Masking Magic, Day One

Hi there! It's so lovely to see you all here today!

I've signed up for another online class, this one call "Maskerade." (Which always makes me think that my friend Ardyth is the teacher!) I recommend these classes and I always learn a lot. It's not too late to check it out and sign up.

For the first class, where we learned the basic idea of masking, I created two cards. First:

For this card, I used one of the dies from PTI's "Frilly Flowers" to create the center flower mask around which I stamped Miss Elaine Eous small flower stamps. After wards, I splattered some of my daffodil and cabana inks (watered down refill inks). The sediment is from Avery Elle, "All Squared Up." For added interest, I added score lines and I topped it off with an awesome hummingbird brad that I've been sleeping with hoarding.

Challenges

• ColourQ: Colors.
• Freshly Made Sketches: Sketch #188
• Less is More: Use Some Metal.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes.

~~~

Second:

I made a mask of two different size NBUS bunny stamps from October Afternoon called "Woodland Park" and inked them in the ColourQ colors since the pads were all out on my desk. I embossed the Paper Smooches hill with a Cuttlebug "branches" e/f. The sediment panel is cut from a PTI angled label die and the NBUS sediment is from Technique Tuesday. 

I wasn't sure what the heck sediment would work with this, um, interesting design so I just looked through a few of my nonbirthday/getwell/thankyou stamps until Hammy squealed and did a somersault right across the open strawberry slush ink pad. This is one of those times when I wish he wasn't invisible so you, too, could see how well that color suits him! 

Anywaze, I think he's right about the sediment since the colorful bunnies are all looking at each other and each side thinks they are brighter than the other side. The competitive nature of bunnies is only just now being studied and recognized by the Faunalogical Society.

Challenges

• Addicted to CAS
• Addicted to Stamps and More: Anything goes and DT call.
• Clean and Simple Stamping: Sketch FTL13
• ColourQ: Colors.

~~~

So. Over the weekend, we had the heating element on the dryer crap out which, of course, I didn't know about until I went to fold the first load with another load in the queue. There I was with two loads of wets to figure out how to dry. Weren't we just talking about outdoor clothes lines the other day and how I don't have one?

And then the driver's side window in my car decided to drop down inside the door. The Mister put some plastic up to keep out the elements and critters until our appointment day. I was away at lunch at the time and he couldn't find what he was looking for, so this was his "creative" solution!

We are still waiting for the third shoe to drop since these things do tend to happen in threes!

~~~

I'm off to my second day of class. See you tomorrow!

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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Happy Mother's Day 2014

Hi There!

I keep having holidays jump out at me from behind my calendar. Know what I mean? One day I look and the holiday is three weeks off and then it seems like it's just the next day and I am sitting at my desk minding my own business making a birthday card and talking about skin care with my hamster and BOOO out from the wall the calendar yells, "MOTHER'S DAY IS SUNDAY!" I jumped a foot!

That's here in the USA, of course. I know some of you were already startled by that holiday a few weeks back. For you, however, you must have something coming up like Boxer Day or Bra Day or some such Unnerwear Day. Speaking of unnerwear, all of the holidays creep up on my any more. I figure what we could do is, we could just all agree to stop time, say on the 15th of this month, for about ten days while we do nothing but make cards for special holidays. Are you with me? Okay, good. I'll start a petition.

Having said all that, I don't have a need to make a Mother's Day card for a mother, but I did make one for my wonderful DIL, mother of our beloved twin grandsons. We will be brunching with them on Sunday and I can give her my card then. You get to see it first:

Some of you may remember that I bought a bunch of beautiful napkins when I went to see my friend in Colorado last fall and every now and then I will dip in the napkin basket and use one to make a card. They are truly gorgeous napkins. 

To dimensionalize my nappy, I added a hydrangea that I made by applying some Tim Holtz alcohol inks and blending solution to a piece of glossy card stock (ala Laurie), stamping the hydrangea and then fussy-cutting it. To make it look like it was an inter grill part of the napkin, I added the stem and bud  after fussy-cutting them from another snippet of the napkin.

The sediment banner is made from a snippet of purple vellum, certainly celery cardstock, and an overlay of clear vellum. The flower centers were popped on with Liquid Pearls. And thassit!

