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!

August 5, 2013

Summer Seashells ~ ATCAS #19; FUSION #14; PIXIE'S #84; SSWC; NBUS #33

Yo!  How are you?  I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning to welcome you to a new week.  Welcome to a whole new week!  It's a happy week for me as it is my last week of work for a couple of months.  Can I get an amen?

I only had time and energy to make a QACAS card.  Mercy, children, I used to be able to task so many multiples at one time.  And the squirrels, wow, I used to be able to keep them at bay, but now I'm distracted so easily and there are so many of them!  My sister recently reminded me that when I went back to help her stage her house a few months ago, we jumped around from project to project, so unlike us.  It got to the point where we wet ourselves laughing when one or the other of us would say, "Oh, look!  A squirrel!"

Where was I?

~~~

I'm linking my card with these four challenges:

Addicted to CAS (ATCAS) has a new challenge where the code word is "summer."
With such a broad-ranging word for this challenge, I'm sure you can link up a summery card!  Of course, we don't use the word "broad" anymore, let along ranging broads.
 
The Fusion Card Challenge has a brand-new look and a brand-new hippo the sis for us:
 
I did a fusion of the photo and the sketch.
 
The patterned vellum on my card is a snippet so I can happily skip across the pond and join in the hooliganisms at Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground!
 
Finally, ever a big hit with card bloggers worldwide, the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is "Anything Goes!"
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog
 
As always, many of the challenges I enter have awesome sponsors and prizes, so I hope you will click on the links for the details, meet the fab Design Teams and Guest Designers, and join in these fun challenges!  The DT cards are always awe-mazing!
 
~~~
 
My simple QACAS/NBUS card:
You can see by the refractation of light that the gold paper is metallic.  The snippet of patterned vellum was a left-over part of a page of several small square scenes.  In order to follow the sketch, I used an oval die to cut the square into an oval.  This left an oval with square ends, so I hid that little fact with my blue vellum strips.  The strips were folded over the gold paper and taped to the back and the gold paper was stuck to a white card base.
 
The flying bird is from a NBUS trinket pack.  My friend Sam would also call it VOS (very old schtuff)!  We are going to imagine the bird is Jonathan Living Seagull, as would be fit the shell-filled beach scene. 
 
