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!

December 6, 2013

C(hristmas) A(ngled) S(tar) ~ ATSM #74; CTS #56; CQC #218; NBUS #80

Greetings Gang!

And we've whooshed back around to another weekend and closer to Christmas!
 
Today I have another QACAS card, with no stamping even, and several photos to share.  I know you're all busy, so I'll get right twit.
 
It started with two of my go-to challenges.  First, I saw these scrumpilicious colors at ColourQ:
and then I saw this sketch (by super card artist Chrissy L.) over at CAS(E) This Sketch:
 
What more do you need?

Well, how about some SU! designer series paper from a year or two ago, still NBUS, percolated so you can just pop out paper Christmas ornaments?  And how about some VOS stickers, as well?
I know, right?!  Am I not the luckiest?  So with that, I made this:
I also used a NBUS impression plate from PTI called "picnic plaid."  And that's really all there is to it.  It is so CAS that I'm going to enter it in the CAS (clean and simple) challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!
GRAB OUR BADGE!
~~~
 
It's time to introduce our two newest friends!  It is a pleasure to have you meet:
 
My PhotoDottie Seubert of Something Crafty by Dottie.  Dottie has been blogging since 2011, which means she has lots and lots of wonderful inspiration waiting for you to enjoy!
 
My PhotoLynne Robertson of Lynne Robertson Creates.  Just look at that face!  You know you want to go and meet her!  Lynne has been blogging just a little over a year and I know she will be delighted to have you visit.
 
Thank you, ladies!  It's wonderful to have you join the party!!
 
~~~
 
Yesterday we had a cold snap.  I'm just going to say right up front that if you live anywhere where it gets really cold, do not take a drink of your beverage right now, because you may spit when I tell you we got down to a frigid 27° F!  Don't hit me! 
 
I know some of you are having ice storms and dealing with MINUS 27° F and I'm very sorry about that and I hope you're okay.  But the fact is, around these parts of Northern California, PLUS 27° F is dammedably cold!  I mean, seriously, it is very nipply to us.  And also for our poor plants who are not used to such cold.
 
So when I finished breakfast and drew up my patio curtain to go out to the Playhouse, what to my wondering eyes should appear ~
Our deck is surrounded by three fruitless mulberry trees whose leaves (as big as dinner plates) provide amazing summer shade when we sometimes have temps over 100° F.  As we get into winter and the temperatures drop, the trees start to lose their leaves over a period of a few weeks.  You know.  Like normal.  Not this time!  They lost almost every single leaf overnight from the shock!
 
I thought it was worthy of a picture.  As I was taking it, and even though it was only 38° F at that point, I noticed Hitler calmly having his breakfast of sugar water.  I imagine he needed it more than ever to help keep him warm.  He normally winters here coz he's no dummy, but if this keeps up, even our first-class Hummer Hotel may not be enough to keep him from flying south!

