Pixie's Snippets Playground #393 - Prize F

Here's the sixth prize in the 'Snippets Playground Celebration' prize draw, and it's this year's 'bit of a bumper one':

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" SU 'Real Red' card blank, side opening

- piece of background paper from Whimsy's gorgeous 'Blurry Flurries' double sided paper pack (sadly out of stock in the UK right now, I did try (unsuccessfully) to get hold of another one to add to the prize as it's very varied and pretty - sigh)

- I used a fresh sheet of the paper, trimming it to just slightly smaller than the card blank before gluing it in place using Collall All Purpose glue

- snippet of silver mirri card and a couple of snippets of white card, all die cut using MFT's 'Stacked Merry' sentiment die - then glued the three layers on top of  one another 

- snippet of white card onto which I stamped the little images using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink and the Misti - plus a lovely set of stamps also by MFT called 'Joyous Holidays' 

- coloured the images using Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils and blending fluid, always my choice for speed and small images 

- then die cut the images using the matching set of dies

- glued the 'MERRY' onto the card front 

- then finally added the little images using teeny pieces of thin sticky pads

It's sounds quite a quick card to make but took me longer as two types of sparkly silver card didn't want to play nicely for the sentiment - it was the card I was trying to use rather than the beautiful MERRY die. I very closely followed a sample card on the MFT website made by Barbara Anders, which had the addition of the word 'Christmas' tucked underneath the reindeer. I left it off as I thought it wasn't necessary as the card shouts Christmas anyhow and - needless to say - I was racing against time as this was Len's Christmas card from me, made two days before Christmas!

And of course today's prize is:

The MFT 'Stacked Merry' die plus the MFT 'Joyous Holiday', set of stamps and matching dies. I bought them ages ago and the possibilities for using all the adorable stamps are endless. I love how well MFT's matching dies line up with their stamps so perfectly. There's just one chance to win this prize - in the early days, before a red mist of madness descended on me, it was actually going to be the ONLY prize over Christmas! What went wrong der den?

At the end of all of the celebrations I'll do a massive draw session for all the prizes using the one Mr Linky - which is on the main snippets post HERE along with details of exactly how to join in - so you do need to have entered one snippets make over on that post during the three weeks that the challenge runs for to be in with a chance :) Maximum of one entry please - to keep things fair for those who may not have time to craft. Mr Linky closes at 11am on Saturday 9th January so you do need to have added a snippets make by then to be eligible for the draw.

Do please take time to read 'the rules' on the post in the above link. No-one has found them confusing, as yet, but they really do cover a lot of ground and are worth reading.

Just leave a comment on this post if you would like the chance to win today's prize.

It's New Year's Eve of course - here's wishing you health and happiness for 2021 - and also let there be an end to this ongoing virus pandemic. Len's son in Germany has just recovered from it - he was lucky and wasn't hit too badly although everyone was put into isolation of course.

Love from Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

Pixie's Snippets Playground #393 - Prize E

Here's the fifth prize in the 'Snippets Playground Celebration' prize draw: 

I used:

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

- snippet of dark blue pearlescent card, trimmed to just slightly smaller than the card front

- snippet of a much loved design in pale blue by Kanban called 'Merry Mistletoe'. I bought a good few sheets of this card some years ago, absolutely love it and squirrel away every last scrap

- used a Hero Arts die called 'Cut out Season Fancy Die' to die cut into the patterned card

- then glued it onto the dark blue card layer, using a mixture of Collall All Purpose glue for the bigger areas of card and little dots of Zig glue for the more detailed areas

- glued the finished panel onto the card front

- added five 'platinum' sequins from Lucy's Card's 'Little Things' here and there as a finishing touch

This was a really fast card to make so I made two at the same time. The added platinum sequins really made this card feel 'finished' without the sparkle of bright silver. 

I LOVE this die, which is from a range of three Christmas themed ones, even more since I made this card. The die practically does all the work for you so it's ideal for 'batch baking'. I took the even easier route as I was racing to make this just yesterday and followed one of the designs on the reverse side of the die packet. These are the designs shown, and apart from the one I followed, I think you'll agree the other two shown are quite similar to the Memory Box 'Grand Merry Christmas' die that we all went crazy over back in 2014 or so, you would just need to trim away one or other side of the bottom edge of the cutaway part. But it's even more versatile in that you can also use the same design as I did with part of the sentiment in a cut out box area - nice:

The image came from the internet Hero Arts website and if I increase the size it's blurred - but it's enough to show what I mean! It's on the back of the packet the die comes in as I already said - it would have been quicker to take a photo of the back of the packet than explain why the image is small, blah, blah - but the light isn't good right now. .

