Aaahh New Baby ~ ATCAS #16; Fusion #13; NBUS #17; Pixie's #79; PDC #189

And we're back around to Friday ~ whoosh!

I hope everyone in the U.S.A. had/is having a wonderful 4th of July holiday/weekend.  I was out of sorts and laid low.  Fortunately, our long hot spell is spose to break today and it can't happen soon enuf for me.  If you are wishing for heat where you live, I'm sending it your way!   

 

I tried to find the origin of "out of sorts."  It seems ill-defined and most often connected to May Laze, a pale woman from a well-known French family dating back to the 12th century.  My guess is that once again, a lack of enunciation was the true root of the term. 

 

I think we are all familiar with those days, no matter what country we live in, when we have ten hundred things to do and the husband yells from the bedroom, "Hon, I'm out of shorts." 

 

And so, of course, it happened that one morning in Olde England, Mariel was having tea in the kitchen with her neighbour, Samantha, when the call came from the back of the house. 

 

"Whatever is he bellowing?" asked Samantha.

 

"Oh, tush, ignore him," replied Mariel, "he's just out of sorts."

 

~~~

 

My card today is for several challenges.  Many of the challenges have sponsors and prizes, which is always appreciated!  To shorten my post, I hope that you will use the links to check out the details.

•  

Addicted to CAS (ATCAS) where the code words are "take flight."

 

•  

Fusion Card Challenge which is lasting a whole month and where the inspiration is this adorable hypothesis:

I fused the two team challenges for my card, using birdies in my take of Jackie's sketch.

•  

Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground where the only requirement is that you use a snippet (scrap) or two, or however many you can, on your card.  Oh, and it helps if you like to engage in shinanagins.  Gins, you say?

•  

The Play Date Café where the theme is "trendy colors" of burgundy, terra cota, and icy blue:

 

 

~~~

My card:

The stamps, both Hero Arts birds and PTI sediment are NBUS (never-before-used-schtuff).  There are four birds in this Hero Arts set.  They came to me in a grab bag a long time ago, and now I can't wait to use them again!  This card is so cute IRL, and looks like it needs nothing else to my CAS eye, but now that I'm looking at it on the monitor, I think a little eye bling wouldn't hurt. 

~~~

 

The doorbell to the Playhouse has been quiet lately, so I'm pickled tink to introduce you to our new friend, Rasz, of Rasz Art.  And she's not kidding with that blog name, this lady creates some incredible art!  You'll truly enjoy your visit to meet her!  Welcome, Rasz, and thank you for joining in our funfest!!

~~~

 

Did I tell you we've had our granddog, Duke, again this week?  It's been so bleeping hot that every evening he's cooled off by trying to catch the evil spray from the garden hose!

Hello, Papa?
  Slight problem here with this rag you're using!

~~~

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 leave a comment and/or join as a follower!
  

*Life Is Too Short!  

Paper:  PTI spring rain, vintage cream
Stamps: Hero Arts "Decorative Birds II, III, IV,
  PTI "Baby Button Bits"
Inks:  SU! bravo burgundy, PTI spring rain,
  canyon clay
Dies:  Memory Box "Leafy Branch" and
  PTI "Take Three"
Corner Chomper

FCC #10, PDCC #185 ~ The Lazy Days of Summer

Happy Day to you!

Usually of late I seem to be rushing breathless and headlong into closing challenge doors.  This time I am entering two challenges with lots of days left on them, so if you like what you see, you actually have time to make a card and play along!  What a concept!

I think I might have had an ePiffanary.  I'm not sure, we'll work through it together.  For starters, I was looking through my merry-go-rounds of embellies for my little heart charms and I came across other fun goodies that I had forgotten I had.  I immediately stopped the heart business and went off in search of a couple of challenges to showcase my find.

Ah, bliss.  The current Fusion Card Challenge (Hypo #10) was just the ticket. 

The colors of "Lesley's Challenge" weren't going to work, but "Jackie's Challenge" sketch could not have been more perfect.  I love it when that happens.  So no "fusion" for me this time, just a flat-out CASE of Jackie's fun sketch.

