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!

March 24, 2025

Spring Fois Deux (I.D.E.A.S. Calendar A = Anything Goes!)

Hello Stamplings!

I hope you are finding a spring in your step as we are now fully into spring! Unless, like some of you, there was snow coming down on the first day of spring! Or you live upside down and you are fully into fall. In that case, I do not wish for you to have a fall in your step!😬

Maybe we should all sit down and check out everyone's favorite week of my I.D.E.A.S. Calendar which is A = Anything Goes!

Onefer
This design was schparked by the blues and greens color challenge at the Color Throwdown. And a lot of challenges have "spring" as their brief, which led me to my NBUS "Lovely Lily of the Valley" die from Lawn Fawn. 

These sweet little flowers are oft times white, but look at this photo I found! Who knew? Or is that AI?

Anywhistle, j
ust to be different (and because I have gobs of it), I used cream card as my card base and to cut the dies. I don't know if it was the paper or the operator or the product, but it was a bit of faff getting clean cuts. But I per-severed and then painted with my Ziggies. Then I took a rest and Hammy and Stanley went about winking all the bits, as one does they doeth.

Then I faffed a bit more, laying the stalks and leaves this way and that, but it all seemed a bit flat, so I decided to go through my e/fs and see if one of them might juizz it up a bit. When I saw my NBUS "Cross-Stitch" e/f from Taylored Expressions, I got the idea of gluing down the flowers and then running the whole panel through my Gemini in the hopes it would look like a counted cross-stitch. It was a risk after painting all those wee lilies, but, phew, it worked.

It wasn't until after I'd embossed it, that I realized I should have stamped on a sediment first.😶No worries, let's cross-stitch that, too, then! I used my wee Lawn Fawn triple frame label set. The sediment is from Verve, older than your grandma, but still good as new!

Challenges

Twofer
Keeping spring in mind, this design was schparked by another color challenge, this time Color Hues. I had the little flower outline stamp on my desk. I had removed it from its wooden block some time ago and stuck it in with my silhouette stamps. I also saw that Lin was hosting the current Seize the Birthday challenge and she was looking for "things with wings."

The lads went up NBUS Mountain and starting pitching birds and butterflies and dragonflies off left and right. Well, not one to move if I don't have to, I reached down and picked up the one that landed on my bazooms. Thankfully and perfectly, it was this wee NBUS hummingbird from Memory Box that comes as a multipiece die. 

You know how much I love hummingbirds and how fortunate I am to have them come to my window feeder every day all year long. And Goodness knows how many photos I've shared on here of these delightful birds in their brilliant blue, purple, green, and red feathers. Pulling my artistic license from my sleeve, I used a piece of pp to create an unusual (to me) array of green and yellow feathers for this little gal. 

The rest of the design came together easily, punctuated by hammering, stitching, piercing, scalloping, blinging, and winking. You know, the usual. Oh, and I did have to give her teeny feet.

Challenges
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You will find a linky tool below for this week's I.D.E.A.S. Calendar prompt of A = Anything Goes. So, no matter what you create, you can link here this week to motivate others out of their creative schlump!

