Sunday 14 April 2024

Sunday Snippets - Butterflies!

Here's my snippets card for this week:

My leftover snippets - yay, I remembered to take a photo!
I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank, tent style 

- grey backing paper from Echo Park's 'Be Mine' paper pad (it's actually the reverse of a sheet printed, using the same grey that features in many of the designs - handy 😀), trimmed to the same size as the card front and glued in place 

- another sheet of paper from the same pad, this time patterned, trimmed to 5.25" x 4" and glued in place on top of the grey layer

- then came the snippets - the previous day I found some offcuts of Strathmore Mixed Media card and played around making backgrounds using Lindy's Magical shakers - all from the 'Tea and Crumpets' range

- I chose to die cut the black top layers from a snippet of black 'velvet' card' first, using two dies from the Sizzix 'Detailed Butterflies Mini' set and put them aside for now

- used the leftover apertures so I could choose whereabouts from the backgrounds to die cut the bottom layers of the butterflies

- die cut the bottom 'solid' layers from the backgrounds already made using 'Lindy's Shakers', then ran them through the Gemini to emboss them, using the same dies

- glued the black die cut layers onto the embossed base layers

- final step was to add both butterflies to the card front, using snipped up thin sticky pads

It's a shame that the shimmer doesn't show up - especially in the purple butterfly. The embossing step was SO worthwhile, again in real life!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #61 - HERE - the butterfly die set I used is NBUS, 

Dudley Pupdate: At last, we've had some sunshine here and the difference it's made to Dudley is so heartening. He adores playing in the dry back garden, zoomies are his speciality, some lovely dry walks and he races back indoors with such a sweet lopsided grin on his face! Happy dog, happy home!

Remember, I've just kicked off a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings!

Love as always, Dudley Dog and me,




Sunday 7 April 2024

Sunday Snippets - THAT postage stamp die set

Spring is really teasing us here - temperatures are rising at times and the sound of lawnmowers drifts across to us - in our easy care revamped garden. Len is a happy guy for sure, and the wildlife still visit as well. But then it rains and blows a 'Hoolie'! 

Very last minute snippets card from me - using one of the currently hugely popular 'postage stamps' set of dies in 'simple mode':

My leftover snippets of the 'Certainly Celery' papers - sob, only a few tiny scraps left now
I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank, side opening

- first of all I used white card, the same as the card blank, to die cut the main outline of the card topper using an unbranded die 

- then trimmed some plain SU 'Certainly Celery' card for the bottom layer and also some deep purple slightly shimmery paper for the next layer

- glued both those layers onto the card front

- then die cut the snippets of SU's 'Certainly Celery' paper pack, using the dies to match the faux apertures in the main outline

- glued the patterned snippets onto the outline die cut, using a glue pen

then used the same glue pen to glue the whole outline panel onto the card front

- stamped the sentiment onto a snippet of white card, using a LOTV stamp from their sadly discontinued and still very much loved by yours truly 'General Greetings - Small' set of stamps - using a VersaFine Clair 'Monarch' ink pad (gorgeous colour!)

- used a SU plain small oval punch to punch out the sentiment

- used a snippet of the left over purple glimmer paper to punch out a SU scalloped small oval

- glued the white sentiment onto the purple scalloped oval

- used thin sticky pads to adhere the completed sentiment to the card front 

- added a strip of the patterned paper to the envelope flap and called it finished

I learned a few things along the way. The idea of using papers from the same colour range is better in theory than in practice.  In real life the card does them justice, but on camera and unless you're close up they really are too similar to give it that 'Wow' factor. Tiny backing layers of the purple paper to frame each of the 'Certainly Celery' panels would give more definition - but I thought of that one too late. The way to do that, IMHO, would be to die cut the purple layers for each 'aperture' then do the same with  the patterned paper but also trim a little sliver from the top and one side of those patterned papers to create a narrow margin all round the patterned paper layer. Next time, I might well give that a whirl!
 
I'd like to enter this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #61 HERE - the die set was having its first outing.

Dudley Pupdate: For the past week or so, Dudley has been rather subdued. He's eating fine but he's often in a little dream world of his own. Physically everything is working as normal but we're watching him closely and he will be off to the vet if need be - before he can even say 'I wanna treat for going'!  It could just be that, like us, he's fed up with all the damp weather and longing for Spring to arrive properly.

