Twofer Trees!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I'm sorry to have been gone for a coupla weeks. We took the charter up to Alaska for a few days just to get away from the triple digit temps and smoky air. 

Then I woke up and realized I had been dreaming. And then I couldn't find my mojo. I know a lot of you have been struggling with loss of mojo since the damnepic started. When you're dealing with Covid, isolation from your family and friends, mad wildfires, unhealthy air, politics, and new blogger, it's a struggle. Then I think about what I would be doing with my time if I didn't have this hobby and my gratitude returns and my mojo juices start flowing again.

Thank goodness, considering I needed to make my Twofer cards to share today because it's the 10th of the month and time for the September Twofer Card Challenge! This month our fun prompt is T🌲R🌳E🌴E🎄S!

Together

The NBUS stamp my two QACAS (quick and clean and simple) designs have in common is "Snow Dust" by Penny Black.

Onefer

For this Thanksgiving card design, I used my favorite direct-to-stamp technique in fall colors. I added a sediment from Stampin Up and then I cut the panel with a fishtail tag from PTI. And I used ribbon! It's also from Stampin Up. Lastly, I adhered the panel to a festive orange card base.

Challenges

• Die Cut Divas: All Kind of Holiday Time.
• Friendship Challenge: Autumn.
• NBUS #18: Anything virginal goes.
• Try Stampin' ~ or Not ~ on Tuesday: The photo only.

Twofer

My second design is an OLC winter birthday card and it uses the entire wooden stamp in all its beautiful snowy glory. I heat-embossed the trees and sediment (from PTI) in platinum and then Hammy suggested I platinumize a border all the way around the card to keep his eyes focused. Thank you, Hammy. It's a feature I love to see on a card, but I forget about doing.

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: S is for Snow.
• Love to Craft: Anything goes.
• Merry Little Christmas: September anything goes.

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I hope you'll get the opportunity to play along this month! The challenge is open until the end of day on September 24th. Remember you can simply use the same tree as a conventional tree on both your cards as I have done today, or you can make one conventional and one unconventional design. Just enjoy and have fun with it!

Please click over to the Twofer Card Challenge to see the amazing and inspiring Twofer cards our talented Team and our Guest Designers Helen and Lisa have made for you!! Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support! Mwah!

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Backyard Wildlife Habitat

In other news, I captured a coupla Opposites photos for you this week. We have lots of yellow finches nesting in our Oleander trees and they fly down several times a day for a refuel of water, especially on these hot and smoky days. 

(Pardon the quality of the photos which were zoomed with my phone through the Playhouse window.)

Then imagine my surprise (and the surprise of the finches!) when I looked out later and saw this!

We believe it's a Coopers hawk. She stayed there for almost a half hour, long enough for us to worry that she might be injured or fell from a nest too early. But then she gracefully lifted off, flew to the fence, stayed there for several minutes waiting for her tail feathers to dry and then off she went. It was really cool considering we don't live in the country! (I'm sure Lizzy and the scads of other fence lizards we've seen this summer don't think it's all that cool!)

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Enjoy your day, take care, and keep safe! But still, 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!)

From Poppies to Snowballs

Hello Stamplings!

Today is Memorial Day in America. A day where we pause to honor the lives of the men and women who died while serving in the military and to acknowledge the sacrifices of the families they left behind. 

I've made a poppy card thank you. 

Rather than the symbolic red poppy color, I painted my poppies the colors of the state flower of California using both my Kois and DIs. I have seen card artists who can magically paint flowing backgrounds on their watercolor cards. It's not my usual sort of minimalist lean, but I always love it when other people do it, so I tried it. 

I have to say I was pretty pickled tink with how I did. So much so, that I carried my card into the house from the Playhouse in order to show The Mister and, well, you can see what happened. I got halfway across the deck and an unkind seagull took a bathroom break all over my card!!

Can you believe it? No? Oh, all right, I'll be honest. I over-diluted some white acrylic paint and instead of practicing first on a piece of scratch paper, I let Hammy take a leaping jump onto the paint brush and ... oops. I decided to share anyway. Even though all accidents are not "happy" accidents, it's how we learn, so it's all good.

BTW, the NBUS image is "Charming" by Penny Black which I stamped in black and heat-embossed in clear before painting.

Challenges

• CAS Colours & Sketches: Colours.
• Mix It Up: Anything goes with option of mixed media.

Twofer

This adorable ageless beauty has graced the pages of this blog before. She is my Aunt Charlotte, immortalized by Art Impressions. I'm sure you can see the family resemblance especially in the chest area. Aunt Char was always slim in the hips while I took after the heavy-bottomed other side of the family. As a result of being both front- and end-loaded, I have no fear of tipping over. (Which tiddly Aunt Char has done on most holiday get-togethers.)

