Eclipse It!

Hello Stamplings!

I hope this finds you well wherever you are! So many storms, floods, and fires. 

We had a grass fire only two miles from us last week that scorched a thousand acres. It was scary, smoky, and the acrid smell is still in the air days later. Considering it was such a small fire, I cannot imagine how terrifying and awful it is near the huge wildfires in France, Spain, Italy, and in many America states. Keep safe, my friends. Praying for those impacted and for all the brave firefighters, farmers, and individuals helping in ways large and small.🙏🫶

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This week is A = Anything Goes on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar. Whoop! I wanted to play with the Eclipse technique at the newly reopened CAS Mix-Up Challenge. It's also known as Hidden Words, or as I like to call it, Camel Flodged.🐪I haven't done this technique for quite a while and it was great fun!

Onefer

This sweet NBUS image is called, "Birthday Presents Wrapping Paper" from Your Next Stamp. The NBUS happy script word die is from The Greetery. I stamped the image in black and colored the presents in red in order to play in the Color Hues Challenge.

I liked the idea that this could be an all-purpose card, but after wards, I decided it needed a second word. I looked through all my word dies, and now I have car pool tunnel but nothing fit the area, so I made another card instead! Go me!

This script die is from Simon Says Stamp. In addition to the above challenges, I am playing in the Anything Goes category at Seize the Birthday

Twofer

This image is NBUS from Spellbinders called, "Christmas Florals and Sentiments." It consists of five stencils and made me question again why I don't stencil more often? I find it very relaxing. The word die is from GKW. The berry nipples are blobs of Lawn Fawn schparkle glaze. (Have I said how much I miss Hammy and Stanley!)

The Eclipsing technique works perfectly for those large pretty images you have which you hate to cover over with a greeting.

To give the design a little extra nubbiness, I popped the tripled image over a panel embossed with a Park Lane e/f called, "Holly Berry." I also miss having a Jo-Ann Store. Actually I miss all of the stamping stores that used to be in my community. And the sweet ladies who ran them. I sound old. Well, duh.

Playing in: 52 Christmas Card Throwdown (Stencilling); Rudolph Days (A/G Christmas); Jingle Belles (Colors: Unicorn Holiday); Inkspirational (Word Prompt: Christmas in July); and Just Us Girls (A/G Stencil Week). This Eclipse card won't go in the CAS Mix-Up Challenge because there is no stamping. However, because there is no stamping, it can go in "N = No Stamping" challenge over at the ABC Christmas!

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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! Mwah!

*Life is too short!

Pink Lilies and a Christmas Cardinal

Hello Stamplings!

How are you this fine day? I do hope Mother Nature is treating you to some beautiful weather, wherever you are! 

Onefer

It's D = Dies week on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar and I was inspired by a few challenges to bring out my "Lovely Lily of the Valley" die by Lawn Fawn. The Beautiful Blossoms Challenge Mood Board features lilies and the Color Hues Challenge colors are pink and turkoice. For the base and frame, I used some hoarded paper which has a soft fiber texture and the pretty paper I used for the flowers and leaves is from Craft Consortium. 

The NBUS frame die is "Embossed Skinny Frame" by Ink to Paper and the sediment strip is from Memory Box.

Twofer

I'm sure you've all heard the wonderful news that my dear friend Loll has relaunched her CAS Christmas Challenge! I love this challenge and I definitely need the nudge to keep rolling on my Christmas cards. 2026 is rapidly whooshing by, so thank you, Lolly!

For the first challenge, the brief is BIRDS. The furballs and I went through the Bird Drawer and suddenly Stanley got to giggling over an old wooden stamp called, "Bluebird," by Stamps Happen. The artist is Caroline Shores Wright and I love her images. 

We never have cardinals in this part of the country, but Hammy suggested I paint the bluebird red and turn her into a cardinal. Well, why not? After painting her with my Ziggies, I remembered there was black somewhere on a cardinal's head, so I used the Googler to look at photos. Eep! I forgot they also have spiked hairdos! By now I was committed, so I used a fine point pen and did the best I could with that! 

After wards, I noticed her hooded eyeballs disappeared in all the red and black, so I added some tiny googlie eyes so she could see to fly. And I didn't have a small poinsettia die to cover the flower, so I simply fussy-cut the image and snipped the flower off and gave it to Stanley to decorate his cage. 

For the layout, I used the sketch from the current 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge, using snowy vellum for the stripey background and then the boys went to town schplattering snow on the image to play in the current Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

We had a blast with this one!

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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! 

Mwah!

*Life is too short!

Quick and Clean and Simples (QACAS)

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you're doing well as you start this new week! May Mother Nature be kind to you this week!

I ended up having a very busy week last week with ongoing birthday lunches and even some girlfriend shop-and-talk days. With this birthday, more than ever, I'm embracing my friend Cheryl's motto of, "Do it while you can!" DIWYC. No, leave it.

This is E = Embossing week on my I.D.E.A.S. Calendar and time necessitated that I keep things QACAS. 

