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 17, 2015

Va-Va-Vibrant

Howdy!

And here we are over the hump and sliding down towards the weekend. Whee! It's funny that even after you retire and every day is a weekend, you still say things like "have a great weekend" to your other retired friends! Years of habit, that.

So, okay, before I show you my card you might want to put on your sunglasses and convince yourself that it was really me who made it! Here tis.
Say what? Yup, I done that.

I kept looking at the photo inspiration for the current The Card Concept challenge, where my friend Hannelie is guest designing:
Isn't that photo so vibrant and happy? (The DT and gallery cards are fantastic, too!) I decided to try watercoloring with my SAI markers and a water brush, using two NBUS flowers from Verve's "Great Friend" set. I'm not sure, but I think my style might be 'clean and graphic' for this card, she says, cocking her head to the side, bewildered.

Don't look too closely at my white liquid pearl dots, please. I was afraid to use the actual bottle applicator for fear it would spurt out all over my card like a gas bubble, so I inconsistently used a pin point to apply them. A for effort, though, eh? In the interest of full disclosure, Hammy did half of them when my hand cramped up. I need to get one of those fine-line applicators.

The diagonal stitched banner is from Lil' Inker. The "celebrate" is from Winnie & Walter, die cut three times from a watercolored background I had in my snippets. I offset the three stacks, which sadly makes the word look a bit blurry in the photo. It's totally nonblurry IRL, honest, and makes for cool dementia.

DJKASE OF KELLY

Some of you know that I have a little series of cards which I have CASEd (copied and shared everywhere) from other blog card artists which I call "DJKASEs." There is a tab of them at the top of my blog. As soon as I saw the beautiful and bright TCC photo inspiration, I was immediately reminded of my friend Kelly Latevola of You and Your Big Dreams. Kelly makes THE most vibrant and colorful cards with her mega talent!

So I went looking in my "Kelly ~ to CASE" folder and it didn't take me long to find one of her cards that is similar to the TCC photo:
Kelly's card
Darnell's card
Thank you, Kelly, for all the brilliant inspiration you provide to us via your blog and thank you for the pleasure of DJKASEing you! Those of you who don't know Kelly will thank me for cluing you in on her sensational, very real, and very funny blog filled with stunning works of art! You're welcome!