~~~

My card is playing in these fun challenges:

Clean and Simple 291, sketch.

Pixie's Snippets Playground, use your snippets.

The Squirrel and the Fox, "Mother's Day." This is my first time playing in this challenge! You might have guessed that Hammy found it when he was leafing through the magazine section of the Sunday Critter Chronicles.

Stamplorations, stamp & flowers.

Words 2 Scrap By, "Bloom Where You Are Planted."

If you click on the challenge links, you will find all the details about rules, sponsors, and prizes!

~~~

New Friends Corner

I'm so thrilled to introduce you to our newest friend at the Playhouse. Please welcome Jenny B. of Owl Be Crafty! In Jenny's own words, she enjoys doing just about anything creative such as baking, event planning, and photography, but her absolute favorite thing is making cards. Everything she learned about crafting, she learned from her mother! What a wonderful acknowledgment from a sweet daughter and so timely as we celebrate Mother's Day!

Jenny is trying to become more active as a blogger and I know that your visit and your encouragement will mean a lot to her. If you could follow her, that would be an added bonus for both of you! I know you will find her card art to be exceptional and inspirational!

Welcome, Jenny, and thank you for joining us!!

~~~

I have made a collage of photos for you as a follow-up to my last post. If you're interested, the individual photos can be viewed by clicking on the tab at the top called "My Photos."

~~~

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower! Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor!

  

 

*Life Is Too Short!

Project Details
Paper	SU certainly celery, unknown textured card base; glossy paper by Stampland; colored and clear vellum by Grafix
Stamps	Hydrangea H2121 by Hero Arts; sediment by Art Gone Wild (AS-E4.506)
Ink	Stazon jet black; Tim Holtz alcohol inks
Accessories	Napkin by Michel Design Works; Liquid pearls

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Mwah!

One-Layer Kisstletoe, Part B. CFC#121; Festive Friday; JUGS#217; NBUS#78; OLW #168

Hello, again!

Here we are with Part B, a slight varifiation of the last post card (ha ha, get it, postcard in a new two-word format!) for more delightful challenges.  Since Christmas RULES right now, it is not hard to find challenges that play nicely with each other, not wanting coal in their stockings and all that.

 

This time, I'll show you my card first, just to change things up a bit:

The most notable change in this card, compared to the last one, was that I used one more Verve leaf stamp and then the mother of all mistletoe stamps (NBUS) from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps making a grand total of eight mistleti.  Those additions were to make my card complacent with the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge which is "Create with 8." 

In addition, I'm playing in these challenges:

• Clean and Simple #121 ~ sketch.

• Festive Friday Challenge Blog.  It's the last challenge of 2013, so partipants are allowed to chose any challenge from the last year.  I chose this one:

• Just Us Girls (JUGS) challenge is having a wild card: one-layer card challenge with a "winter" theme.

• One-Layer Wednesday which is being hosted by Karen.  The link will take you to her fabulous blog.  This week she wants us to create a card with something shiny or a bit of bling on it.  Since "a bit" can be arbitrary, I sort of bling'd my heart out on this one!

Once again, I hope you can join in the fun!  The links will provide you with the challenge details. 

 

That's the most mileage I've gotten from a single card design of mine and I aplogize if you get sick of seeing one or the other version everywhere in the Land of Blog!  Geezo, enough already.

~~~

 

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!  Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor! 



  

 

*Life Is Too Short!
 

Paper:  PTI white
Stamps:  Verve "Great Friend";
  Cas-ual Friday Stamps "Merry Kiss-Mas"
Ink:  SU! coastal cabana, gumball green
  Sakura "Clear Star" sparkle pen;
  SU! real red marker
Bling:  My Mind's Eye; gems from stash

(Part A is in the previous post.)

One-Layer Kisstletoe, Part A. C&S#269; FabFri#32; LIM#148; NBUS#77

Hello, Gorgeous!

 

I made a card I liked so much, I made two of them with slight differences.  Because one of the challenges I am playing with only allows a maximillion of three total entries per one card, I am making two posties.