And of course today's prize just has to be this:

It's the Hero Arts 'Cut Out Season Fancy Die' the same as I used today and the die is 3.75" wide, measuring across the rectangular box cut away section.  Of course, I bought three (plus my own one of course) as prizes so you have three chances to win this lovely die!

At the end of all of the celebrations I'll do a massive draw session for all the prizes using the one Mr Linky - which is on the main snippets post HERE along with details of exactly how to join in - so you do need to have entered one snippets make over on that post during the three weeks that the challenge runs for to be in with a chance :) Maximum of one entry please - to keep things fair for those who may not have time to craft. Mr Linky closes at 11am on Saturday 9th January so you do need to have added a snippets make by then to be eligible for the draw.

Do please take time to read 'the rules' on the post in the above link. No-one has found them confusing, as yet, but they really do cover a lot of ground and are worth reading.

Just leave a comment on this post if you would like the chance to win today's prize.

We've had snow here today! It fell this morning and looked to be quite big and fluffy flakes at one point - but as I'm typing this in the evening it has melted, although there may be more to come. For us in the South part of the UK it's not a very frequent event and the silence still reminds me of my childhood spent elsewhere. It was quite funny as Dudley hasn't seen snow since he was a puppy and Len had to encourage him into the back garden. He (Dudley!) trod very gingerly, squatted to do a wee and then followed up with the rest of his 'performance' as if to say 'Dad, I don't need a walkies today - I'm all done - can I come inside and snuggle up again please?' And then he scampered right back into the warmth for treats and cuddles. And yup, at two and a half coming up - Dudley still squats to 'spend a penny'. It's very endearing and long may it continue.

Speaking of our beloved pets, I wept yesterday when I read a comment from our lovely Playmate Lynne in NI (Northern Ireland) where she wrote that their darling wee Westie called Ruby had gone to the Rainbow Bridge just before Christmas. Ruby was one of the driving forces behind my longing to have a dog, her dear little face, dark eyes and button nose smiled up at me when we went to choose Dudley to be honest and I actually feel as if that sweet little girl took a piece of my own heart with her as well. Sending you our love and hugs Lynne, from everyone in the Playground too. 

I think it might be a nice idea if we have a 'Ruby's Snippets prize' on offer now and then - I often have a few pieces in the Toy Box which I can't make a sample with as I only have one of them. Wouldn't it be lovely if 'Ruby's Prize' happens every so often - as she truly still is a very special and much loved family member. I wouldn't make a card but would make it Ruby's own challenge by using her photo as our inspiration. Help, I didn't ask Lynne about this but am sure she will be content. And then whatever prize we wish to offer further down the blog post. So, if you do wish to send something for 'Ruby's Snippets Prize' then feel free to get in touch. Brand new, unopened and the sort of thing we'd love to play for please.

Love from Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #392 - results

Hello again! Well, a couple of days taking it easy certainly helped. I was almost at the point of collapse when we sat down to eat Christmas Dinner the other evening. Always overstretch and will never learn. Plus it's possible that Len passed his 'bug' onto me as the aches and general feeling of heading for a cold were the same. I think he's vastly improved and I'm on the way to improving as well! Plus, both Len and Dudley pronounced the meal a great hit and, as planned, we had plenty of 'cold cuts' as well as other bits to revisit - which made the following couple of days much easier. I always love bubble and squeak made using chopped up leftover roast potatoes, croquettes, sprouts and chestnuts. With some cold poultry and also freshly cooked ham in Coca Cola - yummy! And not forgetting pickles of course!

 

This Christmas, Dudley has been more aware then ever of what's been going on and threw himself into everything with gusto. He certainly loved his presents (yet more toys) and like a child couldn't really make his mind up what to play with, but woe betide you if you try to clear them away at all! On Boxing Day afternoon I cooked the ham in Coca Cola and he was up on his hind legs decidedly licking his lips in anticipation of a morsel!

First of all, let's dive straight in with, as planned, we ended up with just three picks from the previous challenge to keep life simple here:

I adore this marvellous wreath card made by Kathy A - just LOOK at all those snippets, wow! What a stunner.

What a fabulous array of snippets on this wonderful card made by Karen (Letchworth) - a real work of art and all the different shades work together so well. Which is a feat in itself!

Love this card, made by Sue (Morris) - so wonderful for a chap and what a die that is! Wonderful use of snippets and I think Sue will get loads of fun out of her die (eek, it's a Simon Says Stamp one, which is a real treat for us UK gals). I'm off to check it out!

That's my picks from a very quiet challenge 392 in the Playground, only 36 entries and no new Playmates. I'm putting it down to the 'run up the Christmas' pressures and truly hope that, after the Grand Draw currently running is finished, which always gets plenty of entries, the normal fortnightly numbers will go back up again. We shall see.