Onefer

I used a NBUS 3D e/f from Simon Says called "Feathery Fronds" and just brushed swaths of different colors in approximate areas where I could see the fronds were located on the folder and then I ran it through the machine. It might have been easier to blend the swaths of ink on after wards, but I would have had to lay the colors on with a heavier hand in order to get down inside the narrow fronds. By swathing the ink on first, I was able to keep the colors pastel, but still summery. 

A simple matting and a NBUS sediment from Concord & 9th's "Everyday Expressions" finished it up.

I'm playing in the CAS challenge at Krafty Chicks.

Twofer

This card uses the same e/f, but I used the debossed side. I used another NBUS sediment from the Everyday Expressions set and a geriatric butterfly from BOB. Look at the smile on her face from finally being out of that box!

I'm playing in Just Us Girls Mood Board challenge, inspired by the teal-y fern fronds.

Threefer

Moving onto Christmas with this design because a) the curved panel, the conversation bubble die, and the polar bear were all in BOB, and b) I had a NBUS snowfall embossing folder to use from Simon Says called, "Soft Snowfall." 

You know how we all have certain things that we love and we keep buying, like butterflies or poppies? For me, it is snowfall embossing folders. I begged myself to stop over the years, to no avail, and I have a substantial collection. Well, I'm glad I kept looking because this one finally chills my blains and now that's crossed off my list!

The polar bear is from Trinity Stamps called "Have An Ice Day" and the NBUS sediment is from Uniko's "Simply Said Blocks Christmas Clear Stamps." Hammy and Stanley winked the bear's scarf, mittens, and socks and added snowflakes dipped in white ink to the frozen pp pond using an old rubber dowel stamp from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. They do make a great team as it takes two of them to hold the stamp upright and then plunge it down. I really must take a video one day.

Challenges

Addicted to Stamps and More: Christmas.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: July theme challenge: Critters.

Christmas Kickstart: Merry-Go-Round. Congrats on your 100th Challenge!

BYSH Cardmakers: Christmas in July.

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I.D.E.A.S. Calendar: E = Emblossing

You will find a linky tool below for you to share your creations using some form of embossing. Your card may help motivate others out of their creative schlumps! 

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!

I'll leave you with a closeup of one of our crepe myrtle trees in full bloom.

Please 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

Anything Goes!

Hello Stamplings!

Happy Monday! I hope this find you well! As you read this, I will be having fun in Las Vegas ~ or as some people call it, Lost Wages! I'm meeting a friend from my early work days in the 70s for some getaway girl time!🎰🍹

Before I left Nellie in charge of The Mister, the lads and I were inspired by a few challenges to create these designs.

Onefer

This week is A = Anything Goes on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar, so there are no curt tails when it comes to designing! Just for fun, I went all out and stamped, inked, die cut, and stenciled! I also CASED my friend Linda, with an emphasis on "copy!" Thank you, Lin!

The blossoms are NBUS from Pinkfresh called "Delicate Floral Print," blended with lilac and aqua CP inks using the stencils. The embossing folder is v.o., but still NBUS, from the Paper Studio. The sediment is from PTI. The nice thing about this simple layout is you get two cards out of the deal! I used a shiny platinum piece of Washi Tape from Altenew to separate the panels and Hammy and Stanley winked the flowers.

Challenges

Addicted to Stamps and More: Make your mark.

Color Hues: Lilac and aqua.

Just Us Girls: Stencil week.

SSS Wednesday: Make it girly.

Twofer

This design is in the running for QACAS-iest design of 2025! I love it and what a great way to use pretty pp! If you like CAS (clean and simple) designs and you aren't familiar with Freshly Made Sketches, you should check them out. (They very kindly have a tab listing all their prior sketches!) 

At first, the textured aqua panel on the left had no design. I set it aside, but I kept looking back at it and my right leg started twitching. It stopped as soon as I lightly stenciled a leafy pattern. When you know, you know. 

Challenges

Alphabet Challenge: L is for leaves.

Freshly Made Sketches: A sketch by Jen T.

Seize the Birthday: Use a stencil.

Threefer

I like to play in the Rudolph Days Challenge when I can. It only runs at the end of each month from the 25th to the last day of the month. It's always Anything Goes as long as it is a Christmas design.

For this card I stamped the Pink Fresh wreath on mixed media paper with Versamark and heat-embossed it with gold. I then painted the poinsettia with my Ohuhu markers and sent it down the line to the winkers. (Pink Fresh has beautiful Washi Tape you can use for the wreath, but I was in the mood for painting.) 

I added a wee sediment and popped the wreath onto a black panel embossed with a NBUS e/f from SU called "Petals-a-Plenty." It's really a generic flower, but I thought they looked like little poinsettias. To add a little extra schparkle, I heat-embossed the rim all around in gold.

Other challenges

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Embossing.

Christmas Kickstart: Positively poinsettias.

Jingle Belles: Color challenge. I used red, green, white, and black.

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I.D.E.A.S. Calendar: A = Anything Goes

You will find a linky tool below for you to share your creations with no restrictions! Your card may help motivate others out of their creative schlumps or give someone a step-off for their own design! 

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! I may miss next week or be late depending on, you know, how much sleep I need to catch up on or if I'm off buying an island somewhere with the millions I'm just sure I'm going to win on the penny slots!

*Life is too short!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter