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!

February 6, 2019

Sweet Wishes and an Ode to Jessi

Hello Stamplings,

I hope you are enjoying this week as you climb up and slide down the hump today. Reading your blogs, it seems we all agree that January snuck away in the night when we weren't looking!

I had to stop with that sentence and look up "snuck" versus "sneaked" because Mr. Blogger underlined snuck as if it were wrong. (How dare he!) Apparently it's okay to use either word, but snuck is considered an old-fashioned use of the word and sneaked is more modern. I use both, being the fence-sitter that I am. I find it amusing that I would normally use the words thusly: "He snuck out of the house to see his girlfriend," whereas, "She sneaked back into the house after seeing her boyfriend."

Words, you gotta love 'em! A friend and I had a similar convo last week about "sped" versus "speeded." But I see that my time is up for today's etymology class. Please close your books and adjourn to the art room where you'll find today's Onefer:
Like a smarty-pants I combined the hugs and kisses usually used on Valentine cards with the sweet wishes and cupcakes usually used on birthday cards because I have a need for birthday cards on or near Valentine's Day. To add some zhoosh, I made the hugs and kisses rainbow colored. Also because The Card Concept had a rainbow-colored cupcake challenge, but sadly I see it has closed. Don't you hate that?

Since I love puzzles, I had a blast piecing the colored bits into the white die cut border. Thankfully Hammy helped so it took half the time. The hugs and kisses die is from Memory Box and the cupcake and sediment stamps are from Penny Black's Sweet Wishes stamp set. I cut strips of matching snippets to add to the bottom and border of the card while Hammy winked the cupcake and glossified the cherry on top.

And then, rather than toss the die cut snippets in the BOB (box of bits), I made the rest of the cards I needed to mail:
Sorry about the shadow. It was late on a rainy day when the sun came out long enough to grab a shot. What's that you ask? What am I going to do with the dozens of left-over little colored hugs and kisses? Let's just say that if you receive one of these cards in the mail, you might want to open it over something other than your lunchtime soup bowl.

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Twofer
I have another snarky stamp to share, which I know just about everybody enjoys. And don't you love that pp? It reminds me of looking through a kaleidoscope. Sadly, I only had the one snippet, so I don't know the manufacturer. The ladies are Emerson stamps and the NBUS sediment is from Rubber Dance Stamps.

I made the above card because Shopping Our Stash is having an "Ode to Jessi" tribute. Jessi passed away in December at the age of 42. She was a talented friend and a member of the Design Team for SOS. Jessi and I met online very soon after I started blogging and we soon realized we shared the same wicked sense of humor! To honor Jessi, SOS is asking us to CASE one of Jessi's cards from her blog. I had trouble accessing her blog this week, so I pulled up my folder of cards I've received from friends. This is the card I am CASEing, which Jessi sent to me for Christmas 2016:
The sediment says, "Oh, holy crap, they had an open bar!" For my CASE, I used a full panel pp for my background, a circle stage, and a cute image with a snarky comment. I know Jessi would approve! RIP, Jessi. You will be missed.

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Blogger Issues ~ Again

Many of us who receive notification of our friends' blog posts via our mail inboxes are once again having problems receiving them. Many more of us are finding that we have been reverted back to being "no-reply bloggers" after fixing our settings to change that. It's so frustrating!

You have prolly noticed that Blogger is doing away with Google+. I'm not sure if that's why things are getting discombobulated, but the only thing I can suggest you do is what I did: go back into your settings and remove your email address from the appropriate places, click save settings, and exit. Then go back to your dashboard again, re-enter your email address in the appropriate places, and click save settings again.

This fix hasn't worked for all who have tried it, but it has worked for many others, so you have nothing to lose by trying it. Please don't ask me why it works for some and not others. I'm guessing it depends on what's the third from the last letter of the middle name of your grandfather's first cousin on his second cousin's side.

