Happy Holidays of Peace Love Joy ~ and Magic

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I don't know about you, but my bottom is fitting more snugly into my chair today! We missed being with family and friends on Thanksgiving as we traditionally do, but we've been strong so far in 2020 and we don't want to falter now ~ especially with promising vaccines on the horizon. I'd rather be temporarily sad than dead forever! 💀

Fortunately, making cards helps me feel less sad and with so many Christmas cards to make, I'm positively giddy!

I saw this post by my friend Lisa Elton and her colorful Christmas trees schparked this design in my head. The tree and house die is CUTplorations Stitched Winter Landscape. The sediment is stamped in CP Black Jack. I thought it still needed a little sumpin sumpin so I masked and blended a ray of yellow shining on the house. A modern day take on the manger, if you will. Hammy winked the trees.

It turned out that the bottom stitched panel was a little wider than the card base. I could have cut another card base, but I thought it might be fun to add a little dementia, so I stuffed a piece of fun foam behind the hill like a padded bra. Here is another photo to better show you the curvation of the hill with the padding:

Challenges

• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Anything goes.
  
• STAMPlorations November CAS: Anything CAS goes.
  
• Watercooler Wednesday: Heidi's all about occasions.
  

Twofer

This OLC was made using a NBUS wreath stamp from Spellbinders. I needed another wreath stamp like a hole in the head, but I love red rubber stamps that have the shading etched in the rubber to make it easy for you to look like an expert no-line watercolorist. The sediment is from Fiskars. 

I used markers and the 'direct-to-stamp' technique which I love and which is so easy with this stamp. Of course, Hammy was ready with his winker. Even with the red and white accenting, the whole card only took 15 minutes to make.

Challenges

• Less Is More: OLC "Festive."
  
• The Card Concept: I used the Clean and Simple style and I was inspired by the greenery and berries.
  
• TIME OUT: "Quick."

Threefer

Today is my friend Susan's 70th birthday and our mutual friend Lolly is acknowledging the happy occasion with a post and a linkup on her blog Stamping With Loll. Here is my card for Susan which I'm linking at Lolly's.

This nearly OLC card is the result of our last Zoom session where we did a technique of applying Versamark to a stamp, then gently pouncing powdered inks directly on the stamp, spritzing it lightly, and then stamping it onto paper. I used the Passionate stamp by Penny Black, Lindsey Magical powders (which leave wonderful glimmer and schparkle), and mixed media paper. 

At first I thought this would be a bit of a muddy mess because I couldn't really be precise with the powder, but I went along. After I stamped the first card panel, I was surprised and delighted to see how successful the technique was! 

As we all chatted away, I continued spritzing and stamping panel after panel, liking the results more and more each time. I ended up getting 14 gorgeous stampings. I finally stopped when the ladies implored me to "let it go!" 😆 Here they are laid out on the Playhouse floor:

I'm sorry you can't see the subtileties that showed up as the vibrancy of the ink faded. I can't wait to try this again with other solid stamps. Thanks again, Lolly, and Happy very-special-milestone Birthday, Susan!

Challenges

• Fun Friday (YNS): Make a card specifically for someone.
  
• Krafty Chicks: All occasions.
  
• Seize the Birthday: Anything birthday goes, with option of sparkle and shine.

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy, but keep safe! LITS!*

I am taking a break from posting for December, although I hope to do a bit of visiting, and I plan to post a December NBUS Challenge for you to share your accomplishments. I'm feeling like the Playhouse needs a reorg and I'll try once again to prioritize and tackle NBUS Mountain. It will also serve to simply remind me of what I have in my cupboards and drawers because, you know, forgetfulness is my super power now! I hope you all stay safe and make your holidays happy the best way you can!

*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!)

Fall Into Winter

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well and you had a nice weekend! We had three days of clear air as the winds were in our favor and it was lovely. Now we are heating up again and having an Indian Summer. 

It turns out there is no proven origin of the term, "Indian Summer." While I was researching it, I did find that in many European countries a warm period in the middle of autumn is called, "old women's summer." Haha. I'm not even lying. I mean, why? Too funny. If any of you can explain why it's called that, I'd love to know. (See below.) And is there an "old men's winter?"

Okay, I'd better get to it, so I can get outside and enjoy "my" summer!

Onefer

As soon as I saw this stamp on someone's blog, I had to buy it. I couldn't wait to get it and try coloring it with fall colors. The NBUS stamp and die set is called, "Harvest Love and Kindness," from Memory Box. I made this as a one-layer card in all it's 5x7 glory because I have all these 5x7 envelopes that come free with cards from charities I support. The gold heat-embossed sediment is also from the set. I used a combination of my Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints, Ziggies, and Karin watercolor brushes to paint it.

You know how some fabulous card artists have a real talent for zhuzhing their art just right? And you know how sometimes your hamster is nagging you to make something he can schplatter? Well, after finishing this card, which is very minimalist, we thought we'd try adding a little zhuzh.

To shrink my post a bit, I made a collage of the three different stages. Hopefully you can click to enlarge if you want a closer look. 

First, the top photo shows the card after I added a soft ink border all around using Tim's Old Paper ink and a makeup brush. In the second photo, you can see where Hammy went to town schplattering gold paint all over it.

And the third photo shows the addition of white paint schplatters by Hammy, but to make sure they landed just on the leaves, I die-cut a second image from a piece of scratch paper and laid the negative over the entire card so that only the watercolored image was showing. Then Hammy got a little heavy-pawed for the look I was going for, but don't tell him I said that. It's growing on me.

Do you have a favorite? I like them all, but to varying degrees. By taking photos in between each enhancement, it helped me see which I prefer and gives me more confidence to get a little more artsy in the future when the image calls for it. Of course, I still like the very first CAS look, too.

Challenges

• Fun Friday: (YNS) Give thanks.
  
• NBUS #19: Use never-before-used-schtuff.
  
• Sunday Stamps: Earthy tones.

Twofer

Okay, so this design is a bit far-fetched. Think of it like you would a card with a unicorn on it. Once I thought of the design and laid it out, I just loved the Cute Factor with the way these two friends adore each other. The hummingbird is from Pretty Pink Posh. The little polar bear die cut was a gift from a friend, but I think it might be Poppystamps. The sediment is from Sunny Studio.

Here is a closeup to show you that those tiny fluttering snowflakes are each touched with a bit of Nuvo schparkle and Hammy winked the hummer and the scarf. 

Challenges

• CAS October Christmas Card Challenge: Christmas birds. Here in California, we are blessed to have our hummingbirds year round, even at Christmas! (On the other hand, we don't have that many polar bears.😊)
  
• Krafty Chicks: Christmas.
  
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Make it sparkle.

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy, and please be careful out there! 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!

ETA: GerJanne from the Netherlands sent me this explanation:

In the old days 'woman' was the common word for woman. The term old wives summer comes from old knitting women (females) and spiders. In quiet late summer weather spiders make long threads. When dew is deposited on them during the night, beautiful drops glisten on the threads at sunrise. In ancient times it was thought that those beautiful strands were the hairs of goddesses or female water spirits, which they lost at night. Because this phenomenon occurs on quiet, sunny days in autumn, this old wives' summer is called. Something we still know today. Another name for this late summer is Indian Summer, because of the beautiful colors in the autumn that the sun brings out even more.

*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!)