Now for the prize draw, which is a Spellbinders 'Chevron Border' die. And the winner is:

Tina (Treebug)

Congratulations Tina! I'm sure it's absolutely ages since you had a win, so well done, I did say that always nipping in for the very last entry place wasn't always Mr Linky's favourite choice! And of course, you will still be in the Grand Christmas Draw as well. 

Please send me your address, even if you know that I know it already, 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(s) ASAP this coming week, depending on our weather here. 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 two more weeks week to run on the Grand Draw Challenge #393 HERE. The prizes are numerous and varied - with plenty more to appear in future posts until the closing date of 9th January 2021 (I keep writing the year 2021, in the hope that it will be so much better for us all!)

It's time to make some more biscuit treats for Dudley. I'm tempted to try another new one, which has wholemeal flour, polenta, rolled oats and doggie peanut butter in. He's certainly been happy with the varieties to date ☺ Another recipe uses Vegemite and I'm sure one of you said you'd made similar for your own dogs in the past so there's a jar of Vegemite also in 'Dudley's baking ingredients box' ready to try. ☺

Another Grand Draw prize will appear very soon so keep checking - and I promise to knuckle down and catch up commenting on your Grand Draw entries, as I type I'm quarter of the way through commenting. I've been tracking all your own comments in case any one got into a pickle and have been drawing up the various lists of entries for each prize.Do please make sure you comment on the right prize and don't cause confusion by referring to a different prize. I'm easily discombobulated!

Love from Parsnip, the usual happy 'high-five' and woof from Dudley and we hope you're enjoying the break between Christmas and New Year. It's really my favourite part of the festivities as we use it as time to relax, have a fight or two (just checking if you read my drivel) and enjoy the Christmas decorations, new toys etc. without all the pressure we went through beforehand. Mind you - our social calendar isn't exactly brimming over with engagements! Santa brought me a new camera to play with, amongst other goodies, so that's likely to keep me out of mischief! 'Look this way and smile Dudley'. ☺

Pixie's Snippets Playground #393 - Prize D

Yay, it's prize D - D for Dudley Dog! Here are two cards I made using the same stamp set and (admittedly) minimal snippets. First of all Dudley's card to Len - and then our card to Dudley, I know - crazy people:

I love the sentiment on the above card- so true.

After taking the photo I added grey shadow to the above card underneath the doggie's tummy area - so he didn't look as if he was levitating! ☺

I used:

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

- stamped images and sentiments onto rectangles of white card which I'd die cut using Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangle' die a couple of week ago and found them lurking on my desk

- for the stamping I used Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink, the Misti and stamps from a lovely set of stamps by The Colorado Craft Company called 'Christmas Presents'

- then I coloured the images using Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils, deliberately leaving the pencil strokes quite visible - explanation /excuse why is further down

- then just dug around in a Dovecrafts 'Back to Basics Christmas pack' for suitable snippets which seem to go with the colour palette of the real life colouringto add as extra snippety interest to make a couple of really quick cards

- glued patterned paper and images onto the card fronts - finished! Some of the paper doesn't join underneath the image panel, but that's always a good way to use up smallish snippets I find

And of course today's prize is this:

It's a (new to me) Colorado Craft Company set of stamps called 'Christmas Presents'. There's just one of these to be won this time, basically as it's a bit more expensive than the smaller prizes, it now seems to be sold out and I also think it might be of more interest to some people than to others. Prove me wrong though if you wish ☺

The reason I chose this set of stamps is because they're based on images by the artist Anita Jeram, who is a talented children's book author and illustrator - best known for her illustrations for Sam McBratney's 'Guess How Much I Love You' children's book, published in 1994. And of course, one image in particular (the one I used for Dudley's card to Len) reminded me so much of Dudley that I had to buy it! Little hint, she also uses cats in her illustrations - just wait and see! The reason I left the images a little bit 'sketchy' is that Anita doesn't overwork her illustrations .................. and the other reason was that I was frantically colouring late in the afternoon of 23rd December as I needed the Dudley cards for Christmas Day and was also in a bid to be able to step away from the blog for a few days!

At the end of all of the celebrations I'll do a massive draw session for all the prizes using the one Mr Linky - which is on the main snippets post HERE along with details of exactly how to join in - so you do need to have entered one snippets make over on that post during the three weeks that the challenge runs for to be in with a chance :) Maximum of one entry please - to keep things fair for those who may not have time to craft. Mr Linky closes at 11am on Saturday 9th January so you do need to have added a snippets make by then to be eligible for the draw.

Do please take time to read 'the rules' on the post in the above link. No-one has found them confusing, as yet, but they really do cover a lot of ground and are worth reading.

Just leave a comment on this post if you would like the chance to win today's prize.

