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!

September 27, 2016

Sunflower Heat Wave

Well, hi.

You doing okay? I'm having puppy withdrawals. I mean, Cisco isn't a puppy, but when you're used to having Golden Retriever or Labrador Retriever dogs your whole adult life, a tiny Havanese is forever a puppy, no matter who old. I mean how old. 

I've always loved a Jumble puzzle or ragman, so even hewn sword are typed whit their trestle in the grown order they kolo fine to me!

Need a stiff drink now? Sorry. That was a little brain exercise for you. You'll thank me later. Life can't be all about looking at pretty card art, you know. 

Well, okay, yes it can be.
I made this card a couple of weeks ago when there were a couple of sunflower challenges in Blogland, but I forgot to post it. As it happens, it is particular appropriate for our current week where the temperatures are again belying autumn and insisting on returning to full-on summer. The thermo meter got up to 103 degrees yesterday. That's 39.4444 for you Celsius watchers. I hope that drink you made yourself was a cold one!

So anyway what happened was I stamped a v.v.o. stamp from Close to My Heart called "Sunflower Patch" and then I painted it using my Ziggie watercolor markers. The sediment is from Papertrey Ink. The flowers are liberally winked and then I finished them by glossing their little faces. (The main singer in the band has a diamond in the center of her forehead. I thought I would splain that because in the photo above it looks like a bug landed on her.)
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79 comments:

Monika Reeck said...

I really love the way you colored the sun flower Darnell
you are expert at coloring
I still have to learn :) SMILE
this is a happy summer card
I love this
hugs
Monika
PS: I miss you

Kathyk said...

Letters in the wrong order?!?!?!? Fabby card and colouring on your pretty card this morning. Wot? No pix of Cisco?

Happy Tuesday

Kathyk

Lia said...

Wow, what a 'sunny' card this is! Your colouring work is great and the card is giving me a warm feeling!
Lia xx

Sue said...

Hi Darnell, I love the bright cheery sunflowers card.

Hope you have a lovely day. Sue

Jane Willis said...

I'm having a hot flush just thinking about your temperature there, while here Autumn has definitely landed and my fingers are turning white with cold as I type because there's a battle of wills between me and the central heating going on at the moment. I will not, not NOT turn it on before October 1st.... But I can see why you've gone all sunflowery while I'm thinking snow scenes. Gorgeous card!
Jane

Julie B said...

So pretty, I should be passing a field of these lovelies as I wend my way to Port Sunny on Saturday for a meet up and a bit of retail therapy!
The weather has been crazy here too, but autumn is slowly taking hold these last couple of days. :)

Stamps and Paper said...

A card full of sunshine Darnell I love it

Anne

Dr Sonia S V said...

I love sunflowers and your card is so super gorgeous Darnell!!
Cheers
Dr Sonia

Carole said...

A lovely sunny card Darnell...and wow temperatures in the 100's!! it's turned a lot cooler here...autumn is here, it's damp and my joints scream at me...I should have been born in warmer climates. Thanks for the brain exercise, or had you already had the stiff drink when you typed..lol. Love the picture of the child and camel, that really made me laugh!! xx

cuilliesocks said...

Stunning card Darnell, sunflowers are some of my favourite blooms, beautifully designed and coloured, thanks for visiting me the other day, Kate x

Sandra H said...

Mornong Darnell, Ooh this is so pretty the colouring is gorgeous l do like to see your watercoloured images you colour them so well and it's brightening up my day as l think our summer is over and it's starting to get a nip in the air! l like the image with the child and Camel ...lol so amuzing made me laugh! hope you have an enjoyable day sending lots of love xx

Sarn said...

BEAUTIFUL sunflower card. Cloudy and overcast here today, so it was nice to see this lovely and cheerful card.
xxx

Ruth said...

Took me a while, but I figahed it out! I is feelin, veh veh veh smart indeed..... and I can't believe it's that hot with you right now. If that were Blighty, even in the height of summer, it would be considered a severe heat wave and everyone would be ordered to stay indoors to avoid heat stroke. Gorgeous card as usual and I love that the sunflowers do indeed look like they are in a band. xx

Marilyn said...

Pretty card! You did a great job coloring it

Sheila H said...

Your sunflowers are beautifully colored. The weather is still hot here in Georgia, too. Enjoy your day!

