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!

May 9, 2022

NBUS Flowers IV and Commenting Woes

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you had a lovely weekend and made a lot of memories however you spent it! We had to postpone our plans, but all is well and I made use of the creative time to keep going with my basket of flowery NBUS. I'm going to get right to it because I have lots to say about commenting further down.

Seven
The NBUS stamp I used for this design is "Luminous Poppies" from Memory Box. The square frames are from MFT, the NBUS fabulous die is from "Fabulous Phrases" by Concord & 9th, and the "you" die is from Winnie & Walter. I'm not sure if you can see it, but Hammy glossified the poppies.

This design is a CASE (copy and share everything) of a beautiful card I received from my dear friend Mac Mable whose blog is The Sweetest of Peas. Here is the card she sent me:  

Isn't it stunning? I was so intent on CASEing this beauty and have kept it at the ready since my birthday in 2019! I got there in the end! ðŸ˜²

ChallengesMemory Box (flowers), Just Us Girls (Word Week: flowers), Snippets Playground (Must use snippets. I used snippets for frames and die-cut sediments).

Eight
The NBUS artsy tulip stamp featured in this design is "Creative Chaos" from Visible Image. It was all the rage when it first came out and, as so often happens, I dropped what I was doing and sent my fingers off shopping for it. Then it sat. And waited. And waited. (You see now why I had to make using these beautiful stamps a single-minded focus. They have been more than patient!)

The background is a piece of pp and the card frame and "enjoy" sediment (from Penny Black) are cut from copper paper. The stamps from the set have been heat-embossed in copper. Hammy added the extra little dots of bling with a peg stamp.

I had so much fun using the copper e/p that I found other suitable pieces of pp and went on a batch run, making six cards in total.  

Commenting Woes

Blogger has done another "enhancement" when it comes to commenting on our blogs. This is what I've experienced:
  • Some readers were unable to leave comments on the NBUS challenge. I discovered it was because I had chosen the "embedded" comment format for that blog. I changed it to the "pop up" format and those readers could again leave comments. [If you have embedded commenting on your blog and you need to change it, go to Settings, Comments, Comment Location.]
  • Some readers have left comments on this blog, but they didn't appear on the comment section at the end of the blog post. This problem seems to be more complicated. (Thank you, Blogger, she says sarcastically.) A couple of possible reasons:
    • If you are a no-reply blogger and you leave a comment on a moderated blog, Blogger intercepts the comment, puts it in the spam folder, and the blog's owner may never see it. If you'd like more information, this website explains a no-reply blogger and provides a solution: Let's Add Sprinkles
    • As a blog owner, if you see comments in your spam folder, you move them to your inbox, and click on the link to "publish." You then get a pop-up response from Blogger letting you know that the comment has published

      In the past, that was sufficient. As of two or three weeks ago, that changed and I discovered that many of these comments were NOT being published, in spite of the message that they were!

      It's ridiculous, but blog owners are now required to do an additional step in order to actually publish the comments of their readers who are either no-reply bloggers, or who are not Gmail users, who are using non-Google web browsers, or who knows why? Normally these comments would be in the "Awaiting Moderation" section, but now they are mixed in with those not awaiting moderation. 

      To check and see if you have any of these non-published comments lurking in your reader's comments on your dashboard, the solution is a bit of a pain, but your readers will appreciate it. After all, they took the time to leave you a comment!
      • From your dashboard, click "Comments" and scroll down the right-hand side of each comment. As you scroll, pictures will appear with options to 'remove content,' 'mark as spam,' or 'delete.' However, if you have unpublished comments (in spite of the steps above) you will see a checkmark as the far right picture. If there is a checkmark, you must click it and a popup box will ask if you want the comment published. Affirming that will finally ensure that your reader's comments are published to your post. Phew!
These are just my observations and opinions. If you know of a different or simpler solution, or I have given incorrect information, please let me know. To me it seems like another blatant attempt to convert everyone to Google products, but in doing so, Blogger is causing aggravation to both the readers AND the blog owners who eventually are going to get fed up and stop commenting and/or blogging! That seems a stupid shoot-yourself-in-the-foot plan when you've got stiff competition from Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest!

Or I could be wrong and someone just made a software error! Make sure you report any problems to Blogger help ... squeaky wheel and all that. By the way, as a blog owner, you might want to let your readers know if you are moderating comments in order to cut down on spam. That way they won't be expecting their comment to be immediately published. 

