Trick or Treat

Made this for a little boy living close to us who is coming up to four years old - he's so excited about Halloween and the decorations have been done round their front door so we fully expect a little 'Trick or Treat' knock this evening:

I used:

- 7" x 5 white card stock

- orange backing paper from Papermania's 'Sunshine' capsule collection, it was the only orange paper/card I could lay my hands on although I could have used the Pro Marker 'edge the card trick', wasn't thinking though

- purple mirri card from the snippets folder

- main image stamped using Penny Black's 'Dark Spirits' stamp, coloured with Pro Markers

- sentiment stamped with SU's 'Pumpkin Pie' - sentiment is from Personal Impressions 'Halloween' set

- Josy Rose nail heads

- and the little bat just had to play too - it's the one that Darnell kindly sent me, stamped onto a snippet of grey card. I gave him slightly pink cheeks too as he looks about to do a crash landing :)

Quite a lot of years ago when I lived 'oop North' I was gardening and a little pipistrelle bat (in broad daylight, which is very unusual) flew into the glass of the greenhouse and stunned itself. Not sure what to do, I gently picked it up and just held it in my cupped hands. What a pretty little creature it was, although it shouldn't have been out playing in the middle of the day!  After several minutes it recovered and flew off into the orchard - hopefully to recover before flying back to Mum. Often in the evening, when the colony came out to play, swooping round the terrace at the back of the house, I wondered if he/she was amongst them - I hope so as it was a magical experience I'd been lucky enough to have!

Am skipping WOYWW yet again, not enough time to play fair and blog hop - but I did pick up that WOYWW got a mention on the radio the other morning :)

Di
x

Baubles stickers - update and link

Just found these online - they aren't 'puffy' ones but could work just as well I think for the card I showed in the post below:

Not my day, have run out of vinegar for finishing off the pickled onions - Sainsburys here I come!


Di
x

Easy peasy Christmas cards

I found this idea over on Helen's blog (It's All Fiddle Fart) three years ago, rushed out and bought the packets of puffy bauble stickers -  then just re-discovered them yesterday whilst looking for something totally different! Super fast and easy to make:

 I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- hand drawn lines and loops

- puffy bauble stickers

- sentiment from the Woodware Clear Magic stamp set - 'Christmas Bubble Tree'

- little peel off holographic stars

It's an unashamed direct copy of the ones Helen made three years ago - apart from me adding a sentiment - and this is where I got the baubles:

Yup, you might know - the Early Learning Centre for kids.  And, I'd bought three packets in their sale at £1 a packet, so I got a dozen cards rustled up in no time - yay! I doubt if they still sell them after so long, and of course they are in Mothercare shops now, but you never know!

Helen's blog is so worth visiting - she has loads of great ideas although, since the tragically sudden death of her beloved Andy in the Summer, she now only blogs once a week instead of every single day. But, all of her earlier ideas are there to browse through, so worth a visit (just check the labels on the right sidebar) - and here's hoping Helen gets her mojo back real soon.

Di
x

Skinny Christmas tree

The current challenge over at Less is More is a sketch so I made this yesterday:

And this is the sketch:

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white card

- stamp by Rubber Stampede called 'Skinny Tree', coloured with Pro Markers and chopped into three equal sized squares

- red card from the snippets folder

- sentiment by Personal Impressions from the 'Many Greetings' set (there are 20 little Christmas greetings in this really useful set!) and I thought the sentiment went quite well with the funky tree :)

I'd also like to add this into Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge for this week - which is 'No patterned paper'.

My 'in-house critic' spotted this card and remarked that it needs something in the top right hand corner........whatever happened to his perception of LIM then?!

Hope you all had a good weekend, staying warm and cosy if you're here in the UK - and keep safe if you're likely to be affected in any way by Hurricane Sandy in the USA.

Di
x

Pixies Crafty Snippets - Week 44

Crumbs, just another eight weeks and I'll have completed the year! Today's roll call will be a fairly quick scamper (39 entries too!) as I have some bags of shallots calling for attention, a basket of washed and dried laundry leering at me wanting to be ironed, plus a craft room like a bombsite!

My snippets card this week is for one of Len's great-nephews whose 11th Birthday is this coming week and I realised he was beyond cute LOTV images but perhaps not yet into sailing ships and such - dilemma! So, out came the Penny Black Stickeroos again, as well as the snippets folder:

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock with the bottom corners rounded

- snippets of orange and white card plus some patterned paper - all from the snippets folder

- Penny Black Stickeroos from the 'Pond-side Celebration' sheet

- Craftwork Cards card candi

- sentiment stamped using SU's 'Pumpkin Pie' and a stamp from Personal Impressions' 'Everyday Frog Prince' set (ha, that's a contradiction, betcha it's not every day you see a frog prince)

Roll call time now and first off the starting blocks was Darnell with a terrific 'turkey with a difference' card - do go and see, it's really comical and typical of Darnell's sense of humour :) I often almost cry with laughter reading your posts Darnell!

Next was Brenda - you know that annoying waste when you do a die cut, well Brenda cracked it by using them up and making some fabby Christmas cards. And I mean fabby - go and see what I mean, love them Brenda! 

Then Jules trotted in, faithful as ever, with a totally fabulous Christmas Reindeer card - oh boy, no wonder I pounce onto QCME magazine each month since Jules began contributing. This is a great card Jules, full of gorgeous detail as always!

Carol was next with an adorable trio of carol singing penguins, love the clean look of the card and those little chaps in their Santa hats did make me smile Carol :) Another brilliant Penny Black image - they really do produce some fabulous stamps featuring animals.

Bonnie hopped in next, waving a really clever 'Mad Scientist card' - love it Bonnie and am so glad you finally cleaned up all the slimey gloop before you brought it to the play ground for the little horrors to mess about in! Bonnie came back later in the week with a truly beautiful card, super embossing, a perfect flower and lovely lace - one of those cards that's so eye catching.

Elizabeth came to play three times this week, firstly with a brilliant and quite spooky Halloween Tag - I wonder if 'The Boss' aka Miss Bonnie Elizabeth's cat posed for it? Then we had these two Halloween cards, using leftovers from the tag, brilliant. Followed by a lovely selection of four Christmas cards, all featuring robins - our Christmas bird over here in the UK. All great stuff Elizabeth!

See, loads of Christmas cards this week - not least as it's currently Rudolph Day over at Sarn's, and it runs until later on in the week so why not join in?

Hey, I'm rattling along here - sorry the roll call is gonna be shorter but it's speeding things up immensely!

