Blog Follower Button and Missing Stamp

ETA: This post disappeared from my blog and I had to recover it. Hence I needed to hit "publish" again. Just disregard. Sorry for any confusion.

Hi there,

Me and the Mister are both feeling a little better today. I made a card and got to posting it and the post got long, as my posts tend to do, so I am splitting it up. I think I just heard a collective sigh!  I'll be back in a bit with the other post.

Blogger Follow Issues

Several of you have asked about problems with following other blogs or you have written about it on your blog. I'm not sure if what I have discovered will work for the particular issue that you might be having, but it has proved to be a go-around for the inability to process the follow request when you click on the blue "Join This Site" button. (I can't help but wonder is this isn't another purposeful wrench to get us to switch to Google Plus? Grrr.)

Anyhoop, here is a way around the problem that may work for you.

When you click on the blue button "Join This Site" on someone's home page, you get a popup window like this:  (well with your name and face, not mine)

Name: Darnell J Knauss Photo: Follow this blog     More options

Follow publicly We're sorry... We were unable to handle your request. Please try again or return a bit later.

Instead of clicking on the "Follow this blog" button, click on the "more options" button. That will take you to a screen that is very similar. Near the bottom of the popup window, you will see this:

Follow

 Fewer options

Click on THAT "follow" button on the second screen and the popup will disappear for a second and come back and say "DONE," the same way the first screen used to do. Then just "x" out in the upper right corner of the popup box. Your face/icon will then appear in the person's follower thumbnail photos.