Having said that - he still put up a jolly good fight on his hind legs when I was grooming him yesterday afternoon. Overall the match was a draw, although I'm sure that Dudley scored a few below the belt hits! What can you do when a little fluffy white face with beautiful eyes plants itself on your 'chest shelf' and silently appeals 'Enough Mama, enough please!'?

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #476 are now published HERE

Do please come and play in Sarn's current challenge over in the Snippets Playground! 

Love from myself and Dudley,


Sunday 31 March 2024

Sunday Snippets - Easter Greetings

Happy Easter everyone! And, in many places, including the UK, we put our clocks forward at 2am on Sunday - easy to remember 'Fall, back, Spring, forward'. It always takes me a few days to get over that lost hour of sleep!

There's a new Challenge being run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE

My snippets card for today used snippets of pale ivory linen card for the lily, leaf and the backing layer underneath the lily, as well as underneath the lilac coloured frame to peep through the die cut corners:

I used:

- 5.25" x 4" pale ivory linen card blank, tent style

- used Altenew's 'Layered Lily' stamp and matching die set for the flower and leaf- stamping them using a set of SU teeny stamp pads I've had for many years and of course the Misti to help with positioning the layers

- then die cut the flower and leaf before putting it to one side

- to create the lilac 'frame' I used a die from Penny Black's 'Stitched Frames' set of dies to cut into the centre of a piece of  5" x 3.75" lilac card stock

- for the centre panel I used the same Penny Black die to cut into a snippet of pale ivory card. just slightly bigger than the aperture 

- used SU's 'Old Olive' to stamp the Easter Greeting, using an unbranded stamp from a set of Easter stamps

- adhered the pale ivory centre panel to the 'fallout centre' piece of lilac card from when the lilac frame was die cut - this was to add more stability and the 'image panel' stands ever so slightly proud as a result, which is a nice effect in real life 

- still not finished with faffing with the frame, I trimmed a snippet of pale ivory linen card to a whisker smaller than the lilac frame and adhered it to the back of the frame so it showed through the corners of the die cut frame before flipping it over and popping in the centre panel

used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the framed image panel in place

- added the lily leave using a glue pen and then the lily flower was added using thin sticky pads

- finally, popped three Memory Box 'Fairy Drops' on and called it done!

Using the Altenew layering stamps and dies is good fun, once you get the hang of it. I bought them in a closing down sale, I'd hesitate to buy at full price what is effectively one flower and a leaf.

On the other hand, you do sometimes get what you pay for with unbranded goods. The Easter sentiments set is really lovely (Amazon UK) but the stamps are soft and floppy and clearly not polymer. I expect they won't stand up to rigorous use. However, they do stamp well plus it's a set I won't use very much anyhow so I can live with that.

I'm entering this card into Darnells NBUS #60 Challenge HERE. The Altenew stamps and dies, Easter sentiment stamps and also the Penny Black set of 'Stitched Frames' were all having a first outing.

Dudley Pupdate: I had a wry smile over in the Snippets Playground when I read that Sarn and I, ably assisted by Dudley, had been hiding Easter eggs! Dudley was doing the 'hole digging' apparently - and lately his doggie instincts have caused some fun here. He's a 'grazer' and likes nothing more than a dish of freshly raw chopped vegetables. Diced sweet (not hot) baby peppers go in a shot and he leaves the diced carrots to sustain him whenever he fancies a nibble, until the remainder are ditched each evening and a fresh lot prepared for him. Obviously he has other food at breakfast and for dinner and our vet is very happy about his diet. His teeth are doing fine but to continue along that road we recently decided to add a whole small carrot into the fun each day to encourage him to chew using his back teeth - which he loved. Err, until, Len found a day old one hidden away in the corner of his study, much as a dog would bury a bone! Dudley looked pretty sheepish when he realised he'd been rumbled and I'm currently standing beside the ladder up to the Playground Treehouse ............... waiting to have a little word in Sarn's ear! 

