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2024 Holiday

July 28, 2025

Pull My Arrow!

Hello Stamplings!

Sorry to hear that many of you had a rough week with extreme heat and storms. I hope you are hanging in there and staying safe. Here we have had unseasonably coo ... 🤫 whoa! I don't want to jinx it.

I had a little procedure last week. The battery in my ICD ran out of juice and the device had to be replaced. It's perfectly normal and, in fact, I've outlived two other ICDs since I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2007. The only thing is, I was told this battery would last until the end of this year, so when it started faintly beeping for 15 seconds every five hours during the day (always when I was sitting at my desk), I thought it was something on my desk or in the rolling carts under my desk that was beeping.

Long story short, it took me two days of tossing the joint before I figured out it was me! So dumb. Maybe you had to be there, but I must have looked like I was doing an I Love Lucy comedy skit! 
Anyflies, all went well and I felt good enough by Friday to make a card or two thanks to this being A = Anything Goes on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar!

Onefer
For this design, I turned to Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration and I went very literal with Jen's sketch. I immediately thought of a gift card holder, so I turned the sketch sidewayz. I used some beautiful sheets of flowered paper (I think from SU) which I've had for many years. Each color family comes in three monochromatic shades and different weights, which was perfect for this sketch composition.

When the recipient follows the arrow and pulls the vellum strip out, she will find this:
Fun to make and fun to receive!

Other Challenges

Cut It Up!: Monochromatic.
Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes option.

Twofer
Scrapbook & Cards Today held a wonderful Holiday Magic event on Saturday. The mittens and sediment are NBUS items from the kit. I embossed a black panel with the Stately e/f while Hammy and Stanley scampered to the top of their cages, poised for action. They did a stellar job of schplattering the base with diluted white acrylic paint before I added the mittens and warm wishes cut from snippets

Challenges

Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.
Snippets Playground: Anything Goes using snippets.
~~~

So what happened was, my friend Susan and I went shopping a coupla weeks ago. We thought it would be fun to buy identical shirts and wear them when we went out to lunch together with our husbands. We were curious if they would even notice. 

And did they notice? No, of course not! In fairness, Susan and I sat across from each other in the restaurant rather than next to each other, but still! You gotta love 'em! 

As we were walking to our cars, Susan and I sat next to each other on a bench and I asked the guys, "Do you notice anything?" 

Ask that question and you'll see a look of sheer panic flash across a man's face!🤣

~~~

I.D.E.A.S. CalendarA = Anything Goes

You will find a linky tool below for you to share your creations with no restrictions! It's a free-for-all and you never know ~ your creation may help motivate someone out of their creative schlump! 

I love seeing what you create, visiting you, and 
pinning your designs! 

