Peachy Keen, Coral

Hello Stamplings!

What's happening? How is everyone? Things seem to be so quiet in Blogland. Or at least in my neighborhood. Is it a late Feb Funk? Did I just invent that or is it another outtake of Covid? Besides the pandemic droning on, I'm guessing it's because this time of year we are up to here with winter in the northern hemi and hankering for spring when there are longer days of light. 

Not to mention the Blogger issues. What the Feb Funk is going on? Some of my friends' blogs aren't loading at all, some aren't publishing comments, some are no longer translating to English, some followers are dropping like flies, and some photos and copy/pastes are no longer loading in posts. 😞😟😠

But hey ho, let's keep our chins up, better days are coming, and all that. To lift your spirits, I brought you some flowers from the garden along with wishes for a lovely day!

This very QACAS card makes me happy and I hope it does the same for you. I used a NBUS stamp set called Printed Rose from Fun Stampers Journey. I inked the first rose in the background with a peach CP ink, made a mask, and then inked the second rose in front with several inkings. The leaves are from the same set and the sediment is from GKW. As you can see, Hammy went to town with his winker!

Challenges

• Color Hues: Peach and green.
• Less is More: One layer card - flowers.
  
• The Flower Challenge: Use your latest stamps or dies. I only bought this set last month which has to be a record for time spent on NBUS Mountain!
• TIME OUT: Congratulations on your 7th year! Happy Birthday and thank you!
  

Twofer

At a Zoom craft session with friends, Loll led us through a technique where you bleed your stenciled images with sponges. Here is link to a video describing the technique: Kristina Werner. I used a Tim Holtz poinsettia stencil and makeup brushes to ink up the stencil with DI. 

After wards we were to use our brushes or sponges to bleed the ink around the images and make them intentionally messy. I mean, arty. I didn't think I would like this technique because the images were so clear and pretty after inking through the stencil, so I let Hammy do the messy bit. And it turns out that I do like it! It's different and cool and that was something I always wanted to be in high school. Wait. What? Okay, well, cool then.

I used an MFT stitched tag die to cut down the stenciled panel, added a ribbon, and popped it up over a pretty coral e/f floral background. The peace die is from PTI's Wonderful Words Christmas, cut from a snippet of gold mirror.

Challenges

• 52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Tags on cards.
  
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• UnstampaBelles: Anything goes.
  
• Watercooler Wednesday: Marsha's All About Occasions.

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

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click 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!)

Texture and Goofballs

Hello Stamplings!

I feel guilty sitting here typing this on a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies when so many people are suffering from terrible weather and power outages. I continue to pray that the conditions improve soon. It sure feels a lot like 2020 is still with us and I'm continuing to be on the lookout for locusts.😱

We crafters carry on no matter what and even when we can't craft, we love seeing what our friends are creating, which keeps the circle going. I wish I could be on the computer longer to leave more comments, but know that I am seeing all your blogs and marveling at your creations!

Onefer

I wanted to use a jar of my NBUS Nuvo Embossing Mousse and the challenge at the February CAS Mix Up Card Challenge was the perfect opportunity. Nancy is the host and the prompt this month is Stencil Heat Embossing. 

To make this birthday card, I die-cut my own stencil using my NBUS "Prism Triangle Collage" from Birch Press Design and spatulated the mousse through it onto a charcoal gray card panel. Then I shot my heat gun at the moose, er, mousse and watched it plump up and expand. It looks cool in person, but I had to get a nose-close photo to really show it:

After that I ran the whole shebang through my Gemini using a Darice e/p to give the card even more textured personality. Then I popped up a simple sediment from GKW and attached the panel to a shiny silver card base. The texture and shine IRL are terrific. 

Challenges: CAS Mix Up (stamping, stenciling, embossing), SSS Monday Challenge (add some texture), and Watercooler Wednesday (A/G with a masculine twist).

Twofer

This little number karacks me up. It was fun to make. I used the dog and cat from the Paper Smooches "Chubby Chums" set. Then I went through several Penny Black Christmas stamp sets to find the perfect Santa hat that would fit their chubby heads and I stamped and colored and cotton-balled it times two. 

I think the sediment (which I had the critters hold up for me) is from Technique Tuesday. I used the Stately e/f to frame this unlikely couple of kooks, then masked the edges and let Hammy schplatter snow everywhere ... in addition, of course, to winking the Santa hats.

Challenges: CAS February Christmas Card Challenge (hosted by Susan with a theme of dogs and/or cats), Christmas 24 Challenge (cute animals), Christmas Cards All Year 'Round (beginning with C or D [cats/dogs], and Pixie's Snippets Playground - Ruby's Memory (snippets were used for the critters, hats, and sediment).

