A Winter Birthday Bokeh

Hello Stamplings!

Happy winter time birthday to all of you born this month! Well, I don't mean literally this month, but you know what I mean, in January. I hope you don't get the short end of the stick because people are either partied out after the holidays or they're on diets! That wouldn't be fair! Call me and I'll help you celebrate!

To start with, I made you a card.

I just love the seasonal Hills set from Papertrey Ink. The above image and sediment are from the Winter Hills set, stamped onto a watercolored panel. After I laid down my colors, I quickly dabbed the paint with a tissue to give me soft pastel hues. Hammy added a few water schplatters.

For even more fun, I added teeny tiny glass beads, which I recently found, to the snowman and rooftops. We had a bit of an incident with them. I had placed a few in a lid to pick up and apply and Hammy accidentally stepped on the rim of the lid, which sent the little teeny balls rolling all over my desk, which sent him flying into my lap!

Wasn't that great fun?! Well, yes, for sure, but a hamster mama has to draw the line or next thing you know, she'll slip on the ones that hit the floor, break a hip, and then where will we be?! Once I splained all that, Hammy smiled and went quietly into my shirt pocket while I spent an hour chasing down all the little schpheres.

Challenges

• ABC Christmas: A for "anything Christmas goes" or B for "berries."
• CAS Watercolour: Winter.
• Christmas Crafts All Year Long: Let it snow.
• Sweet Stampers: Winter/Snow.

Twofer

For this card, I die cut a PTI fishtail scalloped banner out of a Brusho watercolor panel and following videos on the technique, I added circles to give the banner a bokeh effect. It was very hard to photograph because some of the circles are light and shimmery which affected the exposure of the whole card. To get that shine, I put a little shimmer spray onto my craft mat and applied it with a dauber. The sediment stamp is also from PTI. I wanted the bokeh to be the star of the show, so I left the rest of the card very simples.

If you haven't tried vodkeh bokeh, I recommend you watch the videos listed on the CAS Mix Up site and give it a go!!

Challenges

• CAS Mix Up: Bokeh, plus stamping, watercoloring, and die-cutting.
• Lost Coast Portal to Creativity: Anything goes.
• TIME OUT: Loving. Sad to say, I have several friends going through health challenges who could use this loving message.

~~~

Follow Up on Front Panel Cards

The other day I asked what you thought about receiving cards that were card fronts only with the greeting written on the back and sent in an envelope to protect the artwork. You know, like they did in the olden days with greeting cards. I should have noted that this idea was mainly for those of us who send out dozens or hundreds of cards in a year. When I make one or two cards, I instinctively reach for a card base from a small stack I've made up in advance. It's at the holidays or when I need to make 43 birthday cards in one month, not to mention all the other occasions in that month, that all those card bases seem like a lot of paper! 

Here are the results:

123rf.com





• Several of you were concerned because you like to display the cards you receive, so that was a deal breaker. Although others readily allowed that backless cards could be either clipped for display or leaned against something, so that wasn't a deal-breaker for them. 
• I did find out from two friends that there is a die out there for a stand that can be attached to the back of a card front for display, similar to the brace on a picture frame. Unfortunately, I think it would take me just as long to make and attach the brace as it would to slap the card front on a base ~ and the brace would prevent me from being able to write on the back, which is important to me.
• A couple of you like to have more room to write messages than on one side, so the idea wouldn't work for those situations.
• For some of you backless cards don't appeal because you enjoy taking the time to decorate the inside of the card as well as the front.
• Some of you noted that an extra layer would have to be attached to the back of the card fronts when Copics bleed or desktops are messy and stain the back of the front panel.
• Another noted that we wouldn't be able to use our "handmade by" stamps and it would be more difficult to send checks or cash.
• Another mentioned that backless cards should only be sent to fellow card artists because non-card-making friends and family wouldn't understand. I think we all agree with that.

The consensus was that most of you would be fine with it and even thought it was a brilliant idea. The overall feeling was that it would definitely save time, postage, and trees, and it's lovely to receive happy mail in whatever form it comes! We are always delighted to know someone is thinking of us!

Thank you all for your thoughts and helpful insight!

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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!

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