A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

January 20, 2014

Polka-Hearted Valentine ~ ATSM #78; Curtain Call; NBUS #94; SCT #53

Good Monday morning!

I hope you woke up with the fresh breeze of a new week wafting through your imagination. I know it's hard to think of it that way when so much of a new week brings with it meniality and a rut well-traveled, but truly there is always the possibility of freshness, too.

Ah, possibility. That would be a good word-of-the-year and I'll bet there are some of you who chose it. Did you know possibility is a word derived from commingling the words posse and nobility? It came about when the town of Eldwinham sent out a posse after King Wenscil who had embezzled the treasury. Oddsmakers were laying bets that the posse of only three lads had no chance of catching the King surrounded by his protectors, but they did! They caught him and brought him to justice and even recovered all the money! Ever after their heroism has been symbolic of hope for the underdog and bright beginnings to dark days.

~~~

After that session on Fiction in History, the class will turn to the Challenges for today:


Addicted to Stamps and More!

  • Curtain Call, where the theme is "Love Letter." I think Valentines are love letters, so I hope my Valentine will meet the criterium.


  • Simply Create Too, where the theme is "Valentine's Day or Use Hearts." This is a new challenge to me, brought to my attention by the uber-talented Maria F. of Riesling Mama.

Grab Our Badge!
Remember to click on the links to join in the fun and for all the rules, sponsor, and prize details!

Here is my homework:
Simple-dimple. The polka-hearted papers are from my Ancient Stash made by GKW. The sediment is NBUS from a Simon Says Stamp set called, "Just a Love Note" and it's erected on pop dots. The ribbon is SU real red polka dot. Thaz it.

~~~

In Our New Friends Corner I'm delighted to welcome these schweet ladies:
Marcia of Marcia's Stampin' Pad. Marcia has been stamping since 1999 and blogging since 2012. I think you will have a hard time finding a card, tag, or creation anywhere on Marcia's blog that you don't love!
Mau of Mau's Place. Mau has been blogging since 2010, but her creative life started when she was just 14 with knitting. For years she handmade dolls and clowns and sold out at craft shows. Then she fell in love with sugar crafting and then with card making. She's a multi-talented delight!

You will love getting to know Marcia and Mau and their wonderful card art! Thank you ladies, for joining in the fun at the Playhouse!

~~~

As an aside, Mau told me that she has been reading me via Bloglovin' only and realized that I didn't know about her that way, so she also joined my site as a follower. If you'd like to be introduced to my other followers and be included in the wheel to be DJKASEd by me, please click on the blue "Join This Site" button to the right in the side bar ~ I'd love to meet you and thank you with an introduction!

~~~

Enjoy your day!  No, seriously, enjoy.  We are still off enjoying the long weekend and celebrating!! LITS!* 

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to leave a comment and/or join as a follower!  Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor! 
  
 
*Life Is Too Short!

Scheduled post.

54 comments:

Sammy said...

Ohhhh, what a fab Valentine's card Darnell! Something like this would be perfect for hubby (though I'm tempted not to make him any more cards, as he looks at them once, then throws them on his desk to be immediately covered with papers and empty crisp packets! *sigh*).

Thank you, also, for the history lesson! It's one of the things I love about reading people's blogs... You learn something new every day! :-) x

Sue said...

Gorgeous card Darnell. I love the papers and fabulous layout.
I hope you have a good week.
hugs Sue xx

Jen W. said...

Super sweet CAS card, Darnell! Love the font on that sentiment and the sweet touch of ribbon. Must remember to try that. Maybe if I start using my ribbon in small doses like that I can eventually dig my way out from under all of it!

Canonbury creations said...

Great CAS card Darnell, love the little ribbon tab!
Val x

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

Fantastic card Darnell
hugs Tamara

Viv said...

Lovely valentine card Darnell!

Ros Crawford said...

I love reading your posts ... Simply lovely card today too!

Sherrie M. said...

Love how you balanced the different colored backgrounds with the bit of ribbon. Nicely done. Been reading your blog through my Newsify app. Always an inspiration seeing your creations.

Tracey McNeely said...

Darnell your love letter is gorgeous, I love all the tiny hearts stamped down the left.

Craft-E-Place said...

Beautiful card! Have a good week
Elaine

Karen Petitt said...