I hope that works for you. I know there are some other error messages happening that are causing PITA frustrations and if I get any more information, I will share it.

~~~

Missing Stamp!

I hope one of you can help me out. As most of you know, the twins call me Bama. Bama is in big trouble. 

The boys have been enjoying the Playhouse the last two and a half years and making cards every time they come for a visit. For that entire time, Adam has had a postage-size "signature" stamp that he always applies to his envelopes, and sometimes to his card. It is known as Adam's Stamp. Here is a photo of the image:

So they came for a sleepover last weekend and went out to make some cards. Adam asked for his dolphin stamp and it was not in the usual places. I have looked high and low and narrow and wide this whole week and I can't find the darn thing anywheres. I have no idea the make or model of the stamp. BTW, I have a couple of other small dolphin stamps, but they don't have "stars on them."

I feel like a really bad grandma for losing his stamp and a really bad card stamper that I never even noticed it had stars on it!

It's hard to search online for a stamp when you don't know the name or the manufacturer. If you recognize it and can give me that information, I will be forever in your debut!! Thank you so much!!

Comments:

Sue from Oregon said...

Oh Gwamma-his stamp will certainly show up soon. Probably stuck to the bottom of one of your crafty tools! At least that is what happens to me!
Good Luck!

March 29, 2014 at 10:08 PM

Charlene said...

I have had the same trouble following people lately :-(...I don't recognize the stamp but I sure hope you find it!

March 29, 2014 at 10:32 PM

Barb Ghig said...

Thank you so much for sharing this info on following each others' blog...you're the BEST, Darnell!

As far as the dolphin stamp goes, I'm so sorry, but I can't help you out with that. Hopefully, someone will recognize it so you can replace it right away, unless of course you find it first.

I'm saying a prayer to St. Anthony right now...he always seems to know where things are :-) Good luck, Bama!!!

March 29, 2014 at 10:36 PM

Anita in France said...

So sorry Adam's stamp is missing, Darnell ... I'm with Barb, St Anthony is the man to check with! I'm sure it'll turn up, just when you don't expect it! Hugs, Anita :)

March 30, 2014 at 12:31 AM

Suze Bain said...

Oh dear, I'm sure it will turn up where you least expect it. (And is it just me, or does that dolphin look like a banana!) xx

March 30, 2014 at 12:32 AM

Suze Bain said...

In the meantime, you could just photocopy it, cut it out and stick it on like a real stamp! Xx

March 30, 2014 at 12:33 AM

Redanne said...

That is a great tip, I will try it out next time I want to follow someone - thank you for the info.

I am so sorry, I do not recognise the stamp but I do hope it turns up soon. That's a good medium term solution that Suze suggests though. Hugs, Annie xxx

March 30, 2014 at 1:27 AM

Sammy said...

Thanks for the heads-up Darnell! I can follow folk again! Woohoo!

And I hope the stamp turns up soon! x

March 30, 2014 at 2:13 AM

Casandra Bennett said...

Thanks for the tip! I thought I was the only one having problems with Google. The search button is missing at the top now, and the only way I can get to edit now for my blog is typing in blogger.com these days. Very frustrating. Internet Explorer is so slow but the features now show up better in it to edit from. Not sure why Google wants to be so disloyal to us. I suspect your theory is right!

March 30, 2014 at 6:00 AM

Brenda in IN said...

I wish I could help you find the stamp for him. It is probably there and will show up when you aren't looking for it. Thanks for the info on following. I had one blog that every time I tried to follow the whole follow bar would disappear. Oh the quirks and hiccups we have to endure.

March 30, 2014 at 6:56 AM

shirley-bee said...

... have you checked Hammy's cage?

March 30, 2014 at 8:13 AM

cm said...

Whenever I lose something, I ask St. Anthony to help me out. He truly does work miracles of all shapes and sizes. I'll ask him...Hugs~c

March 30, 2014 at 9:37 AM

Laurie Unger said...

Thanks for posting the go around to following blogs! Was driving me crazy. I get you 10 bucks you end up finding that dolphin stamp when you least expect it. That's the way it goes with me anyway! LOL.

March 30, 2014 at 1:49 PM

Bobby said...

Gramby to the rescue, Bama. I found the stamp on eBay, in case it doesn't show up. Here's the link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dolphin-Combined-Resources-International-Mounted-Rubber-Stamp-/191117647892

March 30, 2014 at 2:50 PM

Pat said...

Sorry a precious stamp has gone missing Darnell, hopefully it will turn up, but I see someone has sent a link so hopefully it can be replaced. x

March 30, 2014 at 4:16 PM

Jacquie Southas said...

I couldn't help check out Ebay too, but it looks like Bobby beat me to it! I can almost guarantee if you buy the replacement, the original will show up :)

March 30, 2014 at 6:17 PM

Roxie said...

I hope that stamp shows up soon, my granddaughter loves to play in Grandma's room too.
Thank you so much for posting the follow directions, it worked for me...now to get my photo back, it all went bad when I tried to change the photo a few weeks back.

March 30, 2014 at 9:17 PM

New Dream Home ~ NBUS #119

Hello, my friends!

Happy Mother's Day to all you around the world who are celebrating today! (In this neck of the world, we won't be celebrating until May 11th.) I hope you are treated like a Queen!

I have another new home card to share with you today. Just like birds, people often move/build their nests during the springtime and I seem to know a few people upping their roots this year. Spring is a time of rebirth, reawakening, recreation, resonation, reorgani - okay, stop.

My card today started out with a button. A button in the shape of a house. It's the cutest. It came from GKW and I've had it for ever years. It was patiently waiting for me to find it a home, pun intended. Or to be more precise, a "dream" home. Because what could be more dreamy than neon-colored birds singing on a wire high above a yellow house in a cotton-candy neighborhood?

I had such fun constructing this card using both something old-fashioned and something modern. I started by choosing a modern Washi tape for the top panel on the sketch (below) and the bright pink panel is ages-old mulberry paper, not fringed around the edge. It is a cool and perfect match to the neon pink birds.

I used a NBUS sediment from PTI "Bigger Blooms" to ground my little yellow house. The small white sequints for the chimney smoke are to take the eye up and back to the colorful birds. This card is going to a fellow card maker and I think she will appreciate the marriage of the old mulberry paper with the new Washi tape!

I used the sketch from Seize the Sketch and flippled it on its side.

I used several snippets today, so I'm taking my card over to Pixie's Snippets Playground to show the girls before I pop the card in the mail.

And the current House of Cards challenge is to make a CAS or Classic & Elegant card and use a button, so I'll be joining the fun there, I think for the first time!

And thanks to my friend, Jacquie, I'm also entering my card in the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which is Anything Goes With Buttons! Thanks, Jacquie!

Be sure to click on the links for more details regarding rules, sponsors, and prizes! I hope you are able to join in and link your creation!!

~~~

New Friends Corner

I am delighted to introduce you to two new friends!

Jodi Ethington of Talking Twine and Trim. Jodi has been blogging since 2011. She can often be seen in the PTI blog hops and I really enjoy her use of Washi tape! I love her fun and happy cards and outlook! Jodi currently has 99 followers and I know you will help her reach that amazing 100-follower milestone and beyond!