I started this card during Retreat free time in order to enter it in the Christmas Kickstart Challenge when I got home. The brief was "S is for Snarky Christmas," but sadly the doors have closed. Now I think most of you know what x-rated thoughts Aunt Char is referring to by "reindeer games," but in case you have young children (or a hamster) looking over your shoulder, I handdrew a pile of innocent-looking snowballs.

Challenges

• Just Add Ink: Just add Q-X-Y-Z. X is for just a teeny bit x-rated.
• Love to Craft: Anything goes.
• Rudolph Days: Anything goes Christmas.

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Bonus Surprise

The lovely lady seen with me above is none other than Scrappy Mo, the hostess of Rudolph Days! Loll reminded me that Maureen lived very close to where we were renting a house in British Columbia and we were all delighted that she was available to join us for lunch one day. It was a pleasure meeting you in person, Maureen!

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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!)

This Is Wheelie Gonna Be Fun!

Hello Stamplings,

How are you this fine May day? When you walk around my neighborhood, the homes on every street are just bursting with flowers and so colorful. The lawns are all thick and green and manicured. Manicured is a funny looking word, isn't it? Mani was really ill with fingernail blight, but now he's cured. Possibly. Turns out the English word comes from the French manucure, which in turn originates from the Latin words "manus" for hand and "cura" for care. That makes sense now.

Sorry, just another squirrel in the mental machinations.

On to this month's Twofer Card Challenge!

Our prompt is THINGS WITH WHEELS.

My common WHEEL comes from Lawn Fawn's "Wheelie Like You" set.

I shouldn't tell you this, but I made my Twofer cards for today and my reminder Twofer cards for next week and when I went to write my posts, Hammy was sitting on my shoulder as he likes to do. He was reading along and all of a sudden he ran down my arm and hopped up to the top of the laptop and glared at me, chattering away like a wet hen. I looked back at him in my quizzical way. He then hopped down, ran over to the drawer where I keep my critter stamps and disappeared through the hand hold drawer opening. 

Ah ha! What a bad hamster mommy I am! Of all the wheels all over the Playhouse, it never occurred to me to use a hamster wheel as my inspiration for you! Needless to say, that got remedied immediately, but he is still sulking a bit and I don't blame him.

Onefer

For my birthday card, I used a NBUS Poppystamps die called "Pinpoint Rings." I silver embossed the wheel. The hamster and the sediment are NBUS from the brand-new Art Impressions "Hamster Wheel Cubbies." I think the balloon is from PTI.

Challenges

• Seize the Birthday: Optional Toppings: Balloons.
• Simon Says Monday: Add something metallic.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Kath's All About Occasions.

Twofer

For my second design, I made a Christmas card using the hamster wheel as the O in the word JOY. The pp is from PTI and the embossed snow panel was a gift from my friend Chrissie. The little hamster running on the wheel on this card is from the Lawn Fawn set used on my first card and the JOY die is "Seed Snowflake Joy" from Poppystamps.

Challenges

• Love to Craft: Anything goes.
• The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas goes.
• Sweet Stampers Challenge: Animals.

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I hope you'll dig through your stash of cars, planes, trucks, campers, bicycles, tricycles, ambulances, buses, office chairs, wheelbarrows, carts of any kind, trains, wagons, pulleys, roller skates, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, baby strollers, tractors, Ferris wheels, and luggage, to name a lot! I can't wait to see what you make!! You will find more sensational inspiration on the Twofer blog from our talented Team and Guest Designers, Hilary and Cornelia.

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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!)

More Makes From Alcoholic Inks and Foil

Hello Stamplings,

How are you doing this fresh April day? It's been really hard to concentrate for any length of time in the Playhouse because of everything happening outside the window. There are so many shades of green, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, the hummers are everywhere, and the squirrels are running up and down the top of the fence like their pants are on fire. Even the weather is interesting to watch. I decided I'd better close my blinds or I'd never get this written!

Today I am sharing some artsy makes.

A while back my friend Harriet came over for a playdate and we had lots of fun with alcoholic inks and different types of paper. The above are the ones I made. I used the pink one in a prior post. Here is the lovely Harriet holding up one of her makes.

My backgrounds have been on the corner of my desk and I finally put together a Twofer with them.

Onefer

When a background is this sensational, it's hard to cover it up, so I went with a simple gold-embossed sediment from PTI and a stitched frame from MFT cut from gold mirri card.

Here's a more schparkly angle:

The process involves laying a piece of colored foil over the sticky bits left from a play with the alcoholic inks. Then you use one of your acrylic blocks to press the foil into the sticky bits. I achieved those cool slashes of gold you see by turning the block on its side and running the hard edge across the foil. It really adds a lot of dramatazazz which the photo doesn't begin to do justice.

