The 25th = PTI & Rudolph & Pixie!

Greetings,  my friends! Happy Sunday Funday!

Short and sweet today as you are no doubt here to hop and unless you're very athletic, it get tiresome to stand and hop in place for any length of time.

First up, I have my card for the October 2015 Blog Hop Challenge for Papertrey Ink (PTI). If it's the 25th day of October that means the 25th day of December can't be far behind ...

I chose to use the ornaments for my inspiration so I could use my NBUS "Ornament Trio Cutout" from Poppystamps. I used nontraditional PTI DSP for my die cut inserts and for the matting. The NBUS sediment is from PTI's "Stocking Prints" stamp set.

Now you might think this is tiresome fiddly work putting all those pieces into the negative bits, but I'm a person with a hamster to help me and we both enjoy jigsaw puzzles ... this way we can get that same jigsaw satisfaction and make cards at the same time!

Today's Twofer

In fact, the above card was so much fun, we made a whole nother card for the monthly Rudolph Days Challenge! This time we used sparkly silver and mirror red, green, and gold cardstock from my stash:

The scripted joy die is from Winnie & Walter. This shows the shine a bit better:

You know how hard it is to capture shine in photos, so you can just imagine how pretty this card is IRL. (If QACAS stands for Quick and Clean and Simple, than what shall I call this? SACAS as in Slow and Clean and Simple?)

I'm entering this metallic version in Rudolph Days Challenge hosted by the sweet Maureen. This challenge opens every month for Christmas cards and runs from the 25th day to the last day of each month throughout the year! I hope you can join in!

I'm also entering my card in Pixie's Snippets Playground. This is the 200th challenge run by the sweet and talented Di Wray! This challenge is simply to encourage all of us to use our scraps ~ or snippets as my British friends say ~ and that's it! EZPZ! We all have scads of them and I find this challenge a wonderful reminder to use mine; just like my NBUS acronym reminds me to use my new product.

Not only that, but the ladies who join in are a HOOT! We have a Playground and a head mistress and a mascot and a tree house and a bike shed and swings and a donkey ... oh, and so much more! There are prizes, too! It's been great fun seeing a lot of my friends join in across the pond and I hope you can, too!

Congratulations, Di, and thank you for all you do!!

~~~

Enjoy the HOPS and 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!

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Pressies and Cake!

Hey! How's it goin'? Happy Sunday Funday!

I wasn't going to post this weekend, but then what happened was I was visiting other blogs and I saw a coupla three challenges that I just HAD to play in. I mean, I just HAD to play in them in that stop-the-presses-and-never-mind-about-whatever-it-was-you-were-doing sort of way. I wonder now what it was that I was doing? It can't have been important. She says, hoping.

So here's my first:

This card was inspired by the Muse: Christmas Visions card. This week the Muse is the extraordinary card artist Marika Rahtu of Me and Minime Crafting. Here is Marika's adorable card:

 

Now, seriously, doesn't that make you want to drop everything and play along?! It did me. 

My miniature Rudolph with the goofy doofus smile that makes you smile back is from Your Next Stamp, "Believe in the Magic." The presents (some of which were popped up) were paper-pieced and then fussy-cut using two vo SU stamps. The quizzical little birdie on top is a NBUS stamp from Purple Onion Designs, "Stacey Yacula Studio Winter Bird Sitting" and the sediment is from Stampabilities. Appropriate winking, a Rudolph red nose, and googly eyes were applied!

Challenges

• ColourQ: See graphic below.
• Muse: Christmas Visions. Marika Rahtu.
• Rudolph Days: July.

 

~~~

Today's Twofer

Over at Less Is More there is a happy celebration going on as Fearless Leader Chrissie turns 70 years young! Chrissie is a card hero of mine who has become a good friend. She was a huge help to me in my early days in Blogland and LIM remains one of my favorite challenges, so I couldn't pass up the celebration party for Chrissie! 

AND, yet another good friend and card hero just happens to be guest designing at the LIM birthday party challenge! Her name is Di and she is the Fearless Leader of another challenge you see me entering often: Pixie's Snippets Playground! At Pixie's the only rule is that you use some snippets (or scraps as we Americans call them) on your creation. 

Here you go:

 

The sweet cake is from Stamps by Judith and the sediment stamp is from PTI. The cake plate is NBUS from Avery Elle's "Fanfare" set. The sweet balloon border was cut from a snippet of SU DSP using a NBUS die from Lil Inkers called "Fanfare Scalloped Border Die." Honestly, I forgot I had it, but Hammy remembered and pointed out that it matched the swirly fanfare scallops on the cake plate perfectly! The corner was chomped and the cake and candle were winked to finish it off.