I'm very sorry if you've been frustrated leaving me a comment. Rest assured that if you do leave me a comment, I DO see it, and I do everything I know to publish it to my blog post. Sometimes this takes me a few days. Mwah!

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy! 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!)






53 comments:

Mac Mable said...

Now that's a striking first card, which I love Darnell. Thank you so much for the shout out and YAY to CASEing my card....I am honoured my friend x.
The stamps, the stamping, the colours, the heat embossed copper and your mixed media second card looks amazing and well done making six cards x.
Thank you for the tips about commenting Darnell......

I cannot find any of my comments that my fabulous bloggers have left me....Absolutely none of my comments have shown up on my blog....NOT ONE!!!!!
They are not in spam, awaiting moderation, the bin and I of course 'published' them but nope they are not to be seen....I am upset as we all take time to write comments.....(I tried your pop up helpful tip but mine was already on it x).

kiwimeskreations said...

A pair of fabulous cards Darnel, and it's good to see that Hammy is assisting you and earning his expensive upkeep!!
I had noticed the 'comments' change, mainly on my phone, so I just go through the (apparently) published page, and any that have not appeared in the 'awaiting moderation' box, I check and then publish or delete as required... as you say, and extra step we don't need!!
Blessings
Maxine

Aquarius said...

You are doing a grand job working your way through the NBUS flowers with two more beautiful cards. There have certainly been some frustrated would-be commenters and your explanation should make things a bit easier to understand, thanks.

Sarah said...

Fabulous cards Darnell and the fabulous CASe was well worth keeping handy...it's beautiful!! The watercoloured poppies are stunning. Thank you ever so much for your Commenting "how to". It has been a complete mystery, of late, as to whether comments I have left have been received. I have tweaked my settings so that hopefully everything is now in order xx

Carole said...

Two great cards darnell. You have done a lovely CASE with your first one...modern and pretty. How I forget to stamp on PP!! what a great idea and I love the gold embossing. Interesting about the comments. What is the difference between embedded and pop up please? Hope you are ok, sorry your plans got cancelled. Hugs xx

Jeanne said...

So sorry your plans didn't work quite the way you'd hoped, but it's great you got to get crafty! Oh that poppy card is just lovely, Darnell. You nailed the color wonderfully. The yellow card is terrific and has a great art journal feel. Well done! Oy, such an issue with commenting. I wonder really if they are just trying their best to phase out blogging all together so that people will turn elsewhere. But what a pain for everyone involved. I hope it gets resolved where commenting and getting them published is simple again. Big hugs!

R's Rue said...

Absolutely lovely. Have a wonderful day. Enjoy.

Karen said...

Another set of lovely floral cards! I especially love those orange and yellow poppies! I've been hunting for some frame dies, and I'm off to see if the MFT ones you used are still available. A friend loaned me a pile of hers which I die cut over the weekend, so I'm set for now. Her dies are no longer available. Sorry to hear about the Blogger issues. When my SIL set up my blog many years ago, he used Typepad. By the time I realized I could have a blog without a monthly payment, transferring all my posts was a major undertaking so I just continue with what I know!

Vicki Dutcher said...

Lovely CASE! The subtle background is awesome. Thanks for joining and it just us girls

Irish Cherokee said...

Love your cards. Beautifully done.

Thanks for the tsch on commenting. Google has an apparent love of nightmares. They definitely love to cause their subscribers to have them. I know it makes me wonder if it is all worth the time and effort.

Love, Hugs and Blessings,
Jim

Gerrina said...

Both are beautiful! The design of the first is stunning and I just love the big flower on the 2nd card and the warm sunny colours! Hugs, Gerrina

Greta said...

What beautiful cards, Darnell! Love how you cased Mac's card! Luckily, I found where someone said pop-up comments fix a lot of the problem, so I did that. I was wondering why some people say they saw my comment, but it still didn't publish. Now I understand. This is all so totally ridiculous & frustrating! Makes me even less interested in blogging, which is a shame. Something else to isolate us more.

Linby said...

Beautiful CASE of your bday card it looks so lovely. Your second card is amazing and I too have that Tulip stamp (unused!). You've prompted me to get it out - inking it might be another matter.

I found out about some of the spam comments from another blogger, sure enough they were waiting to be published.

cuilliesocks said...