Reminder re Twofer

Thank you for all your wonderful 🎈BALLOON🎈 entries so far in this month's Twofer Card Challenge! The challenge ends on February 24th at 11:55 p.m. PST. On the blog, Designer Sonja has a fun Twofer to remind and inspire you! I hope you can join in the fun!

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😢I hate to leave you on a sad note, but I want to let you know that I've lost two members of my bloggie family this week. Both crafty women had been bravely fighting cancer; one for a very long time and the other for a very short time. Both of these talented and wonderful women died too young and will be greatly missed. It reminds me again to tell you how much I appreciate you.💛

I hope you enjoy your day ... fully, totally, and truly enjoy your day. LITS* Take care and keep safe.

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click 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!)

Chocolate and Purple

Hello Stamplings!

My heart goes out to those of you suffering from record-breaking cold temps with a topping of snow and ice. Please stay in and stay well! And Happy Valentine's Day! I'm sure some of you are finding ways to keep warm!💋

If you're reading this, you are prolly into cards and very thankful to have this craft to immerse yourself into. That is, if you can ignore screaming kids and husbands on the other side of the craft room door. I have a friend who used to make loud sobbing noises when that happened and suddenly everyone left her alone!😂

Warning: Look away if you are on a diet, this card is gonna make you want to be bad!

As many of you know, the Less is More challenge is one of the first challenges I entered when I first started blogging and I learned so much over the years from them. This month they are celebrating their TENTH blogabirthary!! Congratulations, LIM, and thank you for all the years of creating stimulating, inspiring, and fun challenges for us. To celebrate, they have chosen the awesome prompt of chocolate, perfect for February!

For my card, I created a QACAS and amusing design. I used an old NBUS stamp set from Lawn Fawn called "Treat Yourself." The sediment is from River City Rubberstamps. Of course, I matted the panel to a matching milk chocolate card base.

Twofer

Another QACAS design. This Valentine's Day card is for YOU. I had a leftover snippet of alcoholic glossy paper in my stash inked in purples and blues, so I cut the lil' inker loopy love word die from that. It's all shiny irl. The solid and pp hearts are also cut from snippets and arranged by Hammy.

I used an MFT rectangle stitch for the front panel and then I used a NBUS MFT die called "Stitched Strips" to make the diagonal stitches running across the middle. By that I mean that each line is not cut individually, but the die consists of all those lines together as one. I really didn't know what to do with this die after I bought it (cough) years ago, but I finally saw Jules use it on a card and the light bulb went off in my head! It only took me another year to use it, but thank you, Jules, for managing to light up my dim bulb!

Challenges

• HLS February CAS: Love is in the air.
• Shopping Our Stash: Love is in the air.
  
• Watercooler Wednesday Challenge: Tristan's prompt, "All About Occasions."

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A Little Help Here

Dreamstime

So ... this happened.

Last week I got an email from the owner of a challenge congratulating me on receiving recognition for a card I had entered. As I always do, I left a thank you on the challenge blog, and then I went to a tab on my side bar called "Recognition," which is a page that lists every recognition I have ever won in nine years of blogging and entering challenges. I entered the date and link to the challenge blog, along with a small photo of the card and a small photo of the badge. Please forgive me tooting my own horn, but there were lots of listings on the page over nine years.

Minutes later I received an email from Blogger saying that my "page entitled 'Recognition' was flagged for malware or virus and as a result the page has been deleted."

Period. Kaput. Gone.

No information was given as to what prompted the flag, or how I could remove whatever prompted the flag, or how to file an appeal. I know it is a free service to us, but where's the service part?

After the blood came back to my head, I starting trying to figure it out. I assumed the offender was the challenge badge or link I had just added ... or maybe that was just a coincidence? How was I to know? But, wait, that particular challenge is also a Blogger blog, so if the challenge is still there and the winner's badge is still up on their side bar, then they must not be the cause of the flag. After all, it wouldn't be fair to only take down my page when all I did was a copy and paste.

I went to Blogger Forum and spent two hours trying to find any information on this subject. I finally started my own question to ask if there was anything I could do to get my page back, but all I've heard so far has been crickets.

All the discussion on the Forum about deletions is about people having their blogs suddenly deleted, which is, of course, much, much worse, but I still feel very sad that I lost my entire page of every recognition. (And don't you find it ironic that Google's blogger help forum is stunningly unhelpful and nearly impossible to maneuver in terms of subject matter?)

So what do I do? Stop playing in challenges because of the links? Stop adding badges and hope the challenges understand, even though I'm not sure that is the problem? 

I'm not worried about my computer because we have virus and malware protection. Wouldn't you think Blogger, which is run by Google, would have the same level of software, if not way better, to protect them from any viruses or malware that this old grandmother blogger might innocently download??