I'm not setting out the full instructions here, but if you need help with where the appropriate place is for post notifications via email, let me know via my email which is listed on my profile page. Or you can use the Contact Me form in the salad bar on the right. If you need help with where the appropriate place is for correcting your no-reply blogger setting, you can click on the red Are You a No-Reply Blogger? label in the salad bar on the right.

~~~

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 scrollingClick 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!)

63 comments:

Viv said...

Morning Darnell.... well it is here anyway.
Loving the cupcake card - might need to come up with something like it as Mister Viv's birthday is - would you believe - Valentine's Day. The things some men do to steal a gal's presents.....
The sarky sediment stamp is right in sooooo many ways! Although I had to go lie down in a darkened room after seeing the pp at this time of the morning. (Which incidentally is rather nice!)xx

Sue said...

Hi Darnell, Loving all the cards. You must have kept yourself out of mischief for a while making them:)

Well I lost all the photos on my blog, so I have altered the blog a bit and deleted everything before this year. It was partly down to the Google+ thing, but also me not realising if I deleted them in the Archive, it would delete them on my blog as well.

Not sure what happens now, as I do not have a Google+ account, but photos I put on my blog are still going into the archive.

Hope you have a nice day. Sue

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

What a fantastic display of cards Darnell, I love the cupcake collection that you made using the scraps and the beautiful tribute card too.

Sue xx

Sandra H said...

Aw such a beautiful selection of cards Darnell the panel on the first cards are gorgeous love the matching colours and that adorable cup cake image and the sentiment on the 2nd card just cracks me up love the background on that card your 3rd card is just as gorgeous you have created 3 stunners take care x

Sarah said...

Always a pleasure to visit you Darnell!! What a lovely selection of cards, the rainbow hugs and kisses looks fabulous and what a clever way to use up the waste too. Your CASEd Jessi card really made me smile...so true!! xx

Birgit said...

Cute cards Darnell! My daughter's birthday is on Valentine's day and she always got a heart shaped cake to celebrate. She's long outgrown that and now opts for a cake with fruit on top. Anyway, your card is the perfect combination of birthday and Valentine's day. I've been having issues with getting e-mails from friends blogs too. I'll give your suggestions a try. Thanks for sleuthing for all of us!

KandA said...

'Sneaked' 'snuck' I'd have just said 'made it without getting caught!' but that's besides the point I'm here to see what you and Hammy have been up to and I LOVE your set of cards and the way you used the negative snippets. And your cased card is fabulous with that brilliant sentiment xx

Kate said...

Another delightful (and informative) post. Great cards too. xx Kate

Carole said...

Lovely post Darnell...I can always guarantee a smile/chuckle from your posts. Love your cards...you have been busy...and inventive too I have to say.Your cards are lovely and obviously a good batch bake! Good job I have reactive lenses in my glasses for No3...great backing paper and so sorry to hear about your blogging friend. xx

Bunny said...

I like snuck, snacks , sweets and snarky. The snarky card with the women cracks me up. Your comment about not opening a card from you over a soup bowl also cracked me up.

So sorry to hear about Jess. What a young person to have passed. We just celebrated our daughter's
40 birthday and I thought how my heart would be breaking if this had been her. I'll be praying for her family.

[Bunny]

Cat Craig said...

Darnell, Love the hugs and kisses. What a cool die. And what a fab birthday card for those near Valentines. So smart. And your extras are fun as well, loving all the colors. And the confetti...hah I had to laugh picturing that.

YOur card for Jessi is perfect from what I have read. And that sentiment...fits my hubs to a tee. Sometimes I have to do a double take.

And thanks for the blogger heads up...as usual you are the forefront of knowledge about the issues. I don't like sneaked...I like snuck. I don't like speeded I like sped. ITs all about sound for me. And my biggest peeve language wise is the demise of the ly adverb. For example it annoys the daylights out of me when I hear...don't take it so serious. Okay enough. Happy Hump day.

