Sunday Snippets - 'Eclipse Heart' card

It's time for a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground - my turn to run the show. 

I absolutely love using cutting dies where the design is strips of card cut out from a basic shape, which forms more or less the focal point of a card - be it heart, circle, square, hexagon and so on. Perfect for the Eclipse Technique as well as a background shape - and here is my card: 

I used:

- 5.75" x 5.75" silkweave linen white card blank, side opening

- snippet of the same white linen card, die cut using a Presscut 3.75" square die 

- then die cut the heart into the white square (using a NBUS heart die by Craft Addiction) and backed it with a snippet of white softly sparkled card, so pretty in real life,  - sent to me by a lovely friend - then set it aside

- next I die cut the butterfly using Memory box dies and snippets of Tonic 'Inca Gold' card and the same white linen card as used for the rest of the card. The solid gold butterfly layer and the butterfly's body were cut using an 'Isabella' die and the white top portion was cut using a 'Pippi' die   

- stuck the butterfly parts together and set it aside

- then die cut the sentiment using a Heffy Doodle 'Hello Shadow' die, just the actual sentiment without the matching shadow die, a snippet of 'Inca Gold' card plus more of the white card as a backing to double layer it  

- glued the sentiment layers together

- at that point I had enough of the card pieces to see how it would look assembled and immediately felt that it needed a 'frame' around the front panel so I grabbed another snippet of 'Inca Gold' card and die cut it with a 4" x 4" square die by Presscut - from the same set

- time for the final assembly, glued the heart panel onto the gold panel 'frame' then added it to the card front using narrow foam tape

- popped the butterfly onto the heart using very narrow red line tape and then added the sentiment, using a glue pen

- finished!

I really enjoyed making this card, looks like Mr Mojo might even be loitering here after his holiday! I mentioned 'Craft Addiction', a UK company, who make and sell some lovely dies and Christine Stokes (aka Chrissie of YouTube) sent loads of us in a flurry to snap up their expanding range of 'Eclipse' dies. THIS is the link to their website. A lot are out of stock but they do have a pre-order (pay up front) option. And they're working as fast as they can so your wait shouldn't be long. When I last looked, the pre-order drop down payment gizmo wasn't working on all die sets but they are aware and some 'tweaking' needs to be done. They deserve a chance girls - great dies AND their prices are very fair as well.

Do hop over to the new Snippets challenge, link below, I have a duplicate of my Craft Addiction heart dies set as part of the prize!

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

- Allsorts Challenge #821  'Anything goes' HERE 

- Darnell's NBUS Challenge #73 HERE - the Craft Addiction heart die was having a first outing 

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley is certainly a ladies man and not just other pooches it seems. We had a young lady Amazon driver deliver something earlier in the week and Dudley was all set to kick off - until he heard her sweet voice as Len opened the front door. Dudley screeched to a halt, dropped Honka Duck and went all 'gooey eyed'. 💓 Of course he was made a fuss off - and it was mutual. He was almost asking to become an Amazon driver after she drove off! During this warm spell Len has just left the back door open if he's out in the garden so that Dudley can come and go as he likes. And, as I guessed, he managed to get Honka outside before he was spotted. In fact he dropped Honks and went hunting around the garden doing his usual  checks that nothing is out of place! Then, once satisfied, he gently picked up Honks in his mouth and brought him indoors. Duty done!

Remember, I've just kicked off a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. There's also information about an important change to where we will ship prizes to from now on. 

Hope to see you on the swings - come and play with us, it's always fun!

Love as always, Dudley Dog and me

Sunday Snippets - 'Art Deco - take two'

I really liked the Altenew card I made previously in an 'Art Deco' style - so when Altenew then brought out a set of 'Art Deco' frame dies, I was pushing my way to the front of the queue, of course:

I die cut the black flower outline using the fall out from cutting the frame

I used:

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

- a snippet of Tonic satin effect 'Black Velvet' card, literally just a tad larger than the size of the card front

- die cut it using Altenew's 'Deco Cover' die set  (three dies in the set BTW) - the largest one fits the USA A2 size perfectly. I used the satin effect 'Black Velvet' card to do this step and struggled a LOT. The usual issue of intricate dies cuts not wanting to leave the die itself was problem but I used waxed paper and that really helped a lot. Then the card itself wanted to keep 'peeling' its layers even as I gently worked with it. In future I think a perfectly plain and black all through card would work best with this particular naughty die! To be fair, it's the first Tonic card stock item I've ever found to be difficult - and thinking back, the same one on more than one occasion as well!

- once done, and  after lie down in a darkened room, I then glued the frame to the card front using a glue pen

- next came the flower - using a die by Altenew called 'Streamlined Sprig' and first I die cut the outer lines of the flower sprig, using the fallout from cutting the Art Deco frame - worked really fine just using my baby Altenew die cutting machine

- backed the flower heads and the leaf using little mauve and green snippets of shaded paper I found in the back of my much loved Lawn Fawn 'Watercolor Wishes' paper pad - I never throw a scrap of that paper out, so useful!

- then I could play with the Misti and the assembled 'sprig topper' to work out the right place to stamp the sentiment - using a piece of square printed clear acetate for alignment before doing a test  stamp onto the acetate to check, and then stamping a stamp from Woodware's 'Deco Sayings' onto the card itself (also used VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink). All inking was easily wiped off the Misti and the acetate with a Lawn Fawn Shammy  BTW

- finally, I then glued the flower sprig in place and called it a wrap!

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

Darnell's NBUS Challenge # 73 - HERE. The Altenew 'Deco Cover' set of dies were out for a first play

Allsorts Challenge #820 - HERE. The current challenge is 'Spring Flowers' but I doubt if these are any season really - so am entering under 'Anything Goes' 

Dudley Pupdate: This week Dudley (on Monday morning) was sick after spending time sucking his beloved Honka, sure sign it needs to be changed. Len just grabbed old Honka and marched off with him, Honks, to the bin. Monday is collection day so no second chances there - poor old Honks! And then he came back with ..... yes, another duplicate fresh Honka from Mama's store in the garage and plonked it in front of Dudley - no arguments allowed. Talk about 'tough love'. Dudley was almost sat in shock - me too kiddo! Dudley and I were just looking at one another for a while.

But how odd, an hour or so later, the postie called with a delivery - and Dudley always runs for his precious Honka before he goes into meltdown. He was so distraught that he grabbed new Honka without even thinking .................... and they've been best friends ever since!  Hmm?!

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #502 are now published HERE.

Do please come and play in Sarn's current challenge over in the Snippets Playground - we have glorious sunshine right now and need help with putting up a gazebo or two, to protect those little freckled faces! Dudley, on his little stilts, will be at the ready for you to pay attention to his 'barked' directions. 

As if! That always reminds me of the indignant image of a sweet little white puppy, with the caption 'Today I barked at the postman ................... then he laughed'!  Oh, and already - Dudley's hair is growing back at a rate of knots! Hooray!!

Love from myself and Dudley, xxx