A wonderfully perfick CAS card Darnell, love the paper and the ribbon is gorgeous! Hope you have a good week huni xx

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Beautiful & elegant Darnell (I first wrote Dranell, how that changes your name) the little hearts are so pretty. Thanks for the history of the word possibility :) Have a great week, Shirleyxx

Sue said...

Fab card, Darnell! I love how you used the papers and beautiful sentiment. Thank you for joining us at ATSM.

sandie said...

I love your posts! Thanks for the history lesson! And what a fab card...hearts galore! I really like the ribbon touch. Have a fun day and thanks for joining us at ATSM

Sue said...

Gorgeous valentines card Darnell its beautiful lots of huggles Sue x

Vicky Hayes said...

You just can't have too many hearts! Unless you're eating them in which case one is far too many! Unless you're a cat... but let's stop there shall we?!) I love the polka hearts and the way you used opposite colourways. Is the Mister going to be buried under a sack of valentine cards from you this year?! Vicky x

Shannon J said...

Hope you had a good anniversary weekend and behaved yourself! No I don't. I hope you whooped it up like crazy!! Love your card - sweet, simple, pretty!! I think it is awesome. Did you know that that word awesome comes from what happens when I see your cards and there are *some* *ahhhhh's* (and oooohs) escaping from my mouth?!! Actually, the word should be awe-a-lot, because *some* does not fit with the amount of oooohs and ahhhhs that come out. Yes, awe-a-lot is much more appropriate!!

Bobby said...

Super simple, super sweet. You AND the card, Darnell. Wait, don't take simple the wrong way. lol If you only could tear yourself away from cardmaking, you could publish a book on "Fiction in History". Great reading.

Redanne said...

Love your Fiction in History, I almost believed it!

Love your Valentine card too, love your clean style and love red and white too so it's perfect.

Hugs, Annie x

Kristie Goulet said...

Lovely card, Darnell!

shirley-bee said...

Fab polka hearts card, Darnell! Love the addition of the ribbon tab.

Robin said...

Hi Darnell and Happy New Year! I LOVE the fiction/history of the word Possibility which will now be an addition to my 2014 intention words.

Your card is so cute! All your cards are so creative and fun! I really need to know how you keep up with all these challenges? It's amazing and you seem so organized in every post! Maybe it's part of being an amazing Stamper? Hugs, Robin

Barb Ghig said...

You hit the nail on the head, Darnell...visiting your blog is like going to class! The best class evah!!! Seriously, where else would we learn about such things like Fiction in History, new challenge blogs, and of course the most unique and fun 'vocabulary lesson' on the net?!!!

LOVE your beautiful heart card, too! The papers are so pretty and the sentiment is just perfect! Love the loop of ribbon, too (I must remember to add that to my cards)...Thanks for another wonderful post!

Susanne Vargas said...

Thanks for starting my week well with a fun story/history lessen! Very sweet card - love the touch of ribbon!

Deepti said...

Love ur sweet n simply Valentine card and besides that you know, visiting ur blog... its always a treat for me. Thank you for joining in the fun at ATSM!!

Anita in France said...

A red and white, heart filled, polka dot delight, Darnell ... gorgeous! Thanks for the giggle before bed! Anita :)

Pat said...

Love this Valentine card Darnell. The dp's look good in the positive and negative and love the sentiment with the red polkadot ribbon on the side like a tab, just a little different. Love your story about King Wenscil. I tried looking it up but only got as far as a file in Dutch about Brabant. I can see why possibility appeals to you at the moment. Is it the possibility that you will have more crafting and blogging time and generally more fun time? I hope so as your blog is always so much fun and now enlightening. x

Chris Dring said...

Ah, a perfect Valentine's Day CAS card, Darnell! Love it!

Kim Heggins said...

Darnell...this is so stinkin' sweet! I love that bitty heart patterned paper and your sentiment, the font for that stamp is about as sweet as they come! Your little ribbon tag adds a sweet flair to your amazing card! And now I am very excited to say this...Thank you so much for joining us at Simply Create Too!
Hugs, Kim

Savannah O'Gwynn said...

LOOOOOOOVE your lesson at the beginning of the post- LOL! I have a word for this year… thought about blogging about it and creating a layout! We'll see how that turns out:)

LOOOOOOVE this card-- that paper is FAB! LOVE the polka dots and hearts together! LOVE x100000!

Hope you are doing well!! THANKS for leaving love on my blog!! You made my day <3 HUGS!

