A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

September 18, 2012

Dynamic Duos 20 ~ Color; Clean & Simple 208 ~ Sketch; and Hero Arts ~ Fall Feast

Hi There!
 
I'd like to thank you all for your good wishes and ink wiries about my creaky back.  I'm happy to say that I went all of yesterday without any narcotics!  And, best of all, I woke up this morning able to move with Ease and Grace.  Hallah!!  Today I shall take a teasie so I don't lapse.
 
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had a few little Halloween stamps and for today's card, I pulled them all out for these three fun challenges in no puticular order:
 
Firstly, we have this week's colors at the Dynamic Duos challenge:
 
Lucky Limeade & Basic Black
Optional Halloween Theme
 
Secondly, I'm playing for the secondly time in the Clean & Simple Stamping (No. 208) sketch challenge:
 
 
Thirdly, I'm entering the September contest at Hero Arts which has several options for your playing pleasure:  Fall Feast, A Stamp for All Seasons, or a Color Challenge.  The details are on their blog.  I optioned for Fall Feast.
 
Here is my Halloween All In card:
 
 
I have to say they are really cute images with the exception of that bat what looks like a squirrel what turned into a bat which creeps me out and I wish I had placed him in a less focal locus.  It was a free UM I got with an order and I see why it was free.  Some of you who hate squirrels will think it's an appropriate rendition.  If you want it, just let me know and I will send it to you.
 
~~~
 
I think most of us who share this addiction will continue to make cards and send them by snail mail in spite of this Intertube thing.  We've come to accept the Intertube is not going away and, sadly, people are going to be using it more and more to send their loved ones nontactile cyber greetings. 
 
However, I saw something recently that indicates it is not entirely the fault of the Intertube and some of the blame for the decline in sending tactile cards through the mail rests squarely on the sagging shoulders of parents who have not been properly teaching their children.  In wit, I give you this bit of evidence:
 

Sigh.
 
In my day, when stamps were three pennies apiece, children were chored with the work of applying stamps to envelopes.  At Christmas time some mothers, who had particularly noisy children, were known to send cards to every name in the town telephone book because they knew the kids wouldn't be able to speak for days afterwards due to the thick residue of glue on their tongues.
 
And we kids considered it to be a grown-up Big Girl or Big Boy Moment when we were able to stand on our tippy toes and push those three pennies across the wide post office counter towards Mrs. Halenbendger, who would ceremoniously hand us a stamp with an amazing miniature picture on it.
 
 
Another day, class, Granny will explain what "telephone books" were. 
 
~~~
 
I haven't had the gleeful glee of welcoming new friends to the Playhouse for a while now and so it gave me a bit of a whiplash this morning to glance over and see one!  Please help me give a warm welcome to Kathy K of Purple Princess Diaries.  I love that banner name!  When you actually look at Kathy's URL, it says "Purplicious ...  !"  (I think I found another sister!)  Thank you, Kathy. 
 
Enjoy your Twos Day everyone ~ I hope you have two times the fun!  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! black and lucky limeade;
  Stampland glossy
Stamps:  Hero Arts; Good Stamps;
  SU!; Art Impressions; Hooks, Lines,
  and Inkers
Ink:  Memento tuxedo black
SU! and Corner Chomper punches

18 comments:

Anni said...

Great layout!
Love all the little spooky images!
Thanks for joining the fun at Dynamic Duos!
Anni

Redanne said...

Hi Darnell, I kind of agree with you on the squirrel/bat thingy, he is not a pretty sight but he is perfect for Hallowe'en.....oh yes, those were the days when our parents let us lick the stamps! Love the cartoon. As a family we tend to deliver by hand so our Grandkids don't know much about stamps either.......I guess that is what some people call progress? Crafty hugs, Anne x
PS - dedicating my next post to you, I am going to schedule it for Thursday.... A x

Lisa Elton said...

