Quick Question

Waving hello from hot, hot, hot and steamy Florida!

A quick question for gardening friends who live in "cooler" climates.

Regarding Ruffled or Plain Green Leaf lettuce (or similar varieties):

how cool/cold can the temperatures be for it to grow?





Obviously we don't grow it in Florida, however, our Autumn and Winter temperatures are often perfect for Greens, Broccoli, Cabbage and Romaine...


   ... as long as there are no severe frosts.

If winter is mild again this year, we are thinking of growing some lettuce in a small area, rather than planting the entire garden area in rye grass seed, and allowing the nitrogen to seep into the ground.



Thanks for your help,
Donna The Vegetable Lover

It's Positive to be Negative Sometimes

A very warm 'hello' to you, lovely blogging friends!

To my friends in the northern hemisphere, have you been VERY hot! Yikes!
The humidity has been in the highest category (oppressive), and our heat indices continues to be 105-110 F (40C-43C) each day.
Even the Gulf of Mexico waters in our area have been in the 90's!
Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Back to card making LOL:

Today I'm sharing a little Dies R Us Inspiration!

click below for:
STORE

PINTEREST BOARD
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

The following Dies R Us Products are being used:

Dee's Distinctively IME-122 Flower Stems (card 1)

Dee's Distinctively IME-125 Flower 3 (card 1)

Spellbinders Rose Creations (leaf) (card 1)

Spellbinders Classic Petal Edgeabilities (card 1)

Spellbinders Butterflies Two (card 2)

Memory Box Pinpoint Scalloped Circles (card 2)

Spellbinders Circles Two (card 2)

Sue Wilson Pierced Square Noble Collection (card 2)

Die-Namites "Birdhouse Branch" DN-1144 (card 3)

Die-Versions "Happy Day" die

Today's project features both positive and negative use of dies.

The close up of the first card (US - A7 - 5.5" x 7.25") shows that even thin details of the die cut are clearly visible when using washi tape or designer paper remnants in the background.
The corners of the front panel match to the valleys of the borders:

The background panel was cut with two border dies before the washi tape was applied:

The die cut panel was dry embossed after the flowers and leaves were cut out:

Some dies offer multiple design uses. The Sue Wilson Pierced Square Noble Collection has details on both sides of the cut line, so that the negative portion can be used as well as the positive portion:

Shown in this easel card (5.5" x 5.5"):

Even the navy "broken" border has the tiny piercing.

To make these cards:

For the Easel Stop:

Piece the sections together.

Here is the same technique in a business size card (4" x 8.5"):

Be sure to line up the die cut panel with your washi tape to create the look you best like:

Would you believe I actually had to purchase washi tape for this project? I had someone escaped the washi tape craze, until our Swapping Smiles Group decided on a washi tape theme for July! 

Hope your week-end is extra special!

hugs,

Products Used:
Dee's Distinctively IME-122 Flower Stems (card 1)
Dee's Distinctively IME-125 Flower 3 (card 1)
Spellbinders Rose Creations (leaf) (card 1)
Spellbinders Classic Petal Edgeabilities (card 1)
Spellbinders Butterflies Two (card 2)
Memory Box Pinpoint Scalloped Circles (card 2)
Spellbinders Circles Two (card 2)
Sue Wilson Pierced Square Noble Collection (card 2)
Die-Namites "Birdhouse Branch" DN-1144 (card 3)
Die-Versions "Happy Day" die
Craftwell Delicate Dots embossing folder
Washi Tape
Paper: White, Navy
Stamps: Hero Arts C2916 "Wishing a Happy Day"
EKS corner punch (card 3)


Playing in these fun challenges please:

1. Artistic Inspirations Challenges #160 Anything Goes 7/18
2. Craft Rocket Challenges #19 Anything Goes 7/20
3. Craft Your Passion Challenges #320 Anything Goes 7/18
4. Crafting with an Attitude #17 Anything Goes 8/1
5. Crafy Girls Creations #23 Just For Fun "Anything goes" 7/28
6. Fab n Funky Challenges #313 Add a Sentiment 7/20  (c10)
7. Moving Along With The Times #24 "No Designer Papers 7/21 (I used Washi Tape and Embossing Folders)

Using Blogger's SSL for Security - Post Update

UPDATE July 11, 2016: 

My original post regarding Blogger's HTTPS option was written on May 8. 

