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 21, 2020

I Tip My Hat and Thank You

Hello Stamplings!

How's your day going? I hope you have/had a Sunday Funday! We're all fine, grateful to make it through another week in good health when so many haven't. Thank you for your good wishes about my mystery allergy attack last week. I'm all better now and still have no idea what set it off. 

I'm plugging along with my Christmas cards. In a year where I've basically been a shut-in, you'd think I would have had my 223 cards done by August! Hammy and I talked about it and he reminded me of all the days I sat numbly staring at the TV nursing a wodka. Oh. That explains it.

Kidding, just ki(hic)dding! These are the jokes, fokes.

Onefer
I made this card using a Sizzix embossing folder made for Tim Holtz's Alterations line. After embossing, I painted the snowman using my Sparks "Mermaid Sparkle" paint. Then I lightly stenciled a coupla snowflakes in the corners using my Pebbles Pearlescent Chaking Set that hasn't seen the light of day since the turn of the century.

I used aqua fun foam as a mat behind the snowman panel and purple fun foam to die-cut the joy sediment from Lil' Inker. The whole shebang was adhered to a card base and another card got its wings. Sorry. Wrong story.

Challenges

Twofer
This month's Zoom craft session with Lolly and friends focused on using our powdered inks. One of the videos Lolly recommended was this one by Dina Kowal: Watercolour Powder Techniques. After Zooming with my friends, I tried one of Dina's techniques which involved taking an e/f and then scribbling over the raised portion with a white crayon. Then when you apply your Brushos (or other brand), the wax from the white crayon acts as a resist.😲I really love how QACAS and effective this simple technique is! 

Hammy added more interest with some schplatters of POSCA white paint and wallah, stop the clock, another card got its wings. Sorry. Can't help it. 

Challenges

~~~

My fun and lovely DIL Rachel sent me a coupla 2020 funnies. Enjoy!

And my favorite:

I've given up drinking 'til Christmas.
Bad punctuation.
I've given up. Drinking 'til Christmas.
~~~

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans!🦃I have many things to be thankful for and one of them is your friendship and encouragement. Mwah! 💋

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy, but keep safe! LITS!*


*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrollingClick CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

63 comments:

Loll said...

Wonder twofer cards using that fun snowman EF, Dolly! Love the first one with the sparkly paint. Gorgeous colours with the paint and fun foam. Your second card is so cool with the crayon resist. I didn't watch that part of the video, but you mentioned it worked well. It sure did! I LOVE your snowman with the beautiful shades of blue background. Will have to give that a try but need a white crayon first. :) Thanks for sharing with us at CAS Christmas! Love, Lolly

Tina Z. said...

You made me laugh loudly with your last joke. I totally agree, especially if we would have homeschooling and lockdown until Christmas.
And I have to try your technique, your cards are stunning.
Crafty hugs xx

Sue said...

Hi Darnell, It is 08.25am on Sunday morning here. Cold, but the sun is trying to break through the murk.

Loving the cards. 223, by heck I thought my 30 odd was a lot:) LOL

Have a lovely day. Sue

kiwimeskreations said...

Thanks for your laugh out loud (literally) jokes Darnell - needed them!
Loving your snowman cards, and the thought of them flying is amusing too...
Hammy did a great job with the shplatters - he's really upping his techniques and skill set. You must be a great teacher
So glad to hear the allergies have settled into the distant past, and until those Christmas cards are done, you have better lay off the afternoon wodkas..just stick to the morning ones :)!
Stay safe
Blessings
Maxine

Julie B said...

Glad you allergy upset has passed and you could concentrate on your Christmas cards! Two fab ones to add to the stash. Not tried the wax crayon technique, may have a go, I still need more cards for my stash! :)

Gerrina said...

Stil like blue the best, so the twoder is my favorite, but this snowman has been a favorite for me for so long...and i still didn't buy it :) Hope you have a good weekend and stay strong and healthy!

Barbara said...

Good to see this winter blue creation at Double D. Thanks for sharing. I love your winter blue cards.
Barbara DT

Stamps and Paper said...

Two lovely creations Darnell....wow that's a lot of cards! Stay safe


Anne

Jeanne said...