 /) /)

 (-.-)
0_(“)(“)

With love from Dudley and myself, 



Wednesday 27 March 2024

March 2024 Rudolph Days - Little Town of Bethlehem

It's Helen's Rudolph Days Challenge HERE until the end of the month - and this is my entry:

I used:

- 5.75" x 5.75" square white card blank

- a piece (snippet) of Tonic 'Majestic Gold' card trimmed to 4.25" x 4.25" and set aside

- snippet of black 'velvet' card stock, die cut using Britannia Dies 'Bethlehem Scene' die, trimming away the lovely crescent shaped upper part to leave just the town itself - at 4" wide

- a piece of carefully chosen backing paper from the Altenew 'Celestial' paper pack, trimmed to 4" x 4" to form the background for Bethlehem. Basically, the background paper and some carefully chosen positioning is the real secret to this card with enough light to show through the windows and a pretty aura over the town with a starlit sky for the star to shine down from

- then glued the silhouette Bethlehem town die cut onto the backing paper using a glue pen. 

- glued that layer onto the Majestic Gold layer to form a frame - using Collall All Purpose glue

- die cut a star from a little snippet of 'Majestic Gold' card using the smaller die in the Memory Box 'Star of Wonder' set of two dies and glued it in place using a glue pen

- finally, used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the panel onto the front of the card blank

- didn't add a sentiment, it speaks for itself - and there will be an insert of course

Len spotted it on the craft room desk the following morning and exclaimed -'Wow, that is brilliant'! So nice when chaps recognise your work without any prompting!

And of course, I made two the same whilst at it.  Thanks to Sarn for reminding me with one of her recent cards just how eye catching a wider white border can be!




Sunday 24 March 2024

Sunday Snippets - HB2U

I recently made a couple of colour swatches using 'Lindy's Magical shakers' - from the 'Tea and Crumpets' shimmery range. I kept the leftover strips as they're too pretty to just ditch. And this is my snippets card using them:



I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank - tent opening

- then die cut a further piece of the same white card using MFT's 'Diagonal Strip Sentiment Cover Up' die and popped the diagonal strips out

- trimmed another piece of the same white card to just a smidgen smaller than the diagonal strip die cut, covered one side with Stick It adhesive paper, peeled off the second backing and carefully adhered it to the back of the diagonal stripes die cut

- that meant I had nine diagonal die cut apertures in the white panel, backed with a nice sticky surface for the next step

- sorted the Lindy's Magical Shaker strips into the order I wanted 

- then used my Cuttlebug to position the strips, mostly one at a time, into the corresponding positions on the back of the die. Die cut them and then popped them into the correct apertures in the die cut white panel

- a lovely friend recently sent me a gorgeous unbranded flora die and I used it to cut a layer of black velvet card then back it with die cut plain black card for stability - all snippets of course. Such a pretty die! 

- die cut 'HB2U' using a Gummiapan die from their fairly recent Mystery Bags offer, again with black velvet card which was then backed with die cut plain black card - all snippets again

- adhered the silhouette die cut and the sentiment across and onto onto the broad white diagonal panel on the card front - using a glue pen

- finally, used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the panel onto the front of the card blank

It was a pretty time consuming process but quite rewarding not to have wasted those leftover little strips of Lindy's Magical Shaker samples!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #60 - HERE - some of the 'Magical Shakers', as well as the two dies I used to cut the black velvet card, were having their first outing

Dudley Pupdate: We're all longing for some consistently dry and sunny days here. Meanwhile, Dudley is still snuggling up to us during the night - although I did spot him curled up in his own bed the other night. He seems to like to have a wander around and ring the changes particularly with the night temperatures being quite variable right now. Each day, when I make our bed, I carefully straighten the little fleecy paw printed cover that Dudley has in his bed - it's a good indicator of whether or not he's using the bed as it usually looks as if he's had a wrestling match in there if he has actually slept in it! When he came to us he travelled light with a puppy sized tennis ball, a much loved Monkey toy and his fleece blanket - plus some starter food. All from the breeder to try to help him settle into his new home. It all looked terribly sad looking back. But, he had to go to a new home and we three had chosen one another.


