May Week Three: Embossing

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well at whatever you are doing well. I checked and today is "National May Ray Day." Huh? Are there that many people named, "Ray?" No, it's quite poetic actually. It means, "to celebrate the bright sunshine and warmer weather with just a slight breeze to cool your skin."

It's also National Devil's Food Cake Day, so have a slice of that while the breeze is cooling you off! And it's the third Monday of May at the Playhouse, so today we are celebrating embossing. In this case, folders.

Onefer

A month ago you may remember that I played with this 3D embossing folder from Altenew, called "Daisy Bed." This time I did a simple ink swipe on the debossed side before running it through my Gemini. It was too pretty to cover, so I simply added a circle sediment from Memory Box.

Twofer

Recently my friend Julia posted a very amusing piglet card and I mentioned how much I love pigs (having grown up in Iowa) and how much I especially loved the snarky sediments that came with the pig stamp set she used. ("Piggies Crushed It" from Whimsy Stamps.) After wards, she kindly stamped off oodles of piggies and sediments and mailed them to me. Thank you, Julia!

Hammy and Stanley will be disappointed that you can't see the schparkle. Hammy winked the balloon and gave the pig job to Stan. There were lots of tears at first because the winker Stanley used had gone a bit silver-looking. Not his fault, of course, and I reassured him that it was okay because it made the little pig look dirty. I mean, what kind of pig are you, if you don't wear a bit of dirt?!

Threefer

From the silly to the sublime, I next inked up a NBUS 3D folder from Open Studio called "Gracious Leaves" using Brilliance Elegant Gold. The ribbon is from SU and the sediment is from Memory Box.

I'm not sure it's meant to be a Christmas e/f, but the little berries made me think it was. The color and sheen are very pretty in real life, but if I'm Frank, when it was finished I thought to myself that it would have been easier to just spray the card with gold mist.

~~~

Speaking of Devil's Food cake, I was curious how this cake recipe got its name. To figure that out, I had to go back to the very origin of store-bought cake mix. It turns out that in 1933, John Duff of P. Duff and Sons, a Pittsburgh PA molasses company, patented the first cake mix after blending dehydrated molasses with dehydrated flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients. The mix required only water and baking to yield gingerbread. 

Duff later realized that home cooks preferred to add their own eggs. After that, they expanded their mixes to include flavors like fruit cake, spice cake, and devil's food. 

In the 1930s, Americans were mostly church-going folk, so naming a cake "devil's food," might be a huge turn-off from a marketing standpoint. To quell that concern, this explanation was printed on the back of the box:

Customers have asked how this cake mix was given such an unusual name. One of our recipe tasters named Elizabeth Novick baked this unnamed cake mix for her family. As they were finishing, Betty, the youngest daughter, age 7, picked up her plate and began to lick the crumbs. "Betty!" cried Elizabeth, shooting the youngster a stern look. "But, Mom," said Betty, "this food would make even the devil sit up and say, 'Amen!'"

~~~

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! BTW, I made up that part about naming the cake, but you prolly figured that out for yourself.😆

*Life is too short!

Challenges

Onefer: Can You Handle the Pressure (A/G w/ option of flowers)

Twofer: Double D (polka dots); SSS Wednesday (patterned paper)

Threefer: Allsorts (A/G ~ Happy 15th Birthday!)

Cinco de Say What?

Hello Stamplings!

May? As in May? I can't with this whooshing of time lately. I'm sorry to mention it, but ... okay, I won't mention it. I'll just point 👉  🎅. 

Never mind that man! Spring is barely getting a foothold in this half of the world, so today let's talk about flowers!

Onefer

I found this beautiful stamp (with stencils) at the store near Portland. It's from Pink Fresh, called, "Magnolia Pattern." It's an interesting stencil design because the stencils are cut so that only some of the flowers and leaves are open to be blended with color. It's easier to show you than to explain; here is the image that comes with the stamp:

Cool, huh?! But I was in the mood to paint, so I heat-embossed the image in white onto watercolor paper and then colored the entire image with my Ziggies. It was a bit of a challenge figuring out what was a flower/leaf and what was an empty spot, so I think next time I will heat-emboss it in a color I can see. 

After painting, I felt like it needed something more, so I did an all-over blending of the panel with CP Shea Butter. And after that, I took a large clean blending brush and buffed the panel to clean off the white embossed lines. This card is even prettier in real life, thanks to the winkling by my furry helpers!

Twofer

From bold to pastels, this card is a QACAS design. This SU stamp is not NBUS ... just neglected. For some reason, it resurfaced on the quagmire of my (oft-deflated) brain balloon. I colored the stamp with markers, spritzed, and stamped the image, cutely. The sediment is from Penny Black. Just to be differ'nt, I added a two-toned border with the same lilac and lime markers, which Blogger might show on your screen as lavender and lemon? Or olive and grape? Or melon and iris? Sigh.

I.D.E.A.S.

Here's my new calendar graphic for May, which is clickable on the side bar. 