Click here to review it.

It appears more and more problems are arising from implementing the SSL option - unforeseen consequences for crafters such as ourselves. Among them are:

1. a loss of previously assigned URL links coming from other locations, 
2. a loss of some features (see Google's Blog), 
3. Issues when using custom domain, 
4. error messages when people try to access our profiles (this usually occurs when they are trying to return-leave a comment from our visit to their blog).

hugs,

de

Butterflies and Parasols

A very warm 'hello' to you, lovely blogging friends!

Today I'm sharing a little Dies R Us Inspiration!

Today's technique is:

"make it simple or doll-it-up"

(using the same featured dies in both simple and elaborate designs)

The featured dies:

The following Dies R Us Products are being used:

Memory Box Calla Oval Wreath 99449

Memory Box Delicate Flower Frame 99438

Memory Box Delia Butterfly 98353 (body) (card 2)

Memory Box Lydia Butterfly 99089 (card 2)

Memory Box Sorona Butterfly 99091 (card 2)

Impression Obsession Spiral Flowers LARGE (card 2)

Tattered Lace Curved Parasol

Crafters Companion Die'sire Butterfly Dreams (card 2)

I was pleasantly surprised the Calla Oval Wreath and Delicate Flower Frame not only CUT easily, but popped out of the dies! What a breeze!
They may be used separately, or together.

The Delicate Flower Frame (Size A2 U.S.) is shown as a background.

The pink card is simple with 3 dies filling its space. It measures 4" x 6".

The Calla Oval Wreath has been inked and brushed with a little glitter, then popped up,
to showcase the Tattered Lace Curved Parasol.
The Parasol is also popped up:

The Stampin' Up! Sentiment is heat embossed with SNS Raspberry Sherbet Cosmic Powder:

The second card is larger (6" x 6"), with a few extra frills:

Pop up the Wreath with dimensionals - ink it up if desired - glitter it up, too!
Pretty Pearlized Vellum supports the butterfly:

The butterflies are gorgeous:

Impression Obsessions darling little Spiral Flowers are enchanting!
Believe it or not, these are Mitra's LARGE size, so beware if buying on-line not to get the smaller version. I cannot imagine how tiny those must be.

Here is a photo with a ruler so you can see how they look once rolled:

Flower Close-up:

I picked up FOUR of Die'Sire's Edge-ables. Wish I had known about them sooner! They are VERY easy to use, and cut with a single pass. They may be used in a number of ways, and are designed to be edges which do not completely cut out the entire image.

Here are some sample cards and some of the other dies in this line.

And here is a photo of the die, and how it cuts:

Thanks for popping by today!

click below for:
STORE

PINTEREST BOARD
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

Hope your week-end is extra special!

hugs,

Products Used:

• Memory Box Calla Oval Wreath 99449
• Memory Box Delicate Flower Frame 99438
• Memory Box Delia Butterfly 98353 (body) (card 2)
• Memory Box Lydia Butterfly 99089 (card 2)
• Memory Box Sorona Butterfly 99091 (card 2)
• Impression Obsession Spiral Flowers LARGE (card 2)
• Tattered Lace Curved Parasol
• Crafters Companion Die'sire Butterfly Dreams (card 2)
• Sparkle N Sprinkle: Brushable Glue, Lavender Iris Semi-Transparent Glitter G1061, Starfire Glitter G1017, Shell Pink Glitter G1022, Raspberry Sherbet Cosmic embossing powder EP243
• Paper: White, Lavender, Purple, Pearlized vellum, 
• Rolled tulle roses, Stamp Zia Colorwash Spray, Distress inks, embossing folder, pearls, VersaMark
• Image: SU Best Blossoms sentiment

Challenges I'd like to play in please:

1. Crafting from the Heart #119 Anything Goes 7/10
2. Craft Your Passion #319 Anything Goes 7/10
3. Crafty Cardmakers #167 Shabby Chic 7/10 (C15)
4. Scrapy Land #45 Anything Goes 7/20
5. Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenges - July - Used 3 glitters and 1 EP 8/1

Bubbling with Happiness {Crafts Galore Encore}

Greetings, sweet crafty friends!
Do you follow my blog via email notification?
If so, THANKS, and please feel free to click REPLY to contact me.
Or click on the title of my post to visit my blog directly.