So happy to see you are keeping creative and busy. Lovely cards! I'm relieved to hear you are feeling better, too. Thanks for sharing your lovely cards and the funnies. Clink! Another card got its wings! Hee!

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

WOW! such different techniques making fab cards Darnell. Good to hear your better. The jokes are just Brilliant. Keep at it. I've now writeen all my cards and addressed the envelopes! - so I thought and then remembered I have about another 6 to do, not bad considering it's still November!
Faith x

Glennie June said...

Sorry to hear you had a little spell with allergies!! Shawna is now taken shots for that. She has had a rough time! Love the cards and Larry and I especially enjoyed the jokes!! Lets have a talk soon!! Love you dear friend!

Glennie J

Aquarius said...

Two great cards using that super snowman E/F - good to see tyou and Hammy are keeping busy

Chris said...

Two gorgeous cards using the snowman ef- much better use of your time than guzzling those wodkas! :)) I particularly love the second one, what a clever technique and the results are stunning! Thanks for the funnies too- we need all the laughter we can get these days.
Take care
xx

Diane said...

Fabulous fun post and super creative cards! I will have to give the technique a whirl in my spare time (whatever that is)!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, just the two of us this year!!

Bunny said...

Love the blue card especially. And what your DIL sent you was so funny. Love the sentiments with the bad punctuation. Pretty funny. [Bunny]

designbydonna said...

It is not good for me to bring my coffee to the computer and open your blog. Always at risk of sputtering coffee all over the place. I do love the way you write. Love your cards too. That crayon technique really makes a spectacular card. I love everything snowman.

cuilliesocks said...

I absolutely love your twofers Darnell, they are beautifully designed, and such pretty colours too. Keep safe,Kate x x

Brenda in IN said...

when all this is over give Rachel a big hug for those funnies today. I laughed out loud at both and I'm thinking drinking until Christmas might just be a good idea. You used several products on your first card that I've never heard of but may need to look into. That card is so shiny and pretty. I love the aqua foam. Using the white crayon came out great. I still have a coloring book and crayons from my grands so I will try this.

Jean said...

Haha - love the punctuation quote! PErfect! And, those snowmen cards are just darling!

Bonnie said...

Two awesome ways to use this embossing folder, Dolly! Love that Mermaid Sparkle paint! So shimmery! The crayon made a great resist for the Brushos! I laughed out loud at the funnies! Tell Rachel thanks for the laughs! xoxo

TK said...

Darnell, your cards are great -- LOVING that white crayon one -- what a technique! Your result is wonderful.

Your puns? Always great, and always make Hubbs ask "why are you laughing at with yourself again?"

Happy Dance said...

Those are darling little snowdudes! I have tried painting on embossed images, only, huh....looked like my painting on tissue paper at the LH! YOURS is chock full of shimmery color and gorgeous sheen (not Charlie, or Martin for that matter, but I undress...)(di, di, I mean digress!). It's very festive! And the purple fun foam is perfect for the sentiment. And your twofer...Oh he turned out so well! It's a great technique and it shows so well amid all your pretty blue/green/purple colors. I had to laugh at Rachel's funnies! #1 is spot on (but not on the carpet please), and #2 has been my philosophy since about early May. Guess I'd better go get more gin, lol!! Miss ya girlie. Stay safe! xo Bev

Nan G said...

Fab cards Darnell! Hammy splattering white paint instead shimmer!.....whoa! And you’re ahead of me by at least 2 cards...haven’t even started mine. The 2020 jokes are sooo spot on! Glad I got my hurricane supplies still cause the stores down here have run out of everything. Guess there’s a 2nd wave of panic buying. Oh well, I stay home even without a pandemic. Take care. (Masked) Hugs from me and the girls.

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

Two fab cards with that snowman ef! I have one of those somewhere around here that hasn't seen the light of day either; at least it hasn't been since the turn of the century! Will have to try the wax crayon technique - you got amazing results, Darnell! Take care and chin up!!

Christine Alexander said...

Finnabair sparks acrylic paints are my Fav, love your shparkly snowman and now I need to pull my crayon. the resist effect looks great :)
Happy thanksgiving and thanks for joining us at CAS Christmas.

Verna Angerhofer said...