Len hasn't been too well for a couple of days which I freely admit impacts on how much I need to cope with when he's 'down and out' especially as I struggle with things like even the stairs these days, so it's been a bit of a battle with last minute preparations and also juggling the blog. Why do I do it you may ask? This year more than ever we need things to look forward to and I only hope you look forward to seeing what's going to pop up next on here.

I know that Christmas Day will be very tiring (or will have been by the time you read this) and I'll need a good 24 hours to recover (thankfully we're all set up for 'cold cuts and leftovers' on Boxing Day though - which I like even more than the main event on Christmas Day). So that I can have a more relaxing day on Boxing Day, and as it isn't even written yet, I'm definitely moving the usual Sunday post which will cover picks from Challenge 392 as well as the winner of the Spellbinders 'Chevron Border' die to at least Monday 28th December. I know you'll understand. Just keep watching until I pop up again - thank goodness the challenge runs for three weeks!

Then we'll pick up speed again - still a good few more prizes to come - we're not quite halfway there yet! Stay safe you lovely ladies and keep tuning in!

Love from Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! FROM DUDLEY & STAFF

Just a quick post to wish you all a VERY happy Christmas, despite the mess we're all trying to cope with.

Speaking of mess, on Tuesday Len spotted Dudley race upstairs - looking decidedly naughty. He followed him and caught him on our bed chewing an offcut of wood he'd picked up very quietly from the garage where Len had been working. We think he was about to try and hide it in the bed - little tinker

It's almost impossible to get a photo of him these days as he just fidgets as soon as you get the camera out. This is the best Len could do:

His lovely pale peach ears are hidden by the false 'beard' on the hat to keep it on for at least 30 seconds and his nose is his Winter 'snow nose' which happens each year so isn't unusual. Despite my daily care, once he hit two years old he does have a bit of discolouration around his mouth and under his eyes. He'd just had a huge drink of water before this was taken so his beard is wet which makes it look more pronounced.

But, he's still our beautiful boy and is such a joy, if anything with more character. During the run up to Christmas he's been  into absolutely anything and everything. We can't move without him trotting along to check out what's going on!

He also doesn't look too thrilled about 'doggie sized Santa hat' but if you look closely just below the middle of his nose, there's a little smile lurking as if he just knows it's his duty to act up! 

Stay safe, enjoy Christmas Day and I'll be back ASAP!

Special woofs from Dudley as well as lots of love from Di, Dudley and Parsnip xxx

Pixie's Snippets Playground #393 - Prize C

One more sleep to go as it's now Christmas Eve! If it isn't sorted out by now - then we just have to make do and mend!Although it seems as if many people will be eating turkey until Easter due to the last minute restrictions!

Here's the third prize in the 'Snippets Playground Celebration' prize draw - and I thought it would be good to remind ourselves of what Christmas is truly all about:

I used:

- a tall slim white card blank card measuring 4" x 8.25", side opening
 
- snippet of silver mirri card 

- snippet of lilac coloured paper leftover from a magazine giveaway many years ago - for speed and to save me actually making a pastel background using inks

- backed the paper with a piece of white card to give it rigidity - using a left over piece of Woodware double sided adhesive sheet - medium weight

- trimmed the piece of patterned paper/card now - to fit the stamp I was going to use

- did some checks with a little scrap of the patterned mauve paper to see if it would take a stamp OK and not bleed - hooray, it was fine!

- then, using the Misti, I stamped the image using a Woodware 'Peaceful Night' stamp with attached sentiment, using Versafine 'Clair' black ink

- added some touches to the star, windows and the stable using a Signo silver pen, again after checking on a scrap of the mauve paper

- all that was left was to glue the image panel onto the silver 'frame' and then glue that to the card front - all done!

The light is so bad here that the lovely silver mirri card and also the sparkly silver bits I added with the Signo pen don't show up really, stiil I think you can imagine it. ☺

This was a super fast card to make and it would be really great to make a 'batch bake' using it. I wanted this stamp for quite a while and it's so perfect for Christmas. It was a last minute purchase and I'm delighted with it. There is an additional sentiment stamp and I think I'll use that to stamp onto the insert. The wording is 'May peace be your blessing this Christmas'. My snippets weren't as small as 'Card B' the other day but they're still snippets. Given more time I really would love to make this card again, colouring it with soft shades - it's  joy to use and stamps perfectly.

And of course today's prize is this:

It's the Woodware 'Peaceful Night' set of two stamps, the same as I used of course. Once again I did buy three for the toy box,  once I'd finally planned out all the prizes and could see a bit of an imbalance with many cute prizes yet few reminding us of just why Christmas is celebrated. You have three chances to win this lovely stamp set! Thanks Liz for spotting my 'oopsie error - it IS a stamp set and not a die.

