A May and December Revue

Hello Stamplings,

Here we are at the end of April! I mean, APRIL! Oh, sorry if your name is April. I didn't mean to yell at you.

You know how some people name their children after books of the Bible? In our part of town there was a family of twelve who named their seven sons after books of the Bible, but named their three daughters after the calendar months April, May, and June. I always thought they were the prettiest names.

Since May is literally right around the corner, I thought I'd make a MOM card which I'll give to my friend Verna. (It sounded for a second there like May and I grew up to be neighbors!)

When I was looking through my mulberry bushes paper the other day I also found my considerable stash of handmade designer paper. Yes, it's true, I do hoard it. When I come across it, I spend an embarrassing amount of time caressing it. But, hey, I'm older and wiser practical and it's not doing anyone any good in the drawer, so I used a pretty piece for my card.

Other than the tulip stamp you see which was inked directly and applied to the paper, everything else you see is embedded in the paper by the maker, including those sweet blue and beige flowers. It's hard to capture in a photo just how fragile and beautiful the paper is IRL. The sediment frame is from Impression Obsession.

Challenges

• Retro Rubber: Vintage.
• Simon Says Stamp Monday: Flower power.
• Stamping Sensations: One for the girls!

Twofer

I couldn't resist the fun Merry Monday photo this week chosen by my friend Colleen. I made this Christmas village using a NBUS stamp from PTI's "Winter Hills" set and I tried to capture the whimsy by using some older PTI pp for the background border and roofs. Hammy added snowflakes in the background using gold Brilliance ink and I die-cut snowflakes from gold shiny paper.

Challenges

• Merry Monday: Photo (below).
• Rudolph Days. Anything Christmas goes.
• The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas goes.

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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!

*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!)

WILD About You!

Hello Stamplings!

How are you? I hope you were finally able to get the grill and chaise lounge out of winter hibernation and pack up your sweaters! I'm always a little conflicted about putting the sweaters away because it immediately becomes evident to everyone how many chockie bars I ate over the winter! Cough.

I'm also a little hesitant to toot my horn, but I have to say I'm really chuffed to have won the 4th Birthday Celebration over at TIME OUT challenges this past March where there were lots and lots of outstanding entries! As a result, I have the honor of being the Guest Designer for the next challenge!

For this challenge TIME OUT wants you to interpret the word WILD! Here is my one-layer card to inspire you:

Of course, "wild" is very tongue-in-cheek for these babies who don't look the least bit wild, do they? They all look like sad little orphans you just want to hug. The wild animal stamp is ancient, heat-embossed in black and colored with my Ziggies. I'd be lion if I told you I could bear to part with it.

I masked the critters and stamped the bamboo. The "wild" sediment is from SU and the "welcome" sediment is NBUS from "If Animals Could Talk" by Elizabeth Craft Designs. The corner was chomped by a Cropadile and a smidge of a score line was added under the sediment because, Frankly, the whole shebang was sitting a little too high up on the card to satisfy my symmetrical sensibilities.

I'm sure you can think of several designs for this fun challenge and I can't wait to see what you make! The Design Team has amazing interpretations to inspire you at TIME OUT Challenges. And we are so lucky to have this challenge sponsored by Winnie & Walter!  

Challenges

• Double D: Friendship.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Anything goes.
• Stinkin' Inkers: Simply made ~ one-layer card.

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And a super QACAS to share:

This single blossom and sediment are NBUS from Gina K; sad you can't see the pretty winking. That furry panel is old-timey mulberry paper which was very popular near the turn of the century when I first started this beloved hobby. There was (is) something therapeutic about wetting the edge and pulling it like cotton candy being careful not to get that bit that tore off a huge chunk!

What can I say about that floating flower? It looks ridiculous floating in space, so I feel like you might be cocking your head and wondering why I did that. What happened was, I wanted the design to reflect that the person sending the card feels adrift, uprooted, leafless, and blue.

Aha! Well done, except is leafless a thing in a human? Yes, it's like lifeless, only not quite so dramatic.