Hello Darnell, our cards are gorgeous, beautifully designed and such beautiful colours.
Thanks for sharing the info regarding commenting. I'm noticing that some of the blogs I comment on seems to have a slightly different comment space, and I have far less comments than I used to have.o I just thought that people are sometimes too busy to comment, but this just might be the reason that you're talking about, thanks Kate x

HilaryJane said...

Love these cards Darnell and I am not surprised you kept Mac's card to CASE, who cares how long it too, her cards are always fabulous. Thanks for all the tips re commenting, I have had the problem a few times and will look into your solutions. I already use gmail and chrome for my blog because of previous problems. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to look into it. Much appreciated. We all know how frustrating it is when you have taken time to comment and it appears to vanish xx

Cat Craig said...

Darnell, beautiful cards, so full of sunshine.

Thank you too for the information on comments. Its doubly frustrating since I got emails on all the comments that were listed with check marks, so from my view they had posted...but sadly not. I've at least gone through the last month so they've all been sorted.

Sandra H said...

l love both of your cards Darnell great design for your first card and lovely flower for your second equally as lovely and colours are so beautiful you so talented enjoy your day x

LesleyG said...

Oh boy I had no idea all that commenting schtuff is going on. I’ve had a few issues so thanks for the info. Great cards though! Xxx

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Hi Darnell, first of all a BIG thank you for clarifying me about not-published comments!!! On my blog I had a lot of unpublished comments and before now I didn't understand why!! (And a big part of the unpublished is by the ladies of my own DT!) I saw the comments in my blogger mail list, but not on the site... Now I used the checkmarks to say to Blogger that they aren't spam and I will have an eye on the next ones! Clever you and very helping!
Then about your cards: the CASeing of Mac Mable card came out fabulous! Love the sunny blended colours of the poppies and the whole design! The textured cardstock is a lovely background!
Also the second (eight) card with the tulip is so sunny and striking, all the shining copper gives a fabulous hot touch!
Hugs

Pat said...

This poppy card is so pretty Darnell, and a great CASEing of Mac's super card, and the bright sunny colours of the background paper on the next looks great the VI tulip stamp heat embossed in copper and the card frame and added die cut sentiment complement it perfectly. Thank you for explaining the fixes for the problems we have been experiencing with Blogger recently, and I have changed my 'embedded' format to the 'pop up'one. Making my e-mail address public by ticking the box on my profile is something I have always shied away from and a lot of people already know that I have 'comment moderation' and they can message me through a comment, but I have now added this to the piece I already have above the comment box so hopefully this is clearer to everybody. x

Brenda in IN said...

This poppy card is gorgeous. I love the frames you added. A stunning background paper and I see why you had to order this tulip stamp/ The copper looks pretty with it. Thanks for explaining about the waiting comments. I did have some and would not have known what to do or where to look. A clear post for us to find them.

Cheryl W. said...

I love the graphic design of your first card. I can't seem to pull off CAS graphic cards. I'll keep trying, though! Thanks for the explanation re: blog comments. I went through the comments on my blog and discovered one that hadn't been "approved" for publishing. I clicked on the check mark next to it and, lickety split, it was immediately added.

The copper EP on your second card is SO pretty. I need to get me some of that! Guess I'd better finish this comment and go shopping.

Lisa Elton said...

Beautiful cards Darnell you've CASEd Mac perfectly! So happy to see you in the Just Us Girls gallery!

Sue said...

Hi Darnell, Fab cards.

Hope you have a nice day. Sue

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

Two stunning cards Darnell and a lot of info re commenting. Thank you for the information and how to sort it, will have to go and have a look now,

Sue xx

Linda said...

Two beautiful cards Darnell. Stunning embossing on the second one and you've CASE'd Mac's design perfectly, love the stamp!
Thanks for the info on the commenting thing. I've noticed a lot less commenting recently ..... still getting the views though. I just put it down to the fact that I'm rubbish at commenting on other peoples blogs .... I must try harder I know.
I've done what you suggested, thanks for the tips, so we'll see how it goes.
Blogger eh!! ...... if it ain't broken don't fix it is my motto!
Take care hun xx

Viv said...

Fab-u-low-so card Dolly! (Mac's is pretty good too so I shall just steal your ideas again - LOL!)

Blogger to coin a well known phrase where I come from is
'doing my head in'!
Commenting is a nightmare and finding comments is just another nuisance we can all do without! x

Marilyn said...

Your cards are beautiful! I have been having lots of trouble with Bloglovin also. Thanks for the info
Have a great day!
Marilyn❤️

frommycraftroom said...