Thank you so much to everyone who shared their designs last week! Mwah! 

~~~

Enjoy your week! 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 join as a follower! 
*Life is too short!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

41 comments:

  1. Great cards !!!
    And the shirts ......great !!

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  2. Two great cards, Darnell. I love the surprise element on your first card and your second card is so striking in the colours you’ve used.
    Glad you’ve got your ICD sorted, I have visions of you crawling around on your knees trying to find the cause of the beeping. I had to smile when I read the story of the matching shirts. I’m sure my hubby wouldn’t have noticed either. 🤣 xx

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  3. I am so glad you figured out your battery! I hope this one lasts forever. A great idea to use that card sketch for a gift card. Two funny about you and your friend and the shirts.

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  4. I don't know how you could even sleep with that beeping! I am glad you figured it out and got your battery replaced. Now you'll be able to outrun us all I'm sure! Your cards are lovely. I haven't had anything See's in years!! Your little prank was made even funnier to me by the obliviousness of your husbands. You two look like twins! Have a wonderful week, my friend!

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  5. I'm loving that pretty purple paper, Dolly! It has the look of handmade paper. What a great idea to use this sketch for a gift card holder! Those tiny mittens are adorable and show beautifully on the schplattered black background! Kudos to the boys on their schplattering!

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  6. Forgot to say that I'm glad you are recharged and hopefully good for a long time to come!

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  7. Love that creative way to present a gift card. That purple paper is gorgeous. It looks like handmade paper. The mittens look warm and cozy. The lads did a great job of creating snow. Men are most definitely from Mars,

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  8. Glad you procedure went well Darnell. Great cards. I like the gift card one-great design and colors, Your Christmas one is stunning with the metallic papers and splatters! Got a nice laugh out of the matching shirts, I may have to try that!

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  9. So pleased you have stopped beeping and all went well xx Love the purple delight and great idea to make a card holder. And adore the bright red gloves with the snowy background. Yep….typical men….like the shirts though. Sending hugs my dear friend xx

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  10. Love the gift card holder card, Darnell. And the second card, too - great splatters by the boys. Too funny about the matching shirts! And I can imagine the panic on their faces when you asked them, "Notice anything?" LOL!

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  11. Beautiful paper on card #1! Both cards are great, and NBUS products used - kudos! Your story on the shirts is great, but your last comment is HiLaRiOuS (and oh so true)!

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  12. Lovely cards, as always and I'm pleased to hear that your procedure went well once you'd figured out where the bleep was coming from!! The story of the matching shirts was a classic - men can be so unobservant, maybe it's good to panic them occasionally with that sort of question 🤣🤣

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  13. I’m glad to hear that you were an able to figure out the beeping noise and everything went well! I know how much the beeping of the smoke detector low battery can drive me nuts, so I’m sure you felt the same.
    I love that sliding arrow for the reveal of the gift card-so fun! Great holiday card-I need to find my mittens die and use it for a card. That’s so funny about the shirts-typical male brains-not much attention to details!

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  14. Your cards, as always, are lovely. As I often do, I got a good laugh reading about the shirts. I can almost guarantee my husband would not notice it at all. Even when I come home with what I think is a different style of hair cut, he doesn't see much difference even when I point it out. (Which, of course, I have to do because he doesn't notice!) Love him to bits, but it can drive you nuts sometimes.

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  15. Super post, Darnell, and two awesome cards!
    So glad you're not beeping anymore!!! Yes,
    we do have some heat - about 30C plus humidity!!!

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  16. I am glad to hear that you got your battery sorted before it ran out completely. Love the cards especially the sliding one. Thanks for sharing your same shirt story, what a hoot xx

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  17. Love your Christmas mittens. Thanks for joining Rudolph Days challenge

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  18. Well I'm sure glad that you discovered your battery needed to be placed and you got that taken care of. And also glad to see that you were able to get into your craft room and make some cards and enter the Seize the Birthday challenge with it. I love the wonderful supplies of the gift card inside. Great idea! Thanks again Darnell

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  19. Awesome cards Dolly. I'm so happy you felt well enough to make those this past week!! :) I'm so thankful you are feeling good. I LOVE the matching tops. You and Susan much have been laughing the whole time you were trying them on and buying them. :) Of course the guys didn't notice. Do they ever??!! I can imagine the look on Mister's face when you asked him. :) Thanks for the laugh! And thank you for your IDEAS Challenge. It keeps me making cards! :) xx

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  20. Love both cards and thanks for skipping over to the Snippets Playground with the second one. Look at you getting all festive!

    Love the duplicate shirts!

    Good to hear your found out what the bleeping was and got it sorted and are now recovered enough to craft again. xxx