Two wonderful snowman card designs.

Pat said...

Two gorgeous cards using that cute snowman EF Darnell, and love the pretty turquoise colour you have used to paint the snowman, so sparkly and pretty, and the idea if using a white crayon to act as a resist has worked beautifully on the second, and love the colour of the Brusho background and a very lovely die cut sentiment too. Glad you and the Mister are keeping well. Take care. x

sandie said...

super cards Darnell, love the texture of the first one and all that gloss. My brain too tired to understand how you made the Time Out one....but I can see that it looks fab and oh so arty too and we always love to see you in our gallery and that you leave us a lovely comment on our blog. Thanks for joining Time Out x

Leslie Miller said...

Okay, I'll stop whining about my 80 Christmas cards that I've got only halfway done. Such cool techniques put to work on these cards! Two different ways to use this embossing folder, which I would never even suspect was an embossing folder on your first card. Haven't seen crayon resist in years. I had to buy a whole box of crayons back in the day just to get a white one, sheesh. I love your funnies. Your favorite is my favorite, too, tee hee!

Jeanne H said...

Love the colors of both cards and the darling snowman reminded me of one I have never used, so I just dug it out. Thanks, Darnell.

Trina P. said...

Glad your allergy attack cleared up.
Terrific twofers using two great EF techniques I have not tried before. Love the colours on both. The shimmer on the first is gorgeous. For your second, the crayon resist turned out so well. Thank you for joining us at CAS Christmas.

Susan said...

Two fabulous snowman cards, Darnell. Love the non-traditional colours in the first card, but even more, love the second card in glorious blue!

Darlene said...

WOWZA! These are both just fabulous! I love coming here for inspiration ... you never let me down! Great job my friend! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Double D ‘Winter Blues’ challenge! Good Luck and we hope you’ll come back often.
Darlene
DOUBLE D Challenge Blog
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS
Please stop in for a visit!

Cat Craig said...

That shimmery snowman is something for sure, Darnell something lovely. Loving your background centric card too. Lastly I had to laugh out loud at the funnies. Thanks for the giggles.

conil said...

Brilliant...glad you're not done with your Christmas cards either. Now, I don't feel like such a slug. Pretty Frosty cards you made, I love the crayon technique idea...putting on my loooong list of things to try. Glad your sinus attack wasn't prolonged...who the hell knows what triggers us. If we did, we wouldn't do that thing, whatever it is, maybe. The joke is inspiring me to drink. Thank you.

oldpunca said...

I've given up too. :-) Drinking till this madness ends. :-) Thank you for this. It makes me laugh.
Your two snowman are fantastic each in different techniques. I like Christmas cards in blue.
Stay safe! Hugs, Sonja

Lynette said...

Oh my gosh, Darnell - 223 Christmas cards??? Love these. And I love the humor, too.

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Two lovely cards and thanks so much for the tip about the white crayon! A new thing to try! :)
Fun post as always! :D

Lisa Elton said...

Two completely different looks and each one is fabulous! Love today's funnies ~ heehee. Happy Thanksgiving to you too Darnell, I'm thankful for you as well <3

Cheryl W. said...

Two fab cards. I was very intrigued with the white crayon technique. I need to dig out the crayons, the Brushos and give that a go. So glad your allergy issue has been resolved. Happy Thanksgiving to you. I am thankful for a lot, and that lot includes you and the entire online crafty community!

Karenladd said...

Oh, I have that same Tim Holtz embossing folder and now I'm going to have to try painting the snowman too. I've only ink blended, which always look rather messy and doesn't have that gorgeous shimmer and shine that you achieved. Wait, I need special Mermaid paint?? Oh then, never mind. I'll just sit and admire your design instead.

GerJanne said...

Wonderful twofer cards! And I like to read your stories. I think you love to laugh a lot! And that's always the good spirit!

Linda said...

Glad you're feeling better hun.
Two gorgeous frosty designs ...... love that snowman! He looks fabulous in the pearlescent paint and I must give that second technique a try with the crayon, looks really cool! xx

Kate said...

Happy thanksgiving Darnell! Glad you're feeling better! Two fabulous cards and two fabulous jokes - what a great way to start the week! TFS!!! Hugs and continue to stay safe!