Happy Birthday, Chrissie, and many more!!

Challenges

• Less Is More. Use snippets.
• Pixie's Snippet Playground: Use snippets

~~~

New Friends Corner

I'm delighted to welcome more new friends to the Playhouse!

Valery of My Joy. Valery is from Slovenia and she has been blogging since 2014. Like so many of us, Valery started blogging as an outlet to enter her cards in some of the many wonderful challenges available to us. She has since won honors for her cards and I know you'll find her designs to be fantastic and inspirational!

Marybeth Lopez of Marybeth's Time for Paper. Marybeth has been blogging since 2010, which means you prolly already know her! She is on several design teams and plays in many challenges with her stunning works of card art. I often find Marybeth's designs to be pure magic and her work is always impeccably executed!

Alice P. of Scrap & C. Alice is from Italy and she has been blogging since 2012. She is an elementary school teacher who has always enjoyed creativity and playing with paper, glue, and colors. Alice is also a big proponent of recycling, something she learned from her grandmother. I think you will enjoy your visit to see all the ways that Alice gets creative with her cards and 3D projects!

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!

*Life is too short!

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June 2015 PTI Blog Hop and Rudolph Day

Happy 25th of the Month of June in 2015!

In my creative world, if I have my batter in the pan, the 25th of each month means it's time for another fun hop celebrating Papertrey Ink over at Nichole Heady's website and it's time for entering a Christmas card in the Rudolph Day Challenge.

First up is my PTI Hop card:

I covered a white PTI card base with a piece of charcoal gray and white striped vellum from a DCWV foiled vellum pack. Over that I attached another narrower piece of white card. The NBUS flowers, which I've had for well over a year and never used [slap], are from the PTI "Cutting Garden" stamp and die set. I colored them direct to the stamps with my DI markers. The leaves were stamped with PTI pine feather green ink cube. The sediment is from the PTI "Birthday Bash Sentiments" set.

Everything was bewinked and bejewelled.

Here is the darling inspiration photo:

I'm also entering my card in the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and in Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, "Anything Goes."

If you are hopping off here, please let me know you were here, enjoy the day, and enjoy the hop! Thank you for stopping by!

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For my Christmas card for the Rudolph Day Challenge, I made this guy:

I sponged the ColourQ blues onto the card base from light to dark. Percival Penguin is made from a Stamps of Life penguin die and a stamp set called, "More Penguins to Love." The warm knit hat is from a Technique Tuesday set called, "Winter" and the sediment is from a Paper Smooches set called, "Swanky Snowdudes." Every item is NBUS. Goodness, me. The frame was made by cutting out a rectangle mat and then embossing the frame with a Sizzix snowfall e/f.

BTW, here in the States today is the Hallmark holiday, "Leon Day," celebrating that we are prezackly half-way through the year until Christmas! (Leon is Noel spelled backwards.) You're welcome!

The only criteria for Rudolph Day is that you make a Christmas creation, so I used these challenges as my inspiration:

• Merry Monday:  Funky Hat. 
• ColourQ: See below.

 

And, yes ... since the larger photo doesn't show it, Percival would like for you to see his schparkle:

~~~

Here are some other handsome guys whose Father's Day photo I forgot to show you last time! 

Papa, Adam, Henry, Dan

~~~

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!

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Masking Magic, Day Three

Hello!

Are you getting tired of me yet? Thank you all for your wonderful compliments on my class homework, which just encourages me to keep on creating and posting so, really, it's not my fault, it's your fault. Convulsionary logic at its best!

But, seriously, it's nice to be able to have a free week to take the class and do my homework the same day. That hasn't happened in the past, and I have found it hard to disciple myself to go back and do it at a later date. 

So, well. We really swam into the deep end of the masking pool yesterday at the Online Card Class: MASK-erade course when we tackled liquid masks. After a lunch of brisket, we used our frisket. Sorry, these things just come out of my fingertips.

First:

I realize now, looking at the monitor, that this wasn't a very good stamp to use for this masking technique because I could have just sponged my sky and then stamped the cone flowers over it in black ink. Geesh. All that work of applying the liquid mask and waiting for it to dry ... sigh.

I used bumpy watercolor paper so you can tell by the uninked white areas of the flowers that I did, in fact, use a mask or the sponged blue inks would have colored in those uninked areas of the flowers. It was good practice and I think I picked a better image for the concept on my second card.

Anywhizzle, for this card, the pretty metallic raspberry paper is from a DCWV pack. The cone flower is from SU ("Inspired by Nature") inked in Archival black on Ranger watercolor paper and the background was sponged with DIs. Water droplets were smattered about. Although it doesn't show well, I also sprayed a fine white mist all over.

In the masked area, I stamped the NBUS sediment from The Stamps of Life "Umbrella4you" set. I covered the cone flower with Modge Podge and added some rain stones to complete the front.

It kinda looks like creepy fingers in the closeup to show you the sparkle. You'll have to use that awesome imagination of yours to add some creepy dramatic music right now.

Here is the inside with the continuation of the sediment:

Challenges

• Shopping Our Stash: Play misty for me.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes.

