try it out again, now that I have some hot press watercolor paper. I think Tilda looks like she was out picking her flowers in sub-zero temps, but I'll work on my technique for faces as time goes on! Kim has a wonderful tutorial on her site, and there are a couple of others that have helped me on YouTube.

The recipe:

Tilda with flowers
SU! sentiment
Speckled cardstock
(source unknown, it came from a friend who meant to get all white)
Core-dinations yellow dots
Pink/yellow gingham--Paper PizazzSU! cardstock--Pink Passion
scraps of hot pink and yellow cardstock
Distress Inks--Ranger
Stickles--stardust
Ribbon, buttons, scrap fabric and pins--my stash
That little shimmery square of fabric behind Tilda is a sample from a company that sells flag-making supplies. I got it years ago when my daughter's Girl Scout troop was making a flag for a winter camping competition in which they participated. I save all sorts of random things!
another little detail that didn't translate well on camera is the icy Stickles on the flowers.

A glimpse inside:

Happy Nurses Day!

Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. ~Florence Nightingale

Hot Pink, Orange and Purple

Sounds like a crazy bunch of colors, doesn't it? I guess that is why we call these "challenges!"

Creative Inspirations posted this challenge, and my initial reaction, before I saw the DT cards, was"WHAT?!" Take one look at the ideas they present, and you want to try it out for yourself, just like I did!

I went looking through my stash of papers, and I found one that had those colors! Who knew!
It even had gold glitter dots on it, and yesterday I had made 3 little wire flowers with a gold tone wire--appears to be a match made in heaven!

I colored Tilda with my Prismacolor pencils because I don't have Copics in the right colors.

Here is what I used:

Berry Tilda--Magnolia-licious
Italian Poetry Background Stamp--Hero Arts
Ribbon--JoAnn Fabrics
DCWV "Once Upon a Time" cardstock
Bazzill Basics purple cardstock
SU! cardstock in Only Orange and Pink Passion
MS Scalloped Eyelet punch

For the layout, I used a card from the latest Magnolia Ink Magazine,
Midsummer's Night Dream, page 43--
"Summer Blooms" by Mary

Take a peek inside...
It is hard to tell, but those purple flowers are punched with
a MS dual punch, "Dahlia" and then cut out from the cardstock.

Thinking outside of the box can make for some very beautiful cards!

Just for You Tilda Card

Indeed, I did some chores today! I ironed a week of dress shirts for my DH, washed two more loads, plus a load of towels, weeded one of my planters, and did a little packing of some things to make way for the new craft space. I also made a skirt for the trash can in the craft alcove. "Shabby Chic" is the theme, and the silver mesh pail was a little too industrial, so I dressed it up with a floral skirt.
I finally mentioned to my daughter that her dad is making me a space for my crafting in an area of the room she sleeps in (when she comes home). I thought that was a gentle way to make the break from "your room" to the "guest room." She seemed ok. She comes home for the weekend...we'll see what she says then!
Since I accomplished so much today, I was rewarded with some time to make a card. This little pink-and-brown number is for the CLP Challenge #25. I was quite taken by the sketch when I first saw it, and immediately planned to turn it.

Image--Tilda (Magnolia Stamps)
Sentiment, cupcakes--(Hampton Arts)
Designer paper (upper)--Basic Grey
Pink paper--stamped with Sepia ink swirls
White dahlia flowers--MS embossing punch
Ribbon, brads, little brown flowers, little red rhinestones
Speckled cardstock--source unknown
Stickles

The Copics used to color Tilda
(these are from Set 1 at Magnolia-licious):

Above is the inside of this all-occasion card.

This is a close-up of the inside cupcakes with their
Stickles icing and their rhinestone cherry!

I had a blast making this card!

Maybe I was hungry--with all my busyness today, I forgot to eat lunch!
If we hadn't gobbled up all the Salisbury Steak for dinner, I would post the recipe. I'll be making it again soon, judging by how well it was received!

More ironing tomorrow, also some lawn fertilizing.
(I sure do live life in the fast lane!)
Another day, another card!

Tilda with the Bee

Here is a card I made on Sunday, in between watching my husband put together some Ikea shelving for my "Craft Alcove." Talked to my daughter on the phone tonight, but I chickened out on telling her about the change to "her" room. I guess if she checks out the blog she will catch wind of it!

I used the sketch from Just Magnolia this week, plus I punched all my own little flowers, and did the whole thing in a pastel theme. I used my Copics to color Tilda, and I even remembered to capture them so you can see the colors I used!


Today I have a day off. I have laundry and ironing that I have been neglecting, but if I buckle down and get my work done, I plan to reward myself with some time to make cards!

I need to find a crock-pot recipe for dinner...set it and forget it!

Come back tomorrow and see what happens!

Craft Room (Desk)

Looking outside this morning, all I can see is grey and rainy, with a pinch of green, wet grass! It would be a good day for card-making, but alas, I am off to work.
I wanted to give you a glimpse of the spot where I have been making my cards, so you will know how much I am appreciating my husband's efforts to make me a "crafting alcove" in our guestroom. He is absolutely the most giving man I know!

Anyway, here is the "before:"

I usually have more scraps on the desktop, but I straightened a little. This is a little corner of our bedroom, and I mainly use the pull-out shelf on the desk and the ironing board as my working surface. The shelf stays cleared because if I don't push it back in when I am done, we can't get to our closet!
In a week or so, I will share with you my new space. Hope my daughter doesn't mind what we have done with her room, now that she has moved on. (She is in college and planning to enter the sisterhood.) When she is home, we will have room to sit together and do some cardmaking.
Enjoy your day, and check back for updates!