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  21. So glad you got recharged and were ready to make some wonderful cards, Darnell. The lavender paper is fantastic and what a great idea for an arrow to let the recipient know there is something hidden inside. Those mittens are adorable on the perfectly splattered background, compliments of the boys.

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  22. I adore your mittens card and many thanks for the laugh about the shirts which I like too. I wanna get one, they are my style. :-)

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  23. Love the different textures and both colorshemes of the cards!

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  24. Where’s the energizer bunny when you need him? 🧐 Great quick n easy cards. You crack me up (thanks) with the “do you notice anything?” 😂😂 Thanks really needed a chuckle today.

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  25. First of all, so happy you are doing well and things have stopped beeping! Fabulous cards today, Darnell and a fabulous photo of you with your shirt twin!

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  26. A great way to give a gift card, such pretty papers, and I love the framed mittens too. So funny, men don’t notice things at all do they! Glad you’ve been fixed 😘 xx

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  27. So glad to hear you are no longer 'beeping'! and that all is now well.
    Loving your cards Darnell - a lovely way to present a gift card, and as for that schplatter, I think the boys need to come for a holiday Down Under and teach me how to do it so perfektly
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  28. Purple and fabulous! I am loving your birthday card! Thanks for joining us at FMS this week! Look after yourself!

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  29. Love your idea for a gift card. The split arrow worked perfectly! The matching shirts story made me smile. I'm sure my DH would never notice, either.

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  30. I'm so glad you got updated and no longer sound like the Road Runner and happy it went well. That paper is just beautiful on the gift card. It's a gift by itself. Wish we could all have shiny mittens like the ones you made. They look great on the snowy background. Love the shirts and not surprised the men didn't notice. They are men.

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  31. Beautiful cards! And, love the shirt story with your friend! Men have a hard time noticing things, lol!

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  32. Fabulous cards, Darnell. I love the sketch liberties. So inventive for a GC holder. Those mittens are wonderful and the back panel is quite cool. The storytelling is another favorite of my visits. Glad you had your pattery replaced and that you're feeling well enough to craft. As for the shirts, hilarioius that the men didn't notice. And that panic look I get it.

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  33. That's too funny. How could they not notice the shirts? Lol... I thought when I saw your card that purple was your favorite color since that was our topping this time and that is my favorite color, so I was naturally drawn to it. So pretty with the pattern paper. Beautiful card, Darnell.

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  34. What a fabulous gift card holder and I love the flowered paper in that pretty lilac Darnell, and then your wonderful bright red mittens over the black background...such a great contrast, and finished perfectly with the white spattering and lime green die cut sentiment. I had to laugh at the hubbies not noticing the matching striped shirts you and Susan were wearing, and their look of fright when you asked if they noticed anything...lol. I often say I think I could have two heads and mine wouldn't notice. x

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  35. so glad you're feeling better after your battery change :)
    Awesome cards and I think you look like twins' with the matching shirts :)

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  36. That's men for you never notice anything unless it involves themselves lol, yours shirts are gorgeous, two beautiful cards Darnell as always plenty of thought goes into them, so pleased you got sorted after the bleeping and your well xx

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  37. Oh, that's pretty faux-handmade paper on your gift card holder, and clever idea for the sketch! I'm laughing about the shirts, tee hee! What fun! Such a guy thing. You both look very happy and lovely in the picture. Glad you figured out the beeping and got yourself all recharged! Cute Christmas card, too, with the big sentiment and cozy mittens. They'll be needed with that dark snowy background!

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  38. As usual it's not a Monday post for me, but I so glad for your IDEAS because it does help me focus, even if I'm week out. Wonderful cards Darnell and so very pleased you've your battery issue sorted.... reminds me of a time when during house renovations we lower our lounge ceiling, and the 'dumb' builders left the fire alarm attached to the old and of course time later the battery was dying and beeping itself mad... lucky we knew where abouts it was and there was a handy down light close so hubby could reach in and kill it. Love the matching shirts and the 'man' issues.... happens here allt he time. Have a fantastic last day of the month, hugs Robyn

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  39. Thanks for the giggle! Such a simple and effective way of incorporating a gift voucher onto a card - and such a pretty card too! I like the shiny mittens as well - the boys did do a stellar job on that very stately background! The lime green sediment works well too (never would have thought of that)! Hugs, Kate!

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  40. Hi Darnell love the card, gorgeous as always. Had a good chuckle at the matching shirts and the men not noticing .

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Thank you for commenting on my blog post! I read and appreciate every one! Mwah! (Sorry I've had to set comments to moderate because of excessive spam.) Darnell