Spring Fois Deux (I.D.E.A.S. Calendar A = Anything Goes!)

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are finding a spring in your step as we are now fully into spring! Unless, like some of you, there was snow coming down on the first day of spring! Or you live upside down and you are fully into fall. In that case, I do not wish for you to have a fall in your step!😬

Maybe we should all sit down and check out everyone's favorite week of my I.D.E.A.S. Calendar which is A = Anything Goes!

Onefer

This design was schparked by the blues and greens color challenge at the Color Throwdown. And a lot of challenges have "spring" as their brief, which led me to my NBUS "Lovely Lily of the Valley" die from Lawn Fawn. 

These sweet little flowers are oft times white, but look at this photo I found! Who knew? Or is that AI?

Anywhistle, just to be different (and because I have gobs of it), I used cream card as my card base and to cut the dies. I don't know if it was the paper or the operator or the product, but it was a bit of faff getting clean cuts. But I per-severed and then painted with my Ziggies. Then I took a rest and Hammy and Stanley went about winking all the bits, as one does they doeth.

Then I faffed a bit more, laying the stalks and leaves this way and that, but it all seemed a bit flat, so I decided to go through my e/fs and see if one of them might juizz it up a bit. When I saw my NBUS "Cross-Stitch" e/f from Taylored Expressions, I got the idea of gluing down the flowers and then running the whole panel through my Gemini in the hopes it would look like a counted cross-stitch. It was a risk after painting all those wee lilies, but, phew, it worked.

It wasn't until after I'd embossed it, that I realized I should have stamped on a sediment first.😶No worries, let's cross-stitch that, too, then! I used my wee Lawn Fawn triple frame label set. The sediment is from Verve, older than your grandma, but still good as new!

Challenges

• Cardz 4 Galz: springtime.
  
• Color Throwdown: blue, lime, green.
  
• Just Us Girls: spring mood board with Lilies of the Valley.

Twofer

Keeping spring in mind, this design was schparked by another color challenge, this time Color Hues. I had the little flower outline stamp on my desk. I had removed it from its wooden block some time ago and stuck it in with my silhouette stamps. I also saw that Lin was hosting the current Seize the Birthday challenge and she was looking for "things with wings."

The lads went up NBUS Mountain and starting pitching birds and butterflies and dragonflies off left and right. Well, not one to move if I don't have to, I reached down and picked up the one that landed on my bazooms. Thankfully and perfectly, it was this wee NBUS hummingbird from Memory Box that comes as a multipiece die. 

You know how much I love hummingbirds and how fortunate I am to have them come to my window feeder every day all year long. And Goodness knows how many photos I've shared on here of these delightful birds in their brilliant blue, purple, green, and red feathers. Pulling my artistic license from my sleeve, I used a piece of pp to create an unusual (to me) array of green and yellow feathers for this little gal. 

The rest of the design came together easily, punctuated by hammering, stitching, piercing, scalloping, blinging, and winking. You know, the usual. Oh, and I did have to give her teeny feet.

Challenges

• Beautiful Blossoms: Mood board.
• Color Hues: Lemon and lime.
• Memory Box: Petal power.
  
• Seize the Birthday: Things that fly.
  

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You will find a linky tool below for this week's I.D.E.A.S. Calendar prompt of A = Anything Goes. So, no matter what you create, you can link here this week to motivate others out of their creative schlump!

I love seeing what you create, visiting you, and pinning your design! Thank you so much to everyone who remembered to link last week! Mwah!

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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!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Getting All Seasonal I

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying your crafty self! 

We are entering the Frenzy Zone of card-making, especially in the u. s. of a. where we celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in a matter of days. And Thanksgiving is late this year, arriving on November 28. But we get 'er done every year.👻🦃🎄

This week my I.D.E.A.S. schedule features Ink/Color Mediums:

Onefer

First up is a fall sunflower birthday card I made for a very special friend. My little helpers winked the entire flower and leaves, but this time they let me add the schplatters in dark brown to match the sediment from GKW. The sunflower is from Technique Tuesday.

Twofer

Next, we switched over to Halloween. The creepy spider die is from Memory Box. The leaf wreath is a NBUS stencil from Altenew which I thought would be fun colored in Halloween colors. I think the sediment is from SU.

I used my watercolor pencils to color through the stencil and then, after removing the stencil, I lightly brushed the leaves with my water brush and added the veins with a micro black pen. I used my gray Ziggie to add outline dementia. The card was embossed with the Subtle e/f from SU and lightly sprinkled with some diluted black gouache.

Threefer

To finish the seasons, and because it's addicting, I made another wreath with the Altenew stencils, this time for Christmas. I blended with my Catherine Pooler inks in one of my favorite color combos. The leaf veins were added with a stamp from the companion stamp set. After coloring, I again used the Subtle e/f. The layered Joy sediment is from Memory Box.

Cheeky Humor

A couple goes to an art gallery and come upon a painting of a nearly nude woman with her private bits covered with leaves.