Other Challenges
Pixies Crafty Workshop
Simon Wednesday Challenge BlogSIP Any Challenge 1
~~~

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

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127 comments:

Hannelie said...

This is one sensational card Darnell!
I love your case of Kelly's beautiful card! Yes and even though I don't have a 'real' work... I love the feeling of weekend getting closer.
Hugs
Hannelie

cm said...

I'm behind in commenting, dear friend, but 'order be danged' because I HAD to pop in to this newest release to say: I LOVE X LOVE this card! LOVE LOVE LOVE (echoing across the mountains...). That's all. I'm speechless in LOVE!
Hugs galore!
~c

Tenia Nelson said...

LOVE!!!

Neha said...

Love this card, Darnell! Excellent water colouring. xx

Karen M said...

Love your gorgeous card Darnell and all those pearly dots look amazing! Hugs xx

Suchi said...

Voila!!! This card is so stunning and CASE of Kelly is excellent! Superb card dear Darnell! :)
Suchi xx

Ксения Phedra Ли said...

Darnell, both cards are stunning! And inspiration is readable) I like the bright colors and the offset statement on the 1st card)

scrappymo! said...

Love your CASE. The flowers are so pretty and love the blended colours with that fab sentiment die...the Lil Inkers diagonal is a must have now! lol

Toni said...

Omg, super fantastic!

Craft-E-Place said...

Wow! Simply stunning ... I love this card the colours are amazing and the pearl dots are "spot on"!
Your cards are always amazing and your posts always make me smile .... So this morning I get a double whammy!
Elaine

kiwimeskreations said...

Darnell this is so gorgeous - I love the vibrant jewel tones you have used, and the white spots are the perfect accent. As for that sentiment, it's perfect.
Blessings
Maxine

Unknown said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this card Dippy. I originally thought it was designer paper but then read your post! It's absolutely stunning. Love all the colors you've used and how lucky you had that piece of matching card to die cut your sentiment! Gorgeous.

Hugs.

Karendipity xxx

Jane Willis said...

Wow, this card really leaps out of the screen and grabs you and puts a great big smile all over your face! Absolutely gorgeous!
Jane

sandie said...

Truly stunning Darnell. The watercolouring is amazing. And the liquid pearls look perfect to me. Thanks for joining the Card Concept x

Unknown said...

Oo, loving those colours! Absolutely fabulous card!
Hugs,
Sofia

Sue said...

This is stunning Darnell, your design is wonderful. I love the flowers and the colours are so beautiful.
hugs Sue xx

Sue said...

WOW what a fab card. I love the bright colours.

Hope you have a lovely day. Sue

Linda said...

WOW! This certainly woke me up this morning. I love the bright vibrant colours of the flowers ..... gorgeous! Xxxx

Di said...

This is just stunning Darnell - wondeful CASE and so fresh and vibrant. I love it - especially with the twist of the diagonal sentiment!

Great to see you in the Playground!

Hugs

Di xx

Regina said...

Gorgeous cards and love the deep, rich colours. Great work!
sending hugs
Regina

Julie B said...

A v pretty card Darnell and a fab interpretation of the challenge photo and CASe. Have a good day. x

Lynn said...

Wowzers! One sensational card Darnell. Absolutely amazing. Love all the fabulous colors.

designbydonna said...

Wow! Love your vibrant water coloring.

Lizzy Hill said...

Lovely! Great take on the card & I never noticed your pearl drops 'til you said!!! I would NOT have the patience for pin pricks, tho:):)

Chriss Blagrave said...

WOWZers Darnell! I am calling it right now...Winner!!! Ding, ding, ding! Terrific card!
Hugs xox ️️Chriss

Pat said...

I love this wonderful watercolouring Darnell and such pretty Verve flower stamps with that mix of colours is so sunny and bright, and the white pearl dots and that pretty stitched sentiment banner finish it beautifully. This is a great DJKASEing of Kelly's pretty butterfly card too! x

Carolyn Lindenmayer said...

Hi Darnell, I love your colourful creations, those flowers are just so pretty. Thanks for joining in on our first challenge at Stamp Ink Paper. Carolyn xx

Sharyn Polesel said...

Fabulous colors on your beautiful card! Love the beautiful die cut too. Thanks for joining us at Just Us Girls!

Michele K. Henderson said...

Wow! These colors are absolutely amazing! I just love how vibrant and pretty your card is!
Take care!
Michele

adele holcomb said...

The dots look great on the flowers -- really gives them character!

DH and I try to stay off the roads and away from the stores on the weekends in order to avoid the crowds and let the worker bees run their errands in peace. In all my work years, it used to aggravate me to try to zip through the grocery shopping on a Saturday only to find an old lady with her cart blocking the aisle, dithering over which can of beans to buy. I don't want to be her!

Instead of saying TGIF, we are more likely to say ODIF (oh darn it's Friday) and then TGIS (thank goodness it's Sunday).

Carole said...

Love, love, love this card. It is so vibrant and it just sings.Your water colouring is superb......fab, fab colours and those pearl dots lok fine to me......must have taken you ages.

