Happy Scrabble Day! And a Pop of Poinsettia!

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing great as this year is whooshing by ~ again! For heaven's sake, nearly the middle of April! And our crazy March weather continues into April with summer heat one day and winter cold the next. Bing-bong! 

And what crazy holiday are we celebrating this week? It turns out that today is National Scrabble Day! Who decides these things?! I think I would have loved to have that job. 

Onefer

I spent many happy years playing Scrabble on Facebook with my sister, Doris, until some fool decided it would be better if Scrabble were steamed, er, streamed or something, so this card will go to her. (Now we play Words With Friends.) She will see it on my post, but we are all getting old, so I'm hoping she will forget she saw this by the time her birthday rolls around next December! 

This design took a bit of doing. I started with the perfect size Dreamweaver stencil which I've had for ages. I carefully masked each square or group of squares and blended on the Scrabble colors with brushes. 

I used a NBUS set from SSS called, "Games Tiles Letters" from (cough) years ago. It was a challenge trying to figure out the placement of letters so they interlocked in a fun way. I searched the webs and the attics for ideas, to no avail. After a wodka for me and a ginger ale for Hammy, we nailed it!

Playing in Just Add Ink (Colours - used all five), and Seize the Birthday (A/G).

Twofer

This week is D = Dies on the I.D.E.A.S. Calendar. I haven't made a Christmas card yet in 2026, so I was inspired when I saw the "Spring Into Christmas" challenge at BYSHC Challenge! I reached for "Up Goes the Tree," a NBUS stamp and die set from Penny Black. I used my Ziggies to paint the pretty stylized tree and Hammy was beside himself with glee at how much winking he got to do!

This set allows you to add some dementia with a second poinsettia stamp which you can paint, die-cut, and pop-up over the stamped image. And, yes, I painted the one underneath, too, in case there is a gust of wind. Here is a close-up:

I'm not sure if you can see that I blended some light tan ink around the edges of the front panel, ala Penny Black, before attaching it to a red panel and then to the card front.

Playing in Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers, Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round (H is for Happy Holidays), Penny Black Saturday Challenge (A/G), and Krafty Chicks (Christmas).

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Speaking of flowers (what?), I will leave you with pretty pink carnations and multi-colored calla lilies, freshly watered after a spring rain. Our yellow day lilies are just starting to open, so I'll share those soon. 

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Enjoy your day! 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!

And Just Like That ... 🗓️🗓️

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well! We finally turned our backs, er, our clocks back, so I should start waking up in with more engery. I have such a hard time getting going when my brain tells me, "It is the pitch of night, go back to bed." Today I have to get through the first of a series of yucky dental appointments and the election is tomorrow. Anxiety is high, so thank you, Lord, for potatoes, from which wodka flows.

But that's not why you called in. Let's talk about pretty things. Like cards. Christmas cards, to be exact. And it's week one of November's I.D.E.A.S., so I had a play with Ink.

Onefer

The trends of using die-cut images and embossing folders continues in delightful ways with this hobby, but for this QACAS design, I really enjoyed just using stamps.

I have to say this was a treat to photograph. She said, snarkcastically. I finally got an angle to show both the embossed shine of the sediment and the glossification of the berries, compliments of Hammy and Stanley. The sediment and the double-stamped NBUS mistletoe are from, "The Magic of Christmas" by Simon Says. 

Twofer

Back in February, the Group of Seven Cardmakers did a technique called, "Masked Stenciling" and I made this pair using that technique. I especially love the die cut deer and trees with their unexpected stencil lines and lavender color.

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Lunch With Girlfriends

By Kathy O’Malley

Elaine’s vertigo has never been worse.

Kay can’t recall where she left her purse.

Rhonda’s about to replace her knees.

Linda’s breathing is tinged with a wheeze.

Donna's left boob has a troublesome lump.

Diane’s on her third trip to take a dump.

Lorraine’s husband can’t remember a thing.

Nine years a widow, Marge still wears her ring.

Marlene is dealing with another UTI.

Sally’s giving hearing aids another try.

Marie has decided she can’t drive at night.

Sharon still wears clothes two sizes too tight.

They’ve been through divorces and babies and wakes.

They do for each other whatever it takes.

They’ve already buried Marcia and Kate.

And truthfully, Lizzie’s not looking so great.

So whenever they can, they get out to eat.

Open bottles of wine and forget their sore feet.

There’s laughing and crying and letting down guards.

And when the bill comes, there’s ten credit cards.

So here’s to the waiters who keep orders straight,

And the places that let lunches run three hours late.