This was within an hour of us arriving back home with the tiny scrap and we, foolishly mistakenly, thought he'd settled in already! Fast forward to during that coming night ............. with Len ending up dozing on a sofa down in the lounge, with Dudley lying on his chest, wrapped in his fleece. so that the heart beat and warmth from Len along with the smell from his doggy Mum Mimi would calm down one inconsolable and almost hysterical Havanese puppy. 

Such a little guy, who Len and I now realise, had a predetermined agenda ........... which meant absolutely NO intention of sleeping alone! EVER! Bless his cotton socks! 

Remember, the results from Challenge #475 are now published in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings for the current challenge too - I fully expect Sarn to be gearing up ready for Easter in a week's time!

Love as always, Dudley and yours truly,




Sunday 17 March 2024

Sunday Snippets - Holly!

Here's my snippets card for this week:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4" pale ivory linen card blank, tent style 

- a snippet of the same pale ivory linen card, cut using the Memory Box 'Contempo Holly and Stencil' set die (I didn't try the stencil ......... for now!)

- then extracted, a tiny bit of snipping was involved to my surprise, the holly twig and leaves from the panel

- then glued the resulting panel with its various apertures onto the left hand side of the card front as a 'frame' for my next additions

- die cut the panel once again to end up with a mirror gold 'skeleton' of the holly twig - I used Tonic 'Inca Gold' snippets

- at that point I pondered and realised that it needed something to define the line down the centre of the card - so I added a strip of Altenew 'Golden Edge Trim' Washie tape (it's about .25" in width and very useful stuff). I used it because it's very thin and wouldn't cause any 'bumps' when I added the holly leaves

- then I felt safe to add the gold skeleton outlines of the holly twig - just using a fine glue pen  (there was one piece I'd kept back from the pale ivory die cut so I popped that in place at the same time)

- then used the holly die again to die cut the holly leaves - using some beautiful green mirror card by 'Italian Options' (Amazon UK) and added them, using a glue pen

- all that remained was to add a sentiment so I dug around in my pot of ready made Tonic Mini 'Merry Christmas' sentiments and added a red mirror card one (probably made using Tonic 'Scarlet Organza' card

- finished - and I actually made four the same......... in a little batch bake!

I now have four leftover skeleton white outline die cuts of the holly twig and leaves - begging to be used. I have plans as they're much too pretty to waste!

I'd like to enter this card into a couple of challenges:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #60 - HERE - the 'Contempo Holly' die I used is NBUS, I'm still battling on using 'Never Been Used Stuff' and yet it keeps on growing! I need therapy.

- Christmas Kickstart #84 - Get Your Grinch On HERE. Basically 'use green' - and I did! Love this challenge run by Jo - go and take a look if you don't already join in.

Dudley Pupdate: After the traumas of the previous week (he recovered well from the vet visit, 24 hours if that!)  we gave Dudley a 'pass' on the full trim that Len had planned for him. So, this week has been filled with tons of cuddles and playtime - even more than usual, if that's possible. If only it would stop raining - he hates getting even his paws wet! Mind you, drying him off with a towel, even after just venturing into the garden, is a game he loves!

Remember, I've just kicked off a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings!

Love as always, Dudley and me,




Sunday 10 March 2024

Sunday Snippets - Wishing you a Beautiful Day

Still playing with Lindy's Magical Shakers here:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" pale ivory linen card blank, side opening

- first of all I made the piece for the sunset - and used Lindy's Magical Shakers in three stripes of colours which I then gently swept across a snippet of Mixed Media card using a wet paint brush to blend and create an ombre effect. The colours are from the 'Tea and Crumpets' range and they contain a glimmer of mica - 'Crumpet Crumbs' (yellow), 'Pinkies up Pink' (a peachy pink)' and 'Pass the jam Jane' (the colour of my favourite seedless raspberry jam!)

- then die cut the 'sun' from a scrap of card to use as an aperture template to move around the Lindy's background and choose exactly where I wanted to die cut. The die is another unbranded one called 'Dusk sunset' (many thanks to our lovely Val 'the enabler' for the inspiration).
 
- snippet of black 'velvet' card, from which I die cut the palm tree using an unbranded die from a set of two in different sizes, called simply 'Trees' (imaginative huh?) 