~~~

And for colors, you won't believe what I found at The Play Date Café:

magenta, teal, light gray

~~~

Because, drum roll, my little found embellie tiles are magenta and teal!  Shut up!

(The teal looks more blue than teal for some reason, sorry.)

The only adjustment I made to Jackie's sketch was the triple-time colored sediment.  I just thought the message with the fun fishie ocean paper and faux pier and flip-flops bore repeating.  Bared repeating?  I choose bared, as in bared shoulders sitting on the beach in the sun.

I'm sorry the inking is not very bold.  I stamped on scratch paper first, but still, the stamping on the card could have been better.  Like a dough-dough, I stamped the sediments after I complied the little tiles.  I thought about tracing over them with a marker to make them bolder, but I'm not THAT big of a dough-dough.  Instead, we will just think of them as being waaaay out to sea!

~~~  ~~~

Deep Thoughts

  

I use Pinterest and pin cards I want to CASE (copy and share everything) but then the days keep going by and I have never once taken the time to go back and CASE a card.  I just keep on pinning.  If I stopped everything right now and just CASEd the cards I've pinned, I would have 859 cards to make.  At a card a day, it would take me . . .

Sigh.

And then there are all those new stamps and new dies and new embossing folders in indecent quantities in the Playhouse that beckon me to please use them at least once, for crafting out loud.

Back Story

I have a routine.  Okay, stop laughing.  Of course, I have a routine.  What else would you expect from someone with Organized Crafting Disorder (OCD)! 

When I started trying my hand at challenges, I quickly loved how choosing a challenge sparked my fuse and I was off and running.  There was Make It Monday, and Template Tuesday, and One Layer Wednesday . . . and then I expanded my horizons and started finding competing daily challenges like Merry Monday and Mojo Monday and What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday, and Tri-Tip Thursday and, wait.  What?

So I have happily been alternating challenges, or doing them all some weeks, and in doing so, all the various and brilliant sketch challenges and color challenges and I have gotten along famously.  What I'm trying to say, in as many unnecessary words as possible, is that the challenges were the foundation for my cards.

The problem is, I would then reach for those old familiar stamps.  As for dies and embossing folders, I'm still so new to them, that most of the time I just plain don't think of them.  I need to find a way to stop this from happening and start really using my schtuff.

Now then.

My epiffapony will gallop you all the way back to the beginning of our story, to wit:  I'm going to try to reverse this process of first taking a challenge and then picking out the product.  Like today, for instance, I took those three simple tile embellishments and found I was able to find challenges to fit them!

I am going to see if I can continue with this new-found routine.  Imagine that!  (I'm sure a lot of you smarter stampers already do that!!  Just hush your face now about what a slow learner I am.)

Now and then I also hope to CASE a card on my "Card Ideas" Pinterest board.  Sometimes I may even make a card and post it without entering it into any challenges.  Gasp!  Frank Lee, I don't see that happening too often.  There are so many wonderful challenges out there and I think I can still play in them with my new reverse routine.   

It's like an adventure! 

This was Day One.  The product: dimensional tile embellies from Doodle Bug Designs.  The name of my new adventure shall be NBUS for "never-before-used-schtuff."

~~~

I'd love to hear what your process is. 

• Do you have a set routine where you pick the product and then search for challenges?

• Or do you pick a challenge and then search for product in your craft pantry? 

I know some of you leave a new product on your work area until you use it, which I think is a brilliant thesis.  Unfortunately, my OCD means I find all that stuff on my desk to be too distracting for me to be creative, so that doesn't work for me.  I dutifully put my new stuff away, in its proper place.  Where it becomes part of the black hole otherwise known as "Out of Sight, Out of Mind."   OOS,OOM as the kids would say.

• Or is your method more like, "Sare Anne, dip the tea!" and you find all this deep thinking to be just silly?

