A Smooching Rose Parade for Friends

Greetings, my friends!

I hope your holidays were very special for you and that you made lots of awesome memories!

We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Mister's sister and her family and then Christmas Day was spent at Dan and Rachel's. It was a fun time and a culinary delight as the prodigal plied us with prime rib. Yummo!!

It was also a delight to see that Radio Flyer wagons are still beloved by the youth!

Afterwards the twinsters and Duke came back home with us for the weekend to give their mom and dad a couple of days of alone time which wrapped up the holiday perfectly for all of us!

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I haven't had any crafty time the last few days, but in the odd quiet moment last week, I decided I needed to get to my January birthdays before they all became belated. Using a very old rose stamp from Stampin Up and falling back on the tried and true techneke of craft mat smooching, I made this ...

which led to this: 

I was caught short again this Christmas when it came to the amount of cards I needed, so I've gotten a head start on my resolution to go straight from twofers in 2016 to tenfers. Or in this case, fourteenfers!

I must say I felt quite schmug when they were all soldiered together for the photo shoot!

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To make my watercolored strips, I made three different card front panels using (alternatively) Distress Inks, SU markers, and PTI ink cubes. I used four different colors of ink cubes (two blues, two greens) and one by one I schwiped them back and forth three times directly onto my Ranger Craft Mat in an area about five inches across by six inches long. You can smoosh a smaller area if you are making tags. 

You can use as many different ink colors/brands as you like. You can also use markers instead of ink pads/cubes. Here is a link to a You Tube video by The Mad Stamper doing this technique with markers, which I also like. For these cards, I swiped ink cubes instead of markers, but the technique is the same.

After applying the ink, I lightly spritzed the mat and then lay my paper upside-down over the ink. I pressed the paper down and smooshed it a bit back and forth using an acrylic block just for a few seconds and then I lifted it off the ink and turned it over. 

You can also just use your hand to press and smooch. And if you don't like the result you can lay the paper back down and smooch it again until you're happy with the coverage. You can also dab the ink with a paper towel after you turn it over if you like a more pastel look or to stop the color from flowing.

Once the watercolor panels were dry, I cut them into strips for my card design.

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Missing Friends

I wanted to mention that something appears to be going on again with Blogger, both from my own experience and from other bloggers commenting that their follower numbers are decreasing. I lost eight followers in just a couple of days and I'd like to think it's a glitch and not that people are really leaving me in droves! Eeks! 

ETA from Shaz who posted this Google notice: ... "We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow." ... Full notice here.

That appears to be that then. If you check the "Blogs I Follow" on your own profile page and my blog has dropped off your list, I would appreciate if you would sign up for a free Google Account, if necessary, and then re-follow me. Thank you!

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Lost Friend

R.I.P.

Many of you know The Crooked Stamper Leslie Hanna. A shining star in our community in Blogland, Leslie passed away on Christmas Day. Her amazing talent, droll and wicked sense of humor, and kind encouragement will be forever missed. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

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New Friends

Diana M. Larson of DL Art. Diana has only been blogging since January 1, 2011, but I'm sure you know of her. Diana is a prolific crafter and blogger. It would take you years of Sundays to peruse ~ with pleasure ~ all the wonderful tips, tricks, techniques, and talent Diana shares with her readers!

Sharon of My Crafty Cardz. Sharon is from the UK and she started her blog in 2013. She has always enjoyed making cards for her family and I think you will be as happy as I am that she started blogging and sharing her beautiful card art with the world. Her cards are always complete and make sweet little gifts in and of themselves!

Tasha Vovchuk of My Scrap Corner of Joy. Tasha is from Kiev and she is the mother of two young children. She has a passion for scrapbooking and her 3D and card art are simply divine! A multi-time challenge award winner, Tasha also serves on Design Teams. I think as you scroll back through Tasha's posts you will soon see why she has received so much recognition!

Joanna Harty of Harty by Heart. Joanna lives in Sweden with her husband and two little boys. She started blogging in December 2013 ~ happy 2nd Blogaversary! Joanna serves on several well-known Design Teams and she has achieved considerable kudos from challenges she has entered. In addition to blowing you away with her card artistry, Joanna shares and makes videos to show you how you can do it, too!

Sandra H. of Nanagramps Craft Designs. Sandra started blogging in 2011, she is retired, and she has three grown children and two grandchildren. Sandra started making her own cards in 2007 for family and friends and she enjoys playing in card challenges. She also serves on Design Teams for challenges where she's the one who helps provide loads of inspiration to the rest of us!

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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!

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