Sunglasses, please, folks!

Hello Stamplings!

When I woke up last Sunday morning, there was a whole new week laid out in front of me, like my outfit on the first day of the new year of school. Then I turned my back to go find my shoes and when I turned around again, my clothes had been worn, laundered, and put back in the drawer before I knew what happened. 

That's my metaphor for how fast this week went by. And now, since Christmas will be here before we turn around again, let's get after it.

Onefer

I painted this card with metallic watercolors while at Brenda's retreat in Indiana. I think I borrowed them from Kara? The stamp is Mondo Holly by Julie Ebersole (Ellen Hutson), which I also borrowed from someone. You can't really appreciate the awesome glimmery glimmerness of the paints unless you tilt the card towards the light and then it looks like a magnificent stained glass design:

Back home at the Playhouse, I added a platinum-embossed sediment from GKW. I attached the art to a glittery pale green panel, which glitter you maaay be able to see if you click to enlarge. And that's it. I could have made it an OLC, but I have all this beautiful glittery and glimmery paper that is crying out to be used this year.

Hammy? Remember he was busy with Cassie Kitty at the retreat so no hard labor from him for today's cards!

Challenges

• The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas Goes.
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas Goes.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Helen's All About Occasions.

Twofer

This card was also made at the retreat. Colleen taught us this technique of scribbling color onto a snippets panel in an ombre' fashion. Once dry, you swipe Nuvo Glimmer Paste (or some other brand) over the colors with your spatula. 

Once that is completely dry, you can die cut it, or use a negative die-cut overlay ~ as I did here with this mondo snowflake die. The snowflake die was also borrowed, along with the sediment. (We were one big happy family using each other's things and I wasn't good about making notes.) I added the bling and glittery matching aqua panel at home. Thank you, Colleen! That was fun!

Challenges

• Cards for Galz: Something beginning with an "S." In this case, it's Snowflake.
• Crafty Cardmakers: Sparkle.
• Just Add Ink: Add a technique.

The Guys

While looking at photos of Miss Nellie in my camera, I came across this handsome photo of the Mister and the grandtwins taken in September on the Mister's birthday. They and their big dogs are here entertaining us again this weekend. I'm going to try and get a photo of the big dogs with the little dog.

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You may have heard that once again we are dealing with devastating fires in our area and in other parts of California. It's heart-wrenching to watch the news and it's unpleasant to smell and breathe in the smoke, but thankfully, we are safe where we are. Please keep those who have been impacted by the fires in your thoughts and prayers. ❤

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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!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling: Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post. Click Page Down to reach the end of the post. Click Comments and a pop-up box opens. Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel! Mwah! (p.s. If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me your email address so I can respond. Thank you!)

Purple Hop for Epilepsy Awareness

Hello Stamplings,

Happy Tuesday! I hope you've been well since I saw you last!

You know how I've been on a mission to use my products more than once in a sitting? Well, now I've gone the other way and I'm having a hard time knowing when to stop! Case in point is today's featured item: a die called "Clustered Leaves" from Simon Says Stamp. I had fun making four QACAS cards and to keep myself interested, I varied the colors and occasions.

Onefer

This was my first card, made for today's Purple Hop. The clustered leaves were cut from a piece of Yupo colored in wildly exotic purple shades of Lindy Magicals and then posed in front of an embossed brick wall background. The accompanying sediment is from MFT's "Label Tape." Here is a closeup of the Yupo sheen and the Lindy shimmer.

Today's Purple Day Hop was organized by my friend Fikreta to raise awareness for epilepsy. Fiki has a very informative post (and a giveaway) on her blog detailing the history of Purple Day and many of the myths surrounding this disease.

I hope you will have the opportunity to check out Fiki's blog and the blogs of the other ladies in the Hop. Most of us know someone who struggles with this disease which does not get the attention and funding it needs. 

In addition to Fiki and myself, here is a list of the other card artists participating in this Hop:

Sandie 

Ike

 Kitty

Annabel

Janis

Olga
Vicki

To thank you for taking the time to check out today's Hop, I also have a giveaway for those who are followers of my blog: a $25 gift card to Catherine Pooler! Whoot! Just let me know in your comment if you are interested in being in the draw. And for every name entered in the drawing, I will personally donate $2 to the Epilepsy Foundation.

Twofer

Isn't this die exquisite cut from vellum? The embossed swiss dots vellum I used here is from SU. The sediment is white heat-embossed. Here is a closeup of the pretty schparkle embedded in the red card stock which I've had for ages.

Threefer

From Christmas back to springtime! This time the background used to cut the die was made last May at Lolly's Retreat and I think it was Brushos on Yupo. The sediment is from PTI, embossed in platinum. Here is a closeup of the platinum shine:

Fourfer

I used a different Brusho on Yupo background piece for this die cut. A linen cover plate from PTI was used for the background. The hello sediment is from GKW and the thinking of you sediment is from Altenew.

Here is another view from above. Do you can see my BOO-BOO?

Oops. I hate it when that happens, but I wasn't about to risk destroying the panel to fix it. Please let me know in your comment if you're left-handed and you'd like to receive this pretty Happy Mail!

Recapitation

There are two giveaways in today's post for my followers! I'll have Hammy pick the winners in a coupla weeks on April 9th and I'll post the names in my Twofer post on April 10th. Please make sure I have your email address, so I can contact you if you win. If I can't contact you, another name will be drawn. Good luck!

~~~

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!

Challenges:

• Purple Day Hop card: I'm entering this card in TIME OUT Challenges, where they are celebrating their 5th birthday! Congratulations! I'm also playing in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, where the brief is "Play With Paint." 
• Christmas card: I'm entering this card in Ike's World Challenges, where the brief is "Clean and Simple" and in Rudolph Days, where the brief is "Anything Christmas Goes." 
• Spring card: I am entering this in Sweet Stampers Challenge, where the brief is "Easter/Spring," and in Less Is More's "Take 3" challenge. (There is one die cut and two words; or, if you prefer, there are three blings.) 
• Hello Beautiful card: I'm entering this card in  Crafty Cardmakers, where the brief is "For Someone Special" and Creative With Stamps, where the brief is "Friends."