At the end of all of the celebrations I'll do a massive draw session for all the prizes using the one Mr Linky - which is on the main snippets post HERE along with details of exactly how to join in - so you do need to have entered one snippets make over on that post during the three weeks that the challenge runs for to be in with a chance :) Maximum of one entry please - to keep things fair for those who may not have time to craft. Mr Linky closes at 11am on Saturday 9th January so you do need to have added a snippets make by then to be eligible for the draw.

Just leave a comment on this post if you would like the chance to win today's prize.

Today is always a bit of 'last minute' HELP ME here! My plan is to run round like a headless chicken, make sure things to defrost are out of the freezer and in a cool place, flick a duster over and do last checks and at least set the table and put out the Christmas crackers! Oh, and pop our personal gifts into gift bags amidst all that - then put my feet up and sigh with relief - I hope!

Keep tuning in - I've been trying to get some video of Dudley but to no avail (the little tinker just knows and won't co-operate!), but he might well pop up tomorrow in a photo to say hello. I need to put the picks and prize draw for Challenge 392 back a little bit and there might be a little quiet spell on here whilst we enjoy a couple of days relaxing over Christmas itself - depending on how things go! I know you won't mind - but I will do what I can!

Sleep well, listen for dancing hooves on the roof and of course, this year more than ever, perhaps remember love, kindness for our fellow creatures, human or otherwise and most of all - hope for the future.

Love from Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

Pixie's Snippets Playground #393 - Prize B

Here's the second prize in the 'Snippets Playground Celebration' prize draw:

I used:

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

- snippet of sparkling silver self adhesive paper by X-Cut, popped onto a snippet of white card and die cut using a die from Waffle Flower's A2 'Layering' dies  - just smaller than the card front

- snippets of the same self adhesive sparkling silver and also sparkling deep red X-Cut paper, cut into quarter inch wide strips (the papers aren't cheap and I squirrel every little scrap away!)

- stuck the snippet strips alternately onto another snippet of white card and set it aside for the moment

- die cut a panel from yet another snippet of white card, using a slightly smaller Waffle Flower A2 'Layering' die

- then used a Lil'Inkers die called 'Merry & Bright' to die cut a sentiment aperture, which has a stitched border all around it

- used a Spellbinders square die to die cut a square from the sparkly striped piece I made up earlier

- then carefully stuck it behind the sentiment aperture using a bit of a Zig glue on the letters then carefully peeling of first one side of red line tape then the other three sides - doing it that way gives you a better change of getting it right!

- then added the whole sentiment panel to the sparkling silver one using red line tape before then adding that to the card front using Collall glue (I find that red line tape adheres better to glitter paper - hence the mixture of adhesive!)

- finished!

I wanted to be sure to use snippets and found the red and silver 'candy cane' idea on Pinterest. To be honest, the examples I've seen using just plain backing, whether sparkly or not, all look great - but I'm a sucker for making life hard for myself when time is short. Also, red line tape is really unforgiving with no 'wiggle room' and the silver border isn't even on both sides - but a blind man on a galloping horse wouldn't really notice ☺. However, Len loved it and immediately got the 'candy cane' look of it - clever chap!

I'm sure you're all aware that Lil'Inker has closed down. It was a little while back but I was lucky enough to manage to get this die before it disappeared off the shelves.

And of course today's prize is this:

It's the Lil'Inker's 'Merry and Bright' die - yay! AND, happy dance, I snapped up three (plus my own one of course) as prizes so you have three chances to win this lovely die! Soon to be nowhere to be found and already not here in the UK as I actually tried to get some more after this post went live and I realised how popular it is ...........so well worth playing for.

In the past, I've combined various prize items to make a card. However this year we have more single items as prizes but I've bought more than one of the item so there are several chances to win. I do love putting a selection together but it does take a lot more time on my part. As I've said already though, there is a bumper (ish) prize coming up at some point - you'll just have to wait and see!

At the end of all of the celebrations I'll do a massive draw session for all the prizes using the one Mr Linky - which is on the main snippets post HERE along with details of exactly how to join in - so you do need to have entered one snippets make over on that post during the three weeks that the challenge runs for to be in with a chance :) Maximum of one entry please - to keep things fair for those who may not have time to craft. Mr Linky closes at 11am on Saturday 9th January so you do need to have added a snippets make by then to be eligible for the draw.

Do please take time to read 'the rules' on the post in the above link. No-one has found them confusing, as yet, but they really do cover a lot of ground and are worth reading.

Just leave a comment on this post if you would like the chance to win today's prize.