Jeanne said...

Fabulous card, Darnell. Adore your watercoloring and your happy dots! Makes me smile to look at your card. And I completely agree about Kelly and her blog. I so enjoy your whimsy and sense of fun. :)

Ardyth said...

I think you've captured the inspiration photo beautifully! Love the pretty mixtures of colours you've achieved!

Julia Aston said...

Your flowers are gorgeous Darnell! so pretty with the mix of colors on each one and the sweet pearl dots like the icing! Julia xx

~amy~ said...

pure perfection...seriously.

Sandy said...

Gorgeous card. Love those colors.

Carole Pollard said...

Wonderful these design s are perfect I loved the vibrant colours you've done an amazing job they are stunning love and hugs Carole x

Nan G said...

Wow! Hammy what did you do with Darnell?! Really cool card, Dar! Even tho I'll have to wear sunglasses the rest of the day. the he Must pop by and say hi to Adele H...I so agree with observation of TGIF...I so have to remember ODIF and TGIS. :) :) :0)

KatheD said...

I've been reading your blog most of a year, Darnell, finally clicked that "follow" button & thought I'd let you know ;) I love your style, card making & blog writing, and I love this card, too, even though it's not your usual style!

Nancy said...

This card is incredible!!!! Love the vibrant colors and LOVE Kelly too! She is UBER talented like yourself Darnell! Soooooo glad you linked up with us at Just Us Girls or I may have missed this beautiful card!!

Vicki Dutcher said...

BE STILL MY HEART! I LOVE THIS CARD!! I'm seeing a winner with this puppy! You nailed the inspiration and the CASEing! So glad you joined in at JUGS too!!

Becca Cruger said...

Hoooooleeeee schamoleeeeee! Definitely my new favorite DJKoriginal! And what's wrong with your circles?! From where I'm sitting they are sheer perfection. Love everything (and I mean everything) about this!

Tina's Crop Shop said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Tina's Crop Shop said...

Gorgeous and yes Vibrant! Thanks so much for joining us at www.stampinkpaper.com :)

Maura said...

I LOVE this, Darnell! What a great take on the inspiration photo - your liquid pearls were worth the hand cramping involved in making that happen, because they definitely take the card up a couple notches on they eye-catching scale! Love Kelly's work too.

Gerrina said...

It is such a beautiful, vibrant and fresh card! Love the flowers! Hugs, Gerrina

walchowDesign said...

This is an amazing piece with superb colouring, Darnell!

Cat Craig said...

This is fabulous. I love the bold colors. It might also work for Fusion. http://fusioncardchallenge.blogspot.com/2015/06/fusion-bright-butterfly.html

Monica Maier said...

Love the fun Vibrant colors of the flowers and the gorgeous flutterbies Darnell!!!

Tracey said...

Beautifully vibrant card Darnell :o)
Hugs
Tracey
xx

Lisa said...

Oh my gosh, stunning!! The flowers look amazing!! I love, love the colors!! What a beautiful card!! Have a great day :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Maggie Mata said...

You're card has seriously left me speechless! You take me back to Hawaii and the shave iced snowcones. Yummy! Thank you for joining us at our first card challenge at Stamp Ink Paper.

Anonymous said...

WOW! I ran out to the car and got my sunglasses :-) Beautiful!!! LOVE the layout, love the colors, love,love,love!

Kristie Goulet said...

Gorgeous card, Darnell! Kudos to you for all those white dots. Awesome job. Thank you so much for joining us at The Card Concept!

Donna Nuce said...

Love all the vibrant colors in this card Darnell. But I love even more you snuck in that not so perfect card at the bottom of your post. Glad to know we all have stuff that just doesn't work. Have a great day!

Unknown said...

Oh, Darnell! I had to pin BOTH of those cards. Loving all the vibrant colors!!! Gorgeous! TFS

Sheri said...

Beautiful! I really love this card. What markers did you use? You did a bang up job for sure!

Birgit said...

I love the brightness of this card. It is sooooo pretty! i like using my tombow markers in watercolour format. I am itching to get to make cards. Love this!!

Carol said...

What a gorgeous colourful number this is Darnell, love it. Carol x

Wendy Nicola Jackson said...

Darnell, this is breathtaking hun. Your colouring is amazing with all the merged tones. Love, love, LIVE it! So inspiring. Hugs, Wends x

Linda said...

Darnell, I absolutely love this card. I am all about bright colors. So, so pretty. Can't believe you and Hammy put in all those little white dots.

Bonnie said...

A great big WOW, my friend! What a bright and beautiful card! Your patience amazes me with the dots. How good that you and Hammy persevered and got them all on there. They make the colors pop even more! Blurry photos seem to be the norm around here. I'm beginning to think it's my eyes! I've had some spraying disasters myself...LOL!

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

Gorgeous cards
great colours
hugs Tamara

Brenda said...