Em Louise Fairley said...

Gorgeous cards, Darnell xoxo

Mac Mable said...

What a shimmery and fun snowman on your first unconventional coloured Christmas card x. Great technique on card number two and another two cards have got their wings...x. Thanks for the funnies at the end too x. I am so glad you are over the mystery allergy attack and 'Wow' to you making 223 cards....eventually x.

Vicky Hayes said...

I'm so pleased you're feeling better Darnell. In fact, if the jokes are anything to go by, you're feeling MUCH better!! Lovely cards and I've never been more tempted to invest in Brushos having seen your amazing background! Loving the mermaid sparkle paint too! Happy thanksgiving to you and yours :) Vicky x

Redanne said...

Oooh, loving the shimmer on the first one and that is such a great technique on the second one - definitely one to try!

Rachel's ditties are brilliant, so funny and probably true for many!

Keep safe and well my friend and lets hope the vaccines come through quickly.... Hugs, Annie xxx

Ina G said...

Oh Darnell I love the result you got with the AA Sparks. Love them.
I am swooning over your second card for our Colour Challenge at JUGS. The background is magical with just a hint of the three colours. Your snowman turned out beautifully with the white crayon. Something I haven't done in a long time. Thanks bunches for adding to our Gallery.

KandA said...

Oooh what gorgeous cards Darnell. I LOVE the super schparkley snowman on the first.... and the fabulous technique on the second is amazing xx

Ros Crawford said...

Loving the snowman cards Darnell.. Is there no end of techniques? People are so clever and kind to share. I did laugh at your jokes, We need more laughter... Be safe and well.

Maria said...

Happy to hear that you are feeling better! Wonderful snowman cards! Love the pretty blue shimmer on your first card! And, fab background on the second one! Two great techniques! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!! Take care, hugs!!

Marlena M. said...

Yay to you getting better! Love the organic artsy feel of both your cards Darnell! I've never seen the second card's technique before; it's so cool~

Barb Ghig said...

It's always so much fun to visit your blog, Darnell! I'm so glad you're feeling better!
You have created 2 really fabulous cards...I love your shimmery snowman on the first one and your background on the 2nd card is amazing! Great idea to pull out some old goodies from your stash for a play...I think it worked out perfectly! So happy to see your fabulous card in the gallery at CAS Christmas...we love it when you play along :)
Thanks so much for making me smile with your great jokes...I needed that today :) Take care of yourself and have a very Happy Thanksgiving ~ Barb xx

Greta said...

Oh wow--what great ways to use an embossing folder! Love the shimmer on the first one & what a great technique with the powders! Now I just have to find my white crayon! Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!

Craftychris said...

So glad you are feeling better my friend! I love your cards and some fab techniques too, thank you. Take care of yourself and stay safe! Hugs xxxxxx

Cathy said...

Fun twofers Darnell! Love the sparkly snowman, perfect for the gallery at CAS Christmas, Cathy x

Fikreta said...

these cards are so nice!

Stephanie Lanzalotto said...

I love both of your cards, Darnell. I especially love the Brusho one and I have to investigate that video. Thanks for sharing the link, and thanks for playing our "quick" challenge at Time Out. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season despite how weird everything is... there are always joys and silver linings to be found, no matter what. Be well. xx

HilaryJane said...

Love these 2, the technique you used on the second card is particularly intriguing. I think I might have to try it. Love the look you have created with the brushes and the splatter. Thanks for the jokes too, I know I can rely on you to make me smile xx

Julia Aston said...

I just love this snowman - and you've used him wonderfully on both of your cards - so fun learning new techniques! Thanks for sharing with us at CAS Christmas Sis! xx

Amelia Breytenbach said...

This is absolutely gorgeous! Wonderful designs. Thanks for sharing with us at Double "D" Challenge.
Amelia (DT Double "D" Challenges)

Anita in France said...

Isn't he a handsome chap, Darnell ... both in his shimmery outfit and accoutrements of non-traditional Christmas colours ... and in that clever resist brusho scene! Well done to you and Hammy for giving out those wings!! Thanks for the funnies :):):)! LYAMYLALMA! Big hugs and bisous, Anita :)