Hazel is back on form, although her record of (I think) 20 entries one week wasn't beaten and we had six visits this time. Six I can manage :) So, here's what Hazel brought to show, altered notebooks which you can see here, here and here. They're all lovely Hazel and great for fund raising or stocking fillers! Then we had a beautiful Sympathy card, and I do love the lily - it's such a lovely touch. And, as Hazel is a bit of a Christmas card Queen - we had these Christmas cards: a really happy snowman and a cheeky reindeer - both card used KanBan images which are just brilliant Hazel!

Sam hopped in four times this week - ha, I think she's just checking that I haven't gone too mad with pink paint in the tree house really :) First we had such an adorable House Mouse card, they'd been attacking some choccies, then the most fabulous Birthday card (using a favourite PB stamp and I adore the butterflies and the shape of your card Sam). Next was a terrific layout of our WOYWW crop day a couple of weeks ago now, it's brilliant Sam - apart from me being in the piccies :) and I love what you did with the homework that Julia gave us to do! And finally a Rudolph Day card, which used snippets - I love the rooftops Sam and had to stick my hands firmly in my pockets yesterday in Hobbycraft when I spotted the TH die you used.

Now, I'm gonna tell tales here - I took a few (just a few) TH bits to the crop for Sam and then made the mistake of admiring some lovely hand made earrings that Lunch Lady Jan was selling. Yup, Mr Postie arrived this week with a little packet and those earrings I so regretted not buying on the day! How sweet is that? Thank you again Sam :)

Next was Lindsey with a delightful card, white, orange and black - a terrific combination and the butterfly is such a dramatic focal point. And, I'm almost sure the speckled background was done using a SU stamp - there I was digging round for those toothbrushes I popped into the drawer the other week. Love it Lindsey!

The toothbrushes are brand new BTW, but I have a confession - I'm a kleptomaniac in hotels and on planes. Just can't resist those dinky little bottles of toiletries and on long haul flights (certainly with Thai Air) they have baskets of sealed toothbrushes and teeny tubes of toothpaste in the 'rest rooms' on planes. Sooo, I found a load of those stored away here - realised the toothpaste was foul so kept the little toothbrushes for 'paint flicking' :) I only 'acquire' freebies by the way - haven't resorted to unscrewing pictures from hotel room walls.........yet.

As always. Irene's card this week is elegant and beautifully made - a First Birthday card. It's lovely Irene, love the papers and the way you even embossed the letter 1. I expect that Oliver truly was the star of the show on his Birthday too :)

Mary H is running round now after her op. and might even be playing on the slide again soon. This week Mary brought us a really cute Halloween card, featuring a cat that really makes me smile (Penny Black again working a treat - or treat - of course). And all the detail how Mary made the card is there too. Love it Mary!

Now, here's a tale about cats, Abi and family have two cats, Penny and Misty. Penny is the bolder of the two and loves to lie on our front porch, snuggled up against the front door just watching the world go by or sleeping in a little ball. Last Sunday evening I opened the door to pop something into the wheelie bin, which was already out waiting fro the binmen on Monday morning. There was Penny who looked at me accusingly and promptly put her head back down to renew her nice little snooze. And Muggins here had to go round to one of the side gates and creep out that way to the bin rather than disturb her!!

Next to play was Sandra H and she brought us this brilliant Halloween card, with her own cat Milli posing nicely alongside :) I love those House Mouse images Sandra and the colours are perfect for Halloween! The card candi reminded me to nip out and buy some treats for our callers this coming Wednesday evening!

Linby (Lynn) loves poppies, as her blog background shows, and this week we had such a pretty card - poppies plus a lovely little poem. I love the little tag as a finishing touch Lynn - great card.

Next was Rach, with a stunning Warren the Rabbit card, I just love the image and the fabulous vibrant blues and butterfly are so perfect Rach. Love the way the plain card and the patterned backing paper are such a perfect match - my guess is that they're both from SU?

Mary Mac came to play twice this week - first with four fantastic Christmas snippets cards, all quite different and all just perfect Mary!  And then we had another Christmas card, featuring a reindeer/Rudolph with some lovely masking and a great Christmas tree in the background. I love it!

We also had two visits from Tammy - and the first one was to show us an amazing '10 minute dash' card. It's fabulous and no way could I make that in anywhere near 10 minutes Tammy! And then we had this fantastic Christmas card - inspired by a photo and absolutely divine, the turquoise and glitter are so perfect for Christmas.

ScappyMo (aka Mo or Maureen) is loads further along the road to recovery after her back operation thankfully and paid us two visits as well this week. The first was to bring this fabulous Christmas card - lovin' the rich purple Mo, and I think it turned out a great success. And that was followed by this beautiful 'gardening card' - I do love the way your banners work so well Mo, on both cards.

Then Laura hopped in to play, bringing us sets of Christmas cards all ready for a card stall - love them all Laura, they're fabulous! And, work is racing along in the new house - remember we're wanting before and after photos please Laura! As Victoria would say - we're a load of 'sticky beaks :).

I do miss Victoria's blogging and visits but her job is no doubt very time consuming - perhaps during the school holidays we might see her coming to play again?

Amanda, fresh from holiday, has been a busy girl since her return and we had three visits this week. The first one was to bring such a fresh and pretty Birthday card, I love the blues combined with Kraft card Amanda, and the image is adorable. Next was this stunning Christmas card - what a fabulous hexagon set that is (sigh, probably bought in Florida?) - and then the cutest newborn baby boy card. Love the image and it's a brilliant use of those lovely snippets Amanda!

Gilly was next, with a brilliant Christmas card - Santa in silhouette :) It's great Gilly - as I'm typing you should be at the Craft Show in Glasgow - no doubt spending just a little bit of money?! Hope you had a fun day - I did laugh about you saying you needed a 'kick up the bum' to finish your card, we've all been in that situation more often than we care to admit :)

Then Sarn arrived, I was worrying as the week went on but sure enough - in she rushed with one of those cards that's so simple in concept but sort of blows you away. Really clever Sarn and I love the play on words, to see 'Fore You', and an idea that's perfect for a golfer's card - do go and see!

Sally crept in next, worrying about Henry the giraffe causing havoc in the playground - he's just fine Sally, although there's some shovelling to be done, and I don't mean shovelling of leaves either! Anyhow, Sally's snippets card is a stunner, especially for anyone who loves their shoes. And I adore the punched black edging you used too.