- then cut into a whole piece of Lawn Fawn's yellowish 'Watercolour Wishes' ombre paper, using a Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangles' die

- stamped the sentiment onto the top left corner of  the backing paper panel using a VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink pad and a stamp from an ancient set of sentiments by Whimsical Designs 'Whimsical Fun - Vol. 1' I wonder if they ended up calling themselves Whimsy Stamps?

- trimmed  a snippet of the same black 'velvet' card to just slightly bigger than the background panel and glued them together

- added the sun onto the panel then the palm tree (layered the tree onto a die cut snippet of plain black card for dimension) - using a glue pen

- finally added the whole panel to the card front using narrow foam tape and the usual glue stick - finished! 

I made this card for a good friend who lives locally and very recently celebrated her Birthday. A few years ago she joined Len and I when we went on one of our annual Autumn holidays to Thailand. We had a great time with loads of laughter and to this day she says it was unforgettable - in the nicest possible way I hope! So, I made my snippets card especially for Pauline, to bring back memories of a lovely holiday.........  and some beautiful sunsets.

I'd like to enter this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #60 HERE - the dies were having their first outing.

Also, the current Allsorts Challenge #771 HERE has the theme of 'yellow' this week. Hooray, so I'm entering my card there as well.

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley survived his week of a couple of small trim's, bath, drive in his new doggie seat in the car - and also his MOT at the vet's. He screamed and yodelled blur murder all the way to the vet's and then turned into a wriggling bundle of fluff once up on the table! However, he came through with flying colours and to my amazement still weighs practically the same as he did two years ago. He's still speaking to us - just! However, he's been very subdued and we've seen that in the past for 24 hours or so after a vaccination - poor little sausage! 

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #474 are now published HERE

Do please come and play in Sarn's current challenge over in the Snippets Playground! Let's try to beat 42 entries for our little satchel swinging mischief maker!

Love from myself and Dudley,




Sunday 3 March 2024

Sunday Snippets - Lindy's 'Have a Scone Heather'

There's a new Challenge being run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE

My snippets card for today used a snippet of Strathmore Mixed Media 'paper' (it's actually heavier than 300 GSM card!) which had been given the Lindy's Magical Shakers treatment:

I used:

- A6 black card blank, tent style (it was a deckle edged card  but I guillotined the very edges off to give a crisper look

- I backed a snippet of 'black velvet' card stock with Stick-It double sided adhesive sheet then die cut it using a Creative Expressions 'Stained Glass Collection' die called 'Butterfly'

- the die doesn't have an outer border, so I just carefully trimmed all four sides of the piece to form one - I chose to trim before doing the die cutting but either way would be fine

- made sure the pink background was trimmed with squared off corners then, with a lot of care, slowly peeled off about a quarter of the backing from the die cut

- lined up the top and one side onto the pink background - you only really get one chance with Stick-It sheets if you're positioning something and it needs to be 'spot on', although they're very slightly less 'instantly stuck in place' easier than (say) Woodware Double sided adhesive sheets

- trimmed the remaining two sides of the pink background to line up and form an even border all round the panel

- used a little snippet of the 'black velvet' card to die cut the 'just because' sentiment (using an Altenew die from the 'Essential Sentiment Strips' set) then glued it onto a larger snippet of the pink background 

- finally, used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the image panel and the sentiment in place

There was a lot of trimming during the making of this card! The snippets I had leftover were literally teeny-tiny ones.

The pink background was made during an initial play with Lindy's Magical Shakers - using 'Have a Scone Heather'. The range is called 'Tea & Crumpets' and, importantly, the colours also contain Mica for a gentle shimmer. NB. Not all of Lindy's ranges contain Mica! I did the 'spray with water then sprinkle' technique and then spray a little more. Then my little Mini Mister spray ran out of water so I grabbed a water brush (rather then disturb Dudley who was sleeping with his head on one of my feet!) and just swiped it across the whole piece a few times. It blended the colours more and is an alternative to a more splattered effect.

I'd like to add this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #60 HERE. The 'Stained Glass' die and also the Lindy's 'Have a Scone Heather' shaker were having a first outing.

One day, when I'm at a loose end with enough time to think about peeling a bunch of grapes, I'll dig out a ton of brightly coloured snippets and use the stained glass die to create a glorious piece of art work! One day, I said!

