CAS Christmas October GD!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I hope you enjoyed World Card-Making Day yesterday!

I will echo what everyone else is saying: How can it be October?! Followed by, okay, no more procraftination, it's time to get making those special handmade Christmas cards!

And I'm delighted to be October's Guest Designer at the CAS Christmas Card Challenge to help inspire you to do just that! It's an honor to join an extremely talented group of designers for October and I encourage you to check out their cards for lots of great design ideas!

Onefer

This hilly scene with four trees is one stamp. I found it at a garage sale a coupla years ago in Indiana when I was visiting my friend Brenda. It's a red rubber stamp that had been removed from the wood, so I have no idea who makes it, but we think it looks like it might be an old SU stamp. I masked and heat-embossed one tree in red e/p and then reversed the mask and white heat-embossed the other trees.

While I was doing all that, Hammy operated on the unmarked sediment so that each of the starred words could then be stamped under a hill. We were just pickled at how well that worked out.

Twofer

Because it was so fun using two different e/ps, I made a Twofer. It is self-exploratory, although a bit tricky because the trees are so close together with this stamp. For the intertwined area, I used a Versamark pen. I love the movement and how it feels like Mother Nature opened her hand and blew white snow over just the one tree. Magic! In fact, I wish now that I had used a sediment I have which says, "believe in the magic of Christmas!"

I hope you can join the fun over at the CAS Christmas Card Challenge and I look forward to seeing your beautiful gray and red Christmas card designs! Don't forget if you use something you've never used before, you can also link to NBUS!

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I'm playing in: Christmas Crafts All Year Long (T is for Tree), Happy House, HLS CAS (OLC), Peace on Earth, and SSS Wednesday. 

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p.s. Look who came to have a sleepover with us last night!

Adam, Bama, Henry

I used the excuse that I wanted a photo of my new Hammy t-shirt to get them to accommodate me. (Sorry about the background glare.) Yes, I'm shrinking, but they are very tall! Because of Covid, it's been over two years since they stayed overnight and because of their ages, it might be the last time, so we had a fun and nostalgic time going down Memory Lane. 

It seems like only yesterday that they were little guys who loved spending hours with me in the Playhouse making cards. Here they are making little turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Henry, Adam

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I copied it from an old blog post from November 2012. Going back in time on my blog was an adventure in itself!

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy and keep safe! 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!

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!)

Fruit Cocktail, Anyone?

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? Happy St. Patrick's Day! Mother Nature is putting on her usual March theatrical productions across the universe. I hope she sits down and has a Guinness so everyone can get a break!

I was hoping to start posting more often, but now that I'm fully vaccinated, I am catching up on appointments that I have had to put off for a year. Doctors and dentists are going to be swarmed with appointments.

Swarm is one of those words that sounds like what it does, huh? Still, you can't help but think it might have been used for a situation like a fierce workout where you end up all sweaty and warm. "How are you?" asks your friend. "Swarm!" you reply. 

In my case, I'd be all sweaty and HOT, so I guess my reply would be "Shot!"

Okay, okay, moving on, I've got two fruity cards for you today:

There is only one week left in the current Twofer Card Challenge where the prompt is YOUR CHOICE! I know, right? So if you are making a card for something else, you can make two and play in Twofer! Win-win! You can use any stamp, stencil, or die you want; you just have to use it on both cards and make them distinctly different design layouts for different occasions. 

For my Twofer reminder inspiration for you, I am using an awesome NBUS set of stamps called, "Layered Citrus." They were designed for STAMPlorations by my friend Shirley Bee. I had to have the set the minute I saw it, but then you know how it goes ... it got put away and ingored.

Onefer

Slurp! For this birthday card, I used an old cocktail glass from a company no longer in business. While Hammy glossified the drinkie poo and the juicy slab of lemon, I die cut the enjoy die from Penny Black several times and glued the stack together. Passing that to his nibs to be glossified, I stamped a shadow and adhered the linen panel (embossed with wonky stitches from MFT) onto a shiny gold mat. The design was finished by attaching the glass, wedge of lemon, and sediment.

Challenges

• Alphabet Challenge: Y is for Yellow.
  
• Retro Rubber: Anything goes. The layered slices set is from 2018.
  
• Simply Create Too: Wet or Dry Embossing.

Twofer

Doesn't this look refreshing? I think this will bring a smile and much-needed hugs to a dear friend. The shadowed hugs die is from PTI. I used the remaining slices in Shirley's set for this design. I stamped the outline, then overstamped the insides in various citrus colors and then fussy-cut them. After they were dry from Hammy's glossifying, I adhered them to a scored snippet of linen card to make the second design cohesivate with the first design. 

