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!

November 25, 2012

Papertrey November Blog Hop Challenge; and Freshly Made Sketches #62

Hi Everybody!
We made it through Thanksgiving with thankful hearts in tacked, despite eating outrageous amounts of carbs and sugar!  Story and photos of our Thanksgiving holiday are below, if you'd like to see them.
First, it's back to creating and challenges.  Oh, how I missed thee.
My sketch inspiration today came from Freshly Made Sketches.  This sketch was designed by the superb crafter, Jen M.
And today is the monthly one-day blog hop challenge over at Nichole Heady's brilliant {capture the moment} website. 

We are to make cards using cover art for our inspiration:
November-hop-inspiration
I was inspired by the "sweet cream, sugar cones" cover art, mostly because I have the PTI cupcake dies and stamp set, never used.  I also wanted, however, to make a Christmas card, so I did this:
I traced the top of the PTI cupcake die and drew it longhand into a sugar cone shape and topped it with peppermint icing.  Joy, indeed!
If you're doing the blog hop, this is the end of the card talk.  Thanks for stopping by to have a closer look!  If you'd like to leave a comment, just page down to the comment section.  (Mwah!)  I'll return the flavor!
~~~

Thanksgiving Memories
Holiday "incidents" are as expected and traditional as the sunrise.  This year I nearly had my defibber go off when all of a sudden the house smelled of something burning. 
You know how you have those side dishes that need to be reheated, but there isn't room in the oven with the gynormous turkey in there?  So you wait until the turkey is out to put the side dishes in, but they never have time to really heat through?  Well, this year I noticed for the first time that there are notches on the very bottom of the oven to put a rack.  The turkey just fit on a rack a few inches higher, which allowed room for the shallow dishes of creamed onions, Brussels sprouts, and stuffing to be put on the bottom rack to begin reheating before the turkey was out.  How cool is that?!  Now everything will be ready at the same time!
Not.  At the first whiff of something burning, I whipped open the door and there were the onions boiling over!  Setting them (basically) on the floor of the gas oven, right above the flame, was a kin to putting them on the stove top, turning the flame on full blast, and walking away.  If I only had a brain.  And why are there notches to put a rack there in the first place?!
I pulled the dish of onions out, but they were still loosely covered with foil, so I couldn't really see the roiling sauce, which left it free to pour out into the crack between the door and the oven, all over the glass on the inside of the door, and then all over the front of the stove, sliding down behind the stove knobs, and over the stove top as the dish came to rest with an unladylike bang.
It takes an awful lot to steam my kettle and this was one of those times.  I'm afraid to say that grandma lost her cool and began to speak a very colorful language.  Folks who had the misfortune of stepping into the kitchen at that moment took one look at my eyes and beat a hasty retreat.  Fortunately, my whistle is only set to blow for a couple of minutes, so very quickly the clamity was mopped up and I resumed my attitude of gratitude.
What was your little "incident" this year?  No holiday meal would be complete without at least one!
~~~
Here are some photos from our house, beginning with the turkey table decorations I made with the twins.  I didn't have enough paper towel cardboard rolls to cut up to make the turkeys into napkin rings, so instead we made them as cute table decorations, one for each place setting.
(I love their crookedy smiles at this age, full of both adult and baby teeth!)
  
One of the two tables: 

My beautiful DIL Rachel and me.  She was an enormous help!  (I'm wearing a narrow scarf that Adam "finger-knit" for me!)