If you have any ideas as to why this happened or how any of us might protect ourselves from this happening in the future, I'd love to hear from you. 

And if you suddenly stop seeing my blog ... .😖😢

Actually, unless Blogger can override it, I could always bring the blog back via a backup, if I were backing it up, which I haven't been. So all this has reminded me how important backing up your blog is. I've now backed mine up! To make a backup, go to your dashboard and click on settings. Scroll down and you will find "manage blog" and you will see "backup content." 

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

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!💕

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click 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!)

Lifting Spirits With Balloons!

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well! A lot of you are in the deep freezer and I sure hope you can climb out of there soon. That's no fun being that cold.

It's hard to belief, but it's the 10th already, which means Twofer Time! I thought about choosing hearts for the prompt, but the challenge runs past VD, so how about 🎈BALLOONS🎈? 

And if you still need a Valentine and you have a heart-shaped balloon, well there you go for one of your occasions! Or, if you just want to make cards to lift two peeple's spirits, playing in TCC is a fun way to do that!

Here are my Twofers to inspire you:

I used an unmarked stencil for my 🎈BALLOONS🎈 prompt on my two different designs for two different occasions.

Onefer

Until the trend happened of using long-handled makeup brushes for ink blending, I made a mess of blending balloons (and anything else). No more!👏I'm tickled pink with my balloons. I used Catherine Pooler inks. I drew on the little balloon strings and the confetti and big balloon strings are from SSS's "Celebrate" stencil. The sediment from "Critter Celebration" by Penny Black was white heat-embossed. 

There was no winking here because I like the balloons the way they are, so I asked Hammy if he wanted to try his paw at putting the front panel on the turkoyce card base. I love how he intentionally attached it asque for even more interest! In fact, I'm so impressed that I've decided he deserves an upgrade to those mini carrots that come already peeled. As you can imagine peeling those tiny unpeeled carrots take him forever and that's just a waste of his talents.

Challenges

• Addicted to Stamps and More: Birthdays.
  
• HLS Stencil: Anything goes.
  
• Seize the Birthday: Anything goes (w/o option of Hearts.)

Twofer

This was a fun QACAS design to make. The pram is "Baby Carriage" from Memory Box. I used the same stencil to ink on the pink balloon and then drew the balloon string. The elegant border was a gift from a friend and the v.o. sediment banner is from GKW. 

Challenges

• HLS CAS: Love is in the air. Nothing says L.O.V.E. like a new baby!
  
• Make the Cards: Congratulations.

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I can't wait to see how you use a 🎈BALLOON🎈 stamp, die, or stencil to design two different layouts for two different occasions for the Twofer Card Challenge!! We are pleased to have Greta as our Guest Designer this month! You will love how she and the talented Design Team have made Twofers to inspire you! Thank you for playing!

        

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

We are only four days away from Cupid's holiday! Enjoy it the best way you can during a damnepic! For anyone alone, I'm sending you a mwah through my mask and a huge hugagram!🤗

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click 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!)

Hello Month of Love!

Hello Stamplings!

Ah, Feb Rooary, how we love thee! As someone with an unusual first name and hard-to-pronounce maiden and married surnames, I feel your pain. I have always thought the Greek God of Calendars gave you an impediment right from your creation. Fortunately, you were then passed on down the line to the Hellenic Handmaiden of Holidays and she gave you the best holiday of all! LOVE! 

Things always have a way of working out.💕 

In celebration, I am greeting you with a card. (Although I must add that I don't know why you had to rush January out of here so fast!!)

On watercolor paper I masked one-third of the card and brushed on a red line of demarcation to give my die-cut hello sediment and heart something to stand on. But before I added them, I used a stencil from The Crafters Workshop to add a bit of red fishnet stocking effect to the panel. Then I added a triple die-cut hello from MFT. (I cut it first from an old snippet of background which was white heat-embossed and smooched and then I cut it twice more in deep lipstick red.) 

The heart die-cut is from a free die that came with my Gemini, Jr. I heat-embossed it with fried brick embossing glaze. (You don't really fry bricks, you fire them, but some typos are just too fun to fix.) It's my first time using one of the glazes. Hammy suggested we glaze it twice and here you can see the cool leather effect that happened.

Challenges

• Color Hues: Red and pink.
  
• Little Red Wagon: Total eclipse of the heart.
• The Paper Players: Tic Tac Toe. First column down: die cut / red / stencil.
  
• Perfectly CAS: Stencil.

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(Thank you, Rachel!)

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!* Take care and keep safe!

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

RIP Captain Sir Thomas Moore. 1920-2021.💜

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click 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!)