Hic. Sorry, my typing is slurring from just looking at card number one!

Challenges

• Addicted to Stamps and More: Make your mark.
  
• Happy House: The color orange.
  
• HLS Anything Goes With Dies: March A/G.

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I can't wait to see which stamp, die, or stencil you choose for your prompt and the two distinctly different designs you create with it for two different occasions. You can find a list of occasions on the challenge side bar.

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Enjoy your day! 
No, seriously, enjoy and stay safe! 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!)

I'm So Tickled!

Hello Stamplings,

How are you? I hope you are managing well.

We have been having an unusually long string of sweltering temperatures around 100-l08 degrees. A few days ago, the heat resulted in an unusual thunderstorn and lightning sparked many fires in northern California. So far we are safe, but the sky in the whole Bay Area is thick with smoke and stench. Because everything is dry, the fires are zero percent contained. It's unhealthy and frightening. I pray for those fighting the fires and for those of you in other parts of the country and world who are also experiencing severe heat and storms.🤗

Onefer

On a happier note, I am so tickled to be appearing with other previous winners of the fun Happy House challenges in a post today. It's a lovely way of honoring past winners and to show how tickled I am, I'm sharing this feather card:

I madeth this card some time ago, but I hath never posted it. It's a regal feather stamp and die set manufactured by PTI a few years ago. The look of it, and its age, maketh me want to talketh this way. Dost thou know what I meaneth?

Can you see the little notch in the black sediment panel for the quill to nestle in? If I remember right, my friend Colleen did that once on a card and I loved it. The sediment and dotty heart were heat-embossed in white and you can just make out that Hammy skated freely all over the feather with his winker.

Challenges

• Alphabet Challenge: J is for Jewels or Jewelry. The little heart looks like jewelry.
• Retro Rubber: Anything goes. The feather stamp is from 2014.

Twofer

My second card today is all about using NBUS and making a super QACAS OLC!

I'm perverse enough to get a kick out of using the elegant lady silhouette with a snarky sediment!

This fun and NBUS snarky sediment is from Carmen's Veranda and the lovely lady is a NBUS die called "Susan Silhouette" and she's made by Memory Box. I did some research and discovered that the model's full name was Susan Glaston. She was well known in the branding community as a model for all sorts of wares from imprinted soaps to dies to jewelry. She modeled for this die when she was just 14 years old. Records indicate that she cut her hair to be in style when Twiggy came into fashion in 1966 and, as a result, she lost all of her lucrative contracts. Apparently her father was so upset with her, he chucked her out.

But no worries. If he hadn't, Susan would never have made her way to Hollywood where she turned her attention to becoming a movie star. The only work available at the time was in a daytime soap opera. At her agent's suggestion⁺, Susan changed her last name to Lucci, got the job, and the rest is history to American TV buffs!

Challenges

• Cardz for Galz: Monochrome. One color or black/white.
• Inkspirational: Face.
• Lost Coast Portal to Creativity: Anything goes.
• NBUS #17: Anything never-before-used goes.

 

Reminder

If you haven't yet played in the August Twofer Card Challenge, we'd love to see your creations! Our prompt this month is sun/moon and who doesn't have at least one 🌞 stamp, die, or stencil?! Our talented Team member Kara has made another set of amazing sunny Twofers to inspire you!

The challenge is open until end of day on August 24, 2020.

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy, but please take care and stay well! 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!) ⁺Source: None available due to the author making the whole thing up; apologies to Susan Lucci.

A Beach, a Bee, and a Baby

Hello Stamplings!

We've whooshed through another week unscathed and in lickity-split time and I hope you've done the same! 

Every Friday morning now for weeks we will be sleepily moving around the kitchen getting breakfast and one of us will start the conversation about the day and each other's plans and suddenly the one not talking will whip around, drop their jaw onto their chest, bug out their eyeballs, and whisper, "Wait. Is it Friday again?!" Every.single.week. It feels like we get up on Wednesday, step out of the shower, and it's Friday. It's positively ionic.

Fortunately, a three-day week is all I need to make a coupla cards.

Beach

Inspired by so many summer-y beach-y challenges, I made this cheer-y design which looks a little crooked-y. That happens.🙈 Just lean into it. It's Friday.

Of all things, I used a Tim Holtz woodgrain stencil to blend out a stretch of ocean and a stretch of sand. The fun NBUS beach huts are from Avery Elle, watercolored by me, and then winked by Hammy. The NBUS sun ray stencil is from Moda Scrap. 