It's been quite warm here and oppressively humid - typical Florida Summer Weather.
How grateful I am to bask in nature's beauty - both here -
AND
through my blogging friends' wonderful photos!
Thanks SO MUCH for sharing on your blogs!

It's time for another Crafts Galore Encore Challenge 

Our Sponsor this month is Art by Miran.

The Rules to the Challenge are easy! 

Just create your projects (using any crafting medium) according to this month's theme,
and link your blog posts directly to the linky on the Crafts Galore Encore Challenge site!

This month's challenge theme is  

"Anything Goes"

I am playing with Art by Miran "Bubbles Brea #216".

Today's duo consists of a partial "close-up", too.

It is fun using only a part of a digital image by enlarging just that portion:

Again, older die cuts, punches and VERY MUCH OLDER papers were used on this project!
It's fun using the old products in my stash!
Some things never go out of style - they are simply forgotten and neglected.

Colored with Copic Markers, the bubbles were especially fun. In this card, I've carried over duplicate bubbles into the flowers, and popped more up around the sweet little Brea:

Real bubbles are not glittery. But mine are!

My shimmering bubbles somehow grow to great sizes... 

     and... 

          grow their own sparkly filmy veneer...

               they burst like fire work displays with glitter gently 

                       cascading everywhere...

                                a Sparkly Blanket coating trees, people, 

                                          birds, grass, everything...

BUT THE BEST PART IS:

     this glittery fun magically cleans itself up after the party!

Sentiment is by Impression Obsession:

My second card uses the different die cuts and punches, but the same papers:

Thanks for visiting today. I still enjoy blowing bubbles.

Do you?

We so enjoy seeing your projects. It's always a chore selecting a favorite.
There are always several - it's an impossible task. Here's the link:

Crafts Galore Encore Challenges

Products:

• Image: Art by Miran "Bubbles Brea #216" (card 1 with lots of extra bubbles)
• Sparkle N Sprinkle Starfire Glitter G1017
• Sentiment: Impression Obsession "light heart" (card 1)
• LifeStyle Nesting Frame #7  (card 1)
• Cottage Cutz Greenery 4x4 (card 1)
• Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish (cut up) (card 1)
• Martha Stewart Double Arch Deep PAP (card 1)
• EKS Butterfly Punch, Punch Bunch Butterfly (card 2)
• Spellbinders 5x7 Detailed Scallops  (card 2)
• Copic Markers, Distress Inks, VersaFine Deep Lagoon
• Lace, fabric flowers, Embossing folders
• Paper: Old Bubbles designer paper, SU pinks and aqua, Turquoise Vellum, Express-it White

Playing in the following Challenges please:

1. Art by Miran Challenges #61 Anything Goes 7/7 (sep post)
2. Artistic Inspirations Challenges #159 "Anything Goes 7/10
3. Classic Design Team Open Challenge (July 1 #04) Anything Goes 8/1
4. Craft Your Passion Challenges #318 Anything Goes 7/3
5. Crafting by Designs - July - Anything Goes 7/24
6. Crafting from the Heart #118 - 1, 2, 3 of something (1 girl, 2 butterflies, 3 fabric roses) 7/2
7. Crafty Creations Challenges #318 Anything Goes 7/5
8. Crafty Gals Corner #78 - anything goes (glittery bubbles)
9. Deep Ocean Challenges #132 "colors of summer" 7/12
10. Digi Chooseday Challenge #26 Bling, Gems or Glitter (bubbles are glittered) 7/5
11. Through the Craft Room Door (TTCRD June 28-July 4) Anything Goes 7/5

Stamping Hugs,