 

For the Part A of the first part, card designees will all be deliminated and linked equally by the interests under which the contract subdivision for consideration of the remainder living parties is available in the challenge limitations with regard to boundaries and specificalcifications. 

 

Can you tell I was a legal assistant for 45 years?  That is to say, minus the made-up words, but don't think I wasn't tempted to stick a few of those in over the years.

 

Okay, get serious.  Here are the challenges for the first card:

• Clean and and Simple #269 ~ sketch.
• Fab Friday #32 ~ colors.

• Less Is More #148 ~ Sparkle, inspired by Guest Designer Gillian.

There is time to play in all the challenges and the links will provide you with the finest print available and any prize or sponsor details.  I hope you'll join in the fun!!

~~~

Here is my card:

I thought these (NBUS) Verve leaf stamps looked a lot like mistletoe, so that's what gave me the idea to have them frame this apropopo sediment by CFS.  Here is a close-up of the Gillian-inspired sparkle:

~~~

I couldn't resist sharing this cartoon that I saw on Facebook a few days ago.  It took me a minute to get it and then I snorted out of my own nose, which was quite invigorous so I wanted you to have the same experience!

 

~~~

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!  Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor!  



  

 

*Life Is Too Short!
 

Paper:  PTI white
Stamps:  Verve "Great Friend";
Ink:  SU! coastal cabana, gumball green
  Sakura "Clear Star" sparkle pen
Bling:  My Mind's Eye

(Part B is in the next post.)

Triangulating on Santa ~ ATSM#71; C&S#266; CASology #70

Hi There!

Oh, my stars and bunny feet, I have been doing a marathon hop since Saturday.  I'm even going to skip WOYWW this week coz I'm hopped out.  But I have to say the Moxie Fab Thanks Hop for Cath was astounding!  There was a lot of inspiration in the thank you card parade and I met a lot of new card artists!

 

I also had a lovely lunch with two of my bloggie buddies, Kim and Harriet.  We might have been asked to move to a corner booth in the back or that might be a rumor.

 

Today, I was itching to get crafty.  Oh, but first, if you don't mind me doing a little horn-tooting, I wanted to share with you that there was a magnificent ceremony held in my honor this morning. 

 

I was crowned. 

 

Yes, finally.

 

Drugs were involved, too, and that was just the pre-party.

I was given a beautiful cape made out of lead.

I was laid upon a bed of noggin hide.

My head was tipped back ever so slightly.

Involuntarily my lips parted.

It was as if I'd been numbed by the grand ure of it all.

I closed my eyes.

 

I have to say I don't remember a lot of what happened next, but in addition to a beautiful golden crown, I have lips that Angelina would envy.

 

Thank you for allowing me to share that.  I know, I know, it was well-deserved and long-overdue and I shouldn't be shy about it.  After all, I earned it.  I worked hard eating all those carbon hydrants and sugary, caramelly, chocholately confections. 

 

And for that, I was crowned!  What an amazing world this is!!

 

~~~

 

That was a nice little side trip to the Planet Delirium, where I sometimes go. 

 

Back here IRW, I made you this card:

 

I made it primarily for the current challenge at CASology, where the cue card word is "Triangle." 

There are other terrific Santa hats in the challenge so far:  from the Design Team, there is a sticklesque masterpiece by Ardyth and N@ has a fantastic triangular hat on the head of a triangular Santa in the gallery!  You might want to try your hand at one, too, because after all, Santa is on our minds this time of year and he does like to wear that silly triangular hat.

 

I just happened to have an embossing folder filled with triangles so I used that, not once, but twice.  And I wrapped my twine into two triangle shapes.  And that's all there was to it.

 

~~~

 

Just for fun, my card is also apro po po for these other challenges:

 

Addicted to Stamps and More (ATSM) where the theme is "Anything Goes."

 

Clean & Simple Stamping, which is a fun sketch challenge, and this week this is the sketch:

~~~

I hope you can join in these fun challenges!  The links will provide you with all the fine print and the fantabulous prize and sponsor details.

~~~

I am pleased as punch to introduce you to two new friends today! Our first friend is Sherri P.  Sherri, I can't find your blog, but I sure appreciate your support!  If you do have one, however, please let me know so I can provide a link for all of us to visit.

 

Also joining us is Jackie of Kreate With Me 2.  Jackie has been blogging since 2008, people!  That's a whole lotta fun and inspiration and awe-some card art waiting for you to enjoy!

 

Thank you, ladies, and welcome!