Here I am being licked ferociously by my SIL's new and delightful puppy, Cisco:
The twins again.  Their daddy took them to Rock City for a couple of hours so they could spend some boyish energy.

~~~
And the mad dash towards Christmas now begins.  We stayed far away from Taupe Thursday and Black Friday and Scarlet Saturday to avoid being trampled to death.  I'm surely and forever old because now it all seems so cray-cray to me.
Enjoy your day!  No, seriously, enjoy your day.  I hope you found all the items your heart desired at 80% off, plus a coupon for 20% off your next visit!
As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!


Paper:  PTI white; unknown
  glossy green, peppermint;
  SU! dsp for the cone
Stamps:  Technique Tuesday
Ink:  SU! real red
Dies:  PTI Cupcake Collections
Ribbon:  SU! real red
Bling and candy from stash

35 comments:

carol (krillsister) said...

Cute card. Very original & colorful. Love the sugary theme.
Sorry about your Thanksgiving mishap. I had one years ago (newly married) and smoked up my house when the baked on overflow from the apple pie I baked the night before started to burn (no self cleaning oven in those days)
This year, my turkey took FOREVER to cook. Ate dinner an hr. late.

Tracey McNeely said...

Love your sweet sugar cones Darnell. The metallic paper is awesome. Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving, your bit of `colourful language and the `sweet photos!

Unknown said...

Despite the onions it sounds as if you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Lovely photos - thanks for sharing.

Kelly Griglione said...

How brilliantly creative ... you made a peppermint sugar cone!! Hmmm, maybe I'll try that on the ice cream cone die from PTI that I've never really used (like your cupcakes). Love it! No Thanksgiving mishaps for me, luckily my MIL hosted a bountiful spread at her table. I hear you, why on Earth would rack holders in an oven be that low? Oh, and just love the photo of you with the dog - it could be in a magazine!

Anonymous said...

Yum, yum, Darnell. What a fabulous card!
I also want to thank you for your comments and encouragement on my new blog. I am not an illustrator but I am hoping to get some material to make prints and maybe market them on Etsy.
I should think about doing a watermark.

Lesley said...

Looks like a great time! Cute card too!

Redanne said...

So happy to have you back in Blogland Darnell! Love your Christmas card, especially the lovely JOY stamp. Great photos, your DIL is a very pretty lady and love the turkeys the twinks helped to create. Glad it all went (nearly) to plan. Hugs, Annie x

Rema DeLeeuw said...

Such a yummy card Darnel. Great job....

Jen Mitchell said...

What a cute card Darnell! Who wouldn't find joy in an ice cream cone!! Sorry to hear about the onions, but I suppose that's better than a turkey mishap!

Inkyfingers said...

I love your take on the card Darnell and I bet an ice cream cone would be just the ticket for Christmas in your part of the world!

I'm sorry about your onions but I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one to have issues with cooking holiday dinners. Your family look wonderful.

Unknown said...

Great yummy card Dippy - you could almost lick it! Wonderful hearing about your exploits over Thanksgiving.....sounds like me on Christmas Day; although my fowl (d'you like that one!) language would have lasted a tad longer....... Fab photo of the twinks and your DIL and you. Table looked pretty good too!

Hugs.

Karen xxx

Kim Heggins said...

Adorable card and fabulous story...as always I look forward to hearing about all of the wonderful things you do. I have to say this was the first year were everything ran smooth. We prepped as much as we could the night before and then just enjoyed the day.

Geri said...

Sweet sugar cone! Love your versatile use of a die!

It looks and sounds like you had a fabulous time with your family. It was so nice of you to share a few pics. Beautiful table presentation, beautiful people!

Too bad about the onions....sure made a good story though :)

Luanne said...

Your card is so cute, and so are those twin grandsons! Looks like you had an awesome Thanksgiving! (hugs)!

scrappymo! said...

What a cute card...how did you ever think of it!
It is just so darned cute.

Your family pictures are lovely...thanks for sharing them with us.

Your oven problems sound like something I would do.

Joyce said...

What a fabulous card. I love your Christmas themed ice cream cone. You were the only one I've seen so far who used that ice cream cone cover. Surprised me, because I thought that was the yummiest one.

craftmates said...

Beautiful card! Pure joy indeed! - Irma

Nancy Guse said...

Darnell, great card, it was refreshing to see the ice cream cone!

Jacquie Southas said...