Challenges

• Addicted to Stamps and More: Clean and simple
• Back to Basics and Beyond: This is a new challenge with a focus on helping newbies! How cool is that? But everyone is welcome! The first brief is "Matting and Layering." I did the "matting" part. Welcome to Blogland! (They are having a DT Call!)
• Less Is More: My original impetus, the brief is "Bring Something Back!" (Mulberry paper.)

~~~

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!)

It's a Party!

Happy weekend greetings, Stamplings!

We have a busy weekend lined up, so I'll get right to my cards. I find the "lined up" expression humorous, as in: "All right, everybody, let's line up! Saturday, you go stand over here and then Sunday, you stand behind Saturday and don't pull her pigtails this time!"

Onefer

How about that for Miss QACAS stepping outside the box? That's a lotta texture and color and detailing for me and, boy, did Hammy have fun with all those glitters and sprinkles and winking! The cone is from SU, the sediment is from Paper Smooches, and the cupcake is from Serendipity Stamps.

I'm hosting the Inspired By All the Little Things challenge which runs for the next two weeks and which features my friend Cat Craig. Here is the photo I selected to inspire you this time:

Isn't that such a fun party cake in lovely spring colors loaded with so many little things to inspire you?! Cat and the Design Team have lots of beautiful interpretations of the photo to also inspire you! I hope you get a chance to play along!

Challenges

• Cards in Envy: It's Birthday Party Time!
• Die Cut Divas: Anything goes!
• Pixie's Snippets Playground: Use your snippets!

Twofer

The background on this little musical number was made by smooching spring-colored inks with a piece of acetate and then smooching the acetate onto the linen card. After wards, the whole thing was given a good splattering. I was splattered as a kid and it never hurt me, so I think it's okay. The NBUS scalloped die is from MFT and the words are from "Life is a Song" by Uniko, which was gifted to me by my friend Andrea. The clever ampersand is cut from the poppystamps die, "Elegant Musical Staff."

Looking at the card, you might think I was on the wodka when I stamped it all crookedy, but I meant to have the "music" and "you" offset a little so the "c" in music and the "y" in you could cuddle around the treble. I went to a lot of treble to get that just right.

Challenges

• CAS-ual Fridays: Forget your trebles.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Sparkle and shine.
• Uniko: Color challenge, option of Easter.

~~~

Enjoy your weekend! 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!)

Wintry Critters

Hello Stamplings!

I hope this finds you well!

We had a beautiful weekend, but now rain and hail are falling again, which is unusually late in the year for us. Since winter seems to be hanging on and spewing snow in a lot of areas this spring, I went winter all the way with my cards today! And critters all the way, too, although they are not identical.

Onefer

First up is a NBUS chicken that just karacks me up! She reminds me of Jackie Gleason. Now some of you are prolly too young to remember who Jackie Gleason was, but he was a really funny man who had his own TV show back in the middle of the last century. He was a large man, but quite light on his feet. If you want to see a video of him dancing with his pal Art Carney, go here.

But I digest. Jackie Chickie is from Stampingbella. The oval vellum ice is from Sizzix and the NBUS "Oh Joy" is from Mama Elephant. She is watercolored with my Ziggies, winked all over, and her Santa hat fur is glitterized.

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: "H" is for Hat or "I" is for Ice.
• CAS Watercolour April: Bird.
• Sweet Stampers: Too Cute.

Twofer

I managed to pull Hammy away from all the becitement happening over at the Twofer challenge,  but he wants me to remind you that there is only one more week to play! I got his attention once I explained that he would once again star in his own segment on the blog. I think I have created a (ham)monster.

This adorable heat-embossed stamp is from Whimsy Stamps, colored with my Ziggies. From the look on his face, you might think Hammy was a little nervous up there riding on the ornament but he was only saying how chilly he was. That's why I sewed long sleeves and pants into his jacket. The NBUS Merry Christmas die is from MFT and the border is Washi.

Of course, as always, everything is winked, glittered, and glossified! You can see it better here when I turn the card to capture the sunlight.

Challenges

• Addicted to CAS: Bubbles.
• CAS Christmas: Ornament.
• Little Red Wagon: Shine.

~~~

In spite of my cards, it IS spring, so I'll leave you with a photo of my rain-drenched irises. They came up strong and proud in spite of all the hard knocks Mother Nature put them through!

~~~

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!)

Rubber Bands and a Rainy Silhouette

Hello Stamplings!

How was your week? High tens to you if you had a healthy and productive week and big hugs if you didn't and life conspired against you.

The good news is that today is a new day! I love that every 24 hours we are given the opportunity to shake it off and start again! Still, I'm getting too old to shake it off effectively so I really should break down and buy some towels.

Onefer.

Since I saw you last I tried a new-to-me technique of wrapping a couple three rubber bands around an acrylic block and stamping with it. Cool.

I happen to have a chair whose fabric looks like it was stamped with rubber bands, so I was trying to recreate these colors:

I stamped my rubber band block and I thought it looked like modern art waves on the ocean. The sailboat and sediment are from Paper Smooches.

Here is a closeup of the little glossy sailboat. 

Challenges

• Cardz 4 Guyz: Travel or transport.
• CAS Mix Up: Rubber band technique, stamping, and fussy-cutting.
• Simon Says Stamp Monday: Mythology; inspired by a story: The Little Sailboat by Lois Lenski.

Twofer

This NBUS little girl is from Flourishes. She is supposed to be blowing a dandelion, but I had to perform emergency surgery so she could hold an umbrella to keep her pretty frock dry when a sudden rain shower appeared overhead. The umbrella and sediment are from Stamps of Life. The rain is an ancient SU stamp. 

The inside says, "... you are a friend of mine." Those are May flowers, come early, but they are holding off showing their colors until May out of respect for those folks who are still getting April snow! Also because Hammy usually colors small areas, but I can't tear him away from seeing who comes to play in his Twofer PET challenge!

Challenges

• Addicted to CAS: Rain.
• Inkspirational: Rain photo inspiration.
• Inspired By: Rain.
• Watercooler Wednesday: Occasions. (Friendship.)

~~~

Enjoy your day! Enjoy the weekend! 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!)