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!

June 14, 2015

Home Sweet Home

Hello Stampers!

Welcome to Sunday night where I am and, for some of you, Monday morning with its fresh clean scent of new adventures!

The Mister and I thoroughly enjoyed having our grandsons for the weekend (photo collage to follow). Goodness, they are getting to be long and lean. At ten and a half, they are now only half a head shorter than me, so it won't be long before it is they who are patting me on the head, rather than the other way around! LITS!

After they went to bed last night, I saw the new theme of the Less Is More challenge, so I whipped out a couple of simple one-layer cards representing "home."

First, it's a home-away-from-home idea as summer arrives for lots of the world and that means vacations are being planned or undertaken as we speak.
I don't usually do this because my black toner is unreliable, but I ran this card through so I could print my made-up sediment which is a take-off of "Home on the Range." The stamp is NBUS from Deep Red Clingstamps (Summer Vacation), which I colored with my watercolor pencils and then enhanced by Winking. The bottom corners were chomped and that's it. QACAS!

~~~

My second card was really simples, too.
 
I took an ancient SU stamp of vases and masked the center to allow room for my sediment and wee house. All three stamps (top words, bottom words, and house) are separate NBUS stamps from the "Simply Labels Hello Friend" Avery Elle set. I did the same coloring process as in the first card, only afters, I applied gloss to the vases:
A simple roof and basement were added by way of score lines and shazambam, another QACAS card for the stasharooni!

~~~

Here's a little collage for you to enjoy. We had a belated Easter egg hunt because they were away over Easter, followed by a trip to ride the mini steam train. Adam and Henry have taken to calling the Mister "Pops" instead of "Papa." They just shrug when asked why, but we're all down widdit. So, anyway, Pops took all the photos this time so you are denied the thrill of seeing him. Sorry. I know you ladies look forward to that.

You can see poor Adam's broken finger which happened on the first day of summer vacation. Bummer, that, but he isn't letting it slow him down!
We had terribly hot weather in the afternoons, so the boys and I spent fun times in the Playhouse. They made their dad get well cards because he just had dental surgery. And then we had a class on using watercolor pencils and aqua brushes. They were quite intrigued and quickly hooked! 
~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor!
*Life is too short!

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89 comments:

Tenia Nelson said...

Wonderful cards, Miss Lady!!

Hannelie said...

Love your 2 one layers today Darnell!
Looks like you're having so much fun with your grandsons!
Have a great week... yes it's Monday morning here already!

Kylie said...

Amazing one layer cards, Darnell! I LOVE the first one with the car packed to the roof and the family on the road! xx

Karen M said...

Your cards are both gorgeous Darnell and I love the fun image in the first one:) Your grand babies are getting big too....where does the time go? So glad to see you all having such fun together - hugs xx

Karen said...

Darnell, your cards are lovely as ever! I always enjoy your sweet creations. The glossy vases are so pretty and I love the colors. The image on the first card is adorable and certainly true for so many families right now. Lovely work! And your pictures are beautiful.. I'm so happy for the sweet memories made. :o) Have a blessed week!

Hugs and blessings,
Karen

Craft-E-Place said...

Fabulous cards, Darnell. Great design and brilliant colouring.
Elaine

Jane Willis said...

I love the effect you've got by stamping onto textured card, I'd always thought that wouldn't work very well, but it gives the effect of having been painted onto canvas. Lovely!
jane

Sarah said...

Great one layer cards Darnell, love the family squished into the car!! Super snaps of the boys too, heartbreakers in the making for sure!! xx

LesleyG said...

Great simples cards, and wonderful pics of the twins, looks like you had lots of fun xxx

Inkyfingers said...

Great cards Darnell and I love the depth of colour you got on the car card. My watercolours always end up pasty rather than gutsy like this. Such a fun image too - I wonder if anyone is saying 'are we there yet'!
Glad you had a good time with the boys. They look so handsome!
Hugs
Carol x

Unknown said...

Amazing cards as always - love how you do the OLCs! And those boys, they will break some hearts! Love that they are so willing to craft, but of course, who wouldn't love to, in that playhouse!

Linda said...