The wife doesn't like it and moves on, but the husband keeps looking.

"What are you waiting for?" the wife asks.

The husband replies, "Autumn."

~~~

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! 

*Life is too short!

Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More: Birthday. (sunflower)

Color Hues: Purple and orange. (spider)

Four Seasons: A/G Fall. (sunflower)

Memory Box: Happy Haunting. (spider)

NBUS: Wreath stencil.

Stencil Fun: Anything Halloween. (spider)

NBUS Flowers IV and Commenting Woes

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you had a lovely weekend and made a lot of memories however you spent it! We had to postpone our plans, but all is well and I made use of the creative time to keep going with my basket of flowery NBUS. I'm going to get right to it because I have lots to say about commenting further down.

Seven

The NBUS stamp I used for this design is "Luminous Poppies" from Memory Box. The square frames are from MFT, the NBUS fabulous die is from "Fabulous Phrases" by Concord & 9th, and the "you" die is from Winnie & Walter. I'm not sure if you can see it, but Hammy glossified the poppies.

This design is a CASE (copy and share everything) of a beautiful card I received from my dear friend Mac Mable whose blog is The Sweetest of Peas. Here is the card she sent me:  

Isn't it stunning? I was so intent on CASEing this beauty and have kept it at the ready since my birthday in 2019! I got there in the end! 😲

Challenges: Memory Box (flowers), Just Us Girls (Word Week: flowers), Snippets Playground (Must use snippets. I used snippets for frames and die-cut sediments).

Eight

The NBUS artsy tulip stamp featured in this design is "Creative Chaos" from Visible Image. It was all the rage when it first came out and, as so often happens, I dropped what I was doing and sent my fingers off shopping for it. Then it sat. And waited. And waited. (You see now why I had to make using these beautiful stamps a single-minded focus. They have been more than patient!)

The background is a piece of pp and the card frame and "enjoy" sediment (from Penny Black) are cut from copper paper. The stamps from the set have been heat-embossed in copper. Hammy added the extra little dots of bling with a peg stamp.

I had so much fun using the copper e/p that I found other suitable pieces of pp and went on a batch run, making six cards in total.  

Commenting Woes

Blogger has done another "enhancement" when it comes to commenting on our blogs. This is what I've experienced:

• Some readers were unable to leave comments on the NBUS challenge. I discovered it was because I had chosen the "embedded" comment format for that blog. I changed it to the "pop up" format and those readers could again leave comments. [If you have embedded commenting on your blog and you need to change it, go to Settings, Comments, Comment Location.]

• Some readers have left comments on this blog, but they didn't appear on the comment section at the end of the blog post. This problem seems to be more complicated. (Thank you, Blogger, she says sarcastically.) A couple of possible reasons:
• If you are a no-reply blogger and you leave a comment on a moderated blog, Blogger intercepts the comment, puts it in the spam folder, and the blog's owner may never see it. If you'd like more information, this website explains a no-reply blogger and provides a solution: Let's Add Sprinkles. 
• As a blog owner, if you see comments in your spam folder, you move them to your inbox, and click on the link to "publish." You then get a pop-up response from Blogger letting you know that the comment has published. 
  
  In the past, that was sufficient. As of two or three weeks ago, that changed and I discovered that many of these comments were NOT being published, in spite of the message that they were!
  
  It's ridiculous, but blog owners are now required to do an additional step in order to actually publish the comments of their readers who are either no-reply bloggers, or who are not Gmail users, who are using non-Google web browsers, or who knows why? Normally these comments would be in the "Awaiting Moderation" section, but now they are mixed in with those not awaiting moderation. 
  
  To check and see if you have any of these non-published comments lurking in your reader's comments on your dashboard, the solution is a bit of a pain, but your readers will appreciate it. After all, they took the time to leave you a comment!
• From your dashboard, click "Comments" and scroll down the right-hand side of each comment. As you scroll, pictures will appear with options to 'remove content,' 'mark as spam,' or 'delete.' However, if you have unpublished comments (in spite of the steps above) you will see a checkmark as the far right picture. If there is a checkmark, you must click it and a popup box will ask if you want the comment published. Affirming that will finally ensure that your reader's comments are published to your post. Phew!
  

These are just my observations and opinions. If you know of a different or simpler solution, or I have given incorrect information, please let me know. To me it seems like another blatant attempt to convert everyone to Google products, but in doing so, Blogger is causing aggravation to both the readers AND the blog owners who eventually are going to get fed up and stop commenting and/or blogging! That seems a stupid shoot-yourself-in-the-foot plan when you've got stiff competition from Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest!

Or I could be wrong and someone just made a software error! Make sure you report any problems to Blogger help ... squeaky wheel and all that. By the way, as a blog owner, you might want to let your readers know if you are moderating comments in order to cut down on spam. That way they won't be expecting their comment to be immediately published. 