I'm sure many of you are in one form of lock down or another. It was a shock on Saturday to see the sudden changes to restrictions here in the UK and heartbreaking for many really genuine people who had made plans to be with family over Christmas. And of course the UK isn't the only country making huge changes. Not the best Christmas present for a lot of people

All I can say is that the Playground will remain open, Parsnip, Dudley and I will be here watching out and regularly wiping down the swings with Dettol wipes and more prizes will be appearing. We have a huge box of disposable masks at the gate and also a bin with scissors to snip the elastic as you leave them to be disposed of. This is to protect wildlife from being choked or strangled. You truly should wear disposable masks for one time only. They become less effective rapidly and I know that my dentist insists you were one of their brand new masks on a visit. No doubt SaRn our 'Prefect Extraordinaire' will be behind the bike shed controlling the crowds and dispensing hot mulled wine and mince pies! And this year I'm turning a blind eye to it and will be knocking back the drinkies and nibbles along with you! Just remember that Parsnip and Dudley are both 'under age'!

If I make some silly mistakes with dates and timings or anything else (thank you Sarn my dear girl for your email - appreciated) then please drop me an email (NOT in a comment as I will possibly delete it and may also delete a yes please at the same time). A lot of this is copy and paste and I'm doing my best.

Love from Parsnip, Dudley and of course me,

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge 393 - and Prize A

Hi there and a warm welcome to the Christmas Snippets Playground. It's time to celebrate both the Christmas and New Year Holiday - plus, it's now nine whole years on January 1st since I took the Snippets Playground over from the lovely Jules!

Warning - this is a really horrendously looooooooooong post as it sets out how the draw will work, in a lot of detail and also repetitively in places to be sure to get the points home!

First of all, this is my snippets card for today:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank

 

- snippet of white card, die cut using a Lil' Inkers die from the 'Stitched Rectangles' set

 

- stamped the wreath, berries and pine cones using Uniko's 'Rustic Wreath' set of stamps and small green, SU 'Real Red' and brown ink pads onto the white card panel

 

- added the sentiment, from the same set of stamps, using a Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink pad

 

- also stamped the little red sprays of berries onto snippets of white card then fussy cut them and glued into place

- snippet of SU's 'Real Red' card trimmed using a Waffle Flower 'A2 layering' die and glued to the card front

 

- backed the white image panel using a snippet of gold mirri card, cut to just slightly larger than the panel using another Waffle Flower 'A2 layering' die - nice!

- glued the wreath image panel to the gold mirri background, then onto the card front

 

- added Josy Rose 'hot fix' gold star shaped nail heads to the wreath as well as one just below the sentiment, as Bev had done on her sample card over at Uniko 

- still something missing so I used a snippet of gold mirri card to die cut a bow using a die from the Memory Box 'Crisp Bows' set of dies - and just snipping off the straight strip of 'ribbon', before glueing it onto the top of the wreath using a Zig glue pen

 

I made six identical cards whilst I was at it - the joys of a Misti!

So, here we have Prize A of the Christmas/New Year annual giveaway -

On offer for the duration of the challenge is the Uniko stamp set called 'Rustic Wreath' - and I have three of these sets of stamps as prizes.

As in recent years, this is what's going to be going on with the Snippets Playground over the Christmas and New Year (aka Holidays) festivities.

For the Grand Draw this year, the Playground Mr Linky which is below will run for three weeks and closing time will be 11am on Saturday 9th January 2021 and this post you are looking at right now is also where to add any entries - with a maximum of just one entry - over the three week period. 

One entry into Mr Linky means you're in the draw - and the more prizes you say you'd like to win in the comments in each 'additional prize' post does increase your winning chances. You have three weeks to play as no doubt the Christmas and New Year festivities may well be busy for you - although with the COVID-19 restrictions I suspect that many of you will find some quiet time to craft and it's a chance for you to play along for some rather nice prizes too. You can only win one prize during the draw to give others a fair chance. It also means I can clear the Playground toy box out of Christmas themed prizes.

At the same time as the chance to enter your snippets make into Mr Linky closes, I plan to also close all commenting on all prizes on offer - so be on your toes.

So that I don't swamp and confuse you with a load of prizes to choose from in this post, I'll be posting at intervals over the coming three weeks and adding more prizes of varying sizes into the pot as we progress through the holiday. There's a fair few although it remains to be seen if I get enough time to schedule the ones running up to Christmas itself - so they may or may not be evenly spread out.

If you see a prize you'd like to be in the 'pot' for then please leave a 'Yes please' (or similar) comment in the same post where I show you the prize. AND, don't be shy about wanting each prize as it appears - that way you'll have more chances of winning something. So for today's prize, leave a comment below. For me, that's going to be a lot less confusing than me having lots of little lists here and there - especially as there are so many prizes coming up!  It will mean that if you would like to be in with a chance of every prize, then you need to comment on each one as it comes up - and please don't leave it right until the end and nip through all the prize posts adding 'Yes please' to each in one fell swoop. Remember, they will show up serially on my dashboard as well as in the comments where I go to do moderation. If you do that I will notice and wouldn't feel that it's in the true spirit of the Playground so you do risk not being in the draw at all. So, if you want to play then do try to pop in over the festivities to see what's on offer :) Of course I'm well aware that people have family commitments and can't necessarily comment every day so I will be as reasonable as possible. I just don't want anyone swooping in at the last minute and saying yes to each prize in one visit.