Ileana A. of Sparkling Pink. Ileana started blogging just last month! I would so appreciate it if you would make a special effort to go and visit Ileana and welcome her to this wonderful community of card artists! You will enjoy her fabulous card art and be awe-mazed by what she can do with ribbon!!

Thank you, Jodi and Ileana, and welcome to the Playhouse!!

~~~

Out of the Mouths of Babes. I will leave you with a heartwarming story that my sister Diana shared with me recently:

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque that was covered with names which had small American flags mounted on either side.

The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex."

"Good morning, Pastor," he replied, still focused on the plaque. "Pastor, what is this?" he asked.

The pastor said, "Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. 

Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, "Which service, Pastor, the 8:30 or the 10:30?"

~~~

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!

Project Details
Paper	PTI white, true black, aqua mist
Stamps	PTI Bigger Bloom
Ink	StazOn jet black
Accessories	Washi tape from Freckled Fawn Die: Lil' Inkers Corner Chomper button/sequints from stash

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!

Poinsettias and Friends ~ DJKASE #15 and #16

Good Day!

Here we are whooshed around to another Fri-YAY! This is an extra long post coz I've got one booboo and two Friday DJKASEs for you today that fit into several challenges.

First up, I am delighted to be copylimenting my bloggie friend and amazing card artist Kim M. of Art Keeps Me Sane. Kim has been blogging since July 2012. She is oft published and has won many awards! I think she can best introduce herself:

I'm a SAHM just trying to stay sane by any means possible. I will pretty much try anything crafty. I have a B.A. In Fine Arts and specialized in painting. I have tried my hand at many types of arts and crafts like, stained glass, lithography, scrapbooking, rubber stamping, cake decorating, and much more. There are a lot of things I still want to try. I would have to say that my two favourites are card making and painting.

A long time ago, Kim used a poinsettia image on a  beautiful card and when I commented on how much I loved it, she generously stamped off several images and sent them to me.  (Another example of this kind and caring stamping community we blog in!) I have used some of the images on cards and even posted one, but I have not DJKASEd one of Kim's cards until now. Today is the day for that! 

Here is the gorgeous card of Kim's that I've selected to DJKASE. She posted this card on July 28, 2013.

Kim's card

And here is my DJKASE #15 of Kim's card:

Darnell's card

***

ETA: Kim has written to let me know the poinsettia image is a
Jumbo stamp set by Stampendous.
They still sell it on their site.  Here's the link. 

***

I have to share with you what happened while I was making Kim's DJKASE. The card was completed, adhered, and wrapped in a bow. The only thing left to do was apply some red liquid pearl drops to the center of the poinsettia. That's when I found out that Hammy had been playing with the two-tiered lazy Susan I have for storing my liquid pearls and my reinkers.

Since the bottles are the same size and they look very similar when they are upside down, I make sure they aren't mixed up on the tiers.

So, okay, it was getting late and my focus button is out of order (see below), so I reached for the red liquid pearls and turned it over and applied a drop ...oh, no, he dinnut! Oh, yes, he did! Here is what happened to my beautiful card:

It was a lucky* thing that I had another stamped off image of the ones Kim had sent me because I don't own that stamp and I needed to cover up the booboo. Apparently, even after all these years, I'm still too dumb to finish my card front completely before I put the card together! Phew! Another save for the team! And a hamster who is having a loooong timeout on his Naughty Boy Chair!!

====================================================================================

I'm also thrilled to be copylimenting another bloggie friend and outstanding card artist, Barb of  Barb's Studio Creations. After being a well-loved cheerleader for others in Blogland for a couple of years, Barb finally started her own blog in October of last year. We were all happy to see her take that step on her own. Her blog is fantastic and her card art is divine!

Here is Barb's pretty poinsettia card which she posted on November 10, 2013:

Barb's card

And here is my DJKASE of Barb's card:

Darnell's card

~~~

You will be doing yourself a favor to visit and follow these two lovely ladies who will provide you with unlimited inspiration!! Thank you, Kim and Barb, for following me and for all your wonderful comments of praise and encouragement! I hope you are both pleased with my DJKASE tributes!!

~~~

Challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps and More, where the theme is Holiday. (Both cards.)
• CASology challenge where the cue card is Lucky.* (Kim's card.)
• Color Throwdown challenge. (Barb's card.)
• Merry Monday Christmas Challenge, where the theme is red, gray, and white. (Kim's card.)
• Pixie's Snippets Playground where the brief is to use snippets. (Barb's card.)
• Rudolph Day challenge hosted by the fabulous Sarn at Stamping for Pleasure. (Both cards.) 
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Transparent. (Barb's card.) The poinsettia and the blush pink in the square panel are both vellum.

