Seasonal Wishes

Hello Sweet Stamplings!

Isn't it a beautiful Monday, so fresh and unblemished? Seems like ages since I posted on a Monday and said those words, but I had to slip in today to play in a coupla three challenges before it's too late.

In my last post I segwayed from summer to fall and today I'm fast-forwarding straight into winter. I know that's not how you spell segue, but it's how I spell it because to me segue seems like it would be pronounced like league. 

Anywiddle, listen, if I don't start making some Christmas cards, I'll be sending out blank white cards with a note inside! Eeks!

So here you go.

These cute glittery candy canes have been in my stash for ages. You can't tell from the photo, but they are actually flattened so the card can be mailed without too much difficulty. The Zig Zag border die is from Lawn Fawn and the NBUS sediment is from MFT.

Challenges

• Less Is More: Use a real object.
• Stick It Down. A new-to-me challenge! Card sketch below.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Penny's "All About Christmas."

~~~ and another:

This NBUS "Candy Cane Gift" die is from Poppystamps. They were cut from some old glossy cream-colored card stock, held down by a single brad. The one on the left is an upside down version of the one on the right. The metallic elements are ancient from SU.

These cards both came about because of the brief from Less Is More, which is to "use a real object" on your cards. Well, geez Louise, that opened up a drawer of ancient relics from the last century that hadn't seen the light of day in a long time! So many cute things I have! Why have we forgotten about them? Now we just want to play with everything in there!

Challenges

• Merry Monday: Christmas in July summer link-up inspired by the December 5, 2016 "Candy Canes" challenge.
• Rudolph Days: Anything goes Christmas.

~~~

And now, just to keep you on your toes, lets reverse gears all the way back to springtime for all my friends down under!

When I saw the sweet metallic leaf, I immediately thought of a couple of other challenges. The little doodled flower is NBUS from MFT, which I painted on a creamy card in the pink, yellow, and green colors of the photo inspiration from Just Us Girls. I loaded my paint brush and splattered the background in the same pink and yellow colors. The sweet sediment doesn't list a company on the side, but this is printed: "©1992 Annette Allen Watkins."

Here's a closeup of the pretty metal leaf:

Challenges

• CAS on Friday: One Layer Wonder.
• CASology: Cue card: Bud.
• Inkspirational: Oldie But Goodie. (The sediment stamp is one of my very first stamps, which I think pairs nicely with the modern doodled flower stamp.)
• Tuesday Throwdown: Add metal.

~~~

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 to return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

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Happy Dad's Day, Dan! ~ NBUS #137

Happy Sunday Funday to all! Happy Father's Day to those celebrating today! A special hug for you if this is a bittersweet day for you.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that we have our twin grandsons for a few days over this weekend. Their dad (our son, Dan) is unfortunately out of town on business, so the boys and I made a card for him to share this morning via Bama's blog!

Happy Dad's Day!
With love from Adam and Henry 

This photo was captured quickly just after the basics were finished. They were very becited with their accomplishment! Afterwards they did a bit of coloring and then I took over to finish it. The sediment is ancient from Inspirations H3538.

Why a butterfly for a Father's Day card? For some reason, I've had NBUS on my mind a lot (bwahaha) and when we were searching through the stamp cabinet, I spied this NBUS SU swallowtail stamp that I HAD to have back {cough} months ago and then never inked! More importantly, Dan loves butterflies and large exotic moths. I asked the boys what they thought of the idea and they gave it a thumb's up!

(In case you are wondering, their mom Rachel flew across country to join Dan for a long weekend getaway!)

~~~

Here is Dan's card with the coloring and (unseen) winking completed:

I'm entering these challenges:

• Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge where the theme is a "Butterfly Bingo."

I have a butterfly, of course, and gems and then inside is a design using an SU gear punch (also NBUS!):

• Tuesday Throwdown where the theme is "Special Man." We all agree Dan is a very special man! This is my first time playing in this wonderful challenge!

• The Male Room where (besides the obvious) the theme is "Father's Day." This is also my first time playing in this fun challenge!

Just click on the links provided to get to the individual challenges for all the details on rules, sponsors, and prizes! You will also find lots of Design Team and Guest Designer inspiration!!

~~~

New Friends Corner

I'm delighted to introduce you to the next group of five new friends, some of whom have ridden over to the Playhouse on the NBUS!

Theresa Pollack of Theresa's Studio. Theresa is a prolific card artist who has been blogging since 2009! You are going to want to create a Pinterest board devoted to cards of hers you want to save for inspiration and when you visit, bring an entire bottle of your favorite beverage and have your meals brought in!

Diane of 1 Card Creator. Diane has also been blogging since 2009! Again, seriously, you won't believe the works of art, and years of them, that await you here! Diane is well-published and award-winning and she has served on many design teams. This is the home of a pro!

Sarah Gray of Funky Fossil Designs. Sarah is a newcomer to blogging, starting this past March, but she has already made a name for herself with her beautiful cards through challenges and awards. Please make a special effort to visit Sarah and leave her a comment! It is a scary thing, starting a blog, and it's the support and encouragement of commenting visitors that keeps us putting one blog in front of another!

Nancy Penir of Artful Notions. Nancy has been blogging a little over a year (Happy Blogaversary!!) and she makes the most amazing layered creations with every detail looking like it is meant to be there! I love following her works of art in the various PTI challenges and as a member of the Paper Sweeties Design Team!

Sandy John of Adventures of a Stamping Writer. Sandy has also been blogging since 2009! She is a freelance writer and a long-time crafter. Her cards are always a treat for the eyes and she is another card artist who loves challenges and has won many awards!

Thank you so much 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 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!

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 the pop-up box opens.
Click Jump to Comment Form; no more car pool tunnel!
Mwah!

June 6, 2014 - June 27, 2014
Thank you for your overwhelming support and enthusiasm!
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