Fabulous fun cards Darnell ..... love the car!
Your grandsons are growing fast .... and so handsome! Looks like you had a fab weekend! xx

Linda said...

Fabulous fun cards Darnell ..... love the car!
Your grandsons are growing fast .... and so handsome! Looks like you had a fab weekend! xx

Redanne said...

Love, love, love that home on the road card, the image is brilliant and so much fun! The second one is beautiful and I love the touches of gloss on the vases. You do one layer cards so wonderfully well...

The boys sure have grown! I love that they still like to craft with you too. Our grandkids call their granddad 'Pops' too and he loves it (the rest of us have started calling him that too...). Hugs, Anne xxx

Kathyk said...

Lovely makes from you (as always) and fab photos too matey

Have a good week

Kathyk

Sue said...

Fab cards.

Bet those boys kept you busy:)

Hope you have a good start to the week. Sue

Jacquie Southas said...

How fun and approriate for a summer vacation is that first card!! Love it :)

lostinpaper said...

Fantastic cards Darnell, that card totally reminds me of when we head off camping... the car is so loaded up with my hubby's kayaks and goodies, and we always have such a fab time!

Julie B said...

What fun, great OLC!
Those boys looked to have had fun too in the playhouse.
I can sympathize with your Grandson's broken finger, broke my little finger tripping up the back steps at my Mum's! :)

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

I really like your first card. It reminds me so much of our camping holidays when our children were small. Such a happy card and it made me smile :)

Lizzy Hill said...

Nothing like spending time with the grandkids:) Very special, even if they are getting taller!!! And I adore these cards. Your CAS is fab!!!

Ros Crawford said...

Fabulous cards Darnell ... That first one is such fun!! The boys look lovely and I look forward to seeing more photos ...

Carole said...

Two great cards..........wish i could make them as quickly as you! Your grandchildren look lovely..enjoy..I guess they grow up way too quickly.

Suze Bain said...

Two superb cards Darnell and lovely photos, the boys look so happy. I've not done any crafting for a while, having a big spring clean then next week we're off to Australia to see my brother. Can't wait! Have a great summer! Xxxx

Lynn said...

Wonderful weekend with your gorgeous grandsons! They are sprouting...my soon to be 12 year old keeps anxiously awaiting the next growth spurt! Loved your gorgeous cards...especially all the gloss on the second one!

kiwimeskreations said...

Lovely cards Darnell - so glad your computer co-operated for you with you sediment!!
Blessings
Maxine

designbydonna said...

Love the vacation card. Reminds me of fun times of camping with our kids. Your grandsons are quite the handsome dudes.

Nessa's Crafty Place said...

Loving your one layer cards today Darnell-what fun that first image is!
The boys are growing like weeds!-look at those long legs :)
Hope you have a fun filled week,love your thought of the"fresh clean scent of a new week" ......here our fields have just been spread with pig muck,and my scented morning trip to the stables was not quite so fresh and clean as the lovely scent of the new week stretching ahead of me!! lol!!!
Love and hugs,Nessa xxxxx

Pat said...

Two really lovely cards Darnell and with great designs to fit the challenge. That tightly packed car has been colored beautifully and reminds me of our car when we set off on a holiday ..lol, and the second with the prettily glossed vases with the perfectly constructed sentiment on that gorgeous linen card works well too. Glad a great time was had by all at the weekend, and the photos are lovely, and poor Adam with his broken finger, but he still has a smile on his face so no worries there, and they obviously enjoy having fun in the playhouse too. x

Sandy said...

Oh dear isn't that always the way that they hurt themselves on the first day of holidays. Looks like they are still having fun though in the play house. Hope it heals quickly. Loving your beautiful cards the car one is really cute and the little vases on the other one are just darling.

Marilyn said...

Awesome cards!!

Suchi said...

Such fun cards Darnell! :)

I Card Everyone said...

D these are fantastic. I adore the folks in the van ... reminds of my childhood but with fewer kids. Awesome times with those darling boys.
=] Michele

Lisa Elton said...