~~~

Speaking of friends, I'd like to wish my friend Ardyth (of "Maskerade!") a very happy birthday today and many, many more!

Enjoy your special day!! MWAH!

~~~

My second card:

This card gives you a better idea of how amazing liquid masks can be for doing watercolor washes across the whole front of your card in smooth stroke lines, rather than painting up to and around an image. Not to mention that a paper mask would get soaked and allow for seepage. Ew, seepage.

Again I spattered water and white. You can better see the white droplets on this card. The stamp is "Jumbo Poinsettia" by Stampendous. The "Vertical Merry Christmas" is by Paper Inspirations. You may not be able to see that the center pips of the poinsettia are plumped up with Modge Podge.

Challenges

• Rudolph Day Challenge: Anything goes, Christmas.
• Christmas Card Challenges: Anything goes, Christmas.

~~~

I'm off to class, skipping to "a tiskit, a brisket, a green and yellow frisket!"

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!

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A Sponger Gone Mad!

If you are looking for my NBUS Challenge #4, click HERE. 

March 21-March 31, 2015

Thank you to everyone who has already played!

Hi Gang!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! We are having more gorgeous weather here. We skipped right over spring and went to summer, which could be very ominous for future temps and the drought, but right now with everything blooming and the hills still green, we are enjoying it to the max, Max.

So. Now I'm a sponging maniac. No, not really. But I have had this fun NBUS paper from SU on my desk to use for a couple three months. It's got emboss resist built right into it, so it's made for sponging. And there are a couple of Christmas challenges I want to enter, so I sponged a Christmas tree on it.

I learned from other blogs and the Online Stretch Your Dies class that you can use your dies to make your own stencils. I cut a die using my PTI christmas tree die and then used the negative to sponge the tree in SU wild wasabi and TH evergreen bough inks. 

The sediment is from My Sentiments Exactly (DD302) and I inked it with red Stazon, hoping it won't schmear. I haven't tested it yet. I guess if it does schmear, someone will end up getting a Christmas card that says H li  y  ap  nes  t   ou!

Challenges

• Rudolph Days Challenge: Any Christmas Creation.
• Merry Monday Christmas Challenge: Tree. 

~~~

Of course, I made a second card while I was at it. I tried to make another Christmas card using a wreath negative, but on the emboss resist paper there was too little of it that took ink so the image looked like a bed raggled I-don't-know-what.

I started over and made a birthday card. Remember I showed you those ancient stencils I found:

I sponged the balloon in the upper left of the above photo:

I used one of the other stencils to make the "string." Different, huh? The sediment is from PTI "Bigger Blooms."

As I was taking the photo, the breeze blew over my card and I thought, "Well, would you look at that?" You look. If I used this same balloon and string, only upside down, I could make a card that looked like one of those old-fashioned cartoon bombs! 

You'd have to flip your sediment, too, of course. Do you see it? Or am I a sponger gone mad?

This post amuses me because there are some readers who just look at the pictures (no judgment) and if you came here today and just looked at the pictures, what must you think?

Here are closeups of the cards where the sunlight captured the sheen of the emboss resist leaf pattern built into the paper. It's very pretty IRL.

~~~

Stamping Friends

I forgot to share this photo from my recent outing with Kim and Harriet. Here we are in front of a bouquet I made up to give to Kim for her birthday.

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Reminder

My NBUS Challenge No. 4 is ending Tuesday, March 31st, at 11:55 pm PST!

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the number of entries in the gallery! MWAH!

~~~

Okay, off you go, 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! Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor! 

  

 

*Life Is Too Short!

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