And last, but not least was Jackie - who made me laugh with this comment Yoo hoo, I'm here again. I'm like the proverbial bad penny lol xx. I truly do often burst out laughing at your comments and blog postings girls, in the nicest possible way! Anyhow, Jackie brought us three fabulous Christmas cards this week - I adore the Memory Box Christmas tree die but do wonder if it's really tricky to use? All three cards are gorgeous Jackie!

Right girls, almost finished - just gonna add Mr Linky and although I cut down the roll call writing time a bit I hope I fairly covered all your lovely makes this past week.

If you wanna join in the Playground and keep using up those snippets - the Playground is open all of this coming week but it will close on Saturday 3rd November at noon, UK time. Mr Linky is below as usual. Next weekend is gonna be busy here so there might or might not be a roll call - will see what I can do though!

Di
x 

The only conditions to playing nicely in the Snippet Playground are that your card (or anything else you wish to bring here to show) must be made by using up snippets (card, paper, lace and ribbon are all fine), and a link back to here in your own blog posting will mean that you'll be included in the Weekly Roll Call. Oh, and no nipping or hair pulling of course :)

A quick Saturday Christmas card

I was out all day Friday and most of Thursday so this little card was whistled up in a trice:

I used:

- 3.75" x 3.75" square white card stock

- gold pearlescent backing card from the snippets folder

- 'Three Kings' stamp by Anita

- sentiment by Personal Impressions from the 'Many Greetings' set (Kirsty Wiseman)

- a few touches with a gold gel pen

- three gold coloured pearls

As Annie keeps saying, my stock of Christmas cards is looking pretty healthy right now but this would be so easy to do in batch mode if the need arises :)

I'd like to add this as my third entry to Sarn's Rudolph Day Challenge (just for the fun of it as I already have the lovely stamp that's this month's prize.

Hope you have a super weekend - it's cold here, brrrrrrr!!

Di
x

Annabelle's Christmas and another Rudolph Day card

I love 'Annabelle's Meadow' paper and images, so when I spotted that they have a Christmas set of papers and images:

I used:

- 6" x 6" white card stock

- image (already coloured!) and papers from Wild Rose Studio's 'Annabelle's Christmas' paper pack. The papers go so well with the cute images - I don't think anyone could be stuck for choice :)

- a snippet of dark green card behind the image - corners on card and image both rounded off

- doily cut using one of my fave Marianne Creatables dies, and the deep red paper is from the same pack used on the rest of the card

- a little snippet of ribbon already worded with 'Joy', found in the ribbon box

- a deep red hand made rose

- Josy Rose nail heads

So, this is another entry for Sarn's Rudolph Day challenge - remember that it's the penultimate one for 2012 as well!

Di
x

Black and white Christmas and Rudolph Day

The current challenge over at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge is 'Black and white and one other colour if you wish'. This is my entry:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- black and then white card layered

- three pre-cut black, white and silver baubles by Kan Ban, from when I have no idea

- black and silver sentiment - again pre-cut

- one cheeky red gem on the sentiment (to hide the hole that you could thread ribbon through to use it as a tag)

I pondered over the red gem as that might make four colours - if silver is counted as a colour!?! But it's only small and I liked the little bit of red :)

It's another one for the box as well as my first entry for Sarn's Rudolph Day Challenge this month. The prize is a fabby Penny Black stamp (which sadly I already have but that reduces the odds for everyone else). Slightly skewed logic but I know what I mean at least :) Why not join in the fun?

Di
x

The best things in life are chocolate

I made this card recently, for my friend Moira to give to her sister-in-law on her 60th Birthday. Moira and I have been friends since we were 13 years old, thrown into boarding school life at the same time. She makes me laugh and I love the time we do manage to spend together - despite her living in Bonnie Scotland and me being in deepest Hampshire. It's one of those friendships where you almost pick up the conversation where you left it, sometimes a year ago.

Anyhow, enough of the sloppy mush - this is the card I made:

I used:

- 6" x 6" cream scalloped card stock

- Craftwork Cards cream pearlescent backing paper and already scalloped pink square, plus the sentiment. These all came in a co-ordinated pack with card candi to match a good while ago

- the box of chocolates stamp is a Joanna Sheen one from her 'Chocolate Box' collection, I don't think it's available now, trimmed then coloured with Pro Markers, with touches of stickles and liquid pearls

- card candi to spell Brenda's name was stamped using Craftwork cards clear 'little alphabet and numbers set', also used to stamp '60' on the box lid

- a snippet of pink ribbon and a hand made pink rose to provide the finishing touches

I really enjoyed making this card, but I just bet you all know that feeling when it's not going directly to someone from yourself and so spent ages worrying over it :) Apparently Brenda was thrilled - so that makes me quietly very happy :)

No WOYWW from me this week, lots going on and not a lot of time for fun, frivolity and blog hopping. But should you smell home made piccalilli wafting in your direction today - that'll be part of what's going on here.

Right, where's me white overall, hairnet, and rubber gloves - I know I left them handy, along with the goggles for the pickled onion session :(

Have a lovely day!

Di
x

For a special friend

I made this card for Kay in New Mexico - it's arrived (phew) so now I can post about it:

I used:

- white DL card stock

- backing card from the SU Neutrals pack

- stamped images by Stamp A Mania, from Guadalupe's fabby shop in Santa Fe, Kay was there when I bought the stamps with this very card for her in mind :). The stamps are called 'Adobe with Ristra' ** and 'Barbed Wire Cactus'. Images were coloured with Pro Markers, and the cactus was hand cut and attached using a sticky pad. The main image was cut using a Sizzix die

- sentiment by SU, it's an old one I've had for ages - but so sums up how we feel about Kay....we'll meet up again before too long I hope and 'you're never more than a thought away' is so true, despite all the thousands of miles

** A Ristra is an amazing bunch of threaded chillies 18" to 2 foot in length, lots of houses and shops in New Mexico have them hanging from their verandas/porches. Some are purely ornamental and sprayed with preservative and some are left to dry naturally and are used for cooking during the 'non-chilli' season. They look fabulous!