Also, just saying here on this post 'count me in for all prizes that are offered' also doesn't count I'm afraid and will mean you don't go into the draw at all - other people are taking the time and trouble to check out the individual posts and prizes and leave comments so it wouldn't be fair to them. Again, this worked fine last year.

As I already said, there will only be the one Mr Linky for all entries - which is at the end of this post of course. I'll remind you where to go to link each time I post a new prize on the blog if you haven't already added your one card. Also, I'll use this Mr Linky as a basis for who entered a snippets make and goes into the draw.

I hope I've explained how the coming three weeks will work in the Playground? Please just say if it's left you confused and I hope it doesn't seem too draconian. My main priority is for everyone to play fair and hopefully be in with a chance of winning something they would like.

The Christmas and New Year Snippets Challenge will run for three weeks and the Playground gates will close at 11am UK time on Saturday 9th January 2020. There will be a new Mr Linky on Sunday 10th January 2020. The picks and also the results of the multiple raffle/prize draw will appear one week later on Sunday 17th January - with the proviso that I find the time to do it, otherwise I just might have to move the results slightly or even leave out the picks for once.

Maximum of one entry and remember, there's the prize today and others will appear over the next two weeks so keep your eyes peeled.

Do say in this post if you want today's prize. And please also remember to link back to the Playground in your blog post to be eligible for the draw as well as saying what snippets you used on your entry - and also I'd love you to be a follower of mine if you aren't already, that would be a lovely gesture.

Now, this is important girls, you can leap in throughout the whole giveaway and say 'yes please' to as many prizes as you like .... even if you haven't already made and entered your snippets make into Mr Linky at that point in time. Your 'yes please' will certainly be on the list for whatever prizes you would like to win when it comes to the Grand Draw, so long as you've entered into Mr Linky by the point at which it closes and played by 'the rools'. At the end of this I'll be using today's Mr Linky to add all eligible entrants names into the draw so please feel free to squeal with delight at as many prizes as you wish and say some 'yes pleases' on the way through the festive season - just remember to add just one snippets make into Mr Linky below to be in with a chance. 

As is usual in The Grand Draw some of the prizes on offer will have three chances to win as I bought three of the same prizes. That means there's a good few chances to win a prize, so long as you follow the usual routine/rules.

Also, I think it's only fair that the way I do the draw is from A onwards, regardless of value or number of prizes for that day. That means that the 'Bumper prize' can appear at any point during the challenge. I won't be using the Random number generator - we'll get Dudley to stick his paw into a dish with all the entry names/numbers on slips of paper instead. That means that, if you win a prize, your slip is then removed from the pot and least I'm not messing about re-running the random number generator if your number comes out again - and of course, as the draw goes on the remaining numbers will have slightly better odds of being winners and no-one will win twice. You'll have to trust me to be impartial, which I always am, but this way will work better for such a big prize draw, I'm sure you'll agree. And, as always, I will most certainly post to anywhere you may happen to live,

Please let me know if you have any problems linking, it's always fairly easy for me to sort out so don't struggle on alone.

Sorry this is so wordy and I've repeated a few points but I didn't want to leave any issue not covered - even more than once! Do please ask if anything isn't clear. 

One final point, I'm struggling to keep on top of things here and so far haven't really managed to comment on entries for Challenge 392 which closed yesterday. Don't worry though, I will grab half an hour here or there to visit you all and select some picks and also the winner of the Spellbinders 'Chevron Border' die. There were only 37 entries, so it shouldn't take me too long - looks like I'm not the only person who is busy ☺

On the home news front, poor Dudley has had loads of dips in the utility room sink after his walks. He isn't too keen needless to say but needs must as the weather here is so wet and he comes home looking like a real mucky pup! Some days he literally pokes his nose out of the door and almost sprints to relieve himself before charging straight back indoors. I don't blame him either!

Of course, he's fascinated by all the activity here with decorations being dotted around the house and what seems like a never-ending stream of post arriving. So far he hasn't shown any interest in the Christmas tree - phew!

Merry Christmas from Parsnip, Dudley and yours truly, hope you have a peaceful time and stay safe.

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #391 - results

I always find that 'the week before the week before Christmas' is probably the busiest. Trying to finish off and post all cards, making and checking lists, putting the tree up etc. - in order that the actual week before Christmas is less pressured. 