And here’s to the girlfriends, those near and those far.

Here's to the girlfriends, you know who you are!

🥰🥰🥰

Enjoy your day! 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!

Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More: 2: Die Cuts and Stencils.

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round: 2: Reindeer, Deer, or Moose.

Color Hues: 1: Red and Black.

Jingle Belles: 2: Christmas animals.

Peace on Earth: 1: Christmas.

We Love Stamping: 1: Christmas.

Ink Blending on Colored Card

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? Are you keeping up with your new year's resolutions now that we are about to enter the middle of the year? Oh. Sorry. Touchy subject? Not just me then? Well, never mind. Intentions are the most important thing, said no one ever, but we're all in the same boat, said everyone at some point.

Today's post is all about this month's crafty Zoom session for the Group of Seven Cardmakers! As the title indicates, we did some really cool ink blending on colored card panels. You can find detailed instructions and a video on the Group of Seven blog.

A Duofer

You can use either solid or outline stamps to heat-emboss, but I preferred the outline stamps. I gold heat-embossed the leaf stamp from the Memory Box "Harvest Love" set. Using the video instructions, I then ink-blended the corners and sides of the panel to draw the eye into the middle. If you like, you can add black ink over that, concentrating on the edges, for even more contrast. 

Hammy schplattered gold and white ink over everything the panel and I added the PTI gold-embossed sediment.

Challenges

• Allsorts: Anything Goes.
  
• Cardz 4 Galz: Backgrounds.
  
• Seize the Birthday: Make It Pop.

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This technique was so easy and effective, I actually made several cards in jewel tones, using different outline images. I'm sharing the above because I liked the effect of the blending on the green. The outline image used here was Altenew's "Leaf Canopy."

Challenges

• Krafty Chicks: All Occasions.
  
• Retro Rubber: The leaf stamp from Altenew dates back to 2018.
  
• SSS Wednesday: Add a Sentiment.

Threefer

And in case you're wondering if the technique works for Christmas card designs, here's your answer! I love the festive look, especially using classic berry red and pine green card bases. The pine cone used here is from Simon's set, "The Magic of Christmas."

Challenges

• Christmas Crafts All Year Round: Five of something or lots of gold.
  
• Peace on Earth: A/G Christmas.
  
• Rudolph Days: A/G Christmas.

I hope you'll give this technique a try and link your card over on the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog to show us what you make!

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Enjoy your day! 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!

It's okay, Hammy. Come out and show the people how pretty you look all covered in gold and white schplatters!

Mwah!

*Life is too short!

Two Lips and a Holly

Hello Stamplings!

How's it going? Did you have a good week? I hope you enjoyed some crafty time!

My crafty time was inspired by the little pink flowers that come to life every year in the garden. It's a welcome sight and to celebrate, I broke out my NBUS Hero Arts "Floral Tulips" stamp and die set.

Onefer

This is a CASE of a card I received (cough) years ago from my friend Lisa Tilson (My Card Trip). I'm sorry I can't direct you to her blog ATM; not sure the reason. I'm proud of myself for finally CASEing her beautiful card. After blending and schplattering, the tulips were stamped and clear heat-embossed before coloring with my Ziggies. The sediment is from a Penny Black set by the same name.

Challenges

• Beautiful Blooms: A/G Floral, with Mood Board.
  
• Cut It Up: CAS (clean and simple).
  
• Four Seasons: Spring.
  
• The Flower Challenge: Floral Main Focus with Die Cuts or Stencils.
  
• Triple B: Birds Blooms Butterflies.
  
• We Love Stamping: A/G, with option of Spring Is in the Air.

***

You might remember that Hammy wanted to try a bit of blending so I asked our local cobbler to make him special shoes. It turns out not to be possible because of his weak ankles (Hammy, not the cobbler), but I think I've come up with a workable solution. 🠊

It turns out my little triangle-shaped foam blenders fit him perfikly! There will be ink and schplatters up and down the Playhouse now, but I don't mind. It's better than having him bored. When he's bored, he waits until I am deeply engrossed in some fine detail work and then he either leaps onto my head or runs up my pant leg. The obituary writes itself ... Elderly woman found . . . 

Twofer

For today's Christmas card, I returned to my fave faux watercoloring technique of direct-to stamp coloring and spritzing of this favorite Penny Black holly.

Challenges

• Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round: Three of something. (Holly leaves.)
  
• Krafty Chicks: Stamp Act.
  
• Peace on Earth: A/G Christmas with Mood Board.

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Enjoy your day! 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! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

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