Happy Mother's Day!

Greetings!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms around the world that are celebrating! Today is a wonderful opportunity to pamper mothers and grandmothers! I am going to be happily pampered with a Mother's Day brunch by Dan and Rachel and the boys. The Mister and Hammy will come too, of course!

However, I know for some of you today can be very painful, so I send you extra hugs of comfort and understanding.

Here's my card:

On an embossed card base, I've layered this NBUS succulent journaling die (which has a matching stamp) from Neat & Tangled which I've cut and paper-pieced from alcohol-infused glossy paper.

I tried to think outside the box with this and stretch the succulent die to make it look more like a rose in honor of the Mom sobriquet. Does it look a bit like a rose to you? 

Here's a closhup of the alcoholic paper's gloppiness. Erm, skuzsh me,  I meaned to shay gloshiness:

Challenges

• Cards in Envy: Motherly love.
• Happy Little Stampers: Anything goes with dies.
• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use those snippets.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Penny's "Mom" theme.

 

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Speaking of succulents, for my Mother's Day bouquet for you I've got an update on those succulents which bloomed this year for the first time even though they are at least three years old. I first showed them to you on April 9 and here you can see how they grew and opened!

Here's a closeup of the individual magnificent flowers:

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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 to return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

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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 Thanks

Hi there!

I meant to welcome you to a brand new week yesterday, but Sir Comstanzes kept that from happening. You know him, right? He can be so captivating!

Today is Election Day in America and we are all thrilled that it is finally here! No matter which candidate people supported in this election, we are ready to get back to being a CIVILized society. Yippie!!

I'm so thankful, I made a gratitude card:

I received this beautiful metal leaf (and others) from my friend Milka and I think it works so well beribboned in plaid and gold on a warm fall card of thanks. The sediment is from Your Next Stamp. The tag is from Poppystamp's "Stitched Main Street" tags, heat-embossed in blue moire powder.

Challenges

• AAA Cards: Thanks / Thanksgiving.
• Cuttlebug Mania: Tic Tac Toe: embossing, die cuts, purple.
• Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge: Metal / Faux Metal.
• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use your snippets!
• Poppystamps Challenge: Plaid is Rad.
• TIME OUT Challenge: "Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart."

Thanksgiving Is a Thing

I'm also going to link to the uber-talented Susan Raihala's Thanksgiving Crusade 2016 page. Here is the information, in Susan's own words:

The Thanksgiving Crusade is one woman's attempt to save Thanksgiving from the huge commercial shadow cast by Halloween and Christmas. I'm tilting at windmills here, but dag-nab it! Thanksgiving is an awesome holiday that deserves more attention. ...

The only rule for my Thanksgiving Crusade is that you make and send cards of thanks. You may thank the people closest to you, or you may choose to thank people whom you haven't seen in years or you may thank someone who doesn't know you at all. Doesn't matter. Let's just take this as a perfect opportunity to thank someone.

Please consider joining us for the Thanksgiving Crusade even if you're not Canadian or American ~ thanksgiving knows no national boundaries. 

Show gratitude. Give thanks. Save Thanksgiving.

My card is for our neighbor who unexpectedly changed our dinner plans for the better by offering us one of the large trout he had just caught that afternoon! It was delicious!

And thank you for your crusade, Susan!

~~~

Weekend Collage

We had a wonderful four days with the grandtwins and granddogs, although I was a bit overwhelmed by all the testosterone! I sympathize with my sweet DIL!! Here is a picture collage for you:

Adam and Henry / Duke and Jack

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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 walla, no more car pool tunnel!
Mwah!
If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me
your email address so I can respond. Thank you!

Pretty Pink Poppies

Hi there!

How's it going? Did your week whoosh by? Did you get a chance to uncover and set up the patio furniture? Change the filter on the air conditioner? Finish up your spring cleaning? Or did you put your prior itties in the proper order and get crafty instead?

I went with the ladder and got crafty! My ittie today is to remind you that there is still a fun challenge going on over at Tag You're It!, in which I am happily guest designing. I made you this mid-challenge tag:

I'm showcasing a NBUS "Perky Poppy" die from Memory Box. The e/f is "Poppy Field" by Darice and the snippet of DSP is vintage from SU. Using a Thinlits die from SU, I made the fishtail banners from the remaining snippet of e/f paper and a snippet of text DSP from my stash. A piece of twine and ombre heart Washi tape round out the ingredients.

Here is the challenge inspiration made for you by the uber-talented TYI Designer Jeanne Jachna:

There aren't many tags in the gallery yet. Jeanne has given you many ways you can go with your interpretation, so I hope you will be able to play with us before the challenge closes!

I'm also sharing my tag with my friends at Pixie's Snippets Playground where the only rule is you have to use your snippets!