Dudley Pupdate: We have a fun week ahead of us. First of all, Dudley needs a bit of hand trimming done by yours truly, then he will have a bath as that's overdue with Len having been unwell. And then, to put the icing on the cake for the little chap - next Saturday he's off to the vet for his annual vaccinations and check up. That entails a first ride in his new doggy car seat - just to add some sprinkles on top of the icing - he absolutely hates going anywhere by car. We have to whisper all of this to one another - he'd be frantically packing his little back pack to run away from home otherwise! Wish us luck!

With love from Dudley and myself, 




Thursday 29 February 2024

Rudolph Days Challenge - February 2024

Helen Nile has stepped up and taken over the Rudolph Days Challenge - hooray, well done Helen! And many thanks to Maureen (Scrappy Mo) and her DT for running it for so long.

I decided to try to get a bit further ahead with my 2024 Christmas card making and did an 'assembly line' run of 10 cards, same basic design, a mixture of various sentiments  - and 10 different Penny Black 'Masterpieces made Easy' ready printed images:

This card, using an image from 'Winter views' is my entry for the current Rudolph Days Challenge - HERE.

I'd also like to add it into Darnell's NBUS Challenge # 58 HERE - the sentiment stamp sets were having a first outing

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white linen card base, folded to be either tall tent style or side opening, on the short side

- used pieces of the white linen card left from cutting the card bases to die cut rectangles using a Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangles' die

- used snippets of Tonic Pearlescent card in 'Majestic Gold' and 'Luna Silver' to cut rectangles to just add a narrow 'frame' around the outside of the stitched white layer

- stamped a sentiment onto each of the Penny Black 'Masterpieces made easy' images using VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink and stamps from two small Penny Black sets called 'song of peace' and 'winter vibes'. The sentiments are a little different to usual Christmas ones and there are times when I do need Christmas cards with more thoughtful messages and sentiments 

- assembly time!  Glued the images to the stitched white linen card rectangles, then glued the pearlescent pearlescent layer to the back of each stiched/image layer

- used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panels

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panels onto the card blanks 

- 10 Christmas cards, finished!

This is another one of the cards, very typically Penny Black as you can see:


And here are the other eight cards - for my own records as much as anything:



I'm such a greedy little Piglet - I've bought every single set of Penny Black 'Masterpieces made Easy' over the years they've been producing them. They're rather addictive and I still have a bunch of unused ones to play with!

Both the hedgehog images came from the 'adorable amour' set and the rest came from five different sets - I won't list them but Buddly Crafts are a UK stockist and all images can be seen on their website. I do recommend them, for their stock of USA craft items, decent prices and great service! Click the link - I dare you! 😂




Sunday 25 February 2024

Sunday Snippets - 'hi'!

I finally had a play with some 'Lindy's Magical shakers' - 'London Summer Sage' and 'Butter the Bread Blue' from the 'Tea and Crumpets' shimmery range and some snippets of Strathmore Mixed Media card - it's expensive stuff so I never throw the tiniest scrap away! 

I love the gentle shimmer and the clever caps in these shakers. The best sprinklers I've come across. Had them ages and just never got around to playing with them, then used a couple of similar experimental pieces to make these cards, sorry the photo colour is a bit 'warm'. My desk light not only switches in intensity of light but also from warm white right through to white light - I forgot to change it as I was snuggled in the warm light setting at my desk during in a rainstorm on Friday!



Leftover snippets - some will live to fight another day! 

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank - side opening, on the short side

- first of all I put two snippets of white card out of harm's way for when the outline die cutting commenced

- then backed snippets of the green and blue 'Magical Shakers' backgrounds and also snippets of Tonic's pearlescent 'Majestic Gold' card with 'Stick It' double sided adhesive sheet 

- next, die cut the outline with the corner flowers twice, once from each of the sticky backed snippets (the die, possibly discontinued, is by Memory Box and is called 'Starflower Flower Frame')

- peeled off the protective backing then popped the outlines and the flower centres onto the pieces of white card before then filling in the petals with little die cuts left in the contrasting card - using a small brayer to ensure adhesion 

- then die cut the word 'hi' from the MFT 'Hello There' die set, using the centre pieces from the die cut frames as they would have been such a waste, layered onto white card (snippets again) before being glued in place and then brayered (a small step but really worthwhile - I keep my TH mini brayer handy in a large scissor 'whirly organiser') 

- next step was to die cut around the assembled 'image' using a die called 'Side Stitch Rectangle' made by Lil'Inkers, sadly discontinued as they closed down but what a perfect fit!