Fabulous CASed card - well worth the wait.

Oh technology! and those who are making things "better"! If it's not broke don't fix it!

Bonnie said...

Blogger can be very frustrating! Thanks for the tips, Dolly!nPlease don't stop blogging because of this. Your yellow flowers and frames are a perfect CASE of Mac's card. I want to CASE your Creative Chaos card! I love how it looks embossed with copper!

Em Louise Fairley said...

Love the cards and thanks for the commenting solutions... I know a mutual friend of ours was very frustrated by it xoxo

Darlene said...

Once again your cards are just BEAUTIFUL and inspiring my friend! Thanks for all the Blogger info! I know Blogger can be frustrating with their always changing ways issue but personally I figure at least I'm not paying for it every month so will just have to put up with their ways and try to figure it out as they make changes without letting us know. They certainly have a way of 'keeping you on your toes' with all the changes. HUGS & HAPPY DAY to you & Hammie!

Lynette said...

Two fabulous cards, Darnell! The copper embossing is wonderful, and I really love the way you did the poppies on the first card - so, so pretty! Sorry about all the commenting woes.

Sarn said...

Two BEAUTIFUL cards here Darnell. I adore the one you've submitted for your Snippets Playground homework. A great CASE of Mac's card. So cheerful.

Adore that VI flower image and the background stamps that are with it. Thanks for reminding me about embossing onto paper.

As for commenting . . . thanks for the extra explanation. I switched to pop up comments recently, but still got some genuine comments going into the spam folder! Am keeping an eye on my spam folder for a while!

Sorry your plans had to changed. I hope you're doing ok.

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Sarn said...

I know my last comment was long . . . but I just wanted to say thanks for meeting me round the back of the bike sheds to share the spoils of your satchel! Your flask contents were very warming indeed! And, I'm positive someone informed me that Maypole dancing was good for the hips!!! LOL! x

Donna said...

Stunning cards Darnell! I will check out my comments, thanks for the tip my friend!

Glittered Paws said...

Two beautiful flowers - love your case on the first one. And glad to see that Hammy helped a little. Love the cooper embossing. Hate it when bloggers messes with us - I have enough problems with posting a blog vs. now having to check the comments. Sigh. Hope your Mothers Day was great.

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

MAc's cards are awesome and you have certainly done her justice with yours Darnell, it is gorgeous. I love your copper card too, of course it needed to be done a few times more :) As for spam, yep! I have a few there, what I do now is go into the Comments on my editing page and find them there.
Thanks for the shout out about this and sharing your gorgeous cards.
hugs
Faith x

Nan G said...

Oh what a mess google makes of it. Now the important stuff…love the cards. Omg! I’ve had that visible image set in/out of my cart so many times. Now I know I have to have it. Take care. Nan and the Girls

Carol L said...

Your cards are both beautiful and so striking and a wonderful use of dies. As for blogger, it just fits in with the rest of this world today. Everyone has to control everything and I swear they're trying to aggravate everyone into giving up blogging for one reason or another. First they destroyed the copy/paste for graphics to be added to blogs and gave us about 5-6 steps to add them now, then the comments were not showing up. I've even had issues with trying to center the type in my posts. I found out how to find those hidden comments and publish them by sheer accident, so now it's double check/triple check/uncheck/copy/paste/delete, etc etc. They sure know how to take the fun out of blogging and everything else associated with life these days! I hope you're doing well and healing in a speedy way too!

Leslie Miller said...

I love how you're staying on track with the flowers, Darnell. These two are beautiful! I know you love poppies and can't get enough, and these are particularly pretty the way you've colored them. Love the shading and the bit of fun in the stems. Cool layout based on Mac's beautiful card. I had to go look up the Creative Chaos stamp set. Very artsy and is a super cool look on the subtly patterned paper you chose. There's a beautiful glow. Oh, those comments. Let's face it, we connect through the comments and the feeling that we're included in the sisterhood is very important to many of us. I don't use other social media outlets, so if the blogs quit working then I can see withdrawing more and more. To check for spam I look at "comments" on my dashboard, click the down arrow at the top of the column, then click "spam". Some days I find a few, other days I guess people just are not compelled to comment. We are left to wonder.

Jean said...

Your card are just gorgeous! I had no idea about the comments. I better check my b,ig. Thanks for sharing that info.

Di said...