What a cute family vacay card Darnell, they look like a happy bunch!! Love your pretty little vases on the textured cardstock. The beautiful smile on your face shows how much you love those cutie patootie boys and enjoyed having them for the weekend. They sure are sprouting up! Our son and my dad have gone from grandpa and grandson to gramps and grans over the years!

Julia Aston said...

Two lovely designs on your CAS cards Darnell - that vacation vehicle is SO fun packed with the family shooshing off to unknown excitement! Great pix of the twins - how nice that they like to craft with grandma!

Jeanne said...

Oh wow, were we treated today! Two fantastic cards and two handsome young men! Be still my heart. :) Thanks for sharing all of this happy goodness. Great job with the theme and how neat that you are teaching your grandsons stamping techniques and how neat that they want to learn. Fabulousness all around. :)

Gerrina said...

That looks like a fun weekend with the boys!
Love how you took a totally different take on the word home and love the cards you made! Always a real plesure to read your posts! Enjoy a good week...Gerrina

Kath said...

Fabulous cards and a great photo collage.
Kath x

Carole Dion said...

Very pretty cards !

Leslie Hanna said...

You stamped on that textured card stock?!?!?!?!?! WOWZA, looks great! And those boys are so handsome!

jimlynn said...

That first card is so fun and cute! Love the second one too and that pretty textured cardstock.
Fun photos for fun times with the grands!
Lynn

Linda said...

Two fun cards. Looks like you had a wonderful weekend with the twins. TFS the photos.

Becca Cruger said...

Your use of white space to make an image POP will never cease to amaze me. I try it all the time, but rarely successfully. Oh well, trying is fun! I'm glad you got a good visit it with your grandkiddos and that you can teach them crafty techniques. Those are some of the best memories I have with my own Gram.

Marisa said...

Great one layer cards. Love the glossy vases. Yes, they grow up waaaay too quickly. My 14 year old "baby" is now over 6' and still growing! Glad you had a wonderful visit with the boys :)

Unknown said...

Both fantastic cards!! Love that car one. So much fun!

Jacee said...

Fabulous card designs Darnell, lovely work! great pics too
hugs Jacee
Simply Paper Card Design

Lisa said...

Your cards are so beautiful!! I love the designs of each!! The car image is so fun and colored perfectly!! I love the texture and design of the second one!! The glossy vases are fabulous And what sweet pictures of your adorable grandsons!! Have a great day :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Taunya Butler said...

YOU are an excellently cool and fun grandparent!!! Love that you teach your littles about stamping and such!! So cool!! Your cards are simple and delightful - both of them caught my heart - love the van with things and family loaded in and on!! Looks like when my family used to travel cross country to Florida to see my grandparents!! Any way - your second card uses a stamp that I love - those vases that you have made look so remarkable in this card!! Both super clever takes on the theme of home!!! GOOD FOR YOU!!! Have a wonderful day!!

Canonbury creations said...

Two lovely cards Darnell, the car packed to the gills with everything but the kitchen sink reminds me of many holidays in France with our boys staying in gites! Your two boys are going to be Heartbreakers!
Val x

Cat Craig said...

Enhanced by winking....LOVE that term. SO glad you had a wonderful weekend with the twins - and that you were able to hold craft class for them. Your home on the road card Enhanced as it is is fabulous, so fun and so reminiscent of those long ago family vacations -- or slapstick comedy movies. Your vase card is sweet as well.

Sazzle Dazzle said...

I think you are trying to catch me out here Darnell!
BUT I guess one on flickr and one on the blog counts for 2 entries!
Clever ... never worked that one out before. 2 Fabulous cards, love the fun and comedy of the first and sheer cuteness of the second.
Thanks so much for sharing and taking part.
Sarah xx
Less is More

Sue - said...

Gorgeous cards as always Darnell! Really like the textured card stock you've used on the second one. So glad you had a fun time with the twins - they really do grow up too quickly!

Verna Angerhofer said...

Love the cards. Looks like you and the grandsons had a great time too!

Dana M said...

Lovely cards Darnell! Handsome boys. Looks like you had a fabulous time with them.

Maria Rodriguez. said...