I'm very sorry if you've been frustrated leaving me a comment. Rest assured that if you do leave me a comment, I DO see it, and I do everything I know to publish it to my blog post. Sometimes this takes me a few days. Mwah!

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

*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!)

Bambi Through the Seasons

Hello Stamplings!

I have two bright and shiny cards for you today to take your mind off the real world for a few minutes. I find it very comforting to make a card I know will bring cheer to someone and I feel very blessed to have a hobby that keeps my own spirits up while I'm being isolated. 

We are at the hallway point of the current Twofer Card Challenge and...oh, haha, "hallway point!" Another example of how one letter can change the entire meaning of a word! Anyfoo, I've made a Twofer to remind you that there is still a week to play along with our Spring Animals prompt!

I went a little outside-the-Easterish-animal box and chose instead to use this sweet baby fawn from Stampin' Up as the common stamp on both my card designs. (He's really quite ancient, but he's still a baby.)

Onefer

This is quite a layered and busy design for me, but I enjoyed putting it all together and I have to say, I think it's very schparkly and scrummy which is how a Christmas card should be! 

I used gold glitter paper as the first layer. On top of that you will find a white card that has been die-cut with a notebook edge die from The Stamps of Life. I stenciled said layer using Delicata gold ink and a Snowflakes die by Memory Box. On top of that you will find a vellum fish-tail banner with a gold heat-embossed sediment from GKW. To the right is the little baby fawn heat-embossed in gold onto a stitched MFT circle, which is backed with a larger circle whose edges were dipped in gold ink. 

If you look closely, you will see more tiny gold snowflakes falling around the fawn. Hammy did those for me. 🐹 I'm thinking if the economy really goes belly up I can use this card in lieu of a gold bar!!!

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: E=embossing; F=freebie; and/or G=gold.
• HLS March Challenge: Anything goes with dies.
• Krafty Chicks: Christmas.
• Memory Box #59: Glitter paper or glue.
• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use your snippets!
• SSS Monday: Stencil fun.

Twofer

And wallah! For this design, I traveled forward from winter to spring to show you how stamps can be versatile and how to make two distinctly different designs! This time I heat-embossed the sweet baby fawn and sediment in copper e/p on a pretty linen panel. Using my Box O' Bits (BOB), I surrounded him with a spring Memory Box Cascadia Wreath cut from a green Brusho background. Then I cut out and paper-pieced each of the flowers from various Lindy Magical backgrounds. 

Challenges

• Cardz 4 Galz: Spring flowers.
• Paper Players: Spring flowers.
• Sweet Stampers: Easter or spring.

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I hope you'll take advantage of this time of isolation to play in your craft room and join the fun over at the Twofer Card Challenge! The challenge closes at the end of day on March 24th.

Speaking of spring animals, please enjoy your St. Patrick's 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 off to check my corned beef cooking in the crock pot ~ yummo! Take care and be safe out there!! 

*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!)

Women ~ Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful!

Hello Stamplings!

Today is International Women's Day! It's an international holiday with schools, banks, and the post office closed in order to honor women everywhere! 

Wait. What? Oh, that part is still a dream, but, hey, we really have come a long way, baby, and we're being heard. Well, except not always by our husbands, but that's another story and not why you called in today.

Today I'm delighted to be joining other women making cards to celebrate International Women's Day:

I just love this little dress and hanger die from Memory Box. I cut it from a piece of smooched background. The stencil is from my friend Sarah's Funky Fossil Designs (thank you, Sandie!), and the sediment is from Hero Arts. (It came from a garage sale years ago and still has the 10￠ sticker on it!) The paper looks interesting and that's because Hammy sprayed it liberally with Wendy Vecchi's buttercup mica spray. Cuz even in our modern age, women still want some glitter and schparkle!

There is a fantastic sponsored Hop with lots of prizes! It's happening for the next two weeks to celebrate women positively supporting each other. I hope you will join in with a card! You can link up HERE. You can also find information on Instagram and Facebook Group.

The idea behind this blog is to encourage women through our crafts. We look forward to building a positive environment with your support on this blog. Just a small word of encouragement from fellow women goes a long way and can do wonders. So lets us come together and empower our sisters all around the world.

Challenges ~ I'm also linking to:

• Color Throwdown.
• Memory Box: Glittery paper or glue.
• SSS Wednesday: Something feminine.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Kath's AG with a feminine twist.

Twofer

On a rare cloudy day yesterday, I set BOB (Box Of Bits) aside and made this very QACAS design for a few challenges. I used my old-but-still-NBUS MFT "birthday chicks," which were Ziggified by me, and winked by Hammy. The sediment is from WPLUS9. I'm chuffed that I made a dozen of them in one sitting since they were that quick and easy. Then I napped. And after I finish typing this, I'll be all over BOB again! Don't tell the Mister!

Challenges

• Less Is More: Lucky Dip week=Big and Small (Chicks and Sentiment).
• Perfectly CAS: Shapes. (Triangles and circles.)
• Seize the Birthday: Sentiment as focal image.

 

~~~

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!)