Gorgeous card, as ever, Darnell. I really thoroughly did read what you said and agree to a certain extent. Once again, Google/Blogger have rolled out an update without ANY proper 'end user testing'. In other words - can the guy/gal in the street make it work for them - not just Blogger? I know loads of fancy terns from many years in IT development - ha ha! Rolled out is a well known 'smart' term for - not yet really finished but 'let the users find the problems'. That's how MS works for sure - and now Google as well. Sigh..

Hugs

Di xx

Bobby said...

Your CASE of Mac's card is gorgeous, Darnell. I love how the inks on the poppies blend. I too thought of getting that Visual Image flower and resisted. I do love it and your mixed media treatment of it is fabulous.
I haven't had much trouble with Blogger that I know of but it may be because I do all my work on a Chromebook. I don't moderate my comments and had never looked at that comment list before. It doesn't have any checks next to them so all my comments must be published. I'm sorry others are having such a difficult time with it and glad that you know enough to address a solution.
I don't understand the reason for people to use "no-reply" blogger. Some ask questions and you can't reply except on your blog and do they really go back there and look?

ElizStewart said...

Darnell... what a fabulous CASE! You more than did justice to Mac's beautiful card. We were lucky enough to have Mac as our guest designer last month and I love everything she created. I want to thank you for your discussion of the problems with commenting. I have been having problems and will now go and try and fix them. I will also share your blog entry with the design team who has been have discussions about recent issues. THANK YOU for investigating! Also thank you for joining and sharing at Just Us Girls this week!

Brenda said...

Oh goodness, your first card is so pretty Auntie! I love the frames around t he flowers and the word wrapping around the frames. That Mac is a very talented one indeed and you CASED her card beautifully. Love the background on your second flower card, the copper embossing looks so beautiful on top of it. Ahh, leave it to you Auntie, to find out the issues and tell us when it comes to Blogger! I haven't had any issues commenting (knock on wood!), or getting comments going to spam, but I did notice that some comments weren't coming in as "new" ones and were in with the "published" ones. When I hovered over on the right, that is when I saw were it wasn't published. I sure hope this helps everyone who is having so many issues with Blogger as of lately! Thanks Auntie, as always you are the best! Hugs, Brenda

Susan said...

Thanks for the info on commenting on blogs. And thanks for the inspiration on how to use that Visible Image stamp - I have it but haven't been sure what I want to do with it. Your card is gorgeous with all that rich yellow and the daisies in the background. And do I ever love the way you used the frames in the first card - they add so much texture and interest.

Denise Bryant said...

Hmmm on the comment situation! I have been so frustrated by it lately, just in the last few weeks. On some blogs, I get a button at the bottom of a post that I want to comment on that says 'Sign in with Google'. I click on it only to get nowhere! Back to the same button over and over again. I am already signed in with Google. Occasionally, I have found a workaround, by clicking on a previous message (posted by someone else) I can sometimes get a magical opening that lets me start writing a comment....and then I can post it. Subsequent comments seem to work on those same blogs on other posts too.... once I am recognized as being singed in, but there are others where my workaround doesn't help a bit! Cannot figure it out, but I am not very computer savvy! It sure has been frustrating!

Denise Bryant said...

Beautiful cards! I love the pretty flower images you used, and the colors are wonderful!

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

Two beautiful floral cards, Darnell - love the angled frames on card one and the gorgeous embossing over the pp on card two! Ugh to the commenting problems and thanks for sharing your insights!!

BożenA said...

Hello Darnell. Your comments on comments are so valuable. Recently, I myself noticed that a few of my comments left on my friends' blogs did not appear. It's a bit frustrating because I really want to support my friends on their blogs, pay back for their support, and it turns out the blogger is preventing me from doing so. My first thought was that bloggers would not accept my comments and delete them. Thank you for pointing out all these problems, I felt better right away :-)
thank you, Darnell
hugs, xx

BożenA said...

I am fascinated by all the cards featured in this post. The first CASE card is excellent, as beautiful as the Mac card (although we all know how difficult it is, almost impossible) and you did it.
I also love the second tab, it's so artsy with all those extras in the background. I can't stop admiring her !!
xx

Pia S said...

Card number 7 sure has a wow factor with that original, fabulous frame layout!
And I love number 8 for its colors and copper details. I don't know how you managed not to use that flower sooner, I'm not a flower person, mostly because I find them tricky to color, but this flowers has so many design options...