Em Louise Fairley said...

These cards are sooo sweet! xoxo

aia716 said...

I really enjoy your cards Darnell. Can you give me more info about the hugs and kisses die you indicated from Memory Box.

I cannot find it on their website. Any info on where I can get one - those cards are terrific.

aia1950@hotmail.com


OH Babs said...

Fun cards Irma. With all the rain we have had (which I hate having been raised in the gray skies of Oregon) it is fun to play with cutesy stamps that bring a smile to your face. I love the Emerson ladies they are fun to add your own caption and I really love Maxine. Stay dry, Barb

Krisha said...

I enjoyed your post this morning, I do love a snarky card LOL!
Sorry to hear about your friend.
I did get a notice on my blogger post page.......hmmmmm, I wish they would leave things alone, but I'll just have to jump through the hoops to keep blogging. I just hope they done hold those hoops to far off the ground, my feet have't left the earth, at the same time, in a very long time LOL!
I too, have need of a birthday/valentine card, thanks for the inspiration for one.
Have a great week.

Lisa Elton said...

Love that you hopped right on the extra cards rather than handing them over to the BOB box! And that sentiment on the second is too much fun. Fabulous cards Darnell!

Happy Dance said...

So sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Jessi. I'm sure she's getting a good chuckle from your card from a 'higher' perspective. Love that paper! I would have bought the same!! Great CASE of Jessi's card. Love your Valentines!! Bright, happy, and full of love. That's a great xo die, too. And do I see subtle polkies on those panels?! Love these!! Let's do a catch up soon...xoxo Miss you. Bev

Unknown said...

I really love your writing style! And your cards too, of course. Love it when you give me several 'laugh out loud' moments, as you did with this entry. Such a great way to start my day.
Thank you for sharing your abundant talent of bringing smiles and giggles to the day.
Lu C

Sharron said...

Thanks for a few morning chuckles and your mini English lesson as well! Love your fun rainbow card and seeing that you didn't let those die cuts go to waste with your fabulous collection of cupcake wishes. The snarky card is both fun and fabulous--super cool pp! So sorry to hear of the death of your friend though. And thanks for sharing her adorable card.

Lisa said...

I love the beautiful sweet wishes cards!! They're so gorgeous!! And the sentiment makes me smile on the second card!! I love the colorful background, too!! I'm so sorry about the death of your friend. You CASE'D her card beautifully :) Have a great day!! Big hugs :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Jean said...

What fun cards!Thanks for sharing and entertaining!

Maria Rodriguez. said...

Oh Darnell, you captured Jessi's sense of humor with this delightful card, love the pattern paper in the background and the fabulous and colorful girlfriends but that sentiment is a keeper!!
Thank you for sharing this fun card CASEing Jessi's, I hope you come back and play with us next time.
Hugs.
Maria.

Pat said...

What a great idea to incorporate some valentine love into this birthday card and love the idea of using the waste as borders on your other six cards, and your fab bright kalaidoscopic background paper goes well with the quirky ladies and complementary sentiment which is a wonderful CASEing of Jessi's own card and a lovely tribute to her. I am with you on the snuck and sneak front. I will be snucking about all over the place in future. x

Bobby said...

I must be old-fashioned but I prefer snuck and sped. But as long as they are allowable on Words With Friends I'm okay with either. ;)
That was a great idea to combine valentines with birthday wishes, Darnell. Now that stamps have gone up in price, we need to save however we can. I LOVE that paper behind the snarky card. In fact I have a quilt partly done that looks similar. I snuck a peak at the new link and I think it will be helpful if people bother to look. I may send a few comments to some I know need this info.

Donna said...

Such a darling set of cards, like the dimension of the XXOO's.

conil said...

Terrific tribute to Jessi...somewhere she's really appreciating it and it's hilarity. Wonderful way to remember friends.
Clever use of that Memory Box die...I'm positive the recipients of the cards will be so pleased when they open them. You're a bit of devil, aren't you.