That's a lot of fun challenges! There were even more I found, but enough is enough!! Since there are two cards, it takes up a lot of room to show you the challenge logos, so I'm skipping them today. Please click on the links to the sites where you will find all the details on rules, sponsors, and prizes. I hope to see you in the galleries!

*******

I would also like to remind all of you that Mr. Linky is still open for a couple more days here on my blog, if you would like to add a birthday card for Anita's surprise party. I'd love to see more cards in the gallery!

~~~

Bad News, Good News

The Mister and I were feeling a little punky earlier in the week. He was sneezing his head off, which was really unfortunate because he put his back out on Sunday. Nothing worse than sneezing when you have back pain! We just thought it was the beginning of his annual spring grass allergies. NOT. It turned out to be a cold.

On Thursday I woke up with the nasty thing (meaning the cold, not the Mister) and it has knocked me off my cankles. I'm sad I had to miss a wonderful milestone birthday luncheon for one of my friends. I feel like I'm walking under water and I'm not that speedy when I feel good! This post took me two days to write, for goodness sake, so please forgive me if I am tardy getting around to visit and chat with you.

The good news is that we have the granddog Duke for a couple of weeks and having him around makes us feel better! Mwah!

~~~

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!

Papertrey Ink March 2014 Blog Hop Challenge ~ NBUS #118

Hey! I hope the brand new week is going well for you!

I am popping in today to play in the Papertrey Ink (PTI) blog hop challenge, hosted on Nichole Heady's awesome {capture the moment} website. This month's beautiful inspiration board is:

Lots of fun images! I see that rainbows are still on-trend in Blogland and I decided to focus on that. To participate in the March blog hop, we need to use one PTI product and we are encouraged to let it shine, baby, in high gloss drama!

For my card I used my NBUS cover plate from PTI called "Mighty Oak." I spent a LOT of time trying various card designs with it. Some days you simply have to kiss a lot of frogs before your love-sick hamster decides to stop taking selfies to send to Ms. Thing. A little help here, Hammy?!

Bless him, he still comes to my rescue and in the end, I went with a CAS softly-colored rainbow of oak leaves:

After impressing my paper (and her parents) with my Big Shot, I outlined each leaf with my SU watercolor pencils. Then I used a tiny brush and water to drag the color from the outline over each leaf. Next, I painted on glossy Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. And finally, I stamped the sediment from PTI's Birthday Bash Sentiments in Kaleidacolor ink. Shazambam!

The above photo is okay, but looks rather flat. Ah, not so! In order for you to see it better, I flipped my card on its side and slouched it a little so that the sun could catch the high gloss drama. (After which he had to put a cloud over his face to recover.) 

As we like to say, it sure is pretty IRL.

~~~

I'm entering my card in The Card Concept Challenge which is to create a birthday card. This will be my second entry for this birthday challenge. I believe my card this time is "Clean and Graphic," if I'm reading the style descriptions correctly. This is really a fun challenge for stepping outside your standard style, sister, and learning and seeing first-hand what the different styles are!

I also think my card fits Arielle's current Retro Sketches sketch.

I haven't played at CAS on Sunday for a while, so I was happy to see that I could enter the current challenge of "One Layer Wonder."

******

Please click on any challenge link to find the details regarding rules, sponsors, and prizes, check out all the DT inspirations, and then join in the fun!!

~~~

New Friends Corner

I'm delighted to introduce you to Linby of Crafty Linby. Lynn's smiling face is in the dictionary next to the word exuberant! To quote her: "Over the years I have always made things and tried new crafty hobbies. I've done macrame (in the 70s when it was all the rage!), crochet, knitting, dressmaking, quilling, pergamano, fimo, stencilling, my own chocolate Easter eggs!, x-stitching, scrapbooking and cards."

And if that weren't enough, she also works full time and has been blogging since 2009! It makes me want a lie down just thinking about being that energetic! But, oh my, it's all to our benefit, as you will see when you go for an inspired visit to meet her! Take your comfiest chair! You might even get a choccie bunny!

Thank you for joining us, Lynn, and welcome to the Playhouse!!

~~~

We enjoyed family time on the weekend, including the opening day of Little League. Here are Adam and Henry with Dan offering encouragement from the outfield:

~~~

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!