And there you go, a beach at sunset.  Or sunrise.  In the summer.
 
~~~
 
Enjoy your summer 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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!
 
 
*Life Is Too Short!  
 
Paper:  PTI white; unknown gold;
  Grafix vellum
Stamps:  Exactly none
Ink:  None neither
Die:  Sizzix Framelit Ovals
Embellie:  "Everyday Moments Trinkets" EM3126

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahmen! Enjoy the rest Darnell-and get back to your crafty time double quick!
Lovely card-Swallows and seashells perfectly capture Summer :)
Have a lovely day,Nessa xxxx

Di said...

A perfect Summer scene Darnell and such a lovely card. The bird is a lovely finishing touch - reminds me of the book Swallows and Amazons.

Yup, the Playground is busy but waaaaay too quiet for my liking - I sense mischief brewing!

Hugs and enjoy your work break - wahoo!

Di xx

Redanne said...

A very big AMEN! It will be nice to have a daily fix from you again... this card is so very beautiful - love how you cleverly made the square into an oval and loving those shells. A perfect summer card. Hugs, Annie xx

SYLVIA-ANNE said...

LOVE your take on the Summer theme Darnell - the bird charm (or should I say Jonathan!) looks magnificent against the gold background, and the vellum shell image completes your summer beach scene perfectly!
Thank you for joining us again at ATCAS - hope you will pop by next time! Sylvia xx

SYLVIA-ANNE said...

LOVE your take on the Summer theme Darnell - the bird charm (or should I say Jonathan!) looks magnificent against the gold background, and the vellum shell image completes your summer beach scene perfectly!
Thank you for joining us again at ATCAS - hope you will pop by next time! Sylvia xx

Sue said...

This is gorgeous Darnell. The shells look wonderful on the gold card and I love the flying bird.
Sue xx

Sue said...

You've captured the essence of summer so well with this card, Darnell. The gold shimmer looks beautiful and I love the pretty shells and bird. Sue x

Lyndal said...

Gorgeous card Darnell!!!
So glad you joined in the fun @ FUSION.
Seems the older we get, the more squirrels there are to...

Jessi Fogan said...

Amen indeed! And...squirrel! OMG, I'm so bad for that. I have a friend who also calls it ADHDooooh, shiny!
I laughed right out loud at Mr. Seagull's name. That's too fun.

cm said...

Squirrels and seagulls, seashells and summer; shimmer and shine: only you can combine such topics with such finesse! Fantastic card, perfect for the challenges; your combinating skills are impressive!! Love the colours, the vellum, the oval to make a square technique (and hiding of the curvy bits!), the works! Eye-catching, delightful and plain ol' FUN!! Glad you'll have a break from work, so we can have you back full-time!!
c

jimlynn said...

Amen! Know you're looking forward to more time for yourself now.
Love this beautiful summer card. The blue just grabs me and holds on....and especially with all the gold! So lovely.
Lynn

Tracey McNeely said...

Fabulous card my sweet, love the colours and that fun seagull charm. Work will wind down and then the squirrels will slow down...some. I get it about the multitasking getting harder to do, story of my days lately.

Unknown said...

Darnell, I have followed you for months and have never left a comment-that was NOT NICE. I love your blog and follow several others that I spied from you. Thank you for all the smiles and encouragment. Brenda Carswell, NC

Geri said...

You got an 'amen' from me, sistah!!! And your card...soft, seamless and absolutely beautiful!!! So glad you had time to join us at FUSION, Darnell!!!

Karen Petitt said...

Now that's gorgeous Darnell. What a beautiful arrangement of shells and I love your swallow charm! Karen x

Geri said...

Have I been living under a rock (again)? I seriously have not seen patterned vellum paper. But of course, living where I do, it is no wonder! It is stunning - the colors are divine, especially paired with the shimmery gold card stock and Jonathan Living Seagull. I love the blue velum strips - really 'anchors' the image! 'Swell' job Darnell :)

Carole said...

Every thing you do is so unique, distinctly different and always appealing. Be well

Melissa Bove said...

Lovely card!! I love that bird charm!!

Thank you very much for joining us this week at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

hugs...
Melissa

JD/ Jill said...

Pretty card...great job with all the challenges.

Kimbo said...

Gorgeously delicate card x

Cathy said...

Great snippets card Darnell, a perfect summer scene :) Cathy x

Unknown said...

Well Dippy you've got a huge Amen from me........love your summer inspired card. That little seashore scene is beautiful and love how you hid the square edges - genius. Gorgeous with the soft gold shimmer and the swallow finishes it off perfectly. Thanks so much for joining us for this challenge at A2CAS.

Karendipity xxx

Bobby said...

I'm sure glad I had people with me this past week that kept the craziness going. That way I didn't miss you so much. So, Amen! to the last week of work, Shoo to the squirrels, and Hooray for challenges lining up.

Kim Heggins said...

Beautiful card...love all your fabulous summer embellies too. It reminds me of our day yesterday in Half Moon Bay, your card is as beautiful as the ocean!

Sarn said...

LOVE this card Darnell. It's simple and elegant. Perfect.

Hugs
SarN xxx

Anonymous said...

You are too much with your words, my dear! Love the shimmer of the gold. I need to make an all metallic front some day soon;))TFS!

Anonymous said...

You are too much with your words, my dear! Love the shimmer of the gold. I need to make an all metallic front some day soon;))TFS!

Elizabeth said...

Lovely card, Darnell, and I'm impressed by your ingenuity in covering up the squared off oval. The seagull is the perfect embellishment even if it is VOS :) Elizabeth xx

Bonnie said...

Wow! This doesn't look like a QCAS! It's gorgeous!

Patrice said...

Your card SCREAMS summer!!! I hope you'll link up at 52 Card Pickup this week!

http://www.oldbackporch.com/2013/08/52-card-pickup-232.html

Joyce said...

Well, this card screams summer at the seashore and just relax. So, I hope that is what you will be doing soon.

Kelly Griglione said...

Well now I get a chance to comment, and officially THANK you for joining the Fusion challenge! Love how you split the gold into thirds with the ribbon instead of just cutting it up!