 

And that brilliant blue sky is a colour that will stay in my mind for a very long time - until we return in fact, so vivid :)

Di
x

Abigail's Confirmation

Yesterday we were invited to Abi's Confirmation (as honorary Grandparents, bless her). So I made this card:

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock

- silver mirri card

- pale mauve pearlescent card, embossed using a Sizzix folder called 'Corner, Flower Vine'

- a simple cross, stamped using a stamp bought especially in Hobby Lobby with our friend Kay when we were in Santa Fe recently. It's called 'Small Flourish Cross' by Paper Inspirations, and is embossed, using silver embossing powder, before being die cut with an oval Nestie

- narrow pure white guipure lace just added underneath the edge round the oval and some little pure white pearls in the top right corner

I had added this verse, found on the internet, to the insert:

Believe in God,
believe in yourself,
and always follow your dreams -
for someone as gifted as you
can create a world
of beautiful tomorrows

Len and I were so moved and very proud of her yesterday. For a young lady with more health issues than I write about here, she really does deserve the chance to follow her dreams :)

Di
x

Pixies Crafty Snippets Week 43

First of all - it's Rudolph Day on Thursday over at Sarn's blog! Don't say you haven't been warned, I remembered when I was making this week's snippets card so will be making at least one more, hopefully three, so I can join in the fun and frolics. So this is a 'Non-Rudolph Day' card as I'm a bit too early:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- Santa image cropped from one of last year's Christmas cards - I just found a load more in a box to use up :)

- backing paper is by Magnolia from their 12" square 'Sweet Christmas Dreams' range, called 'Sweet Green Poinsettia'

- all red card came from the snippets folder. One piece used to back the image (cut using the 'deckle' blade on my Woodware trimmer and another piece to make the poinsettia. Bad Helen and Sam for showing me this lovely die - it's by Tim Holtz and is called Tattered Poinsettia, it's absolutely gorgeous and as with all TH dies it cuts so well - edges tickled with Cardinal Red Pro Marker and fastened using a topaz gem brad

- a snippet of dark green organza ribbon

Onto the roll call now - in between getting up and walking round to keep the back happy.

Laura arrived in the Playground, with a really sweet 'Boofles' Birthday card - who doesn't love Boofles, so cute! Love the colours you used Laura and the little hill you cut works so well too. Laura has just helped to raise £100 by selling some of her cards in the hospital where she works, well done Laura!

Then, Elizabeth hopped in - firstly with such a pretty butterfly card and a lovely post saying how wonderful crafty bloggers are, so very true! It's a gorgeous card Elizabeth and I love how you did the background using Distress Inks and Twinkling H2O's - I pressed my nose up against the screen trying to read the magazine you linked to and am still utterly in the dark so maybe you can do a future post explaining how? I long to be able to do a decent sunset background for example. And then Elizabeth  returned for a second time with a great Christmas card using embossing and polka dot paper- I have lots of Christmas polka dot paper here that I struggle with and this is real inspiration - so thank you! And finally, a truly beautiful card, using several techniques so cleverly which you really have to go and see to appreciate the end result. Really gorgeous Elizabeth and I love the rich blues so much.

Darnell was next to come and play, with her 'Snippert' (sic) card - and it's sure to make you giggle. I love it loads and the expression on Iggy's little face is adorable :) And, it's a year since Darnell began blogging - even though she's such a pro (professional!!) that it's hard to believe. And, yet another 'and' which must be grammatically incorrect but hey - Darnell was chosen as September's Less Is More winner of the month/pin-up gal for dedication to LIM and a lot of superb work. Well done hun!

Brenda has been a bit quiet lately but she hopped in last week waving THE MOST ADORABLE Christmas card, and if this doesn't win over at Penny Black then I'll eat my sun hat with salad cream on!! It's pink, yay, has the most cute image and is just perfect in my eyes. Do go and see what I mean - I genuinely kept going back to peek again as it's just such a pretty card (right down to the tiny candy canes in the backing paper) and so beautifully designed and made. I love it Brenda :)

Next was Jules, ever so busy as usual with Wedding stationery and her monthly and so-inspiring articles in Quick Cards Made Easy magazine but happily still finding time to come and play. This week Jules brought us a fabulous contemporary Christmas card - complete with funky Christmas trees, some very clever paper piecing and even stitching along the snowy hills. Beautiful Jules!

Sarn brought two adorable little birdie cards - showing how great the same stamp can look when used with totally different colours, so different and both delightful cards. One is rich and bold and the other soft and gentle - and both are really lovely. As always, so beautifully stamped too Sarn. There's something about SU stamps, they always give such a lovely detailed image and this is a fabulous example - obviously you have just the right touch when inking and stamping.

Next was Mary H, and we had two visits this week :) Firstly with the most fabulous Christmas card - I wish I could ink up skies as well and the trees look perfect with the snowy effect, plus the snowflake is such a lovely finishing touch Mary. Then, for her next go on the swings Mary brought us a stunning Autumn card - just look at the glorious colouring on the cornucopia! Plus, there's a great tip for keeping the thickness of cards down - even when you layer them - go and see!

Sally was next - with an adorable baby card, such a cute image and I love the colours. Also, news of a much-deserved DT position with Craft a Scene (well done Sally!) AND some wildlife for the Playground. Only a whopping big giraffe!! I had the vapours at first but as I adore giraffes he's staying on one condition - he has to be called Henry please Sally?!

The reason is that for a 'big Birthday' Len took me on a VIP day out to Longleat Safari Park which was fabulous. The highlight was a drive through the safari park off-road with a Park Ranger and he took us really close to the giraffes. Their newest arrival was called Henry and, being a baby, he was really curious and came right up to the Land Rover - the Ranger quietly slid a window open and told me to gently just put my hand through the window. And Henry pressed his nose into the palm of my hand and then let me gently stroke his muzzle :) Totally awesome experience and not only that, apart from Longleat staff that was the first time another human being had petted him - aw :)  So, he has to be a Henry!!

Next was Hettie - full of her usual bounce - but you have to meet her in person to know what a little bundle of energy she is. Hettie (aka Sam) brought a terrific mini-album about the arrival of her 'chooks' to show and it's gorgeous. I was lucky enough to see the Christmas 2012 album she's working on at the WOYWW crop last Saturday and it's also a stunner - so I just bet this chooks album is equally as gorgeous in real life Sam. Had to laugh though at poor Simon 'modelling' the hen-house :) And, a last minute vault over the gate as I was about to close it by Sam meant a second visit bringing a fabulous handful of Christmas cards - they're all lovely Sam and amazing that you can make cards, chat and drink wine at the same time!

OK, so this WOYWW crop - THIS is what Sam brought for the Playground:

Paint charts for the tree house, a little collapsible tray for snippets and some Piglet plasters for the First Aid box (ha, only 'cos Piglet isn't her favourite character!!).

You can tell I'm favouring the pinks, blues and lilacs - Len caught me poring over the colours earlier and when I explained they were for the tree house he just shook his head sadly as he wandered away muttering something about the lines becoming 'very blurred' and I 'ought to get out more' :( Sigh.