Linda said...

Lots of sweet adorable cards Darnell. You have been busy. Hope all is going well for you.

Sharon Underwood said...

Love your cards, as usual! I'm having trouble getting into my blog, so I'll try what you suggested. It needs a major updating so it's very frustrating that I can't get into it!

Lindsey said...

I'll be sliding over the hump day since it is freezing rain here. :o So while I stay inside, I'll admire your cards. I love the rainbow set of cupcake cards! Yummy cupcakes, bright and happy x&o's, and I really like the card layout as well. Of course I think your snarky card is terrific! Either you picked that fun paper first, or you are luckier than I am when it comes to matching already-coloured images. ;) Thanks for joining the fun at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

oldpunca said...

Hi Darnell. A wonderfull gest from you to dedicate this post to Jessi.
Your Valentines cards are awesome and so colorful that I have to love them. :-) Your second card is perfect. When someone wants to "improve" me, I always get sarcastic. I can find myself in this card. :-)
I hope some day someone will realize that all this bloggers improvements are not important. Thank you for all advices.
Hugs, Sonja

Catie Cuddles said...

Really cute cards. Thanks for joining us at Craftyhazelnuts patterned paper challenge. Happy crafting!
Catherine x DT

Mischelle Smith said...

this isn't Dennis, it is wifey, Mischelle.

Love reading your blog, my husband helps out to with my crafting. Thank you for posting the words for your acronyms, CASE and such. I hadn't a clue. Nice, what you did to honor your friend.
Take care, stay warm and creating.

Leslie Miller said...

Wow, lots today! First, your cards are all just as fabulous as can be. I can hardly believe you cut and fit all those hugs and kisses, but now you have bunches of colorful cards which I know you need, plus all that confetti. Love the Emerson stamp and the snarky sentiment cracked me up. I really need to get busy with my snarky/funny sentiments. Interesting about the snuck/sneaked dilemma. 100 years ago I learned that the proper word is "sneaked", so I'm surprised to read "sneaked" is newly acceptable. Finally, Blogger... I think I'm okay so far. The Google+ issue might be causing problems. Sheesh, I don't know. If you see any problems with my comments or blog, please let me know.

Bonnie said...

Your hugs and kisses have gone a long colorful way toward getting those February birthday cards done! I love both the positive and negative die cuts! Your kaleidoscope card is bright, snarky and fun! I'm having issues with my computer not just blogger.

Cheryl W. said...

Your cards today all look delicious--even the snarky one! I love the idea of putting the die-cut bits inside the card. A nice surprise for the recipient. So kind of you to honor Jessi with your fun card. The background paper reminds me of the neon colors of the late 60s/early 70s.

Gerrina said...

I do enjoy the word-pieces and you explaining; it improvese my understanding of the english language so much! Seems like evcery language has it's almost fixed-like words or sentence to descripe things that are done and have a moral judging at the same time...
Great how you used all of the cuts, positive and negative and that was my first thought...the caleidoscoop that is, but next was: what a beautiful card! :) Hope you have a good week! Hugs, Gerrina

kiwimeskreations said...

I use snuck, and sped, and mown (vs mowed). Yes, language is always changing, and some of us don't like it!! Just as I don't like it when something is advertised 'for free' instead simply free!!!!
Love your cards Darnell, as yet I am not eating lunchtime soup so I would be safe :-)!! or at least as the postie arrives mid-morning here, my food would be safe.
That snarky one is classic Emerson girls, and it sounds as though Jessi would have loved it!
Glad to hear Hammy is earning his keep still.
Blessings
Maxine

Ros Crawford said...

What a shame you missed that cupcake challenge... Fabulous cards Darnell and soooo colourful! I'm sure your friend Jessi would be thrilled that you made a card for her too.... As for blogger and Google.. I'm playing ostrich right now and hope to God everything works right... Have a lovely day!

Ruth said...

I was very sorry to read about your friend Jessi. From her blog it sounded like she had a very hard time with it all. When you read about people who are the same age as you dying (me, I'm 42), it puts your life into perspective. I bet she would have loved your card. I love all your hearts and kisses and that you got so many cards from all the die cutting. Hugs to you xxxx