I also noticed I can turn my photos into pencil sketches on Picassa, which I thought was pretty kaool:
 And finally, I'll leaf you with an artsy leaf memorial shot: 
 ~~~

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!  Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor! 
 
  
 
*Life Is Too Short!

Project Details
Paper  SU! Ornament DSP and Bermuda Bay; PTI white
Stamps     None
 Ink None
AccessoriesStickers from stash
Impression Plate:  PTI Picnic Plaid

58 comments:

Lisa Elton said...

Darnell your card is fabulous, love the striped star! Great use of the NBUS. Your fallen leaves look like something out of the Twilight Zone!!

Lisa Elton said...

Oops almost forgot...thanks so much for joining us at the ColourQ!

Shannon J said...

I LOVE the star - it's perfect for the CASE this Sketch Challenge! Never for a second would I thought of that myself!! And those poor little trees, they froze their butts...I mean leaves off!!!

Marybeth said...

Love your card and no stamps! Love that 3d star.
I thought the leaves were a vine, and that would be scary! Amazing that they all dropped because of shock. I try and keep my feeder full too when it's so cold out.. Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Colleen said...

Great card Darnell...and no stamping, but you managed to get all the colors!! Yeah! so sorry about your tree...we are in the 20's and going down into the teens, and I am in the Portland, Oregon area...last year we had no freezing, this year already quite a few days! so stay warm and craft away...!! thank you for your always heart warming and kind comments on my blog!

Cathy said...

Fabulous star card Darnell, and great take on those challenges. Hope your garden recuperates, looks like you'll have lots of leaves to compost up! Cathy x

Sylvia said...

What a fun card, Darnell, love that pop out star! It is cold here as well, but not that cold! Thanks for playing with us at the colourQ, try and stay warm!

Alanna said...

What a fun card. I love the star.

Pia S said...

What a great CAS card with no stamping! Clever version of the sketch - love it!
I also loved reading your post. What a nice backyard you've got with this sweet little playhouse and trees. Before reading on I thought all the green leaves were something you had planted - lol.
Thanks also for sharing the information about the possibility to turn photos into sketches - I didn't know that, I will definitely give it a go too!

Sue said...

Wonderful card Darnell. I love the star and clever use of the sketch.
Wonderful photos, I bet you got quite a shock seeing all those leaves. The pencil sketch photo looks really fabulous.
I hope you have a good weekend.
hugs Sue xx

Redanne said...

Superb card Darnell, love that dimensional star, it looks amazing. What a shame about the tree shedding all its leaves.......reminds me a bit of Day of the Trifids....only joking. Love your play with Picassa, it is such a fantastic thing to play around with. Hugs, Annie x

Sammy said...

Such a fab card Darnell, and great if you're in a hurry to get your Christmas card done... All that stamping and colouring, while muchly amounts of fun, can be time consuming! I've just had a go as CAS too... And I managed to resist covering up all white space and adding embellishments and whatnot everywhere... I'm so proud! :-)

You know, we've had times here when it's gotten so cold, so suddenly, that we'd have 3 feet of snow, yet the trees still had all their leaves because they'd not yet had time to process! x

Ros Crawford said...

Terrific card!! So sorry about your trees ... that must have been quite a shock to see all those leaves!

Dana said...

Lovely card!! I love how you used a star instead of lines!!

Anonymous said...

This is such fun, Darnell ... the dimension on the star, the embossed background, the star on the star ... Quite Amazing Creativity And Splendidness! We just started a cold snap too so no leaves left either now (apart from the delicate stuff we wrapped up snuggly warm beforehand!)... the fallen ones don't look half as gorgeous as your luxuriant carpet though! Anita :)

Gerrina said...

Great vieuw all those leaves... Did you swep them away already? Here it´s just grey and rainy weather... Your card is great; love the stripes! Have a great weekend, Gerrina

Kim S said...

I thought this was a darned hard sketch - but you nailed it! What a wonderfully creative card! And I can't believe your landscape - it's like you live in the tropics, which is a little weird given your frigid(?) temps (Colorado gal here - you know nothing!) What a sea of green that you had to wade through!

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Hi Darnell, love your card, the star is great. You sure matched the colour inspiration well!!!!!!! It's 20F here this morning, but that is a normal low for this time of year. It was up to 50F on Thursday, so a little 'warm'. We don't get the extreme cold too often (too close to the lakes) but it's dreary at this time of year. However today the shine is shining, love it. Hopefully your weather warms up again. Enjoy the weekend, Shirleyxx

Joni Andaya said...

What a fun card Darnell! Love the star, Love your blog, you always tell your stories so fun and inviting. Have a wonderful day <3

Laurie Unger said...