~~~

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!  Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor! 

 

Of course, I can't leave without saying that my prayers are with the victims of that terrible typhoon destruction in the Philippines.  The extent of the devastation is heartbreaking and unthinkable. 

 

 

*Life Is Too Short! 

Paper:  PTI white, SU! real red
Dies:  Triangle is "Linear" by Lifestyle Crafts;
  Santa hat is by Memory Box
Twine:  doodle twine
Jingle bells:  Darice
Hat fur:  cotton ball from the bathroom

Dynamic Duos 20 ~ Color; Clean & Simple 208 ~ Sketch; and Hero Arts ~ Fall Feast

Hi There!

 

I'd like to thank you all for your good wishes and ink wiries about my creaky back.  I'm happy to say that I went all of yesterday without any narcotics!  And, best of all, I woke up this morning able to move with Ease and Grace.  Hallah!!  Today I shall take a teasie so I don't lapse.

 

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had a few little Halloween stamps and for today's card, I pulled them all out for these three fun challenges in no puticular order:

 

Firstly, we have this week's colors at the Dynamic Duos challenge:

 

Lucky Limeade & Basic Black

Optional Halloween Theme

 

Secondly, I'm playing for the secondly time in the Clean & Simple Stamping (No. 208) sketch challenge:

 

 

Thirdly, I'm entering the September contest at Hero Arts which has several options for your playing pleasure:  Fall Feast, A Stamp for All Seasons, or a Color Challenge.  The details are on their blog.  I optioned for Fall Feast.

 

Here is my Halloween All In card:

 

 

I have to say they are really cute images with the exception of that bat what looks like a squirrel what turned into a bat which creeps me out and I wish I had placed him in a less focal locus.  It was a free UM I got with an order and I see why it was free.  Some of you who hate squirrels will think it's an appropriate rendition.  If you want it, just let me know and I will send it to you.

 

~~~

 

I think most of us who share this addiction will continue to make cards and send them by snail mail in spite of this Intertube thing.  We've come to accept the Intertube is not going away and, sadly, people are going to be using it more and more to send their loved ones nontactile cyber greetings. 

 

However, I saw something recently that indicates it is not entirely the fault of the Intertube and some of the blame for the decline in sending tactile cards through the mail rests squarely on the sagging shoulders of parents who have not been properly teaching their children.  In wit, I give you this bit of evidence:

 

Sigh.

 

In my day, when stamps were three pennies apiece, children were chored with the work of applying stamps to envelopes.  At Christmas time some mothers, who had particularly noisy children, were known to send cards to every name in the town telephone book because they knew the kids wouldn't be able to speak for days afterwards due to the thick residue of glue on their tongues.

 

And we kids considered it to be a grown-up Big Girl or Big Boy Moment when we were able to stand on our tippy toes and push those three pennies across the wide post office counter towards Mrs. Halenbendger, who would ceremoniously hand us a stamp with an amazing miniature picture on it.

 

Source

 

Another day, class, Granny will explain what "telephone books" were. 

 

~~~

 

I haven't had the gleeful glee of welcoming new friends to the Playhouse for a while now and so it gave me a bit of a whiplash this morning to glance over and see one!  Please help me give a warm welcome to Kathy K of Purple Princess Diaries.  I love that banner name!  When you actually look at Kathy's URL, it says "Purplicious ...  !"  (I think I found another sister!)  Thank you, Kathy. 

 

Enjoy your Twos Day everyone ~ I hope you have two times the fun!  As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 

 

Paper:  SU! black and lucky limeade;

  Stampland glossy

Stamps:  Hero Arts; Good Stamps;

  SU!; Art Impressions; Hooks, Lines,

  and Inkers

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black

SU! and Corner Chomper punches