Irene was next, with one of her really elegant cards, clean and crisp and perfect for a chap! I think this is the same set that Sam brought to the crop for me to try out......needless to say I didn't get round to it, far too much else going on :( Anyhow, I adore the 'bubbles' embossed background and the perfect placing of those nautical images - a super card Irene.

Sandra H was a little bit later this week, she's often rattling the play ground gates on a Sunday morning. But, just look at the beautiful Wedding card Sandra brought to show - all peachy shades, a lovely image and those pearls along the bottom of the card are absolutely fabulous Sandra. I bet this was a real hit with the happy couple!

Next came Bernie - and what a feast for the eyes she brought to show! A host of goodies made for a forthcoming craft fayre - I love them all and there are some wonderful ideas for those of you making stuff for Christmas craft fayres. My favourites are the 'tea light lollipops' and the weather forecaster braid totally cracked me up. Gonna have to make one of those if I can find some wool - a perfect stocking filler for Len :) Thanks for showing us Bernie and good luck on the big day!

Mary Mac was next, and this week she brought us such a clever idea - to see her Christmas card with a difference just hop right over. A great way to use up snippets and so striking Mary - love the tree and I bet it would stand out above most on a Christmas mantle! And it's one I'd love to CASE please? Oh, and Mary wondered if I ever sleep - well, on Friday I trotted off to bed early to lie flat and rest my back rather than curl up on a sofa, started to read a Kindle book and was fast asleep by about 8pm and didn't stir for another ten and a half hours! Very unusual for me but I did feel a lot better for it!

Next was Tammy, and her life has been busy so it was a flying visit. But, I had a much-needed chuckle over the terrific card Tammy brought to show.....and our Henry features on it too!! Lovely colours and some great paper piecing Tammy, a very different style for you and (sigh) you did it so well!! Hope you're feeling better now too.

On the subject of Get Well wishes, Rach made a lovely card this week - sure to make the recipient perk up! It's one of my favourite LOTV images Rach and I love the way you cut around the 'poorly bunny's pillow :) Lovely colours and I do have to smile at the sort of 'Help me!' look on the bunny's face as he/she prepared to take a spoonful of that yellow medicine - much better than dark green cough mixture though. Super card!

Mags came to play next, threatening to set up a leaf jumping competition from the swings! Anyhow, Mags brought a beautiful card for a same-sex Wedding, a tricky one to find the right image for unless you resort to just wording or wedding bells - but it works so perfectly. The birds are gorgeous and I love the lace and flowers - no wonder they were delighted Mags!

ScrappyMo returned next - gingerly crafting after her back surgery, great to see you Maureen and so glad that things are going well. This is the great gardening theme card that Maureen brought and a perfect way to ease back into crafting again. It's lovely and the wellies and potted lavender are such a super touch, popped up on glue dots to add dimension. Just make sure that's the only gardening you so for a while though Maureen!!

Next was our Shaz in Oz - still recovering from eye surgery, and doing brilliantly if this fabulous card is anything to go by.  Aha, I just popped back and apparently it was made pre-op :) No matter, it won't be long Shaz before you're back into full crafting mode. I sighed very sadly when I saw the amazing brayered background, it's absolutely gorgeous and I have no idea where I could ever begin to do this - my brayer and I have a love hate relationship.....it loves to tease me and I hate it for that!! And the scene itself is utterly gorgeous Shaz - not to mention the rest of the card....please go and see girls, it's beautiful!

Hazel managed to squeeze in just before the Playground gates closed (in fact Sam was the very last, I almost had to forcibly pull her off the swings!). Hazel's card is a simple but very effective Birthday card - I love the swirly background Hazel and am glad to see you made it in time to play this week. I know that life has been very busy for you - and here's another 'heads up' girls. This week's challenge over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge is to use black and white, possibly with one other colour.............so you could think about that when making your Rudolph Day cards and do a bit of 'Monolithic duo-avicide' (ie. killing two birds with one stone...........think about it!)

Done!! Gates firmly closed as I type this - yay! So pleased I managed to do the roll call after a few missed weeks lately :) Thank you all for still joining in the fun regardless of there not being very good service from this end!

If you wanna join in the Playground and keep using up those snippets - the Playground is open all of this coming week but it will close on Saturday 27th October  at noon, UK time. Mr Linky is below as usual.

Di
x 

The only conditions to playing nicely in the Snippet Playground are that your card (or anything else you wish to bring here to show) must be made by using up snippets (card, paper, lace and ribbon are all fine), and a link back to here in your own blog posting will mean that you'll be included in the Weekly Roll Call. Oh, and no nipping or hair pulling of course :)

Quick Saturday card

I'm not spending long spells sitting at the desk so this week's Saturday card is extra fast! When tucking my Birthday cards away I obviously kept the lovely hand crafted ones I'd been sent and then looked more closely at the shop bought ones for potential. And I found a lovely butterfly to be re-used:

I used:

- 6" x 6" card stock

- papers from the Prima 'Annalee' pack, and I used one half of two different sheets

- the re-cycled butterfly, with a SU butterfly antennae stamped behind it and then topped off with a deep pink pearl for the head

- a ticket sentiment made using a Whimsy stamp and matching die (thankfully I have a few of these on standby)

- three smaller deep pink pearls in the top left hand corner

Di

x

Roses and butterflies

I used:

- A6 white card stock

- white card stock embossed using a Marianne Designables 'Swirls' embossing (and cutting at the same time) folder

- pink backing card from the snippets folder

- three little pearls, the very tail end of a pack still on my desk from making Christmas 'bauble tree' cards - isn't it great when you actually use every single embellishment in a little packet? :)

- and two hand made roses and one butterfly

There are so many shades of white and there's something I do, but I bet loads of you already know this one. When I want absolutely the same shade of white,obviously I use the same card - this might be, say, a ready scored bought card from a pack. So, I will use another card and then mark the leftover piece lightly on the back with the size of card I chopped it from which means it's easy to be sure the white is the same. Of course, if you always make your own cards from scratch then this isn't in the least bit relevant and I could, as have been told, be teaching Granny to suck eggs :)

Today here we have young Abi (Abigail) with us for the day - she's off school right now as her shoulder keeps dislocating - ack!! It's been a long term problem but this is now constantly happening - soooooo, rather than be 'home alone', she's coming round for the day. Not sure if she wants to settle down with Hank and Marvin the Monkeys and I think her Monkey Marcel is also nipping round for the day to just read on a sofa for schoolwork, in which case I'll iron and 'be here'. If it's time we can really share, then I could sit at the dining room table with her and stick inserts into cards (sigh, a ton to do!!) whilst we chat or she does other schoolwork. Whatever, it'll be nice to have her company and see life through the eyes of a 15 year old. I could learn a LOT!!