So colorful, so gorgeous Auntie! I love how vivid and bright this card is, it makes me happy just by looking at it. A great CASE by you on Kelly's card, which I am in love with too. lol Next time try using your stylus to make the dots-just squirt some pearl liquid out and dip your stylus into it, makes perfect dots every time. Just clean off after a few dots. Hope this tip helps! You might already know this, imagine me teaching YOU something! lol Hugs, Brenda

Marilyn said...

Beautiful!! Love the bright colors

conil said...

Love Kelly's work, too. Oh boy, you done her proud with your DJKASE. Wow, is your card gorgeous. Lovin' all that color and I don't think your "sediment" looks blurry, at all.

Pam said...

Fabulous card, Darnell! The colors are so bright & cheerful. Love the demented sediment, too!

Jean said...

I love this beautiful colourful card. The flowers are pretty and the colours are fantastic.
Jean x

Sharon Underwood said...

Beautiful card, Darnell! Love the white dots...you did a great job on that! Good CASE!

MRS DUCK said...

Hi Darnell
Wowsers, I love bright and vibrant so this is right up my alley. Summer is kicking in here and this beauty just screams Summer.
Retired or no, I will still wish you a great weekend.
Best wishes.
Ang x

Ps. . . . . I'm not quite sure that my face was fit for public viewing before the Chickens came home to roost but the discovery of the wonders of BB Cream has helped lol!

Verna Angerhofer said...

Absolutely love these and those vibrant colors. Adding the white dots really looks beautiful!

oldpunca said...

Dear Darnell, I looked closely at your card and I'm impressed with what you did with the colours. :-))
I'm not retired yet, and I can say have a great weekend. :-))
Hugs, Sonja

mamapez5 said...

I love these bright and colourful flowers against the clean white background. Definitely my favourite of your cards since the ´birds on a wire´. Beautiful. Kate xx

Donna said...

Gorgeous card and fabulous colors!

Loll said...

Gorgeous watercoloured blooms Dolly!! Love the rainbow of colours and all your white dots ... that must have taken you a LONG time! Worth the effort, as it is an amazing card Dolly! Lolly xx


Carol L said...

This is such a beauty with all of that rich color, and I love all the "dots" of liquid pearls! It must have taken a steady hand and lottsa time to do all them with a pin, but it looks fabby!!

Shelly said...

Gorgeous, Darnell! Love it!

Lisa Elton said...

Kelly's card is beautiful and your CASE of it exceptional!! Beautifully done Darnell!!

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful. Love the bright colours and Kelly's CASed card is stunning. I do like a butterfly :) All those liquid pearl dots no wonder hammy had to step in to help out :)

stampwithsandy said...

Absolutely gorgeous, Darnell! Love thr bright colors and little white dots. I am so thrilled that you joined our premiere challenge at Stamp, Ink, Paper! Hugs!

Kelly Latevola said...

Well call me flattered! Thank you so much for CASEing me!! Your flowers are stunning in color and I love the layout. Those perfect pearls are the perfect accent. You're so lovely. Thank you so much <3

D'sCreations said...

WOW!! Absolutely LOVE your vibrant card! It truly is stunning. What markers did you use? I would like to give this a try. My email is: sdseaward@yahoo.com

MackieMade Paper Creations said...

WOWSA! Your card is va-va beautiful!!!!!!!! Love how you used the challenge!!!! Love this!!!!

JoAnn said...

Beautiful card Darnell. Love the colors in the pretty flowers and your layered die-cuts.

Rubeena I. said...

Kelly is awesome, and so are you!!! Wow, I love your card. And I love your sense of humor! Got me crackin' up reading your posts. <3

Virginia L. said...

What a work of ART, Darnell! The colors are absolutely striking! Thanks so much for playing Simon Says Stamp Wednesday “Favorite Products/Techniques” Challenge! I always love coming to your "party blog"!

TK said...

Vibrant, yes, but AWESOME! Might not be your usu-Al, but you rocked this one!

ike said...

My goodness - that is just AWESOME :-D

Hugz
IKE in Greece xxxx

Liz said...

WOW! I just love this card! The colours are beautiful and it was pure genius to use a pin point for the liquid pearls. Don't you just hate it when the last dot you do straight from the bottle turns out to be a blob??!! xx

Ksenija @Sweet Kobylkin said...

Darnell, wonderful card, love your take on TCC inspirational photo! And subtly coloured sentiment looks so elegant ;)

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Wow gorgeous ! LOVE those flowers and the colours. Great take on the inspiration photo(s). I hope you are doing well, Hugs, Shirleyxx

Em Louise Fairley said...

Wow, wow, wow! Darnell, I love them! xxx

Jasleen Kaur said...

Saw this beauty on Facebook and had to pop in to read the details ( anyway I LOVE reading your posts and you know that) and it's truly an exquisite card, Darnell. Such a superb interpretation of the inspiration picture and a great CASE.
Hope you are doing well.

Helen F. said...

wowZah! Darnell this card is gorgeous and bright and cheerful and amazing!
PS: I've been MIA for a couple of weeks (happily away for pleasure), but need to catch up with all my Blogland friends...I'm starting here cause I knew you would have the most wonderful posts and eye candy to kick start my card making mojo :-)

Jacee said...

Wonderful Darnell, such fabulous bright and sunny colours, I love this!
