Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #379 - results

 

We finally got some rain here! And then some! But, the grass is greener and the air is fresher as a result. OK, can we please have the sunshine back again? Apparently we can ....... according to the weather forecast it's going to hit new 'highs' this next week!

Let's move straight into this fortnight's picks:

This is two weeks running for Karthikha - Gold Star last time and a pick this time! I love this shaker card and the clever use of the interwoven snippets meant I had to share it with you for inspiration. Brilliant!

What a great card, made by Janice. It's 'punch art' made with a mix of dies and punches - and very cleverly done too! I used to make cards for a little boy who adored diggers and would have loved to have this as inspiration - err, instead I bought a die one year and other times used Len to create images using Clip Art.

I instantly knew this had to be a pick when I saw Charlotte's entry! What a cracking idea and a super way to use up snippets of course. A perfect card for a chap and so well explained by Charlotte - follow the link! Love it!

And last, but by no means least, take a look at this fabulous card, made by Franka - one of our newer Playmates. It's a double fold and to really appreciate it you need to check Franka's blog post out. She uses the name Inkami for her blog and what really delights me is that she uses my snippets card for inspiration. Not a CASE, it's always a lovely fresh twist based on one of the elements - in this case it's the roses on my snippets card I used for the challenge and such a compliment.

I've noticed that Franka tries to comment on all your entries and would love it if you could visit her to return the favour - comments are always so welcome as we all know. You won't regret it - her work is fabulous.

We had two new Playmates this time round:

TK (Watson)

Mary-Anne V

So, that's my picks and I do hope they've given you some inspiration for ways in which you can use up some of your own snippets. 

We had 50 entries in total, with two new Playmates this time round.

Now for the prize draw, which is for three Lawn Fawn Shammys (or should that be Shammies?). And the winners are:

Liz

Janis

Lynne R

The numbers look a bit 'clustered' but in fact it took a few goes to find people who had said they wanted to play for the prizes! So in reality, the Random number selector was actually pretty random.

Congratulations girls! You're sure to love your shammies I know. Please send me your addresses, with your full name at the top as well so I can copy and paste for speed and ease. It's also confirmation that you still would like the prize of course and I'll do my best to post your prize later this coming week. Please put Playground Winner or similar in the subject line of your email in case it drops into my junk mail. Email address is on RH sidebar as always.

Remember folks, there's still almost another week to run on Challenge #380 - you can find it HERE. The prize is a Clearly Besotted 'Best Balloons' set of stamps and a matching 'Best Balloons' set of dies.

I managed to post off all Overseas prizes this past week. Spent ages weighing then checking and double checking the right postage. They're coming by Airmail so that's something for previous winners to look forward to!

Dudley finally had his grooming session yesterday/today actually as I type. He looks gorgeous, albeit so much shorter. The process was quite well controlled and I skipped to the head of the 'social distancing queue' for the other pet supplies. He's quiet right now so no photos - but nothing like as stressed as he was after his previous brutal treatment with the other 'groomer'. He's been treated with love and care - and for that we're so grateful.

Am more or less used to the new Blogger interface. Hooray! Time will tell if there are any hidden trip wires I guess.

Remember it's the Rudolph Days Challenge beginning on Thursday 25th over at ScrappyMo's!

I've slipped a bit on commenting on the current Playground Challenge but hope to catch up ASAP!

Love from Parsnip, a happy wave and woof from Dudley - and of course hugs as always from me. Stay safe - and keep on crafting.

Snippets Playground prizes - update

Today I took another little drive out to 'the large and secluded Post Box'. So now all Overseas prizes are on their way to winners. And your UK winner's latest prize is en route as well Kath!

I was so lucky to be given a good few high denomination stamps by a very dear friend, and after much weighing and calculation, each package is properly paid for using those plus a mix of every day stamps I had to hand, Customs declaration labels, Airmail stickers, return/sender labels completed and attached etc. etc.

If this continues then I'll do the posting bit by bit as each challenge ends, as I used to do, possibly using Royal Mail online postal services as recommended by Kath - so long as I keep on top of it. Mind you, their website was very helpful when I was calculating postage using sizes, weights and a selection of stamps. Thanks goodness for my teeny little Salter postal scales :)

It's such a huge relief to have posted everything. Do please drop me a quick email - even just saying 'arrived' - when your package gets there.

Enjoy!

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #380

The weeks seem to be flying past, and we're into a good routine with grocery deliveries, quarantining all post that arrives here, keeping the car batteries charged with solar chargers (as well as giving them a run out once a week to blow any cobwebs away). And, restrictions continue to be eased, which is a hopeful sign that we'll be back to some 'new kind of normal' before too long. So long as the current demonstrations don't scupper that. I try never to get involved in polititcs and such on here - but it does strike me that some people are just 'ripe for a fight' - whatever the cause or opposing views may be.

I'm all set to bake Len's Mum's 'Boiled Fruit Cake' as well as some more cheese scones this coming week. Self raising flour still isn't easy to find but I hit lucky about three weeks ago - phew.

Here's my snippets card for this fortnight - kinda cute:

I used:

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

- a snippet of cloud patterned paper from LOTV's 'Up, Up and Away' paper pad, trimmed to 5.25" x 4" - bit of luck finding that!