Love your ice cream cone - reminds me that I have to look for candy cane ice cream next time I'm at Trader Joe's! I so sorry about your Thanksgiving dinner mishap - I have to tell you my best advise is to deep fry your turkey. The oven is free for everything else AND the turkey becomes dear husband's job not mine.

Carol L said...

80% off sale? where?! LOL

Your card is really cute with that ice cream cone! I love your Thanksgiving mishap story (we all have them) and the photos are great! TFS!

Karen C. said...

Love the way you've combined the colours and flavours of Christmas with ice cream!! Yumm!

Vicki Dutcher said...

I love popping in to comment -- I get to see your adorable little stamp house [that I so want] -- scary T Day story, cute card!

Anonymous said...

Such a FUN idea to use a ice cream for a Christmas card, it's fantastic! Love your photos from Thanksgiving, thanks so much for sharing!

Kelly S. said...

Oh I love this post! Love the festive Christmas cone with the little candy topping. So creative! This card is full of sweetness right down to those ADORABLE Twinks...does twink stand for the twinkle in their eyes? Giggle! They look like they are twice the fun, annnnd twice the mischievous ;)!!!!

Wida said...

I find your card sweet and your personality sweet AND hilarious!

Jean said...

Love your festive, yummy ice cream cone and that shiny paper! The turkeys you made with the twinks are super cute! Glad to hear you had only a relatively minor mishap before dinner.

jen said...

Your card is super fun- love that you broke out new tools! And your story was so fun! Happy holidays!

Marybeth said...

Love the turkeys you made. Beautiful sweet iceream card , CAS love that !
Thanks for sharing all the photos, you look beautiful!
I have to say I don't think I had any dings this year.....but apple crumb pie keeps showing up each time I open my oven door no matter how many times I clean it up ......I even vacuumed it over and over. No shopping for me this weekend, either.

Nancy Penir said...

Greetings Darnell, awoke to an unfamiliar name on my blog, ( please forgive if I passed you over before!) and found so many tears and giggles, just had to comment on your card's sweetness.
Must use that cupcake set more! Your wrapped candy is the perfect topping! And don' get me started on appliances, some day they'll actually ask we gals what we need!

Jen Timko said...

Darnell, this is such a sweet card! I love that little candy piece!! So glad you joined us this week at FMS!

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

What a great card - A Christmas Icecream cone ! I know about mishaps in the kitchen, I've had many. It's always a challenge to have many dishes ready at the same time when your oven is taken up with the turkey. At times like this we need two ovens. Your grandsons are adorable and so are you with the affectionate dog! Have a good one, Shirleyx

A Crafty Person said...

Yummy Christmas cone! I like the colors you used to create this fun card.

Anonymous said...

That's a great take on the sketch Darnell and I love your Thanksgiving pics too. Very funny story, reminds me of the time we put the turkey directly in the pan and not on the thing that lifts it up. Well we got so many juices in there that when we took it out to baste and check for done-ness, the fatty stuff slopped all over the elements on the base of the over and you wouldn't believe the smoke!! The smoke detectors went off and we ended up standing on our porch in our pj's with so much smoke billowing out it looked like our house was on fire!! We've got better since then. Much better!

Hugs
Brenda

Helen F. said...

Your card is a sweet treat (pun intended :), Darnell!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment~nice to meet new crafty friends this way :o)

maria f. said...

Too funny... mine was the sweet potato casserole. TWICE. First when I put the racks back in (apparently not perfectly straight) after the bird came out. Put the big casserole in. OK. Put the little one in and the rack took a plunge and luckily I caught the little casserole as it slid out to me. Did I mention I was so lucky it wasn't soup! Then, when I stuck my head in to see if the abovementioned casseroles were hot (oh the joys of feeding 14 with hot food) guess I pushed the large casserole into the smaller one which flew off the rack into my gloved hands but not after losing a quarter of the content onto the opened oven door and floor. Yep, sticky marshmallow guck and mashed sweet potatoes.
Did I mention we have an open kitchen/dining area. As in, everyone hangs around the island while DH and I do our thing. So after my "oh shXX" I added "This is how you're not supposed to do it," ate what I had scraped off the oven door and BTW they were hot, and proceeded to mash the potatoes!
Did I tell you your card rocks?!?