- next, I used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panel

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panel onto the card blank 

- final touch, just three self-adhesive clear Memory Box 'Fairy Drops' per card

I made two cards at once as it made sense to 'flip' the outlines and the petals of the flowers in the two colourways, just by exchanging the card snippets. I really love these 'Magical Shakers' - particularly the gentle shimmer in the range and the new sprinkler caps - I'm hooked. Needless to say have raided my piggy bank to add a few more to my current meagre collection of three. The Brushos are destined for a hike into the land of unwanted craft goodies!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #58 - HERE - the 'Magical Shakers' were having their first outing

Dudley Pupdate: Len whisked Honka Duck away in a plastic bag when Dudley was busy elsewhere and hid it in the garden shed. We'd had the new replacement one jumbled in amongst his favourite toys for well over a week in the hope that he would switch over of his own accord. Fat chance - so drastic action was called for. There have been some frantic searches all over the house made by a bereft Dudley. But, it was becoming a health hazard so the deed had to be done. It's heartbreaking to see but we do know that he took to Honka Mark 2 after a few days so hope springs eternal that the same will happen with the new Honka Mark 3.

Len is still making great progress - he says thank you for all the 'well wishes'! x 

Remember, the results from Challenge #473 are now published in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings for the current challenge too!

Love as always, Dudley and yours truly,



Sunday 18 February 2024

Sunday Snippets - a Valentine card for Len

Here's my snippets card for this week:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank - side opening 

- a piece of the same white card, cut using the largest cutting die from Penny Black's set of dies called 'zig-zag stackers'

- then used a NBUS 'Bunch of Hearts' die I've had for ages, bought from Positively Papercraft but no longer stocked. However, there are lots of unbranded dies just the same to be found online 

- used the same die, to die cut the bunch of hearts from the centre of the white panel to leave apertures and set it aside 

- used the same die and a snippet of Tonic 'Red Velvet' pearlescent card  to cut the bunch of hearts again 

- next step was to add a piece of Woodware double sided adhesive sheet to the back of the white panel apertures, flip it over and then, one at a time, insert the single 'heart flowers' before then running a small brayer over the panel to ensure they were adhered properly into the apertures

- trimmed another snippet of the 'Red Velvet' card to leave a narrow border around the white panel and glued them together using Collall All Purpose gluer

- added the sentiment across the 'Bunch of Hearts'. It came from a 'ready to peel and stick' (hardly used) used set of 'Words' sticker sentiments by Clarity - I did back it with a little strip of card to add some lif,t before using a glue pen to stick it in place

- next, I used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panel

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panel onto the card blank 

- final touch, I used some teeny 'Red Velvet' snippets to die cut a few little hearts. The die was a 'freebie' included with an order not so long ago; and I used the little hearts on the envelope instead of a stamp!

A fun card to make and, although I stuck to red for the bouquet, it would be a great way to use up several different coloured snippet strips to create a bouquet of different coloured flowers!

I'd like to enter this card into a couple of challenges:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #58 - HERE - the 'Bunch of Hearts' die I used is NBUS

- Double D Challenge 'Heartfelt' - HERE.

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley has settled down beautifully since Len came home from hospital and, if anything, is now less anxious when 'his Dad' leaves the house. I can almost hear his little doggie mind thinking 'I survived for three whole days once before just with Mama and didn't lack for food and love, so I can survive now, just so long as Dad eventually comes home!'! 

Len is making progress and so far it's all positive. He had the first of his local GP blood tests for kidney function on Monday and on Friday the results came back clear - cause for celebration here. So no more weekly blood tests after all - hooray! He's still eating plain and simple food, albeit gradually becoming more adventurous. I think things such as Chilli con Carne might be off the menu for a while though!

Remember, there's a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you On the swings!

Love as always, Dudley and me,