~~~

Just in time for the adventure, please welcome our new friend, Laurie Unger of Laurie's Stampin Place!  Laurie has been making sensational card art and blogging for years and years and years.  You are gonna want a delicious beverage and a whole lot of time to dedicate to a visit to her inspirational site!  Thank you, Laurie!  We are so delighted to have you along!

~~~

Thanks for bearing with my blitherings on this post; even for me this was a long one! 

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

And thank you so much for stopping by the Playhouse.  Special thanks to you if you take the time to leave a comment or join as a follower!

*Life Is Too Short!  

Paper:  PTI white, unknown DSP

Stamps:  PTI Fillable Frames #8 and

  Button Boutique

Inks:  SU! taken with teal, Versa Color

  magenta, and Vivid cobblestone

Doodle Bug Designs tile embellies 

CTS #26, TPDC #180 ~ Stay the Course

Welcome!

 

I hope you all are doing well.  We had a great time with the twins on Sunday.  They regaled us with the highlights of their baseball game on Saturday.  As it happened, they batted one right after the other in the lineup.  Henry got a base hit and was standing on first base.  Adam came to the mound and smoked a home run to deep center field, which meant they got to chase each other around the bases and both score!  Ah, the joy in watching their faces beam and hearing about first-ever and long-lasting memories!

 

Ah, the sadness in realizing on the way home that once again no pictures were taken!  

 

~~~

 

Today I have a card for two challenges:

 

For some reason I haven't figured out, I keep losing track of the time on the CAS(E) This Sketch challenges.  I really like their sketches, so I don't like that I can't seem to find a place to pin them to the small amount of bulletin board brain I have left.

 

This time I remembered!  Here is the sketch by the very talented Karolyn Loncon:

 

 

For my colors I turned to the "Color Splash" fun over at The Play Date Café.

And here is my card:

I thought it would be interesting to use both my striped and my chevron Washi tapes.  And given the words of the sentiment, trendy arrows seemed to be a perfect touch.  To me, the tape looks like real life journeys whereby the straight and smooth parts are punctuated by peaks and valleys.

I really, really was tempted to go from subliminal to ridiculous and use sequins too, but in the end I just couldn't.  "No," the hamster said, his chin perched on his paw, "stop there."  So I did.

BTW, I just have to add that the incredible DT and fans of The Ally Way Stamps are solely responsible for the hamster going hog wild with the credit card recently.  Yes, ladies, you know who you are.  You Paper Smooches peeps aren't any better; that's next on the wish list. 

And whose idea was it to call it a "wish list," anyway?  Mine is a wish BOOK!

~~~

Speaking of ladies, it is my pleasure to introduce you to new friends, Wendy Coffman of Stamping Rules! and Janelle Davis of kaards, etc.  Wendy is a seasoned blogger and Janelle is a brand new blogger, but they are both excellent card artists.  I'm sure both of them would be delighted to have you visit!  Thank you, ladies, and welcome to the party!

~~~

My blog friend, Bernie (Bernie's Craft Closet) posted the very happy news that her cancer has shrunk by at least 50%!  Hallelujah, Bernie!  Keep on fighting, my friend!

In celebration, here is a "new life" photo to share:

 

 

Yesterday I found this nest tucked away in one of our hanging baskets after noticing quite a few fallen leaves on the deck under it.  I had a heck of time getting a picture through the window of the mama bird, but you can just make her out here in the upper left:

Every spring they nest in the baskets, but I've never seen a baby bird make it.  Every spring I get excited all over again.  I'll keep you posted . . .

~~~

I won't be in the WOYWW hop this week.  I've a girls' night out on Wednesday night and then I'm working Thursday and Friday.  Since I won't have a chance to do much visiting or return any flavors, I'll sit this one out.  Hopefully, however, I'll still manage some time in the Playhouse to make a couple of cards to share.

~~~

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

Thank you so much for stopping by the Playhouse. Special thanks to you if you take the time to leave a comment or join as a follower!

*Life Is Too Short!

 

Paper:  PTI white

Stamps:  TAWS "Ka-Pow" and "Life Is Short!"
  (I had to buy that set!)