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

Hi Darnell - such a pretty CAS Valentine Days card - love how the colors reverse in the frame! Thanks for playing with us at Simply Create Too - I hope to see you there again soon! Hugs, Cornelia - DT

Melissa @ M Miranda Creations said...

Oh, I am so glad you decided to play along with us at Simply Create Too. The simplicity of your card makes it stand out in the crowd. I really like the paper choices and colors. Great Job!!!

Melissa M-DT
http://iliketocreate.blogspot.com

Irish Cherokee said...

Nice to see you survived the retirement so far. I like the card.

Lisa Elton said...

Adorable card Darnell, I like the little ribbon tab!!

Geri said...

.... love Shannon's definition of awesome! You two need to get together and rewrite Websters Dictionary!

Love these patterned paper - nice small images with vivid colors! And the wee little snippet of polkee dot ribbon - perfect touch!

AND, I LOVE that stamp - the handwriting font is so cool :)

Anonymous said...

Love your vday card !! I'm sure it qualifies as a love letter !!
Stacey is pretty cool like that !! ;))
Speaking of cool -- you have now met my buddy Mau -- & I just adore her!! Yay!!! For another fun bloggy friendship !! :))
Have a wonderful week, Darnell !! :)) xo

Joni Andaya said...

GORGEOUS!!! Love your card Darnell :) Simply Beautiful.

Diane said...

I so enjoy reading your posts and seeing your lovely talent, too...pretty Valentine...can't wait to see your next creation!!

Diane said...

I so enjoy reading your posts and seeing your lovely talent, too...pretty Valentine...can't wait to see your next creation!!

Mau xx said...

Morning Darnell, Well if only school had been so exciting! ha-ha Brilliant bit of info :o))

Love the card, sweet heart papers, and love the little ribbon touch.
Thanks for welcoming me in your wonderful unique way, I am blushing! :o))
Hugs Mau xx

Karen Davis said...

Such a sweet valentines card Darnell. I love the wee hearts DSP and the tab of ribbon.

Anne said...

Hi Darnell! Thanks so much for becoming a follower on my blog, I'm truly honoured. Have been rooting round on your blog at your wonderful creations and your playhouse just blew me away! Hugs x

Princess Judy Palmer said...

What a sweet and simple card. I have that paper from A Muse and the red hearts on white I never know what to do with them. Yet with the white hearts on red paper I don't have that problem.

And this week is not a whole new week but a whole new semester. EEK! And my office is the problem child repository, or as right now the problem child's parent repository. We're a college, snip the apron strings.

Laurie Unger said...

Thanks for the history lesson! They say you learn something new everyday! and I did! Great CAS Valentine/love letter card! TFS

Gerrina said...

Fun and beautiful this Valentine-CAS-card! Have a good week, Gerrina

Bonnie said...

Sweet hearts and polka dot ribbon! A simple card with lots of lovely impact!

JD/ Jill said...

Great card, Darnell, and, as always, great post! PS. can I send you some snow...we have more than enough to share...smile.

Marybeth said...

Love everything about this beautiful polka dot card! Such a simple beauty one that looks like I could pick from a store shelf. I never would buy one from a store though. :) I could just CASE yours! Hugs!

Greta said...

Great Valentine--love it!

~amy~ said...

What a neat tidbit of information! who would have guessed?

Your valentine's day card is absolutely clean crisp and cute!

Thanks for joining us at Curtain Call♥

cm said...

I"m running late (not exactly 'fashionably either, still thanks to blogger, who's putting knots in my knickers!) but I'm here to echo Shannon with an AWE-A-LOT response to your wonderful card! LOVE those polkadots...so delighted you recognized their 'posse-nobility' for creating a stunning card to share with us to brighten our day! Hugs~c

Pia S said...

Simply cute, very nice design!

Sandy said...

Now I have to go upstairs and take some pain med for my finger but I will be back. You make gorgeous cards - the kind I love!!!!!! I am now subscribing to your blog but have been a follower for some time.
Sandy xx

maria f. said...

OK, you had me going until I hit the word "oddsmakers". You nut.
Dragging poor King whatshisface's name through the dirt!
On another note...what a wonderful CAS Valentine. Teensy hearts. Teensy polka dots. A fabulous splash of white space. Doesn't get any better than that. Thanks for the shout out and thanks for joining the fun at Simply Create Too!