It's been very cold here in the Washington state! It's now 23 as I type this - so wish it would rain and warm things up! Love that impression plate from PTI! It really adds that last umph to this card!

Pat said...

Love that big bold star Darnell, and the background embossing works a treat. Boy, that's a lot of leaf clearing to do!

jimlynn said...

Those are HUGE leaves!!! At least it'd make raking them up a bit easier - if you can get hubby to grab the rake! LOL! So neat to see have hummingbirds too. Ours are all gone for the winter.

WHY can't I think out of the box like you did for this card! Love your take on the sketch with such a fun stripe star. You're the star of the show on this one Darnell! Very nice!

Lynn

Karen Petitt said...

That is warm compared to us right now but am so very glad it's not minus 20 something, hope your trees recover. Gorgeous card, love that folded star. Have a lovely weekend xx

Heather North said...

Had to come check out your room when I saw your picture on a comment on my blog. Now I'm your newest follower. You are hilarious and I love your style! Thanks for the morning entertainment. Love the embossing folder you used and the way you interpreted the sketch. Now I must read to find out why you named the bird Hitler.

Jacquie Southas said...

Clever take on the sketch Darnell! Living a little bit south of you I COMPLETELY understand your weather whine - none of my northern friends had any sympathy for me yesterday when I whined on FB LOL - our forecast is for 27 tonight so we will be out tucking a few plants under covers for the night. All the dropped leaves is a sad, but amazing sight!

JD/ Jill said...

As always it's a perfect card for the challenges! Very nicely done. I enjoyed the pics...Always a pleasure visiting here.

Barb Ghig said...

Awesome card, Darnell! I love your textured background...it looks so fab with your striped star!

So sorry to see that your mulberry trees took such a hit with the cold! Although, that's not so cold here in NJ, but I understand it must be a shock where you are...lucky, ducky!
I love the pencil sketch pic of your playhouse, too...very cool!!!

May I ask, what does NBUS mean? I've tried really hard to figure it out, with no success...I know as soon as you tell me, I'm gonna hit myself in the head, right?

Thanks for another great post! I just love visiting your blog!

Geri said...

Awesome card! Quick, easy and so pretty - love the picnic plaid embossing folder. Your base paper is a perfect match to the color in the DP.

That is a whole lot of leaves to pick up! I feel badly for poor chilly Hitler and your trees!

Just to make you feel a bit "warmer", the wind is HOWLING and our current temp with the windchill is -38C (which is almost -40F).

Bet that made you sweat, right?

Sue said...

Your star is such a creative use of the sketch and looks great in those colours. Thank you for joining us at ATSM.

Bobby said...

One piece of paper with ALL the colors you needed. How often does that happen. And then to make a barn star from it. Yay! I love that embossing plate, too. I feel so bad for that poor little hummer. His water must have been frozen.

Claire said...

How perfectly CAS Darnell and a great combo of all those challenges! Love that embossed background. Couldn't work out what had happened in your garden until I read your post...what a pain having to clean it all up!

Unknown said...

Firstly Dippy - your card is fabulous.....love the star made out of dp, the embossing and the co-ordinated sediment. Secondly, thirdly, fourthly, fifthly (?) etc, etc........I am refusing to comment on the basis that I might utter some profanities!!! Don't get too cold..........hehe

Hugs.

Karendipity xxx

Unknown said...

Firstly Dippy - your card is fabulous.....love the star made out of dp, the embossing and the co-ordinated sediment. Secondly, thirdly, fourthly, fifthly (?) etc, etc........I am refusing to comment on the basis that I might utter some profanities!!! Don't get too cold..........hehe

Hugs.

Karendipity xxx

MaryH said...

You clever boots,you, to create such a nifty card with the NBUS & VOS & clear out a bit of stash. And it turned out very modern & chic looking too. Interesting sketch & I loved your take on it. Enjoyed reading about your diminished temps...at least it ain't snow! I heard that 'round Santee they could see it up on the mtns. We're still with the drearies, altho we did have some bright sun this morning. It didn't linger. Thankfully, no ice or snow, and I'm saying some prayers for those who got hammered. Especially those who lost power & have no heat. So I'm off to enjoy some of your earlier posts, as I've been MIA. TFS & Hugs.

Joyce said...

What a fun card. I love that big star you made, and placing it off to the side like that is a great look. Picnic Plaid is one of my favorite PTI impression plates--I'll bet you never put it away, now that you have used it once.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful card, really sweet! I did have to laugh when I saw your leaves! You must have been knee deep! Poor trees, I bet they got a shock. Andrew was complaining a bit about having to do our leaves again today, then I showed him your post and he laughed out loud! Bet the cold snap reminded you of Iowa. Let's see, what the temperature tonight.... 15F overnight, it's 18F right now but it feels like 9F. Ah, the joys of the mid west winter!

Hugs
Brenda

Angela said...