hugs Jacee
Simply Paper Card Design

Lindsey said...

Wow, so bright and happy and pretty! And I only turned the brightness down on my screen a bit before I looked. :D

Sarn said...

That's a terrific CASE card Darnell. So happy and va-va-vibrant . . . just like you! Happy weekend xxx

Beverly G said...

Hey Darnell--Thanks for the comments on my card, and I'm happy to come over and be your newest follower on your wonderful blog. Don't know what your usual style is, but your card is a great interpretation of the challenge photo and those dots are fine. Yep, a fine line tip bottle is a great tool to have in the stash. I have just added a bunch to my stash lately. Love your acronym and I'll be heading over to Kelly's blog later today to check it out. Looking forward to being one of your blog friends. Great playhouse by the way.

Inkyfingers said...

Wow - this is stunning Darnell and a perfect interpretation of the inspiration photo! I love how vibrant your colouring is too, especially as it is watercolored.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs
Carol c

Redanne said...

Whew! I am comment No. 100!! Your Va Va Vibrant card is Va Va Voom gorgeous in my book. I LOVE the gorgeous colours on your flowers - just beautiful! Hope you have a wonderful weekend my lovely friend. Thank you for your support and wonderful comments on my projects too. Big hugs, Annie xx

Marisa said...

Vibrant and Vervealicious!! LOVE the colours and how you used the Verve flower image and added the white dots. Gorgeous card :)

Dana M said...

Gorgeous card Darnell! You totally captured the inspirational picture. Love it!

Shona Chambers said...

Well, if this one doesn't win the Card Concept challenge, I'll eat my foam tape!! Brilliant, dazzling, gorgeous!!

Joyce said...

Wow, Darnell. This is truly amazing.

Cheryl W. said...

Your card looks amazing, Darnell! That's a lot o' dots, and they look mighty fine!

Bobby said...

This card popped up on my FaceBook feed and totally lit up the screen, Darnell. The colors are so .... well you said it - vibrant. It's absolutely gorgeous and as you sometimes say "It's in winner in my book."

Elizabeth S. said...

Wow! This is stunning and love the bold colors and background you did with the watercoloring along with how the sentiment shows off.

Leslee said...

Beautiful! I love your va-va-vibrant! And those dots look perfect!

Ros Crawford said...

WOW WOW WOW!!! OMG this is gorgeous!! Totally stunning and the card you CASed blew me away too! If your card doesn't win I'll eat my hat!

Kelly Szafron said...

Beautiful card! I love the colors and how you colored the sentiment

OH Babs said...

I love the cards they are bold, bright and cheerful - great cards. I had never checked out your "cards from admirers" and was tickled to see some of the cards I have sent you. Shhhh! you have me listed as OH BABS rather than love2colour. Shhh! I won't tell.

Petra Swart said...

I've also got those Verve flowers, Darnell, but I have never made anything nearly as stunning as this with it!!! Your watercolouring is FABULOUS and I love the 'pearls'!!! Lovely!!!!
Have a great day!!! So enjoyed my visit to your blog!!

Laurie Unger said...

Wow this is bright and brilliant! Love it!

Tracey McNeely said...

Hi Darnell, what a beautiful card, I love all those fabulous colours!

Kim Heggins said...

So so beautiful Darnell...just love your sweet rainbow posies. They look as fabulous as the butterfly cookies in the inspiration photo. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Greta said...

You've really done it now, Darnell--stunningly beautiful creation!

Milka Gubo said...

GORGEOUS card Darnell!!! Love it! :-D

Anita in France said...

Swooning ... or rather swoooooooooooning at your STUNNING creation! I'm trying to find the right words to describe it ... and none of them seem to say enough ... p'raps if they are used all together it might do the trick ... vibrantstrikinggorgeousincrediblespectacularbeautifulawesome. Yep, that did it! Hugs & Bisous, Anita :)

Sarah G said...

Super cool card, Darnell - the vibrant colours, dotty details and fab die cut sentiment are just fabulous. I second Anita's comment :)

Deepti said...

Oh my goodness Darnell! This is such a terrific case of Kelly,s card :) u did a fantastic job :)

Unknown said...

Your card is stunning. The colors are so vibrant. And what a cool idea for the sentiment. The white dots are such a great touch.

I'm sure Kelly would be thrilled by what her card inspired. I'm going to have to check out her blog.

Kerin said...

OH MY your cards are gorgeous!!! Thanks for joining us this week at The Card Concept :)

Aileen said...

Hey Darnell, congrats on being chosen as a favourite over at Stamp Ink Paper. You clever girl

Jan Clothier said...

This is simply glorious and it cheered up this dismal winter morning for me completely!

Unknown said...

This card is simply stunning Darnell!! I fell in love with it immediately after I saw it haha great colouring and your colour choices!! Just great!!

Caz said...

I love how colourful your cards are! They are so fun and pretty :-)

Taunya Butler said...

Wonderful, phenomenal and just gorgeously done!! In love with this!! You did this, all right and it is stunning!!