Ink:  Versafine onyx black; SU! Marvelous

  Magenta and Marvy marker No. 55

Washi tape:  Freckled Fawn (this week's TPDC sponsor!)
Pop Dots

 

LIM96; SCS CCC12; PIXIE'S49 ~ December Birthday

Hello Friends!

I'm back at work three days this week.  Part of the time I am being trained on new upgrades to our office computer software.  Knowing the condition of my memory, I'll just let you have a good laugh about that.  I found that the key is to nod my head whenever the teacher looks at me.  I have perfected that illusive "all-knowing" look!   Sssh.

I have one anniversary card and several birthday cards to make in December, including a card for one of my sisters, and cards for the twins who will turn eight on the 20th!  Swoosh!

Today's card is for a dear friend who loves riding her bicycle ~ miles and miles!  And she runs and she makes cards and she quilts and she's a busy wife, mom, and grandmom.  Lawsy, I had to sit back in my chair and take a breath for a minute after typing all that!

I am playing with these challenges:

 It is a colour week at Less is More where Chrissie and Jen have chosen RED and GREEN, appropopo.  Please join in ~ there is a new sponsor for you to check out, too!

 I'm linking up again over at Splitcoast Stampers in the thread for Holiday Cards for 2012, but I'm not sure my card is strictly legal.  It isn't, technically, a holiday card, but my stinking is that it would be super cute with the sediment "Happy Holidays" in place of "Happy Birthday," and the bike basket does contain masked and unmasked Christmas pointia setias, which means it's still a holiday-inspired card.  Sort of.

 And last, by not least, I think my impish snippets-using girlfriends across the pond at Pixie's Crafty Workshop will get a kick out of my polky-dotty bikey!  Before mulling over the wine, I'll make another one from another snippet and everyone can take turns going for a spin.  I think a red one this time.  And maybe one of the girls knows how to do a handstand on the handlebars, which would be a swell number for the concert for the geezers!

Have a look.  (Another cloudy day here.)

I think my friend will really like this one.

~~~

On my last post, I forgot to thank the kind ladies at The Play Date Cafe for the creamy shoutout for my ribbon card last week.  I am very appreciative of the honor!! 

~~~

Enjoy your day!   No, seriously, enjoy your day.   Next thing you know, you'll turn around and have grandkids eight years old!

As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 An oldie but goodie from Pinterest  

Paper:  PTI white; SU? green 

Stamps:  SU! "Party This Way";

  Rubber Stamp Tapestry poinsettia

Ink:  PTI new leaf; SU! real red

Die:  Memory Box, "Brand New

  Bicycle"

Twine:  doodlebug design inc.

Corner Chomper

PDCC158 Colors; Pixie's 48 Snippets; SCS CCC12

Welcome to Cyber Monday!

 

Like anyone is going to see this post today.  I know you are all cyber shopping.  I'm going to be doing a bit of that myself here shortly.  I read in the paper that Cyber Monday is passe.  Really?  Sounds like that's a rumor being spread by the still-standing brick-and-mortar stores, but I may just be suspectious.

 

My card today came about via round-about.  I was at our local crafty store, sort of a small Michael's, and I found this scrummable ribbon in the cheap bin o' ribbons:

 

 

I bought it because it's like a finely textured sweater with impossibly thin threads of gold weaved into the material.  Also, I remembered I had some ancient Christmas tree paper in the same sagey colors.  I hoped I still had some.  This morning I found it, one tiny piece a bit larger than the front of an A2 card.  It was, indeedy, a perfect fit with the ribbon.

 

So I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew because I was going to use that last snippet of paper, that I could enter Week 48 over at Di's fun playground site, Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  I so appreciate having found that site because it serves as a reminder to me to reach for my snippets paper drawers, instead of my uncut paper drawers.  I could say something ear reverent . . .

 

I next looked to see if any of my other favorite challenges might fit my card, instead of the other way around.  I was pickled to find the perfect colors over at The Play Date Cafe:

 

 

This week's suggested colors are ...

Rose...Eucalyptus...Slate

and they have a brand new sponsor:

 

who is offering a fabulous prize!

And just for fun, I went over to Splitcoast Stampers where I found a thread for Holiday Cards for 2012.