Love all of this cards Darnell, fun and colorful but, the one with those old SU flower vases caught my eye. I love, LOVE that embossing folder, could you please tell me where you got it?
I hope you can reply to me soon.
My email is:
grandmamaria5@gmail.com
Thank you in advance.
Paper hugs.
Maria Rodriguez.

www.swimbikerunandstamp.blogspot.com

Carol said...

Two wonderful cards Darnell. Looks and sounds like a lot of fun was had with the twins. Carol x

Unknown said...

Two great "home" cards Dippy. The family in the car looks like we do when going on holiday.…....taking far too much "stuff"! The second is lovely with the masking and glossy vases. Thanks for the photo montage of your boys......perhaps they think Pops is "cooler" than Papa???? Who knows with kids these days.......

Hugs.

Karendipity xxx

conil said...

Holy cow...wonderful coloring on the "road" card...clever girl making custom sentiments. Aren't you special. Then you CAS it up with that second card. Kind of nuts about how you detailed it with the Glossy Accents (can you believe it took me three tries to type those last 2 words). Not surprised you G-sons caught on to watercoloring, after all, look who their G-Mom is? But boy, are they handsome. I pity their Mom having to fight off the girls. Glad you could find them some entertainment over this last boiling, hot weekend. Hope Adam's finger heals well and rapidly.

Em Louise Fairley said...

Adorable cards, as always, Darnell! xxx

Brenda said...

Love your CAS cards Auntie! The car one is so fun and I love the simple elegance of the vase one. The boys are growing so much! And they are still cute as ever. Hummm, I wonder if they watched some old tv show where the character calls the dad/granddad pops. lol Well I guess it doesn't matter what they call the mister as long as they call! We had our NY granddaughter over after the wedding to spend the night with us as well. We hadn't see the NY kids since Christmas so it was really good to have her and then her brother came on Sunday. Although I am nursing some popped ribs at the wedding, I still held 3 of my grands and yes, I paid for it later, but wouldn't change it for the world. Enjoy those boys!!! Hugs, Brenda

Sharon Underwood said...

You're such a good grandma! I really like your cards, as well as the pictures! Cherish those moments...

Anonymous said...

Enjoy those boys! I love that you have them in the playhouse making card and getting lessons! I really love the stamp on the 1st on....and the sediment lol!

Loll said...

Hi Dolly. Looks like you had a fun weekend with the boys ... and they had fun too! :) Always nice to play indoors when there's air con and it's steaming hot outside! Love our cards ... especially the "home on the road". Only you would think of that! :) Lolly xx

oldpunca said...

Dear Darnell, your "Home on the Road" card is sweet and nice and a wonderful idea. Also the second one is nice with the simple design. :-)) But this time your twins are stealing the show! :-)) You have to be really proud to have such a wonderful grandchildren!
Hugs, Sonja

Leslee said...

Your cards are wonderful! Your first looks like us when we made the drive to Disney land almost 2 years ago! We were crammed! Looks like you had a wonderful time with your grandsons. Don't you hate how quickly they grow up? I know I do.

Nora Noll said...

First, I love the photos of your grandsons. Getting them hooked on crafting is the bomb!! Second, your cards are adorable. I love that you printed your sentiment on the first card and then stamped. I need to start doing this because sometimes my sentiments are better then what I have. I also love the watercolor on both cards with the Wink. I hoard my Wink like I do everything else. I think I need to try watercoloring with it too. FABULOUS designs!!

Kim Heggins said...

So much fun...looks like you all had a blast and I love the name pop....do they call you mop? Sorry I could not resist, as I sit here laughing out loud all alone, no one to share it with.
Love your cards, fabby as always. And your coloring is so wonderful, I would love a quick lesson or two.

MackieMade Paper Creations said...

Those handsome boys are growing up!!!
Love your cards, especially the first.it reminds me of how my family must have looked on our car trips!!!

sandie said...

Looks like a fun filled weekend! And fun cards too. Love the glossy vases x

Neets B said...

Two wonderful card, Darnell. Love that image on your first one, and such bright fun colours. And the gloss and textured card on your second is perfect for this OLC. So great that the boys love creating, these days most just sit in front of TVs and computers!
Thanks for sharing with us.
Anita x
Less is More

Marybeth said...