That means this will be a very quick post - am sure you will understand. Edit: I didn't succeed in keeping it short did I?!

First of all, let's dive straight in with my picks from the previous challenge:

This time we have TWO *Gold Star* picks:

Meghan made this brilliant 'twisted panel pop up' card - using a die set by the very talented Karen Burniston. You really should hop over (no pun intended) to check out the lovely Wintery bunnies card - lots of photos, information and also a video clip of the card in action. Such fun and great use of snippets! 

I love this card, made by Carole Dixon. It's so pretty, love the partly hidden 50, and a real delight! One of my favourite card styles and so beautifully made. 

Well done Meghan and Carol for being *Gold Star* picks. Do feel free to take the 'gold star award' badge from the RH sidebar here for your own blog.

Our three other picks this fortnight are:

Connie, who shared this gorgeous quilted effect card - which took the best part of two days to make. Not surprised it took so long, it's a wonderful result and worth all the time and love spent on it! 

I love this cheerful Thanksgiving card, made by Karen L. Take a look at the leaves cleverly tucked behind the turkey's tail. The whole design is a delight and uses loads of snippets as well!

And last, but by no means least, Janice came up with another of her great snippet busting cards. How clever and so effective - as well as a great card for a chap! I really do love this idea.

So that's two *gold stars*, three picks and no new Playmates this time around.We only had 47 entries - which is very likely an indication of how busy folk are with other things. And the current challenge is also quite slow - almost as slow as me who hasn't yet managed to find time to comment on any entries! I just need two or three days running flat out on Christmas preparations and then I can catch up.

Now for the prize draw, which is a Gemini Edge'ables 'Balloon Bouquet' die very, kindly donated to the Toybox by our lovely Viv, plus. the Britannia 'Happy Birthday' sentiment dies from me. And the winner is:

Janice

Congratulations Janice! As it's over 18 months since you were a prize winner it was really lovely to see your number pop straight out! Mind you girls - Janice is a frequent 'pick' in the Playground, and deservedly so for her use of snippets - she's even a pick this time round! That seems to be a trend at the moment ☺

Please send me your address, even if you know that I know it already, 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(s) ASAP 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.

I have a hair chop appointment on Tuesday and intend to post the rest of our cards whilst I'm out - so it would be handy to have your email by then please Janice!

Remember folks, there's still another week to run on Challenge #392 HERE. The prize is a Spellbinders Shapeabilities 'Chevron Border' die.

I finally made a new batch of treats for Dudley using a recipe from the book I mentioned before. They're called 'Cheesy Delights' and besides some grated cheese they contain wholemeal flour, egg, grated carrots, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds. I cut them into rounds this time using my smallest scone cutter as the mixture had a few 'bits' of carrot and seeds in and I doubted if the doggy bones shapes would work all that well. Here they are after cooling:

The recipe made 24 treats - and the eagle eyed amongst you, who might be counting, will spot that one is missing. Yup, I had a little dancing dog beside me waiting for them to cool - must admit they did smell lovely. 

As I mentioned above, I'm having my hair chopped on Tuesday. I seriously wondered about postponing it until after Christmas due to being so busy here. But Len rightly pointed out that after the Christmas relaxation of restrictions (which we think is very risky, whilst understanding how hard it is for families) - we may end up in yet another lock down if people go silly.

This vaccination programme better work! I'm quite stunned by folk who, without good reason, don't intend to have the vaccination. I worked quite closely with our MHRA a good few years ago and carried out a few audits there. Whilst I'm no clinician, I do know that they don't cut corners - that was the point of the audit. I take it that the 'vaccine refusers' will also refuse a hospital bed and oxygen if they do contract COVID-19. 

With luck (and a following wind as they say) I plan to begin a Christmas draw from next Sunday (20th December). It will have multiple prizes but not as many as previously. But, it will run in a similar way in that when a new post pops up with a fresh prize on, if you want to play for that prize, then you have to say so on that particular post. I'll spell it all out next Sunday although I can say that some of the prizes are 'multiples' with three chances to win what's on offer, at least one prize is a single item and the bumper main prize is made up of several items. The main prize will appear at any point during the three weeks the draw will be running (ie from 20th December right up until 9th January 2021). I will turn off all commenting at the same time as adding your entries into the the draw closes on 9th January as that's well after the Holidays. It will be just one snippets entry please, to keep a level playing field. And you must have clearly used snippets. If there's anything you find confusing - please ask although the 'rools' will be spelled out next weekend.

Love from Parsnip, a happy 'high-five' and woof from Dudley - and of course hugs as always from me. Stay safe, wear those masks, don't panic over Christmas preparations and keep on crafting if you can. Even a couple of hours now and then should help to relax you.