~~~

The pretty pink posie paper and personable perky poppy still wanted to play, so Hammy and I prepared a couppla other popular polar opposite negative/positive cards. (If I had to pay $5 for every pee, that sentence would've cost me $105. That's your math for today. Don't come here looking for classes on English or your Grammar because you will be Miss Lead.)

The NBUS giant hugs is from Casual Fridays Stamps "Mwah" set.

Challenges

• AAA Cards: Inlaid Die Cutting.
• Addicted to Stamps and More: Clean and Simple.

Sediment is from Your Next Stamp. The border snippet is made from the reverse side of the floral paper. Go me for using pp!

Challenges

• City Crafter Challenge: Pretty Pink 'n Pastels.
• HLS May CAS Challenge: Inlaid Die Cutting.
• TIME OUT Challenges: May all your weeds be wildflowers.

~~~

Bloggie Friend (BF): You always make me laugh, Darnell. What makes you laugh?
Me:

~~~

New Friends Corner

I am pickled tink to welcome another five new friends today and I hope you will be able to visit them soon and introduce yourself!

Janet of Stamping with "MOO". Janet started her blog in 2007. In 2008 she discovered challenges. She posts intermittently as she works full-time and also enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, hot-rodding, and motorcycling! It's wonderful that she enjoys so many hobbies and makes such delightful cards for our inspiration!

Glennis F. of Creating Cards. Glennis began blogging in 2010. Unlike me, Glennis is a woman of few words, but that's okay. Her wonderful gallery-style of blogging allows us to scroll along the page and see lots and lots of extraordinary cards. You'll also notice that she is regularly recognized by challenges for her beautiful designs!

Cara Gregory of Crafting Bunnies. Cara started blogging March 2015. Happy belated blog birthaversary, Cara! As her blog name suggests, Cara has two crafty bunnies ~ real critters, not imaginary like my Hammy! Cara started blogging in order to join in challenges and it's been a treat to get to know her and enjoy her delightful card art!

Lisa Tilson of My Card Trip. Lisa only started blogging in February of this year, so please make an extra special effort to click over and welcome Lisa to our wonderful community in Blogland! After making cards for years following in her mother's footsteps, Lisa started stalking blogs (especially Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner) and taking card classes to learn new techniques. Then, lucky for us, she started her own blog!

Heidi Stamps of My Little Stamping Blog. Heidi started blogging in 2014, but she has really gotten passionate about it this year. Her card art has received recognition in challenges and I think you will be delighted and inspired by her cards, which I find to be uplifting and cheerful! 

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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 walla, no more car pool tunnel!
Mwah!
If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me
your email address so I can respond. Thank you!

Cherries Jubilee for TYI!

Hi there!

Happy whooshed-around-to-Friday day! I hope your week has been grrrrand! Don't give one thought to the fact that today is Friday the 13th and you've already gotten a paper cut from opening the cereal box and one of the kids emptied your purse into the dog's water bowl. That should do it then for bad luck for you today. Promise. Go on about your business. I mean, after you read this.