Love that ...summer vacation stamp and that you printed your own sentiment. Wonderful coloring with the water color pencils! Two great,one layer cards.
Wow the boys are growing up fast and as cute as can be!

OH Babs said...

How fun to see the boys growing up. Enjoyed all your posts of late, which I have viewed but not commented, as we have been on vacation. Enjoy those boys as I will mine who I will have several times during the summer. :)

Geri said...

Awesome post! Thank you so much for sharing the kidlets with us! Cannot believe how fast they are growing! Gonna be some height there!

You seriously have the coolest stamps in all of blogland! The holiday car brings back so many happy memories. Awesome coloring!!!

Love all the glorious white space on your second card! The roof and the basement totally anchor the bedazzled images! Love. This. Card!!!

Bonnie said...

Love that camper! Wouldn't that be fun?!? The textured cardstock with the vases and sweet home is sweet! I can't believe how big the boys are getting! Don't they grow fast? Glad you had good times together. Tell Kevin I miss seeing him.

Joyce said...

Your cards are fantastic, and I loved seeing the pictures of your grandsons.

Greta said...

Looks like you had a great time with the kids & how fun that they craft with you! Love your cards, Darnell--especially the row of vases perfectly masked for the great sentiment with the house!

Bobby said...

You have more stamps from more companies, Darnell. I don't know where you find them all but that vacation stamp is so cute. I love the rounded sentiment on the second card, too. I'm glad you had such a fun time with the boys. You know they've grown when they look down on you and point out your gray hairs. Ask me how I know that. ;) It looks like they're going to follow in Bama's footsteps in the card making world.

Anne said...

Two one layers - super cards Darnell! Love the road trip and the gloss and texture on the second card are fab too.
Hmmm.. enhanced by winking... thinking how I can work that little phrase into today in the office lol
Thank you very much for joining us.
Anne
Less is More

Shona Chambers said...

Wow, they really have grown!! The rate at which boy's grow seems to sneak up on you, hence having to buy Max yet another bigger size of school pants. They both look very happy and bet they had a wonderful time with you both. I LOVE your first card. What a brilliant stamp, so much is going on, reminds me of Chevy Chase and his Vacation movies. And your second home card is such a sweetie, looks great on the textured cardstock.

Anonymous said...

I'm a little late. Looks like you had a great time at the weekend.
Fab cards too :)

Shelly said...

Two super fun cards! And what a wonderful collage of pics!

Unknown said...

It looks like you had a lot of fun with the grandsons. How cool that they enjoy card making with you.

The first card is too funny. Those little vases are so sweet.

Kelly Latevola said...

I love that you all are crafty together! What a wonderful way to spend time with them. :)

Chrissie said...

What a fab idea to have a home on the road, think of the places you could see!
Brilliant Darnell!
Thanks so much
Chrissie
"Less is More"

Brenda in IN said...

Both cards are cute. I love that Home on the Road one. It looks so typical of vacationers. The boys are getting so tall. I feel so bad for Adam. What a bummer thing to have happen. It looks like you had a great time and I can see your smile on their faces.

Helen F. said...

Love these two mailable cards, Darnell. The Road Trip is so fun and the Sweet 'hello' card is beautifully done.
PS: I think I have this SU stamp ~ TFS and a reminder of this cutie ;-)
Great photo of the twins! So handsome and growing like weeds!

Petra Swart said...

Love your two one-layers, Darnell!!! The first one is really fun!!!
So nice having you share the photo's of the sweet twins!!!

Anita in France said...

Those shiny, shimmery flower vases are so sweet and delicious, Darnell ... and what a fun trip that family is making ... so cosily cheek by jowl and chock-a-block loaded into their car! Lovely to see what a wonderful time you had with those handsome twins! Hugs & Bisous, my lovely friend! Anita :)

cm said...

Yes, we had many 'home on the road' trips when I was a youngster, so your card has sparked memories! Your shimmery vases: gorgeous! As for your twinks: oh my! They're growing up quickly and becoming more handsome by the minute! Precious memories! And yes, missed seeing your Mister *grin*
Hugs~c