 

Now that you are all suspended, here's my card:

 

 

This is definitely going to be a custom one-of-a-kind card now that the paper is gone,  but I seem to really be loving using ribbon lately, so I'll make more cards with this design.  I usually avoid the hard-to-mail cards, but at Christmas we send a family photo card to everyone out-of-town.  As a result, all the cards you see on my blog will be cards that will be hand-delivered.  It's fun to be able to go wild and shut up that incessant, insistent, practical voice in my head!  I'm kidding.  I can't shut it up because I am unable to extinquish it from all the other voices in there.

 

~~~

 

I didn't tell you yesterday because I was already running long (read boring), but Mister woke up Friday morning with a terrible sore throat, which then blossomed into a cold.  Last night, it jumped through all the precautions we were taking and came to visit me.  Not only that, but I had the added pleasure of waking up to find Lar N. Gitis had snuck into bed next to me during the night.  Rat bastard.  Let's be honest, the Mister is okay with that.  It's so blessed quiet around here!!

 

~~~

Enjoy your day!   No, seriously, enjoy your day.  And enjoy my blooming camilia!

 

 

As always, thank you for stopping by to visit. Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 



Paper:  PTI vintage cream;
  unknown bp; PTI autumn rose
Stamps:  SU! unknown set
Ink:  Vivid! cobblestone
Ribbons: leaf label says:  Ribbon,
  Sold-by-the-Spool 79856 58554;
  and Offray Au Rouge
SU! tag punches and eyelet
Crop-a-dile

CAS(E) this Sketch #4; CFC #77; PDCC #156 ~ Bugs!

How Dee Do Thee?

 

Before we get to it today, I'd like to tell you about a holiday card drive I read about through Joyce's Cards-by-the-Sea website.  It's here in the U.S., and in the event it's new to you and you're interested, please click over to Vera Ling's Happy Place where she talks about her third annual "Caring Hearts Card Drive" going on until November 30th.  She thoughtfully collects and delivers holiday cards to the elderly in nursing homes.

 

 

I'm going to be participating in Vera's drive and continuing my own tradition locally and I hope you will consider doing the same.  In addition to providing cards to the military through Operation Write Home, it's an effortless way to bring boundless joy to others during the holidays.

 

Thank you, peeps!

 

~~~

 

My card today was instignated by this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC #77), "Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails."  In other words, create a clean and simple masculine card.  Simon Says Stamp is the generous sponsor of this challenge!

 

 

Righto, snails then.

 

And for my sketch, we have #4 over at the delightful CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.  The sketch this week is designed by the talented Lisa Arana.

 

 

Got it.

 

And for my colors?  Well, lookee heree, at what The Play Date Cafe #156 has conjured up for me!

 

cinnamon, squash, vanilla, sage

(Isn't that like zucchini bread?)

The Play Date challenge is generously sponsored by DRS Designs, a family-owned company since 1950!
 

I hope you will have time to check out any one or all of these fun challenges and join in with your take and bake!  And I hope you smile all over your face at my creation:

 

 

I think it qualifies as a "masculine" card, even though I admit it's pacifically more of a "boy" card.  Boys do turn into men.  That is, until they reach their sixth decade, at which point they turn back into boys.  Ask me how I know.

 

~~~

 

I'm very tickled to welcome Barb Murphy to our little family of friends!  Please join me in making Barb feel at home here.  You are going to truly enjoy your visits to her "Barbles" website, kinsale creations!