I love seeing what you create, visiting you, and pinning your design! Thank you so much to everyone who remembered to link last week! Mwah!
~~~

Enjoy your week! 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!



*Life is too short!

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29 comments:

Sue - said...

I’m back commenting! I have been looking in my absence though. Two fab cards Darnell, beautiful cross stitch and a gorgeous little bird. xx

Sue - said...

I’m back commenting! I did look though in my absence. Two fab cards Darnell. Love the cross stitch one - very effective, and the sweet little bird! xx

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Hi dearest Darnell, all things going well i shall link up on Wed our time as you're nearly a day behind us.
I LOVE ❤️ your cards, the beautiful blue cross stitch... well done you, and boys! And same with hummingbird stamp set used from NBUS Mountain. I've no NBUS this week! Amazingly I'm using old stash, lots of Disc. I really love both cards hard to pick a favourite. Beautiful creations.
Praying for you, hugs and prayers, Shaz in Oz.x

Julie B said...

Your posts always make me smile Darnell and your cards today did too. The sun is shining today, even if there is a little mistiness softening the edges of the distant views. The dog was up bright and early so the ewes and lambs were still stirring when we went for our walk, lambing is at the halfway point. Before I go better say thanks for linking up at Color Hues too! :)

Em Louise Fairley said...

They are both beautiful Darnell. I'll be back on Wednesday to link up my latest creation xoxo

Marcia Hill said...

Your twofers are both sooooo pretty Darnell! Your zigified and cross stitched blue lily of the valley blooms are beautiful, and your yellow and green hummer is just delightful and I'm quite jealous you get to see the real ones all year long! Mine don't show up till mid to late June and then usually depart sometime in September, but I truly enjoy every day they do visit! Thanks so much for joining us at Color Hues and making our challenge colors SHINE!! Hugs. :0)

Vicki Dutcher said...

Fun use of the embossing folder. Thanks for joining in at JUGS. Love the cute bird too and, thanks for joining in at STB 😀

!neke said...

Great spring cards !!!!!

Lisa Elton said...

So happy to spot your pretty little crossed stitched lily of the valley in our JUGs gallery, Darnell! Thanks so much for playing along this week. I look forward to hummers returning to our feeder this year. Your darling green one is extra sweet!

Judy Iverson said...

That's a beautiful car! Love the cross stitch background.

Donna said...

Two stunning cards Darnell, the embossing over the image is fabulous-I will be trying this and your hummingbird is fabulous!

I Card Everyone said...

I'm tickled green to see Lily of the Valley AND a hummer on your post today, D! TWO of my very favorite things! I'm also green with envy if it's the Anna's that visit you - one day I hope to see one for reals!
=]

Leslie Miller said...

Two delightful spring cards today, Darnell! Our weather turned springy yesterday, don't know how long it will last, but Sophie & I & friends made the most of it in The Great Outdoors. Mentioning this because the Madrone was in bloom -- tiny pink clusters of Lily of the Valley-like blooms. So cute! There just might could be blue Lily of the Valley, or rainbow, or whatever. In any case, you painted these up beautifully. Love that cross stitch pattern. When it comes to cute, it's hard to beat a teensy hummingbird, not to mention those pretty yellow flowers. Hummingbirds were buzzing around in bunches yesterday. Almost like they were following us. Maybe we looked sweet. Love your post, and since I'm guesting at Seize the Birthday I will also thank you for sharing your sweet hummingbird card in the gallery. Have a wonderful week!

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

Just love your little blue lilies of the valley, Darnell - so fun with the embossing over everything! Pretty birdie too - thanks for the inspiration with Anything Goes!!

JoAnn said...

Two lovely cards Darnell. Love the blue flowers on the first and the texture. The 2nd card with that cute hummingbird and lovely yellow flowers is sweet. Thanks for sharing it with us at Seize the Birthday.

Maria said...

Two beautiful cards, Darnell! Love the pretty blues and greens on the first card! And, the second card is so sweet with the beautiful bird in lovely color!

HilaryJane said...

love both these cards Darnell. the embossing looks great on the first one. I was wondering if you had inlaid the die before embossing, so thanks for the clarification. I love the look. Your little humming bird is so cute and I love the yellow and green. Your card arrived today. Thank you so much. I am not going to open it until the 31st xx

Bobby said...

Your cross stitched lilies are lovely, Darnell. White Lily of the Valley are cute they are so invasive and we have them wildly growing around the cottage thanks to my mother's love of them. The patterned paper worked great for your sweet hummingbird, one thing I'd like to see more of at the cottage.

Karen said...

The only real signs of Spring here are blog posts from warmer climes. We get one day of almost Spring temperatures followed by a week of temperature way too cool to qualify for Spring!.We were in Wisconsin last week, however, where they had 2" of snow on Sunday. None here when we returned, and I hope snow is done here! Your Spring cards are a ray of sunshine. I love them both, but that humming bird is just wonderful! That patterned paper was a great find, and thanks for joining us at Color Hues!

Cheryl W. said...

Your cards warmed my heart and helped me believe that Spring truly is on the way. We're still wearing warm coats here in Minnesota, but, hopefully, things will heat up soon. Love your little hummingbird. We don't see them often here, but I'm thrilled when I do!

TK said...

Oh my, I see two adorable cards! Darnell, these are fantastic in the chosen colors. Love the texture on the first card, and the sweet scene of the second card

kiwimeskreations said...

Oh my goodness you have been so inspired Darnall, and those boys are worth their weight in gold, the way they help your inspiration...
That cross stitch is perfect over the larger lily of the valley images, and your hummer is just beautiful next to those vibrant flowers.
Thank you for not wishing us a fall in our steps - I can do that easily enough without extra wishes :)
Blessings
Maxine

My Paper Epiphany said...

Such a wonderful Twofer! I love the pretty bluebells and the texture in the 1st card! The Hummingbird card is so delightful! Thanks so much for joining us at Seize the Birthday:) Hugs x

Jeanne said...

Delightful and joyful in every way! Thank you so much for sharing, my friend!

Donna Walls said...

You've created 2 wonderful cards Darnell! We're delighted you joined in at The Beautiful Blossoms Challenge and we hope you'll share again soon.
Donna xx
The Beautiful Blossoms Challenges
The Inspiration Station Challenge
The Paper Funday Challenge

Sandra H said...

We have had snow in July before today so it's of no surprise to me to be reading that there has been some, both cards are so delightful love them both x

Nancy said...

Darnell, Your hummingbird card in all shades of yellow and green looks just perfect. As for your Lily of the Valley card it too is lovely with all that texture. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they in fact came in all of those colors on one stem! Both cards has us all hoping for a long Spring, and for some for Spring to begin. Thanks for sharing with us at Color Hues and Seize the Birthday.

Gerrina said...

Two fun cards! Love the crosses on the first and the bright colors on the 2nd! Sometimes wish I could see hummingbirds closer to home... Hugs, Gerrina (P.S. my steps want to be with more of a spring, but helas... artrose makes me wear a brace for now...)

Carol said...

Darnell, gorgeous lilies of the valley card! OMG! The texture you put over the top is outstanding! So glad you played with us at Just Us Girls!