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!

August 24, 2026

Et Wallah, Anything Goes!

Hello Stamplings!

Welcome to a new week! I hope it's a great one! We've been busier than ticks on a deer with appointments and lunches and seeing long-time friends. In spite of it, I managed to tuck in some relaxing crafty time. I hope you've had some, too!

It is A=Anything Goes on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar, which is always a fan favorite here! 

Onefer
Fortunately, last week my updated Artistic License arrived by post, so I was able to take an old favorite hydrangea stamp (Mondo Hydrangea from Essentials by Ellen) and color it in unusual colors. Normally hydrangeas grow in hues of pink, blue, purple, and I think white, but I thought this beauty would be a perfect candidate for the current Color Hues challenge of yellow and orange. Besides, I haven't painted with my Ziggies in ages and I so enjoyed it! 

Then a funny thing happened, which seems to be happening every time I create, which is fine since funny things are good. I stamped the hydrangea in Versafine black onto watercolor paper. When it was dry, I stamped it again using Versamark and clear embossing powder. I already had my embossing stuff out, so the image was powdered and dried with the heat gun. 

But as the powder was heated, it started turning a sort of funny white/gray color. "Ern?," I thought, laying my right ear on my right shoulder, "what's happened to my clear powder?" I was committed at that point, but a good attorney got me out. Wait. No. Different story. I finished the embossing and then I saw that the embossing powder I had out on my desk was white, not clear. Now that I think about it, since clear e/p and white e/p are both white powder, it's a wonder I haven't done that several times before! 

After I finished painting the hydrangea, I stamped the sediment from Gina K. and blended yellow ink around the rim to frame the image, bring your eyeballs into focus, and keep the card one-layer.

Beside's Marcia's Color Hues challenge, I'm playing in AAA Birthday (Flowers); Inkspirational (Word Prompt: Garden); and We Love Stamping (Summer Blooms).
Twofer 
For this quick Christmas card, I die-cut some pretty red cardstock using a NBUS die from Scrapbook.com called, "Nested Swiss Dot Rectangles." For the center, I used one of my favorite stamps from Simon Says Stamps set called, "Holiday Greetings Mix 1." I stamped it in Versamark and heat-embossed it in white. (After checking the label!) 

Sorry you can't see the shine from the embossing or the white gel pen I used to fill in the berries and leaves, or the white acrylic paint schplattered about by Hammy. I attached the finished panel to a snowy embossed background panel.

Stanley's job for this card was to punch out the red swiss dots. Needless to say, the little darling went about it with reckless abandon!
Playing in: ABC Christmas (R is for Rectangle); Addicted to Stamps and More (Any Occasion); and Allsorts (Embossing: Heat or Dry - both used).

~~~

Enjoy your week! No, seriously, enjoy! LITS!*

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse! Stay safe!

Mwah!
*Life is too short!

14 comments:

Em Louise Fairley said...

Both cards are beautiful, Darnell xoxo

Jeanne said...

You sure know how to have fun, Darnell! These cards are wonderful. Hope Stanley was able to shed those red dots lest other hamsters think he had chicken pox. :D

Vicki Dutcher said...

A good thing when a “mistake” turns out! Wonderful hydrangea card!

Bonnie said...

I love this hydrangea, Dolly! I wish there were yellow hydrangeas. I would surely try to grow one! I have done the same thing with my embossing powder. They look the same in the container! Your Merry Christmas card is so festive and fun! You are brave to let Stanley take care of those little dots! A fun way to start the week!

Marcia Hill said...

Your Hydrangea in the yellows and oranges is BEAUTIFUL Darnell, and I too wish they came in that color!! So glad your updated artistic license arrived in time to create this yellow & orange beauty, and I love the subtle inking around the edges of the card too! And don't feel bad about the white & clear embossing powders getting mixed up...you are definitely NOT alone on that one!! Your red & white Christmas card is so pretty too, and you were quite brave to let Stanley deal with all the dots...hope he used some control when popping those out!! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Color Hues and making my color pairing SHINE my friend! Hugs. :0) Marlinda

P.S. How's Kevin doing? Haven't heard any updates in awhile...100% healed??

Donna said...

Gorgeous cards Darnell! I like the colors of your hydrangea and the white embossing turned out stunning! Second card is beautiful too, nice embossing and like that die!

BożenA said...

Your yellow-orange hydrangea is fantastic! Very surprising, yet incredibly beautiful. I love how you delicately applied the yellow ink around the edges, perfectly balancing the color.

The red on the second card is perfect for a Christmas card. Simple and very elegant. You never cease to amaze me, my dear Darnell.
hugs,
BożenA xx

Karen said...

The hydrangea is absolutely gorgeous! And it's always a pleasure to find you in the Color Hues gallery! I love the Christmas card, too. I have that stamp and never imagined it in white on red, but it is wonderful--there's likely to be a few in my Christmas card stash. (I surely need a bunch, and there's no crafting here until mid-September! Have a great week!

Pat said...

I love your yellow hydrangea Darnell, and I think the white ep over the black ink has greated a wonderful anomally and it's finished brilliantly with the orange sentiment and the touch of yellow ink blended around the edges. The red card with the rectangule of dots frames the large vertical 'Merry' and the white embossed leaves and berries either side of it, and I love the white embossed falling snow on the background card, and some pretty white spattering too. Stanley has certainly very enthusiastically popped out those red dots. x

JoAnn said...

I think your yellow hydrangea is beautiful. Your Christmas card is amazing - I love it. Thanks for sharing both of these beauties. Have a great week.

Cheryl W. said...

I fell head over heels for BOTH of these cards! One is just as pretty as the other. Since I can't pick a favorite, I'm just going to have to share my affections with both of them. Please don't tell the authorities about my wayward ways.

Lisa Elton said...

Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if there were yellow hydrangea blooms! I like your way of thinking, Darnell! Two pretty cards, my friend!

LesleyG said...

Love the yellow hydrangeas, and maybe a happy accident with the powder 😃. Your Christmas card is delightful too, and I like how you tell us the how, because it helps my frazzled brain take in all the detail. Stanley needs a good brush, just saying, 😂, looks like he’s got red dandruff 🤣xxx

Cat Craig said...

I love that yellow hydrangea and the embossing looks good, the gray shade adds some outline but isnt as stark as black. Happy Accident. Your Christmas card is beautiful...I love the white embossing on teh red field.