desperatehousewifecraft said...

Its always such a blast to read your posts Darnell, you seriously crack me up. I always hesitate to leave comments on your blog as you already have so many to read, but today its "only" 39, so I will bother you with another one. Thanks for the English lesson, I learnt something today, and I really really love that sentiment, I have to get it! Have a great day. Hugs, Gwendolyn

Di said...

A lovely tribute to Jessi and such wonderful cards Darnell! I have a HUGE confession - I never knew what OXOXOXO meant! We have things called OXO cubes over here for making gravy stock and I always wondered why folk would want to send me those in a sign off! Sigh, knew I should have stayed in bed! Having said that - it's an amazing die and I adore how you've used it and then used up loads of resulting snippets as well. You do make me laugh with your hilarious posts my sweet friend!

Hugs and OXO's

Di xxx

Di said...

Psssst, forgot to say - I hope blogger is behvaing for you now. No-one responded did they - how odd, I think your Mr W the Stalker is maybe a fig tree of your imagination?! That is actually a joke as I saw his work for myself on your blog! Love blogger when it works - but it's a real oink oink when it plays up!

OXO :)

Birgit said...

First-love your rainbow X & O card and the work that entailed. I also loved what you did with the remainder to make all those other cards. I have often missed challenges which bummed me out. January flew by and I miss my craft room. I still use snuk plus that other word which now escapes me. The snarky gals are after my own heart and I love how you paid honour to your friend who passed away way too young. I have not yet had any issues with google+ crap. I always have issues now with posting when on my IPad which sucks

Birgit said...

I just went to Jess's blog and am so saddened to have read her difficult plight and that she has left behind 2 children with special needs. My heart goes out to her family and friends

Inkyfingers said...

I love your rainbow of pretty cards Darnell and how clever of you to make use of all your bits - it will be a great surprise for the recipients! I really like your snarky cards and this one makes a fitting CASE for Jessi.
Hope you are well. I'm a bit shattered after caring for the delightful Alice today - I think we're both happy but utterly exhausted.
Hugs
Carol x

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Really cool cards, that hugs and kisses die seems so useful and a great way to use pieces and leftovers!! Amazing works also for the other card!
January??? It has already been here? :0
:D :/

Redanne said...

A bumper bundle of beautiful cards - how clever to use the waste too from the hugs and kisses! I am so sorry to hear about your friend, there is so much sadness around at the moment (my lovely next door neighbour has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness....). I think Jessi would have been thrilled with the card you made. Big hugs my friend, Annie xxx

Heidi MyLittleStampingBlog said...

Gotta love those rainbow cards! Brightens your day!

Greta said...

Your card to honor Jessi is perfect! I was sad & surprised to hear of her death. Really love the beautiful BD cards--great use of all those BOBs, Darnell!

Brenda in IN said...

These rainbow x's and o's are so happy and fun and the cupcake looks yummy. I didn't know Jessi but it's sad when one of our own passes. You card is a cute tribute to her. The paper makes me a bit woozy but it looks great on the card! I love the sentiment on her card.

Brenda said...

I am bad about using proper grammar, I use "snuck" a lot and get an underline and many other words. Drives me nuts when I get that line, but not enough to go look up the right word. lol I talk the way I talk and that is that! Snuck, now underlined in red, but up in the second sentence it wasn't, or sneaked-all the same to me. Same difference is my big saying. Same with sped and speeded- of course I would say, sped-like spud. lol I'm bad and I know it! Love your first card, all those x's and o's are so cute, then the added teeny tiny hearts just take it over the top. I love the rainbow scatter of them and they are perfect for this cupcake birthday card! I love that Hammy helped you out and winked and glossified the cupcake while you made even more amazing birthday cards with the negative strips! Loved the warning too, it made me chuckle. Your twofer is just as fun and I think it may apply to me. lol I am totally loving that snippet of paper-it indeed does look like you are looking through a kaleidoscope-which I loved as a child. But it is the image and the sentiment that cracks me up! Such a sad reason for making a card and such a young age to pass. My heart, prayers and thoughts go out to all. With that said, what a way to honor this wonderful lady!!! I love your sense of humor and posts so much Auntie, so I know I would have enjoyed Jessi too. Hugs, Brenda

