My ♥ Is a Flutter

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? We have sunshine! Everyone's disposition is going to soar after 22 days of rain and clouds! I hope Mother Nature is being kind to you, wherever you are!

Today I've got a coupla clean and simple cards.

Onefer

I've used a color challenge to inspire my Valentine. The image is called, "Bundle Girl with Falling Hearts" and it's by Stampingbella. The sediment is unmarked, but looks to be Paper Smooches. It doesn't show, but Hammy got to deploy one of his new winkers. After the coloring and winking, I ran the panel through my Gemini using the SU "Subtle" e/f. 

I know it looks like I've given her lilac hair, but the stamp package shows she has on a stocking cap to go along with her mittens and boots. It can be very cold in some parts on Valentine's Day, but a little cold never stopped romance. In fact, last Monday the Mister and I celebrated 52 years of wedded romance!🍻

Challenges

• Cardz 4 Galz: CAS (Clean and Simple).
• Four Seasons: Anything Goes Winter.
• The Paper Players: A Color Challenge from Claire.

Twofer

Today's uber CAS Christmas card features a NBUS stencil from Tim Holtz called "Stampers Anonymous Woodland Stencil." I blended the ink through the stencil and then Hammy added SU Shimmery Crystal Effects to look like snow. It looks schparkly in person.

Challenges

• Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round: A Partridge in a Pear Tree: One of Something or a Tree.
  
• Sparkles Christmas: Sparkle/Glitter Accents.
  
• Stencil Fun: Anything Goes with stencils. Option used, "Winter."

~~~

I thought I'd share this quote as we start a new year. I'm an optimist and positive by nature, but sometimes the happenings in the world cause a lot of worry, which is stressful, which is not good. So, next to the Serenity Prayer, I love this.

Corrie Ten Boom

~~~

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!)

Seeing Stars!

Hello Stamplings!

I'm out of my bubble! Yay! But don't worry, I'm not seeing STARS because I bumped my head on the way out!🙆I'm seeing stars because this month the prompt for the Twofer Card Challenge is STARS!

The star stamp my cards have in common is an unmarked stamp that I've had for ages.

⭐✶★☆🌟🌟★☆✶⭐

Onefer

Here you can see my OLC detective card design, the two masks I made so I could blend the colors, and the star stamp I used. Seeing it now on my monitor, I'm karacking up that the detective mask is inspecting the star stamp through his magnifying glass. 

I stamped the Katzelkraft detective and the sediment (Paw-some by Taylored Expressions) and applied the masks over them. I used Tim's inks to blend the background and then I gold-embossed the stars across the sky. I decided not to color the detective because he would just compete with the background and possibly be invisible.🔎Then again, for a detective, being invisible would be a very good thing, so maybe I made the wrong call there. 

Hammy came through after wards to make the water spots using a syringe which he uses like a pogo stick. He also put a layer of gloss on top of the frosting on the cupcake I added. (The little dog is part of the stamp, but the cupcake is snot.) 

Challenges

• Alphabet Challenge: P is for Party! Congratulations on your 10th birthday!!
  
• Inkspirational: Night.
  
• Little Red Wagon: Colour me happy.

⭐✶★☆🌟🌟★☆✶⭐

Twofer

This simple Christmas design packs alotsa schparkle! I stamped and gold-embossed the same star stamp I used in my Onefer onto pretty linen paper. From that I die-cut the ornaments from Nestabilities. The sediment (from Stamping All Day) was also gold-embossed. The front panel was attached to a shimmery gold paper mat. Wallah wallah ding dong done.

Challenges

• Cards 4 Galz: Silver and/or gold.
  
• Merry Little Christmas: Anything Christmas goes.
  
• Sparkles Christmas: Gold or silver or glitter.
  
• We Love Chocolate Baroque: November = Christmas.
  

 

Join Us!

This is our last Twofer Card Challenge of 2020 and I look forward to seeing your festive designs using ⭐★🌟STARS🌟★⭐in the gallery this month!

Pop over to the Twofer Card Challenge where you'll find the Team has made beautiful inspiration star cards for you! We are also fortunate to have the lovely and talented stars Pia and Liz as our Guest Designers this month! 

AND ... 📣

I. This month we have added the same TWIST we did in November last year, which is that you can make two holiday card designs instead of two different occasion card designs!! All the other rules apply.

II. Wait. There's more! Because this is the last challenge of 2020, I want to end it on a positive and joyful note, so there are a few PRIZE$ on offer!! Have fun!

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy, but please be careful. Covid didn't just go away on November 3rd as a part of some giant conspiracy. It's deadly serious and you need to be a star and take care of yourself and those around you. Mwah!

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!)

Santa's Belt Buckle and Joyful Rusticity!

Hello Stamplings!

I've fallen down on being committed to making my Christmas cards. Thank goodness I didn't break a hip! But seriously, I know that if I don't get back on the scheduled train to the post office by the end of November, I'll be committed to the loony bin instead! You can avert your eyes if the sunshine around you prevents you from enjoying the sight of C cards, but you'll miss a coupla cute designs. 

Onefer

When I was at the Impress stamp store in Seattle I bought a few rolls of Washi tape and this one of Santa's belt was irresistible! A sediment from MFT and shazambam! I believe in the magic of making QACAS Christmas cards! The sunshine makes Santa's belt look tarnished, but PAH-leez! Bite your tongue if you think for one minute Mrs. Claus would allow her husband out of the house with a tarnished belt buckle! Trust me, it is pure gold and schparkly.

This even CASier design captures the gold a little better:

Challenges

• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge: AG with option of Washi tape.
• Sparkles Christmas Challenge: Santa.
• The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas Goes.

and card two:

• CAS(E) This Sketch

 

Twofer

This card was made specifically to participate in the last challenge of Merry Monday which calls for rustic Christmas cards. I sometimes confuse rustic with vintage, but I think rustic means lots of texture with an outdoorsy country feel. The corduroy texture paper makes a unique card background. The birch trees and cardinals are from a NBUS Mama Elephant die. The JOY is from Hero Arts.

You might wonder how I made those birch trees. About (cough) years ago my friend Gail sent me a few goodies and among them were a coupla sheets of soft fabric-like black and white paper with a raised pattern of flocked flowers and flourishes. Hammy, who has a great memory of the specialty papers I have, pointed me to these. It not only adds a texture you can feel, but it makes an interesting pattern on the trees.

I want to thank Lesley and Lori and the entire Merry Monday Design Team, past and present, for all their hard work bringing us Merry Monday Christmas challenges to kick us into gear all these years. You will be missed!

Challenges

• Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge: Rustic Christmas.
• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use those snippets!
• Rudolph Days: Anything Christmas goes.
• The Merry Christmas Challenge: Anything goes.

~~~

Rachel

Several of you have inquired about how our lovely DIL Rachel is doing. With her permission, I can share that she is doing very well. She had a double mastectomy last month and will not need either chemo or radiation. She is still healing and will have her final surgery in September. She wants me to thank you all very much for your care and concern, and for your cards and prayers. We all feel incredibly blessed with the outcome and your friendship!

~~~

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!)