What a fun card and cute images, even the creepy bat/squirrel! Thanks for playing along with us at Dynamic Duos!

Bonnie said...

I can't say I'm crazy about the "squirrely" bat either. But then I'm not crazy about bats period. Except on Halloween cards. I consider them creepy enough for Halloween! Didn't we think we were the cat's meow when we were kids and could lick the stamps? Now I won't buy them if they're not self stick! Getting lazy in my old age. (Besides, the dry mouth that comes with the age.) Can't wait to hear about the telephone book. Do you remember live operators too?

Carole said...

Daring to repeat myself I enjoy reading your blog and stuttered over some things, kind of like tripping but catching yourself...and then I have to laugh, giggle, chuckle and snort. You're a hoot and a holler.

Ardyth said...

First - LOVE the card - what a great way to use all those stamps!

Second - my mom recently gave me a letter I wrote to my Nana when I was 8 (and Canadian postage was 8 cents, now it's 59) - there's NOTHING like real mail to say "You're special to me".

Unknown said...

Oh Dippy, Dippy, Dippy......... poor little bat - what's your problem? I love these little critters and we have our own colony of bats in our belfry.......welllllll - bats in our roof space is the truth! It's magical to watch them emerge at dusk on the hunt for dinner (no, not the necks of damsels....more like gnats and the like). We often have the batman out (no, he doesn't have an apprentice called Robin) so he can do a bat count..........oh what an exciting life we do live! Anwhowse, your card is lovely, especially adorned with said bat so try not to think of him/her too badly - it makes a whole of the hole card...!

Hugs.

Karen xxx

Di said...

Well, I love the bat! So there.

Do you KNOW what awful things could be picked up from licking stamps in by-gone days? I once read about it and personally would have felt safer just licking a critter's rear end direct and cutting out the middle man - yeuch :(

Please to hear the back is feeling better - now I'm home mine is twinging again so I'm watching closely to see if we need new furniture, bed, craft room chair - or the lot!

Hugs, Di xx

Hettie said...

What a delightful card you have done twoday Darnell! Don't be so harsh on the battysquirrel!! He cannot help it!!
I had to laugh at your post moan. I too miss not having so much post these days, especially those things we used to have to do after birthdays and Christmas called.....what were they again....ah! Thank you cards!! I am lucky if I get a text from my nieces and nephews these days!! That used to keep us quiet for a few hours !!
Off to bed now as it is nearly Hump Day!! (Wednesday!! Once you are over lunch time on a Wednesday you are over the hump heading towards the weekend!! Nothing sinister or smutty!)
TTFN
xx

Tracey McNeely said...

Eek!! Darnell I love all those fabby Halloween images!

Kim S said...

I'm glad you surviving with less narcotics and the bat's not all that creepy!!

carol (krillsister) said...

Very cute Halloween card. Love all those images.

Marybeth said...

Oh, so glad your on the mend, without medication. Love all the fun Halloween stamps you used on your card. Love the trick or treat bag . Loved the post again.

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Hello Darnell ! Good to hear that your back is healing. Love your take on the sketch. The layout is wonderful with all the cool Halloween images in each circle. The cartoon is funny and of coarse so are your stories about stamps :) Have a great day, Shirleyx

Jean said...

Happy to hear you are feeling better! This is a really cute card, even with the "squirrel bat!"

Karen Aicken said...

What an interesting read today, and I really enjoyed your card too!
Thanks for joining the Dynamic Duo's challenge this week.
Cheers, Karen

Anne Marie Hile said...

Hooray for you back feeling a little bit better, Darnell! Your posts always crack me up...that bat kind of looks like a squirrel but only because you mentioned it. Ha! Such a fun Halloween card. I love all of the different images. Thanks so much for joining us this week at Dynamic Duos! :)

Patrice said...

Great take on the challenge - I'd love for you to link up at 52 Card Pickup this week!

http://www.oldbackporch.com/2012/09/52-card-pickup-week-38.html