Marybeth said...

Hello Darnell! I love the set of five cards you made with the negative of the pretty pieces from your first card. So smart not to waist that paper and make a sweet set of cards.
I see those notices and kinda of ignore them till I have to figure it out.Thanks for helping so many of us
I am going to give that foil tip a try you mentioned on the Poppystamps blog, thanks.

Marcia Hill said...

What a beautiful gallery of rainbow cards Darnell...you and Hammy have certainly been busy!! Loved the snarky sentiment card too...totally made me laugh! And I think I had a pair of bell bottoms that looked just like the DSP on that card...oh boy, I'm dating myself, aren't I?!! But anyway, a fun card and lovely tribute to Jessi!! And thank you for the wonderful birthday card I received today...I did get a giggle out of the sentiment!! I think I need to come to your playhouse some day and just stamp all your sediments to have on hand...you really do have the best collection!! Thanks again my friend and have a wonderful weekend!! (supposed to get up to 22 here...yay, a heat wave!!)

Viv said...

Your post as usual put a smile on my face...thank you Dee! Such beautiful cards here again. Loving the sweet cupcakes and pretty edging bits , very colourful too.Nice tribute card for Jessi....I am sure she is looking down and smiling at it as we speak.Gone too soon of course, I am sure she is in a better place though. Enjoy your weekend my friend ;) hugs Vee

Anita in France said...

I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend, Jessi, Darnell ... she sure will be chuckling at your fun and vibrant CASE of her card. That pp is so funky ... puts me in mind of 70's wallpaper! What yummy Saint Valentine/Birthday cards ... all those loving hugs and kisses in such sweet colours ... and deliciously winked and glossed cupcakes to celebrate with ... what could be better! Good luck with blogger ... there's always Feedly if you get desperate! LYAMYMA ... HAEW! Big hugs and bisous, Anita :)

Mac Mable said...

Such patience with your cards and loving the super cute XO die cuts. All so worth it as your cards are wonderful x. The snarky sentiment on the last card made me laugh out loud....thank you x.
Thank you for your help on the blogger issues...I have been fussing with it for the past two days so hopefully everything has worked x.

Dotty Jo said...

Fabulous cards, Darnell, Jo x

Carol L said...

X's and O's always look cute on cards for any occasion! Love the sweet cupcake and especially those colorful notecards! Of course I'm still snickering over the Karma card and now you've got another snarky one for me to chuckle over :) Love this one with those dazzling paper designs and colors! I still have some of those fabulous crocheted medallions Jessi sent me a long time ago and she was such a talented, fun person. She apparently had a difficult life from so many angles, but I'm sure she is finally smiling again in heaven where all her pain is gone.

Donna said...

Fab projects as always Darnell!
Thanks so much for joining the crew at SHOPPING OUR STASH and our Ode to Jessi challenge!!
While I am here, thank you also for joining Edna and the sisterhood of snarky stampers for our V is for Valentine challenge
xxooMUAHooxx

Barbara said...

Incredible collection of cards! theya are all so beautiful! Thanks for joining us this week on Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog! barbara

frommycraftroom said...

Lovely cards.

I don't think it is just January that has snuck away from me! February is well on its way too! before I know it it will be December again (dare I say!).

Kim said...

I love all the bright colors on your cards. Thanks for joining the challenge at Love to Craft Challenge Blog.

Aileen said...

Darnell little late commenting on this card but just saw it over at Shopping Our Stash and had to come comment. I do so enjoy these stamps and this particular sentiment gave me a real chuckle. Love that kaleidoscope of colours too.