I hope you enjoyed my I = Inky features today and I'd love to see your designs if you want to play along! As a reminder, this is not a challenge. It's just a little schedule I put together to keep the mojo juices flowing and you're welcome to use it, too. It's been 14 weeks and so far I'm still juiced and the Pinterest Board is coming along nicely.

~~~

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! 

Happy Mother's Day next Sunday to all who celebrate and lots of love and hugs to those of you for whom this is a sad day. The "mother" part is sad for me, but the "being a mother" part is very happy! Mwah!

*Life is too short!

Challenges:

Onefer: The Flower Challenge (Colour your flower); Seize the Birthday (off the edge); Double D (pretty florals).

Twofer: Color Hues (lilac and lime); Krafty Chicks (stamps).

Earth Day!

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you're having a good and plenty kind of day! Who remembers Good & Plenty licorice candy? I still love them and have loved them since my childhood in the 1890s. You'd think they would be stale, but no.

Onefer

Today is Earth Day ~ Yay! Last week Serena Dipity came by to visit the Playhouse and together we made a card to celebrate her. Mother Earth, not Serena.

It all started when I was flipping through my binder of die-cut shapes. No, wait a sec. It all started a coupla weeks ago when I noticed on the calendar that Earth Day was coming up on the 22nd, so that was in my subterranean conscience. So then Serena showed up just as I turned the page in my binder and right before my eyes was the above circle die cut from an old session of dribbling alcoholic inks onto Yupo paper. I looked over at Serena, she smiled knowingly, we both looked at Hammy and Stanley and together we all yelled, "Globe!"

Then, if you can believe it, the littl'n ran over to Mt. NBUS and nosed out the arms die from Alexandra Renke. I recently got it on super sale, wondering at the time when I might ever use it. (But, you know, super sale!) Then, not to be out-done, Hammy dove into my stash of sediments and found the perfect one.

So we had the bits, now we just needed a background and that was quickly sorted when I remembered I had some ancient pieces of cloudy blue sky vellum which I embossed with a ... ta-da ... cloud e/f!

You gotta love when Serena Dipity shows up!

Twofer

Here's another nature theme with a blue green color scheme. I made this card (cough) ago, but I can't find that I ever posted it. The background was made using the dirty pour technique during one of the fun Canadian crafty sessions I attended. The beautiful seahorse is from Katzelkraft and the Lavinia ocean flora stamp was a gift from a sweet friend. Hello friend.

I.D.E.A.S.

Both of these cards (and any of yours this week!) will fit the A = Anything Goes brief of I.D.E.A.S. I'm looking forward to playing with you and 📌ing your creations!

And to close ...

With the rain we've been getting, we are seeing bulbs come up for the first time in years. First the smattering of white irises and then as they were fading, we were treated with just one regal purple bloom! Thank you, Mother Earth! Every day should be your day!

~~~

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!
Challenges:
Onefer: Inspiration Station (photo of globe inspired me); Can You Handle the Pressure? (a/g); SSS Monday (It's up in the air).
Twofer: Addicted to Stamps and More (make your mark); Double D (water related).

February 26: A is for Anything Goes!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? Welcome to a brand-new week! I like to think of it as a clean slate of possibilities! I just don't understand how they keep coming around so fast any more!

Onefer

For this cute card, I used a favorite stamp from Your Next Stamp called, "Hammie Coffee & Tea." The e/f is from Fun Stampers Journey, the frame is from PTI, the sediment is from Pink Fresh, and the stencil is from Gina K. The flat sequints are from somewhere, too, but I ran out of breath. 

You can prolly see that Hammy had fun winking his image. I'm linking to the A/G stencil challenge at Just Us Girls and to the circles challenge at Can You Handle The Pressure.

The photo doesn't show embossing of the e/f very well, so here is a closeup:

There is a special reason I made a "Hammy" thank you card to post today. I have a very dear friend, Annie, who lives in England. I met her online back in May of 2012, soon after I started blogging. Annie and I have exchanged many emails, cards, calls, and Zooms over the years and Hammy and I were fortunate to meet her in person when I did my friends Tour back in 2016!

Over time our crafting interests have evolved. Annie is well-known for her incredible talent with mixed media and making miniature works of art. Lately, she has taken up felting animals and she tickled me no end by making me this delightful little guy to add to my menagerie!

Don't tell Hammy, but isn't this little guy just the cutest?! Not only was he special, he arrived in his own little apartment with a handmade felted top, replete with a sweet lambie and French-knot flowers!

Hammy, who is often bored with me, is so happy to have a friend!!