Jeanne said...

Beautiful card, Darnell. You've colored those happy sunflowers wonderfully. Sorry the weather is keeping up with it's regularly scheduled heat up. Just when the rest of the world seems to cool down, Mother Nature seems to think CA needs to add the heat. Hope it starts to cool off a bit soon. I have no words for that picture, but it did encourage a few giggles. Wow. Have a great day! Hugs!

Bunny said...

Pretty card. I devol gnidaer swardkcab oot. Ti spleh eht niarb.

Anagrams are fun, too.

maria f. said...

Well obviously, you aket a hoopt! The lead singer with bling. Only you! :)

Anonymous said...

Love the card, love the colouring and the photo made me (and my husbean)laugh! You're such a hoot! x

Jean said...

I love your beautiful water coloured sunflowers Darnell, they brightened up my day. It's grey and damp and decidedly autumnal here today.
Jean x

designbydonna said...

Sunflowers are a particular favorite of mine. Yours are colored beautifully. I need to come take some coloring lessons from you.

Redanne said...

What a beautiful card to see on a not so sunny day over here, Sunflowers are always so happy looking! So glad you are squeezing the last drops of summer heat and sunshine over there.

I think I would be missing Cisco too, he is such a little sweetie! Enjoy the rest of your week. Big hugs, Anne xx

Kath said...

A fabulous sunflower card and reminds me of the sunflower growing competition at the school where I work!
Kath x

Brenda in IN said...

Your coloring is wonderful on the sunflowers. I like the border and the diamond, although being a sunflower she could have a bug on her. I'm glad to see in your cartoon they chose the right thing to do! Hope you have some cooling off soon.

Jenny L said...

Hi Darnell,
your post always makes me smile as you have such a wonderful way with words.
Such a very super card and those sunflowers are gorgeous.
They are coloured so perfectly too.

I take it the person in question took the photo instead of saving the child. LOL.

Love abd big hugs from my house to yours.
Have a nice cool drink and take it easy in that heat.
Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

The photo with the words is terrific.... Oh, my God! The children has been saved from anyone that was without a camera, perhaps???? Hope the answer is YES!!! :O
Lovely sunflowers card, great dimension!!

Pat said...

Stupendous sunflowers Darnell, watercoloured beautifully and winked and gemmed up to perfection. These make us here in the UK wish that the Summer could last just a bit longer. The weather has been warm here today, but there is that certain Autumnal nip in the air too. That photo is a great find. I'm not sure if the camel is biting the back of his/her neck of if indeed their head has disappeared into that cavernous mouth...oooh nasty! x

jimlynn said...

Gorgeous sunflowers AND card!!! Love that beautiful coloring with the Zigs too. I need you to come to Texas and give me lessons on those!
Lynn

Marybeth said...

What a beautiful summer/ heat wave card :) My goodness the sunflowers are gorgeous and I love the font of the thank you.
Yesterday was heat and wind, today is warm but gorgeous!!! Hope the fires are not near you.

Craftychris said...

Beautiful sunny card! I love it! It sounds sooooo hot there, I hope you manage to keep cool some how! xxx

Em Louise Fairley said...

Beautiful card, Darnell.
Hugs,
Em xxx

conil said...

Obviously, yeth koto het optho...(I'm a Jumble fan, too). Actually thought the diamond in the middle was like a little kaleidoscope-type hole. But that wouldn't work because you couldn't see through it...sadly, this is how my brain works. (*heavy sigh*) Anyway, since I love sunflowers, this card is right up my old alley. And the weather means it still works. Fortunately, we've been promised a cool down soon...can't be too soon for me.

Sybrina K said...

So pretty! That black matting really brings out the yellow, and the black sentiment is the perfect touch. :)

JoAnn said...

Love your sunflower card and cute post. Always enjoy reading them, even when the letters in the words are in the wrong order. :)
Have a great week my friend.

Kathleen said...

Fabulous image and gorgeous colouring.

Kath x

shirley-bee said...

Fab card, Darnell! I love your Ziggie watercolouring, and it's all beautifully framed by the black mat. Off to Port Sunlight on Saturday, so I'll be thinking of you :) And it'll be 12 degrees - that's 53.6 to you!!

Verna Angerhofer said...

I love sunflowers and you have colored these so beautifully. What a great card design. Thanks for sharing.