Snort, I bet she doesn't fancy peeling umpteen kg of pickling onions ready for Christmas pickle stocks - nope me neither :( They can wait!

This is scheduled as I'm having back problems once again :( BUT, little and often as they say, snort!! :)

Edit: Diane, from the Ladybug Crafts Ink DT, commented that this card qualifies for their current challenge which is 'Flowers and Embossing', so I'd like to enter please :)

Di
x

One layer - Wings

The current challenge over at Less Is More is 'one layer' and the theme is wings. Loads of other things with wings came to mind but in the end it had to be birds, using a stamp that's been waiting to be used for weeks now:

I used:

- 4.5" x 4.5" square white card stock

- stamp bought in 'Guadalupe's' in Santa Fe, it's by Deadbeat Designs called 'Birds and Branches' - stamped then embossed with black embossing powder

- Personal Impressions 'Birds and Trees' sentiment stamp

- a template made by die cutting an oval into a spare piece of card then covering the embossed birdies with TH 'Faded Jeans' DI using a duster brush...which of course has the effect of 'anchoring' the branches, one of Chrissie and Mandi's bugbears are floating branches :)

I adore this image stamp, if I could master a sunset background that might be next - but don't hold your breath :)

Di
x

WOYWW - 176

Phew, I was still flying at 30,000 feet here on Sunday after the fun of Saturday's WOYWW Crop. Ha, and then today I remembered that Julia gave us some homework to do.

In a lovely little goodie bag, along with chocklits (as if we truly could eat another morsel for 24 hours), and a darling pincushion made by Jan (thank you so much) - our WOYWW leader had included this:

A little cello bag with the above ingredients in, so for fear of being in bother for late homework, this is what I rustled up yesterday afternoon - amazing how bleached the colours are in the photo below, the piccie above shows the lovely richness:)

I just backed the spotty plastic stuff with double sided sticky film and (badly) trimmed round it, used the little scrap of lace as 'smoke from the chimney', stuck the house on top, used the flower and topped it with a red button threaded with twine, then stamped an Elzybells sentiment and topped off the letter 'i' with a single red gem.

Now I have a leftover strip of red spotty ribbon, more red gems, some clear ones and a satin heart to play with...........that could be even more taxing :)

To see what others may have made (and they'll have been much more inspired I know 'cos they were all so talented) - hop over to Julia's for a nose, and you'll find a shed load of fascinating desks (and Helen's floor) to see I'm sure!

Happy WOYWW :)

Di
x

Snowflakes

The challenge right now over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge is 'Snowflakes'. I love snowflakes on Christmas cards, and in real life too - until we either get snowed in or it turns to grey, icy slush :(

So, I set to with glee the other day and made this:

I'd love to say I stamped this myself - but I ain't that clever and it's good old Penny Black Stickeroos once again.

I used:

- 6" x 6" white card stock with the edge punched using MS Aspen Snowflakes punch and a strip of purple card from the snippets folder as backing 

- more purple card from the snippets folder to back the image and sentiment

- matt silver card scattered with shiny silver snowflakes - not sure where I bought this from

- Penny Black Stickeroo image and sentiment from the 'Christmas Sparkle' sheet

- three small diamantes in the centres of the snowflakes on the image and a silver holographic peel off star on top of the tree. That's the thing that jarred when I first thought to use this image - the star was yellow and it just didn't look right, good old peel offs to the rescue

- and not a scrap of ribbon, pink or a nail head in sight :)

Shades of purple and mauve could be the new pink for me :)

And just look, Winter Wonderland's current challenge is to take inspiration from this really gorgeous photo:

I think the white tree, colour mauve and snowflakes qualify :) 

Di
x

Happy Birthday Pardner

When we were in New Mexico recently, Len was going bananas over bolo ties, stetsons and the like - the cowboy side was fighting its way to the fore!

Today is his birthday so the theme for a card was a bit of a no-brainer really, in fact I'd already started planning this whilst on holiday:

I used:

- A5 white card stock

- Paper Studio 'Dark Denim' and 'Handkerchief' papers, plus toning ribbons, bought in NM whilst shopping with Kay in Hobby Lobby and then hidden in the bottom of my suitcase to bring back home

- other card used was all from SU's 'Neutrals' range

- stamp set by Personal Impressions called 'Cowboys Rule OK' - I paper pieced all the outfit and added some colouring here and there..........the only thing missing seems to be a pair of trousers/pants - don't get me giggling, I have the funniest image in my mind now :)

- sentiment by Hero Arts from their CL047 Messages set

- Josy Rose nail heads, plus a Josy Rose star on the stetson :)

Like a lot of menfolk, Len doesn't seem to get very many birthday cards. He professes not to be bothered but I did see him quietly counting up all the lovely cards I got a month ago for my Birthday - bless.

So, to prove I'm totally barking, yesterday I made a second card:

This one is from the garden birds and Spike the hedgehog (grin, written inside as if Spike roused himself from hibernation to make it too) 'cos Len is so good at making sure they are fed and watered :)

It's 4" square white linen card stock, topped with red card and then more white linen card, Good old Penny Black stickeroos again - from their 'A Bunch of Love' and 'Bouncing With Joy' sheets. Spike struggled with the stickeroos so I did give him a little hand.

Happy Birthday Len!

Di
x

WOYWW crop - what a blast we had!

My head is still spinning after yesterday's fabulous WOYWW crop. Squeals of delight, loads of hugs, laughter, chatter, fabulous food...........oh, and some crafting too :) What a brilliant day Julia and Jan had organised for us - thank you so much ladies.

I took very few photos, and those I did take are absolute rubbish but I'll keep an eye open for others and then might blatantly pinch more at a future date.

Of course I got to finally meet our own Playground mischief maker - Hettie, aka Sam. She's every bit as full of fun as expected - but I just bet you didn't know she's also a flipping magician. I thought I'd taken a fair bit of stuff but Sam surely had the record for the day and seemed to just keep whipping different stuff out to play with - and one bag didn't even make it from her car into the village hall:

And THIS is only the floor to the side of where Sam was working, trust me, the table top was also pretty full :)

And if the table top is full, you just decamp to the floor of course :)

That's Sam to the left trying out a new TH  die, brought along by Helen for her to play with.

Today I feel shattered - and a bit deflated of course. A brilliant day and so lovely to meet so many WOYWWers.

Sigh, Sam brought (I totally kid you not) paint charts for the Playground's tree house so I guess that's on the agenda for today - once I finish unpacking my stuff!