I had the pleasure of winning a recent Tag You're It challenge, which means I have the honor of being the Guest Designer for the current challenge! So I made you this tag:

Inspired by this lively tag made by my talented friend and TYI Designer Jeanne Jachna:

I'm not gonna lie, Jeanne's pretty tag truly challenged me since I'm a person who generally likes a lot of white space. But there's nothing like a challenging challenge to get Hammy running full blast on his thinking wheel. Round and round and round he went until, wallah, we had cherries jubilee!

The tag top was die cut with a NBUS "Pinpoint Dome Tag Decorations" die from Poppystamps and embossed with a Cuttlebug e/f. The bottom of the tag was cut with an MFT Die-namics "Tag, You're It" die using cherry covered pp from my stash. The two were taped together on the back and belted with Washi tape. The fishtail flags were handmade from Washi covered cardstock and the center flag is stamped with the CFC stamp "Out Loud." The sediment is from SU and the center cherry focus pocus is fussy cut from a piece of pp I have.

How will you be inspired by Jeanne's tag design, my inspiration, and the wonderful inspiration of the rest of the Design Team? I hope you will join in the fun! Click here to go to the current Tag You're It challenge!

I'm also playing here:

• HLS - Anything Goes With Dies.
• Ike's World Challenges: Embossing.
• Paru's Card Making Challenge: Summer
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Emboss it.
• Stamp, Ink, Paper: Make one element stand out: Cherries.

~~~

Perspectivation

I was going to share with you about how I am doing on the increased dosage of medicine for one of my ail mints. About how I have less fatigue and I'm down to just one very long afternoon nap, but about how now I'm experiencing yet another difficult side effect in the form of fatigain. Prior to this increase in medicine, I had been moving more and eating healthier to be fit for my trip to England in July, so this development is disheartening.

But then a dear friend wrote to share that her husband is not well and he will be facing surgery soon and one of her sons is also ill. Another friend is facing brain cancer surgery and another friend's wife is declining in her battle with cancer. Yet another friend is dealing with family mental health issues and my own son is struggling with a debilitating attack of gout.

Unfortunately, there are many folks not included above. Thinking of my friends and family with serious crosses to bear and dialing in on my Perspective Button, I am reminded that weight gain caused by medication is not something to be upset about in the grand scheme of things. Especially when the medicine is helping.

So never mind. My British friends will love me even if I'm a flufflier version of myself. All the better for hugging, right?! So big hugs to you if you have serious issues on your plate right now!

~~~

New Friends Corner

I hope you'll join me in welcoming these five lovely new friends!

Lilian (littlelillyb) of Lilian's Crafting Blog. Lilian started her blog in September of 2014. Lilian shares events that are happening and the lovely cards she makes for playing in challenges. She also makes 3D art pieces, so you'll find lots of varied inspiration on Lilian's blog!

Mac Mable of The Sweetest of Peas. Mac has been blogging since 2014. Like so many of us, Mac was inspired by online challenges to try her hand at new techniques and join in the fun of blogging and entering challenges. Now she is a seasoned challenge player and award winner. You'll agree the recognition is well-deserved when you see her magnificent card art!

SonjaK of SonjaK - The Art of Stamping. Sonja is from Germany and she started blogging in 2013. Sonja has loved paper in all forms since she was a child. She enjoys drawing, painting, journaling, and calligraphy. Sonja was introduced to the hobby of card making and scrapbooking in 2012 and we are fortunate she started her blog and began playing in challenges. Her creations are sensational!

Kavitha of Kalalayaa's Art Studio. Kavi has been blogging since 2009. Her artistic talents are unlimited. You'll be blown away by her scrapbook layouts, canvas art, home decor, journals, and, of course, cards. Allow plenty of time to enjoy all that Kavi has to offer!

Barbara Joyce of Inky Fun. Barbara Joyce has been active on Splitcoast Stampers and she has started posting more often to her blog as of January of this year. You will find her beautiful cards arrayed gallery fashion and you'll be impressed as you scroll through oodles of inspiration!

Thank you for joining, ladies, and welcome to the Playhouse!

~~~

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 as soon as I 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 walla, no more car pool tunnel!
Mwah!
If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave me
your email address so I can respond. Thank you!