Barb said...

A beautiful sunny card Darnell. Beautiful colouring and so nice to look at a sunny picture. It's so cold here now we've had the central heating on for a week now. Barbxx

MagsB said...

Absolutely beautiful, Darnell! I'm not very good at ragmans but I think I got the gist of what you wrote!!

Have a great day!

love Mags B x

Tracey McNeely said...

Delightful card Darnell, those sunflowers are so vibrant and beautiful. That thermometer dipped down to 12C yesterday--so not ready for that yet! Today back up to a balmy 18C. I will say that 103F or 39.4444C is a bit too hot for comfort. So I just left an elaborate comment on your Cisco arrival post that I had totally missed, Ii will let you go back and read about me going on about the Havanese as I glance down at my feet and see my little Havanese sleeping under my desk!

Carol L said...

OMGAWD, after scrolling down to that hungry camel I completely forgot about the card you made! ROFL!! Yikes to that picture!!! I love the sunflowers and I hope you enjoy that summery weather while you can, because soon it will go poof!

nancy littrell said...

I love sunflowers and Ziggys...so of course I LOVE your Fall sunflowers card. TFS Darnell. Hugs, Nancy

Lisa Elton said...

HAHA, giving our brains a little work out!! What a pretty card Darnell. I like those sunflowers and the font with the curly cues on the sentiment. Nice pop of bling too! That camel photo. Holy smokes what kind of parent (or grandparent) is that. Reminds me of those horrible funniest home videos with kids getting into all kinds of awful situations and that camera just keeps on rolling. UGH, people!!

Linda said...

Darnell, your sunflowers are gorgeous, colored so beautifully with your Ziggies. Oh my 103 is hot, hot, hot. I would just melt...

Loll said...

Your sunflowers are SO PRETTY!! Great job with the zigs! 39 Celsius --- ugghhhh!! That's even too hot for summer, let along fall. I hope you had the aircon up to full power.

And I was totally lost in your brain teaser. I still have anethestic hangover ... at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! I wonder how long I can get away with that??!! Hmmm ... Lolly xx

Susanne Vargas said...

What a sunny, cheerful card! Love your coloring and the sentiment goes perfectly with the flowers!

Sue from Oregon said...

This is a perfect fall card Darnell! ♥ Sue Kment

Allisa said...

Gorgeous card, love the sunflowers!

Inkyfingers said...

I love sunflowers Darnell and this gorgeous card reminds me that I need to buy a bunch when I go out shopping later. I really like the winking and glossing too - just right for these beauties. I read your post just after waking today and your mixed up words had me there for a while!! Thanks for sending me into my day with a smile on my face.
Hugs
Carol x

Unknown said...

Very gorgeous card Darnell and thank you for sending a bit of sun through it ! Here the weather is really entering in Autumn, no sun, cloudy, no movement...brrr ! Hopefully you are all here to put sunshine with your beautiful cards ! Thanks for sharing.
Izzy Scrap

PS: Love the picture you found on the web...obviously the answer is B ! ;-))

Lindsey said...

Great welcoming sunny sunflowers Darnell x yup I'd take a photo of the camel with his mouth full!

Geri said...

Dag Nabbit...I had composed a perfectly worded comment and it DISAPPEARED....Bugger!!!

First off all, the camel photo is hilarious!!! Forwarded to my sister (who takes pictures ALL THE TIME!) and will definitely relate to this!

GORGEOUS card...sparkle bug included! Your Ziggy skills are AH-MAZING! The colors that you used for the centre of the flowers creates a nice, bold contrast to the petals. Love the placement of the sentiment (cool font!) which seems to 'ground' the image!

oldpunca said...

Wonderful colouring of sunflowers, dear Darnell. Nice idea to add diamond. :-)
Hugs, Sonja

Celeste Goff said...

Such a beautiful card! Love the scripty font on the sentiment!

Cheryl W. said...

Aww - a card of warmth and sunshine. Could have used some of that in where I am traveling today - in chilly northern Maine. Thanks for warming up my day with your beautiful card!

KT Fit Kitty said...

I like your word game - amazing how the brain can still distinguish what this says! Your sunflowers are absolutely stunning! Love your colouring! And your meme cracked me up - I guess the answer is take a photo!

Donna said...