I was going to name him Junior, which is pedestrian and unimaginative, but after all, ahem, I named "Hammy!"😏 Perhaps we should have a Naming Contest?! I'd love your suggestions! And thank you again, Annie! Mwah!

p.s. in the "small world" category: I live in a medium-sized town in California that we will call Nellville. When Annie went to her local post office in a village across the pond in England to mail this precious cargo, the postmistress looked at my address and exclaimed, "I'll be in Nellville next week!" I mean, of all the towns in England and the USA, what are the chances?!😲

Twofer

I used this watering can from Memory Box the other day and while it was out, I die-cut a few more in this pretty lilac color. When I saw the current Color Hues challenge, I backed it with a piece of lime pp that I've had forever. I used a NBUS Memory Box die called, "Lavender Bunch" to fill the can. The frame is from poppystamps called, "Pointed Rectangle Frame." I'm also linking in the pp brief at Double D.

~~~

I had a chuckle when I was thinking about what to make for this week's I.D.E.A.S. schedule. The letter is A, for "anything goes," which basically means that everyone who posts a creation during this week will be joining me, lol! Welcome one and all!

By the whizzle, anytime you want to play with the I.D.E.A.S. schedule, you do not need to use your NBUS. It's always a goal to use it, but unlike the NBUS challenge, it is not a requirement for I.D.E.A.S. Sorry if you're confused. It's good practice for when you get to be my age!

I look forward to seeing what you make! Have fun!

~~~

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! I'll be back on Wednesday for the Group of Seven post.🖌🖌🖌🖌🖌🖌🖌

*Life is too short!

February 12: D is for Dies

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well, wherever you are! I've got a photo/text-heavy post for you today, so let's get this party started!

In keeping with my I.D.E.A.S. schedule this month (see sidebar), today's post features Dies/Die-Cuts. Because this is the week of Cupid's appearance, I went to my drawer filled with hearts and hugs and kisses. (Aren't I the lucky girl?!) I came across two NBUS heart dies! 

The first is this incredible "Etched Swirl Heart" from SSS:

You know how difficult it is to photograph anything wrapped in gold like this! The card base is white, covered by a piece of vellum dotted with gold hearts. I added the sediment and a gold frame. [SSS Wednesday and Cut It Up.]

In real life that heart looks like a piece of jewelry. I haven't cut one yet from silver, but I'm sure it will be just as gorgeous. Here it is cut from a piece of red fun foam: 

Remember fun foam? The coils wanted to unfurl, but Hammy's little paws were able to furl things back in place.❤ [Addicted to CAS and Just Us Girls.]

I have quite a bit of this vellum with gold, silver, and white hearts. If memory serves, it was from Stampin' Up. Here's another Valentine I made, this time using the silver vellum and a Penny Black xoxo die, cut from more fun foam:

[I'm linking to the Inspiration Station. I was inspired by the XOXO in the photo.]

And the second NBUS heart die, also gracing a very simple card front:

This die is "Hugs Heart" from poppystamps and I added a strip of embossed hearts for some dementia and interest. I love that this heart can be used all year long for many occasions where a hug would be welcome. [Double D and poppystamps PSC#113.]

Also, the letters pop out nicely so they can be used on a second QACAS card:

I have several friends with Febwoooary birthdays, six of which fall on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the month, so I made a few birthday cards with hearts on them:

For the card on the left, I used the same heart vellum and for the card on the right, I used some pretty heart tissue paper I've had for ages. In order to attach the special papers in a way that hid the adhesive, I put them in a "channel" on the card front. I taped the strip of special paper to the card base and then attached the two front panels to either side of the channel using double-sided tape. Mary's your aunt.

The sediment die is "Big Happy Birthday" from SSS. The sediment on the right is actually cut from a beautiful snippet of glimmery shimmery foosha glitter paper which was a gift from a friend years ago. And that's when the trouble started.

Before die-cutting, I checked the paper to make sure it wasn't adhesive-backed already. When I peeled back the corner, it was just paper, so I added it to a sheet of double-sided adhesive. Turns out the pretty pink stuff is paper that doesn't want to be cut, especially not with a layer of adhesive added. So I ran it through my machine several times with this shim and that shim, turning it this way and that way. Finally, the machine and I, and the paper, were all worn out and it appeared to be cut through.✀✀✀

Not.

I sat down and started to fussy-cut the parts that weren't cut all the way. As I worked, it was clear more parts of it weren't cut, than were cut, but by golly by now I was into it and I wasn't going to stop until I won and I got every little bit of it cut, even if it meant I needed dental work from clenching my teeth so hard for so long and even if I had to use every one of the snippy scissors and cuticle scissors and craft cutting blades I own and even if it took me 53 minutes of my life I was never going to get back. Breathe.

After all that, it looks war-torn in places and who can blame it? And even though I specifically set aside the part of the die-cut that held the dot for over the i, when I finished, I furiously threw everything in the trash and then discovered that the dot was missing. Of course it was. And, yes, I then spent several more minutes going through my trash, to no avail. 

I burst into tears! No, that's a lie. But the neighbor did call to see if everything was okay after my vulgar outburst. No, that's a lie. My neighbor is used to it.

I was going to add a little ❤ in place of the dot over the i, but I forgot. I think I just didn't want to look at it any more. I hope you enjoyed and could relate to the trauma and adventure surrounding this card's creation! I know the person who will find it in her mailbox will be amused!

~~~

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

See you next Monday! Let me know in the comments if you play with your dies any time this week and I will add your design to the I.D.E.A.S. board on Pinterest!

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! Happy Valentine's Day whether you celebrate with lovers, friends, or your own best company!

Wait. What? LoverS? 🙊

Mwah!

*Life is too short!