Challenges

• Ike's World: D is for Die Cuts/AG.
• Love to Craft: April AG.

Twofer

I apologize for the cloudy day photos.

With white linen card, I used the MFT stitched frame again, adhered over another frame from PTI, and topped with a NBUS sediment from Concord & 9th. The coolest thing about these alcoholic backgrounds is that each one is unique. The frustrating thing about them is that each one is unique. Sometimes a background is so WOW you want to be able to duplicate it prezackly. But you only lament for a second and begin again because it's so fun and addicting and you never know how it's going to turn out. You know, like raising a child.

This is the inside of the card. Warning: Please avert your eyes if you don't like a little bit of naughty language...

What happened was, Hammy gave me the list of challenges he thought I might like to play in and one them involved using witty, naughty, and funny sediments. I didn't have a way to attach a funny one to the front, so I put it inside. But then when I went to add the links, it turns out it wasn't a challenge after all. It was a come-on ad for new carpeting for hamster cages! I'm not mad about that because I read it the same way myself.

Well, by then it was done and I rather like the unexpected inside with such an artistic outside. The sediment is ancient from River City Rubber Stamps. I know a few of you have been recipients of this stamped verse! 😄

Challenges

• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use Those Snippets.
• Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge: Don't Be Fooled, Be Foiled.

 

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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! And thank you to all of you who left encouragement for Cornelia and me about our new series mentioned in the last post! Mwah!

*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!)

Full of Hot Air

Hello Stamplings!

Sorry to be away so long. I'd like to tell you that Hammy and I were in Hawaii for a week, but no. I've had a change in medications and I haven't felt like myself. I haven't named my new self, because I'm hoping she won't get comfortable and stay around. She's a bit slow and she eats and sleeps a lot. I like the old me better. Although the new me is ordering a lot of new fun toys, so maybe she's not so bad ...! 👥

But nothing can keep me for sharing what I made for this month's Twofer Card Challenge. The prompt this month is BABOONS!

Wait. What? Sorry, sorry. I meant to say BALLOONS!! I went with the hot air kind:

The hot air balloon that both cards share is a Bright Balloon Stripes die from Memory Box. It comes in two parts. The card on the left uses both can o' peas, the one on the right uses just the top can.

Onefer

The double-stitched NBUS scalloped border die from Poppystamps and the hot air balloon from Memory Box were cut from DSP from Our Daily Bread. I did a light rainbow watercolor wash for the center panel. The birthday girl sediment is from PTI's Road Trip set and the polkie-dotted basket is also from an old PTI set. Using a tiny dauber attached to his nose, Hammy pounced out the ropes. (Please, Maxine, don't get after me for giving him hard labor; he thinks up these stunts all on his own! 🐹)

Challenges

• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Anything goes using your snippets.
• Poppystamps: Spring cleaning.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Kath's feminine anything goes.

Twofer

Aaaaahhh, with winter still being deeply felt in many areas of many countries, doesn't this card make you hug yourself as if you could feel the warmth of that sun on your skin?! This gorgeous inviting landscape is also DSP from ODB, which I now have a ton of, thanks to Leslie. Some people think that stamping directly onto beautifully patterned paper is a bit of a cheat. Except for having to die cut a sun, I don't see how it's any different than if I stamped the images onto a white or solid color background. She says, shrugging a question with her shoulders. 

I stamped the deck chair, umbrella pole, and Sun & Sand sediment from Technique Tuesday's "Summer" set. I had to mask the shadows that came with the chair and pole images before I stamped them because they were shading the wrong direction. I used a pen to ink them back in on the right side of the law. The bottom sediment is NBUS from Simon's "Messages For Everyday." The hot air umbrella and matted panel are cut from very ancient pp.

Challenges

• Love to Craft: Anything goes.
• Simon Says Stamp Monday: Whatever the weather.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Create a scene.

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Show Me Yours!

I can't wait to see your amazing Twofer creations this month over at the Twofer Challenge blog. Our talented Guest Designers Julie and Lucy and our clever Team have amazing inspiration for you! Thank you!

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Threefer

Sorry to do this to an already long post, but real quick, with all the funny sediments I have, I just had to play along in the current Seize the Birthday challenge which ends soon.

I'm not sure who makes the conversation edge die because it's not in its original packaging. MFT? The sediment karacks me up. It is NBUS from Impression Obsession. The quote marks from Paper Smooches are also NBUS. I've had them since the last half of the last century and I just love how cute and plump they are. The photograph of me in my housecoat was taken by Stamps by Judith.

Challenges

• Day of the Month: This is a brand new fun challenge in Blogland! The first brief is, "I Want You To Be Happy Day." I hope my card has made you laugh and made you happy!
• Seize the Birthday: Toppings: Make us laugh. See above!

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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!)