Di
x

Pixies Crafty Snippets Week 42 and you can slap my wrists!

Oh dear, I just had no time at all to do the roll call this week. Out today (as most of you know - and it took me all day yesterday to prepare, these crops are hard work!!), busy all day Sunday and then it's Len's Birthday on Monday - so will have to skip this week I'm afraid :(

But, there's a new Mr Linky below and the winner of the bow maker is (drum roll please) - a Playmate who has been with us from the start:

  

SARN!!

As always, I wish everyone could be a winner - but Sarn's name was pulled out of the sun hat first. Well done - now show us yer bows girl!!

Here's my card for today:

Back ASAP!

If you wanna join in the Playground and keep using up those snippets - the Playground is open all of this coming week but it will close on Saturday 20th October  at noon, UK time. Mr Linky is below as usual.....and there should be a roll call:). 

Di
x 

The only conditions to playing nicely in the Snippet Playground are that your card (or anything else you wish to bring here to show) must be made by using up snippets (card, paper, lace and ribbon are all fine), and a link back to here in your own blog posting will mean that you'll be included in the Weekly Roll Call. Oh, and no nipping or hair pulling of course :)

A bit of bling on a Christmas Tree

I made just a couple of these cards last year - but this year I found a load of bling and pearl sets in The Range at stupid prices which just screamed to be bought and used. Health warning - series of photos coming:

Greens

Pastel pinks

Clear gems and white pearls

Bright pinks

Topaz

Pale blues

Amethyst

The bits to make these were on my desk on WOYWW- goodness gracious, there are seven here and with some duplicates I ended up with 12 in total......yay, the Christmas card box is filling up BIG time.

So simple to make if you find the 'bling' and I'm entering one, or even all, of these into this month's St. Luke's Hospice Challenge for October which is 'Simple Christmas'. A card (or cards, as you can enter more than once with different designs) which can be easily repeated. So my cards above are all one design and hopefully prove you just need to stamp a few times and then sit happily using up pearls and bling :) Sooooooooooooo therapeutic :

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock

- Woodware Clear Magic stamp set - 'Christmas Bubble Tree' - for the tree and sentiment, stamped using Brilliance 'Pearlescent Ivy'

- trunk of tree coloured with 'Olive' Pro Marker

- a mixture of pearls and gems - from The Range- with one tiny pearl above the letter 'i' in the sentiment

One of the 'circles' on the tree is just a tad on the large size for the biggest gems I had, so I coloured it with a matching Pro Marker before fixing the gem. It shows up summick rotten in the photos but in real life you'd be hard pushed to spot it. And if you're looking that close when these arrive then you truly should be using your time to bake mince pies, wrap gifts or even crack open some Gluhwein :)

And many thanks to the girls over at St Luke's Challenge for picking my 'penguin holly gift' card last month as one of their favourites - blush.

Di
x

I doesn't only do pink :)

Sometimes, I do ring the changes:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- backing paper from Prima's 'Firefly' Collection - some lovely papers in this pack, and a lot are perfect for cards with 'fairy or pretty girlie' images

- Penny Black Stickeroo from the 'Sun-kissed' sheet - I have this stamp and it's one of my favourites, although I wouldn't have thought to colour it in blue and mauve - which does go so well with the backing paper

- mauve plain card from snippets folder, both behind the image and the sentiment

- the sentiment stamp is my other £1 bargain from The Range, it's an Anita's stamp called 'Thank you so much', stamped using SU 'Bashful Blue' which shows up so much better in real life. Coloured the flower with a mauve Whispers pen and added a Josy Rose nail head to the centre and hand cut a banner, backed with mauve card then swept a little bit of the 'Bashful Blue' along the white card to tone it down a bit as in the Stickeroo

- a snippet of mauve organza ribbon tied into a bow.

Here's an easier way to tie a bow with the ribbon wrapped around the spine of a card as this one is - tie the bow at the top of the card along the top edge and then gently ease it down the front - you might find gently bending the card while you move the bow down helps. The top edge gives better 'purchase' when fiddling on :)

My plan for today is to get up with the sparrows and drive to Reading to stock up the freezer at Costco - hmmm, depends on whether or not the sparrows decide to have a little lie-in or not!

Edit: I didn't go in the end - the joy of being able to stay here and craft as opposed to driving in miserable rain was too much of a one-sided argument really. Maybe tomorrow :)

Di
x

WOYWW - 175

I've been missing in action lately, but with the forthcoming Saturday WOYWW Crop looming (only three more sleeps!!) I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed I was tarred and feathered and run outta town by a hoard of WOYWWers screaming 'Go, you ain't been joining in lately and you can't come and play wiv us - so there!!'.

So, I thought I'd show a little peek of the total pigsty I'm currently working in - between doing 1001 other things (except for housework and ironing):

Happy now? Can I still come and play please?

You can see I'm sorta working on about five things at once, and getting nowhere fast. On Saturday I intend to curl up in a corner and just sleep while you all play - it's the only way I'll get some peace from the mayhem going on here! Trust me - it'll be a whole load more peaceful.......wake me up when there's food to be had though :)

Happy WOYWW - to see what on earth I'm rabbiting on about, nip over to Julia's here.

Di
x

Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge roll call for week 40

Sorry it's so late, but at least the Playground gates are open and lots of you are still playing along. I bet some of you have already forgotten that you linked some absolute beauties into week 40 though.

First to come and play was Elizabeth with a brilliant 'Taj Mahal' notecard. Fabulous image and edge punched backing strip, and when you hop over to take a peek do be sure to enlarge the image to see just how lovely the gold embossing on the image is - as you say Elizabeth, this would be great for either a lady or a gentleman! Elizabeth called back again later in the week with a great card for a cat lover, all in Autumn shades. It's super Elizabeth, and if you go to peek (which you should as there are some very inspirational touches such as the date circled behind the main image) do enlarge the photo and look at the little silver charm - it made me smile and sums up just why the puddy tat looks so contented!

Next was Mary Mac, waving her new Spectrum Noir pens in glee and bringing this lovely Christmas card to share. Isn't it just great - I love the stained glass effect with poinsettias, which is then echoed in another poinsettia underneath the window, plus a lovely ribbon bow. Love it Mary, and it's a good job that stamp dates back about 16 years else I'd be on the hunt for one!

Irene arrived next with a few things to show. First was her snippets card, and using little squares to such great effect too - so pretty Irene and such a great way to use up those little snippets that are much too cute to throw away. Also a lovely scarf and lastly some baking - which all looks delicious. I did smile at the fact that Irene still uses her late Mum's Bero baking book - I'm sure I still have one somewhere here and the recipes never seems to fail.