Darnell, your card for the CAS(E) sketch is so unique and striking and awesome!

Emily Keaton said...

Your card is totally perfect for a quick and clean and simple design! LOVE that huge stripey star :)

Kim Heggins said...

Love it Darnell, looks like it has been raining plate size leaves but then again I am not the one who has to rake them up. Your card is so fun and I love your take on the card sketch.

Loll said...

LOVE your card Dolly. The striped paper is PERFECT - don't you love it when that happens!!

Looks like you need to get out your wooly mittens and do some raking! :) Lolly xx

Barb Ghig said...

Yep, I definitely hit myself on the head...hard, too! When will I learn that when a blogger goes to the trouble of writing something on top and on the side, that I'm supposed to "READ IT"!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your sweet comments and explanation really made my day!

Carol L said...

I really like your take on the sketch with your striped star! Very creative! Unreal how all those leaves fell and they're still green! Back here in PA, when the leaves fall, they've already lost their green color! Brrrrr!! It's 29 here right now!!

Chrissy Larson said...

Ha ha! Darnell, you always make me smile. Love your take on the sketch and being a Florida girl, I totally understand how cold 27 can feel when you aren't used to it. Being in Iowa now, I was trilled to wake up this morning and have a number above zero on the thermometer...even if it was 3. ;)

cm said...

Fabulous card: a star that truly is the star of the show! Brilliant take on the sketch and in dabbling with your NBUS! No worries about your 'cold' weather being not as cold as ours - it's all about perspective. Freezing there, or here, it's all the same: a shock to the system, as your trees have made clear! Poor dears; leaflessly naked! Hope the temps climb so they can feel less exposed! My 'coping' suggestions: Marks Work Warehouse T-Max socks (I wrote about them on my blog), and a big pot of steaming hot, spicy chili. You'll be toasty in no time (a down duvet helps, too!!), Hugs~c

shirley-bee said...

Fab star cards, Darnell! And I'm impressed with your artful photography!

donna mikasa said...

Uber fantastic take on the sketch, Darnell! Brilliant idea to use that gigantic, yummy striped star!

And my sympathies to your mulberry trees! I can't imagine piles of GREEN leaves everywhere....just can't!

Sue said...

Fab card Darnell and loved the photo's sorry about your tree :( but we have a garden full of leaves right now LOL and its bitterly cold here lots of huggles Sue xxx

walchowDesign said...

Brilliant take on the sketch and colour challenge, Darnell!

Sorry to hear about your mulberry trees!

Hettie said...

Great card Darnell. Did you feel odd not getting the ink out?
It has been surprisingly warm here today - not even had my heater on in my room!
We have no leaves left on our apple tree now after all the winds we had the last few days!
Hugs
xx

Nan G said...

Good thing it was a quick and easy card, you have a lot of leaves pick up to do. :) Similar happens down here in my part of FL when we get a hard freeze. Have fun sweeping.

Kay Miller said...

What a fabulous quick and easy card! And how great that you used your "never before used schtuff" heheh! I just finally learned what that meant by reading your comment on Barb's blog! I had been wondering! I'm going to join your NBUS movement as I have a bad tendency to buy new things and then stick them away for hard times :)

Kelly Griglione said...

So glad you got to use even more new schtuff (is that how you spell it?!) Your barn star is perfect on the white embossed background! What a shock to see all the leaves down at once ... thanks for sharing a photo of that : )

maria f. said...

Hope you didn't hurt you back cleaning up all those dinner plates. But hey, think of it as an opportunity to drink cocoa!!! This star to represent that sketch is one brilliant idea. Just sayin'.

Betty said...

Great take on the sketch, Darnell. Love your star and the sentiment shape on it. Thanks for playing along with us in the CAS(E) this sketch! challenge and hope to see you again.

LeAnne said...

Love your star, Darnell....very cleverly done with the sketch too! AND your "winter" pictures...I am amazed you still have hummers, but we are in the east, so I guess they know it's warmer where you are! And so happy to see your little recipe box at the end! :D Thanks for playing with the CQC colors this week!

Leigh Penner said...

I love your take on the sketch, Darnell! Great idea to use the star!
And, yeah, it's a little hard to sympathize with your weather... it's extremely cold here (-37C this morning when we left to go to work). Brrr!

Bonnie said...

That NBUS stuff is really coming in handy for QCAS cards! Love this stripy star with the star center and that embossing folder is giving me embossing envy! 27­­­° is COLD! We stayed at 34° all day yesterday with drizzle. When it's that cold and wet it should be snow! That's much prettier!

Greta said...

That is one super neat card! Love it! Usually 27 would sound cold, but this year we went to single digits! I feel sorry for the poor hummers who do winter here & I've been feeding my other birds like crazy. Today we got to 31 or so & the snow is starting to melt after 7 days! At least we don't have that terrible ice.