Of course, as any sensible person wouldn't, I decided to add the top level of the sun rays to the card base after adhering the panel. I remember back in the day when I had forethought ... but that might be an afterthought. Did you know merrythought is a real word? The definition is not the one I would have given it. It means wishbone of a bird. That's crazy, right, but at least you earned something new today. 

Challenges

• The Card Concept: The dogs days of summer. I was inspired by the summer theme and the colors. My style is clean and layered.
• CAS Mix Up: August watercolor hosted by Loll: Beach.
• Country View: I do like to be beside the sea.
• Happy House: Summer holiday.
• Seize the Birthday (no toppings): Anything goes.
• Simon Says Stamp Monday: Summer memories.

Bee

I was playing in another lifetime with my friend Harriet and we were having fun with foil. This was a very glittery foil on an ancient bee from GKW. After wards I colored it in with my Ziggies and framed it with a square frame turned to form a diamond shape, as one does. I added a simple sediment heat-embossed in gold and a coupla Matts.

Here's a closeup which is a bit blurry because of all the schparkle:

Challenges

• Just Add Ink: Just add T (as in Thinking of you).
• Shopping Our Stash: KISS: Keep it simple, sister.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Midsummer blues.

Baby

I told you a while back about the old lizard we call Stubbie and all the little lizards that entertain me out the Playhouse window. I have pictures of him and I was going to do this whole collage, but, you know, how many lizards do you really want to see? 🦎

Anyway, I rant out of time, so instead I will just show you this itty-bitty baby I spotted sunning himself on a large white rock in the yard. I was taking photos of my card when I saw him, but before I could turn my camera towards him, he skittered underneath the rock. I circled him so you don't have to strain your eyes. So cute!!

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy (LITS!*), but please keep safe and well!

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!)

Butterfly ~ Butterfly II

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you're doing okay as another week whooshes by. I walked by a store yesterday and they had Halloween costumes in the window! 

Mmm, no. That's a lie. I'm not going downtown and, hence, I didn't walk by a store with Halloween costumes. But the way this year is flashing by, perhaps it is happening! 

I'm here to remind you that there is only one week left to enter your cards in the 29th showing of the Twofer Card Challenge, where the prize is ten million dollars and the prompt is:

🦋BUTTERFLIES!🦋

What? Wait. No. Move over. You see what happens when I let Hammy type my post! What a liar he is! (Well, that's a bit harsh. He thinks of it as teasing.) There is no prize other than the possibility of seeing your name up in lights on the winner's post! But, hey, that's always fun!

We made these two designs to inspire you:

These are a bit artsy-ish for me, aren't they? You could say I've spread my wings! 😆 This time the item my two cards have in common is a NBUS stamp from Docraft Papermania called, "Square Urban Stamp."

Onefer

For this encouragement card, I simply stamped the image with Versamark and heat-embossed it in gold on black card. The gold-embossed sediment is from STAMPlorations. To focus your eyes, I added gold border strips on each side. QACAS.  (Wouldn't this image be perfect stamped on coasters?)

Challenges

• Happy House: The treasure of nature.
• NBUS: Any never-before-used-schtuff.
• Stamping Sensations: July: All creatures great and small.
• TIME OUT: Peaceful.

Twofer

For this birthday card design, I placed a square card over a piece of scratch paper and verrrrrry carefully stamped the image in black four times around the corners of the card (after first stamping off once to mute the black ink). Then I had a lie down and asked myself why I hadn't just used my gray ink pad.

Then I cut two circles out of the center. I replaced the center circle after gold-embossing the sediment from Stamps of Life, "Sentiments4Circles." I colored the butterflies in oranges and Hammy added his winking, even though you can't see the schparkle nor the juiciness of the oranges. Finally, for a little dementia, I ran an orange marker around the inner rim of the outer circle.

Challenges

• 613 Avenue Create: A/G (Optional twist: sediment is the focus.)
• Butterfly Challenge: The letter "A" with options. Mine: butterfly + apricot.
• Seize the Birthday: Anything birthday goes.

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I hope my cards have inspired you to make two butterfly designs per the rules and join in the fun at the Twofer Card Challenge! Mwah!

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I will leave you with a photo of one of the butterflies I am blessed to see enjoying the butterfly bush outside my Playhouse window. It's not a Monarch visiting this time, but the large tiger swallowtails are equally mesmerizing!

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! I'm slower at visiting now, however, because I'm older and I look out my window a lot.

*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!)