 

~~~
 

Enjoy your day!   I hope you aren't suffering from any of the "bugs" going around, and I hope nothing 'bugs" you too much today.  As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks and kisses to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

 

Paper:  PTI vanilla; SU! dusty durango,

  always artichoke, and more mustard

Stamps:  SU! Bugs and Kisses

Ink:  SU! colors; Memento black

Eyeballs from stash

Corner Chomper

FMS #54; PDCC #151 Wine w/ Pumpkin Moss; and Pixie's Crafty Workshop #40

Good Morning, Monday!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

Today is Rachel's birthday!  She is our DDIL, mother of the twins, and wife extraordinaire to DS.  Happy Birthday, honey, and many, many more!! 

I made a fun fall card for two challenges.  The CAS sketch came from Freshly Made Sketches (#54), designed by the talented Jennifer T,

and the colors of pumpkin and moss, with some wine, came from The Play Date Cafe (#151):

Taken together, I made this:

I'm sorry the burgundy wine cardstock looks purpley brown in the picture.  IRL, it matches the leaf.  I used a brand new (to me) Fall Leaf Trio die cut and stamp from Memory Box, which I lah-ove.  I sponged the inks on a glossy panel, clear embossed the stamp, and then cut it out using the matching die. 

The slightly patterned background paper was made by stamping the image with Versamark and then resist-sponging with chalk.  Oh, and I snipped a few pippets, too, so I am linking up to Pixie's Crafty Workshop (#40).

I think maybe "happy autumn" would be a better sentiment than "happy fall."  At my age.

~~~

It was a Harvest Moon watching over us this past weekend.  Did you see it?  I was on the phone with my sister, Diana, who lives way over on the other coast, and we both looked at Mr. Moon at the same time.  I love that.  Weather permitting, the moon shines on everyone, free of charge, and magnificent! 

According to the Farmer's Almanac, the Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the Autumnal Equinox.  I'm not sure where that is, but it might be behind McDonalds on First Street.

source



What a marvel.  This month the moon will be full on October 29th, which (if it isn't raining or cloudy) will be perfect for all the little Trick-or-Treaters. 

I'm over the moon to welcome two new followers!  Please take a little time to visit Deborah of Deborah's Gems and Lucille K. of White Points.  Thank you, ladies!  We are very fortunate to be connected to such talent!

Enjoy your day!   As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

Paper:  SU pumpkin pie, bravo burgundy,
  and mellow moss; PTI rustic white
Stamps: MB Fall Leaf Trio F1776;
  Darcie's Out on a Limb
Ink:  SU bravo burgundy; Versamark
Die:  MB Fall Leaf Trio
Twine from stash

CFC57 ~ Banners And Flags; PDCC146 ~ Color Splash

A Sunday Morning Howdy!

It's a new week, a fresh start, a moving forward, a clean slate.  Aaaah.  It was good to see my dear friend, it was good to see the twins and their daddy, and now it's good to have Mister home, and be back creating in the Playhouse!

The CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week is to use banners and flags.

and over at The Play Date Cafe, we are to make a color splash using black, white, and lime.

As it happens, I cut some dill from my garden the other day and noticed that some of it had started to flower. Such pretty little flowers, I took a picture as inspiration for a future card. 

And how fun it was to have that opportunity today.  I hope it's okay that I only used one banner:

  

~~~

I wish I didn't have to blow my nose. 

Then I wouldn't put tissues in my pockets. 

Then, even though I check every item of clothing like a TSA agent, tissues wouldn't end up going through the washing machine. 

Then I wouldn't have 216 individual tiny whisps and whiskers of fluff clinging to all the wet clothes. 

Then I wouldn't have to shake out each item of wet clothes like a mad cat after being caught in a sudden rain shower. 

Then I wouldn't end up with tissue snow all over the floor. 

Then I wouldn't have to sweep up all the little fluffs, which rise and twirl and dance around, mocking me. 

Then I wouldn't lose the rest of my cool and start cussing loudly like a dock worker with mud in his Wellies, causing the neighbors to hussle their small children back inside, hands over their tender ears. 

Then I wouldn't start smacking at the fliffs and fluffs with the broom, splat, splat, which, of course, doesn't corral them, but rather, sends them higher into the air. 

Then I wouldn't lose my balance and tip over like a great cow, my wrist pulservating from one end of its car pool tunnel to the other.

I wish I didn't have to blow my nose.

~~~

Enjoy your sun day, wherever you are!  As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.  Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

Paper:  PTI white, Bazzill black,
  SU green galore
Stamp and banner: Lil Inker Designs
Ink:  PTI black
Die:  Memory Box Chloe Stem
Various punches
Corner chomper