Love the little gem addition :)
Beautifully coloured - as always, Darnell. X

TK said...

Love, love, love this card, Darnell! Summer, fall, whatever the weather --it's a beauty! Great job on the watercoloring! oh yah fabulous on confusion spiral!

Bonnie said...

I love these happy sunflowers! What a nice way to start my day!

Jen W. said...

Almost snorted my coffee out of my nose at that camel picture. I confess that I too would be a photo taking kind of parent!

After a cool start to the week the humidity and heat have come back with a vengeance today. I probably shouldn't complain since you guys hit 104 (insane!) but 84F and 85% humidity is pretty gross and sticky. :P

Loving your gorgeous sunflowers, the soft sky in the background and the perfectly placed gem!

sandie said...

Amazing colouring and so refreshing to see in blogland with all the leaves!! Adore the touch of bling and have a fun day/evening...I can never remember where we are in time zones xx

Princess Judy Palmer said...

If your child is being eaten by a camel of course you photo and post the hell out it! I mean, I don't know much about parenthood, but even I know that much. Ha!

So, I knew that was a bling and not a bug, but perhaps it is best you clarified it for the bug-phobic among us, not that they have returned to room after they left it screaming.

Anyway, I like your card and highly approve of this stand of sunflowers. I will not stand for those taking a stand against this stand.

Sue - said...

Worked your anagram out no probs! Beautiful sunflowers - I do like their cheerfulness.

MRS DUCK said...

Hi Darnell
Well isn't this just finer than Van Gogh's more famous version......... I do hope you're not going to be cutting off any appendages!
Beautiful card that would look terrific in a frame.
The camel snap is hilarious.......but about par for the course these days lol!
Best wishes.
Ang x

Sazzle Dazzle said...

Your posts always make me laugh out loud Darnell and your cards make me swoon! This one is a sheer beauty, full of golden Autumn tones even if you aren't having the weather to match ... you'll just have to hop back over to the UK as our weather is definitely on the turn!!! Hee Hee. Thanks for playing along at Uniko with this one and hope all well. Sarah x

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

Such a delightfully sunny card!

Nora Noll said...

This is so pretty!! I love how you waited the colors on this and matched the card base to it. We are having seasonable weather FINALLY here. Rain is called for the next seven days but I am okay with it. We so need it!!

Sharyn Polesel said...

I love sunflowers! They are the happiest of flowers. This is beautiful!

Donna Nuce said...

Hi Darnell! I love the coloring on these sunflowers and that great sendiment stamp you used! Lovely card! Thanks for joining us at Cards in Envy!

Gerrina said...

It is allmost as great to read your post as see your new creation! Love the sunflowers; they are coloured so beautifully!
Here the temp is slowly sliding into more normal autumn ones, but two nights ago there was an indiansummer breese; have been out 'till late and still allmost 20degrees celsius! I Just enjoy all those little pleasures that nature keeps on giving! Hope you have a fun weekend planned!

Cat Craig said...

Oh this one is fabulous! I love sunflowers and you have created a gem here.

Deborah Frings said...

These sunflowers are absolutely gorgeous. And the watercolouring is really fab! Thanks so much for joining us at Uniko this month! Deborah, DT. PS Love the little gem!

Janice said...

Beautiful sunflower card, so bright and colourful!
Janice x

Bobby said...

You've really mastered Ziggie coloring, Darnell. This is so beautifully done I am in awe. I'm sorry it missed some challenges because it could have been a contender. (said in my best Marlon Brando style). I love the brain teaser but I bet it took longer to pyte grown hant thrig. ;)

AO Creations said...

Super cute!!! Thank you for joining us at UYS, good luck!!! Amy DT

Shirl said...

I love sunflowers too! What a gorgeous card - it is just so adorable. How you have done the centres have just made them "pop" right out at you. Thank you so much for playing along with my challenge over at Use Your Stuff - Hugs DT Shirl

Janis Lewis said...

Beautiful sunflower card! Thanks for joining us at Use Your Stuff.
~DT Janis

Rahmat said...

Beautiful card Darnell, the sunflowers are really pretty and vibrant, love the card. Thanks for joining us at Uniko.

Beverley said...

Beautiful stamp and beautiful colouring, Thanks so much for joining in at Uniko and my apologies for popping by so late to comment. Hugs Bev x