My Mum had one of the original ones, in sort of sepia printing, but eventually it fell to pieces so I bought a more up to date copy. I bet lots of us remember the wonderful smells on 'baking day' too :)

Next was Bernie, bringing us, well, basically. nothing!! Do hop over to see these adorable little jars of nothing - perfect for folk who always seem to say 'nothing' when you ask what they'd like for Christmas. I just bet these will sell at your craft fayre Bernie - and do be sure to let us know how things go please. Bernie knows that my one and only experience was an unmitigated disaster - I think I sold something like three magnetic bookmarks but the friend I did it with and I were next to the cake stall and we came home stuffed full of cake and waaaaay out of pocket :(

Jules whizzed in next - and as always her card is just fabulous. It uses scalloped squares of 'book print' snippets so effectively, topped with a lovely circle of possibly another snippet and the flower is a great finishing touch. It's brilliant Jules and a super take on the sketch you followed. I bet there will be a few little feet scampering to find old books or suitable papers/stamps now! My QCME magazine arrived yesterday but I haven't even had time to open it and see what you've been up to this month - in fact I just put it to one side and don't even know what the free gift is - just shows things are busy here :(

We had two visits from Tammy this week, the first card is bound to make you smile, even on the dullest day. Lovely vibrant colours which all go together so well - and I adore the cheeky little bee Tammy! And then Tammy brought us such a clever '10 minute craft dash' card - again such lovely colours and I do think the way the peacock is slightly off the page is really clever. If I did that it would just look as if I stamped badly. Ha, I just nipped over to check out the challenge and you literally get your timer going and get to work - no waaaaay, I'd still be rootling round here long after the 10 minutes was up, without a single thing even having been stamped, cut, glued or even found in the first place!

Sandra H was next, and really on a roll lately with wins and DT spots too - go Sandra! This week we have two lovely traditional Christmas cards, and it's the second on one Sandra's posting which is her snippets card (and it won a prize over at Hazel's too). A great Santa image and lots of pretty embellishments too - I love the idea of using acetate over the image, you almost feel as if you're peeking through a window Sandra. Ha, I wonder how many of us tried to lie awake waiting for Santa? I failed every year.

Next, skipping in came Darnell with such a perfect 'Fall' card - it really is quite breathtakingly beautiful. A leaf is the main focus, but what a leaf! Do check it out to see what I mean, and the card stock is just perfect Darnell. The names of the colours, pumpkin, moss and wine sound divine - and just see how well they all go together too!!

And a little tale about Darnell - Mr Postie arrived this morning with a delightful card from Darnell, enclosing a terrific wee bat stamp which I'd said I loved on her blog. Now, how kind is that? Thank you so much Darnell - and also I came so close to dropping one (but not as nice!) into my cart whilst shopping online the other day but I didn't in the end (basically I forgot before checking out!) - so it really was serendipity :) Happy little skips here!

Gilly was next with such a cute Christmas card - and it also features Santa (plus a snowman) and such a fun sentiment. Does that mean that a lot of men upon realising that would be jumping up and down shouting 'But I do believe, truly'? Love it Gilly and you did a brilliant rescue job too, in fact I can't see what you referred to. As always, a lovely creation from Gilly. 

There are more and more Christmas cards making appearances on blogs lately - but it's just toooooo early for strings of lights in the Playground yet, sorry!

The irrepressible Sam screeched into the Playground next, waving two Christmas cards (see, even more!) both of which are 'snowy scenes' but very different. Do go and take a peek - I love both of them but do enlarge the second one 'cos those twinkling lights on the tree are so realistic.........no Sam, I said NO strings of lights yet please. Anyhow, I thought you and Sarn were busy with the chikkin' coop? But, I digress - 'cos Sam's next visit was to bring this hilarious card. Talk about chikkin' soup - it's great Sam and the look on the chook's face is priceless!! And, ain't it odd how 'someone' managed to sprain her ankle just as she and hubby were embarking on a redecorating project?! Only sayin'..........but get well soon anyway Sam.

Lynn A hopped in next, and yup it's another gorgeous Christmas card from Lynn as well. I just love the fresh, contemporary colours Lynn and those SU Christmas trees are just perfect. Now, I've been sat sitting here gazing at all the lovely snippets makes this week and am still gawping at yours Lynn. I love the banner and the two circles - and it's almost like magic the way the banner disappears into the turquoise circle and comes out the other side underneath it. I think I know how it's done but it's such a clever idea.....go and take a peek girls. Work out how it's done and I just bet you'll be using this idea yourselves!

Next was Rach, with a very 'oriental feel' to her card. Like me, Rach sometimes struggles with some of the large designs on SU papers - but really they can be used in a wide variety of ways, it's just a matter of inspiration striking and away you go as Rach showed so well with her card. And, the vases are actually SU bauble dies with the bottoms cut off - how clever is that?! One single stem in one of the vases is such a perfect finishing touch too Rach - love it!

Aw, next was our Sarn 'Queen of the Sunday Roast' bringing us a card that did make me laugh out loud. You can't help but smile when you see the really clever way Sarn matched the sentiment to the terrific image of Snoopy and his pal Woodstock! And the fresh mix of white, black and turquoise is perfect Sarn. In my eyes this should have been an outright winner in the Pan Pastels challenge - if it was based on the card itself and not a random number thingy. Keep going Sarn, your turn will come I'm sure!

Mary H was next, coming along really well after her op. to repair an Achilles tendon. She's gonna be playing chase before long girls! And this is the lovely blues and pumpkins colours card for Thanksgiving that Mary brought along to show us. I do love to read just how things have been done, when you have the time to write about it (no wonder this roll call takes ages) and Mary is no exception - even down to confessing (as I always do too) where she had to do some rapid recovery work by using a butterfly - and it works perfectly Mary!!

And last, but not least, was Hazel with her card to start off another Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - the challenge is still running girls and the theme is 'Carol Singing'. So Hazel's card features Carol Singers (err, naturally) - such a lovely traditional image too Hazel and I love the papers you used, including the script vellum which is gorgeous. So, as with Sarn's Rudolph Day Challenge, you can make your Christmas cards and join in the chance to win a little something at the same time girls :)

Sheesh, apologies again that this is so late - I havealmost three free days before trying to find time to do the next roll call to get back on track!

Remember, I did publish a new Mr Linky back here if you want to use up some snippets, and there's a bow maker to be won as well - the Playground is open until noon GMT on Friday 12th October.

Di
x