- snippets of white card to make the balloons

- stamped three balloons using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink and stamps from Clearly Besotted's set of stamps called 'Best Balloons'

- coloured the balloons using Pro markers

- die cut the balloons using the matching set of 'Best Balloons' dies, by Clearly Besotted

- stamped the sentiment from the 'Best Balloons' stamp set, using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink and the Misti. I did a test stamp on a little snippet of the 'cloud' paper first, just in case it bled - but it was fine. My 'gut feeling' was that Clair 'Nocturne' would have been a step too 'juicy'

- placed the die cut balloons where I wanted them to go on the cloud paper layer and positioned the 'strings' in place, one at a time, to stamp them directly onto the paper rather than use the matching dies

- glued the cloud panel to the card front - and yes, I did check with a little snippet in case the glue showed through (OCD once again) - shame I positioned the cloud panel not quite in the centre (OCD once again)

- stuck the balloons in place on top of the 'strings' using small snippets of thin sticky pads

This was another fun card to make - the hardest part was choosing just three balloons from the ten balloon stamps in the set! It's a set that I'm sure is discontinued as, looking at Clearly Besotted's on line shop, it's a much smaller set that pops up now under the name 'Best Balloons' with just six balloons and no matching dies. It's in their sale folks if you're super-keen. I would love to know why the girls who run Clearly Besotted switch horses in the middle of a design. I have a feeling it could be connected with their decision not to sell matching dies for the time being. Which is a shame, but I was lucky and bought my stamps with the matching dies ........ before the stamp set was so reduced in options.

I was slightly stuck choosing a sentiment to be honest as a few are for new babies and it's rare I need cards for newborns. So I used 'Party time' rather than use a stamped sentiment from one of my many sets! Generally I would hunt through my other sentiments for a more suitable sentiment.

And needless to say, here's the prize for this fortnight:

It's a Clearly Besotted 'Best Balloons' set of 18 stamps and a matching 'Best Balloons' set of 12 dies (no dies were included for the sentiments). It's a lovely prize and certainly, for the moment, possibly one of the last times you'll be able to get your little paws on a brand new, unopened CB set of stamps with matching dies. I bought it a year or so ago I think and it's been waiting in the toy box for me to be brave and colour those balloons! 

As always, the Snippets Challenge will run for two weeks and the Playground gates will close at 11am UK time on Saturday 27th June. The gates will open again at midnight UK time on the same day.

It's a maximum of ONE entry, please say in a comment if you wish to play and be a possible winner of the prize. Please also link back to the Playground in your blog post to be eligible for the draw.

Remember, if you link into the Playground and don't say clearly that you want to be in the draw in a comment on here, then you will be bypassed if your name comes out of Mr Linky. I'm sure you all know I ask for a positive 'yes' on the blog post itself - just in case you're only playing for fun - otherwise I don't add you to my little list.

Dudley is still a little pickle - he's taken to digging in the garden and if possible will run indoors with a twig which he then merrily shreds all over the floor! He did that a few minutes ago and, now I've cleaned his mess up, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth - he's on his back on the upstairs landing with all his 'boy bits' on display. Not a care in the World. No photos for now - it's pooch porn!

Dudley is finally sending 'Stinky Monkey the Fourth' to the great monkey cloud in the sky. Basically, Monkey has been sucked and licked almost to death and one ear is now becoming loose (must chop that off ASAP). Len says he'll report me to the RSPCA ..... for cutting an ear off a toy monkey? Sheesh! Amazon literally just arrived as I'm typing with a back up replacement for the new one we'll give him shortly. Yup, we keep at least one totally spare on the back burner all the time. And so far, right from being a wee puppy, Dudley has never questioned how and why he suddenly gets a new and fresh 'Un-stinky Monkey' about every six months or so. Ha, let's hope he doesn't question why he suddenly is taken for a groom in a week's time eh?

I haven't posted off Overseas prizes as yet - but a darling friend did some 'enabling' and I hope to do so shortly. I'll pop a quick post on here when they've been safely posted.

And, as I used a new stamp and die set for the very first time, it means I can join in with Darnell's NBUS #15 challenge HERE - wahoo! You could have knocked me down with a feather duster when my snippets herringbone card popped out as her random pick last time. It did remind me of how lovely it is to be picked - even randomly. A bit like looking through a telescope from the other end when you run challenges :)

Stay safe my lovely friends.

Lots of love from us all - Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

Hope & Chances - more NHS cards kits

Christine from Hope & Chances is still producing 'rainbow' themed' card kits, with profits going to the NHS. I'm not sure how long this will continue, but whilst it does I'll continue to order the NHS kits. It's a fun way of supporting such a worthwhile cause.

And the June card kit, sold in aid of The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, just arrived here as I'm type. Am looking forward to making it as it's very pretty. At the moment there are still some left to purchase. Link to Christine's blog is above.

Meanwhile, here are the two latest NHS cards:

They're both just 4" x 4" and came with everything apart from glue, sticky pad snippets (which I popped the hearts up with) and the tiny clear gems.

Still using the new Blogger interface and finding it easier as I go along.