A little bit of music

Quite a quick card today - thanks to good ole Penny Black Stickeroos once again:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square card stock

- backing paper/card from Bo Bunny's 'et cetera' collection - some lovely papers in this pad, and (don't ask me why) the music was deliberately printed at a slant, plus there's the impression that the page has been repaired with a little strip of tape at the top

- Penny Black Stickeroo from the 'April in Paris' sheet with a couple of extra butterflies and a little strip across a couple of the corners (I might peel those off, the Jury is still out here) - also from the same sheet

- snippet of aubergine organza ribbon, tied in a bow 

Super fast card, it's roll call day today - and do remember that if you want a chance to win a set of Pro Markers make sure you leave a comment on last Sunday's posting before noon today to say so please :)

Di
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Friday Feast - Ploughman's Pasty

Waaaaay up on the scale of yumminess:

Ploughman's Pasty:

Makes 4 or 6 pasties 

300g potatoes, boiled in their skins and cooled
150g peeled and finely chopped onion
olive oil
200g mature cheddar
3 tbsp Branston or other pickle or chutney

4 or 6 puff pastry circles
1 beaten egg, for glazing

For the filling, peel and chunk the potatoes. Soften the onion in a pan over a gentle heat in a little olive oil. Grate the cheese. Combine all the filling ingredients.

Meanwhile, have ready the pastry circles.

Spoon the filling on to half of each pastry circle, leaving a 2.5cm border. Brush the pastry border with water, then quickly fold over the flap of pastry. Press round the edge to seal. Paint the seal sparingly with water then, working from one end, quickly and neatly turn up the edge in small tucks to give a distinctive ridged pasty finish, tucking the ends. (There’s no set style of crimping; just ensure the scalloped edges go upwards, to avoid juices escaping.)

Paint with beaten egg and prick a few times with a fork. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and bake in a preheated oven (200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6) for 20-30 minutes depending on size or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Things I do: I halved the recipe and it made two BIG pasties. Len said approvingly that they looked like golden dinosaurs when they came out of the oven :) I used Jusrol ready made frozen pastry sheets, if you're keen and have the time you could make your own puff or shortcrust pastry of course.

These are really tasty and filling - I just served with baked beans, being a lazy little pig :)

Di
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As Victor Meldrew would say - 'I don't belieeeve it'

Who would have thought that this week's Less Is More Challenge colour challenge, which is 'Gold' - could have caused so much angst here :( I had every type of gold card and paper out, gold ink pads, stamps, punches, dies, embossing powder - the lot! Every card I tried was a failure of some sort or another. Tell me, does embossing powder go off? Did you know just how many types and shades of gold crafting goodies there are? Can you please tell me how to remove embossing powder from inside my ears?

Anyhow, all week I've kept returning, determined not to be beaten, but it's a paltry offering in the end I'm afraid:

As luck would have it, this 'much lusted after' die arrived in the post yesterday so I thought 'Go for it'. You couldn't have a much simpler card I know - hardly taxing in terms of crafting ability :(

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white card stock, two corners rounded

- pearlescent gold card from the snippets folder, die cut using Marianne Creatables die LR0174

- sentiment stamped in gold, which is a perfect match in real life, from the newly acquired Stampendous 'Reindeer Swirls' set (bad girl Brenda for tempting me). I love the Reindeer Swirls stamps, every single one of them and would have used them if the embossing powder wasn't 'off', or perhaps not good quality as I bought it donkey's years ago

- almost forgot, one little gold gem in the star on the tree - I think the tree could take more gems, but not for Less Is More probably

So, now a question - do Mandi and Chrissie our Less Is More Hostesses have shares in white card? There's almost enough in the waste bin here to send shares soaring!

Di
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Especially to appease Hettie - aka Sam

I did laugh at Sam's comment on the previous 'snowman' card I made for Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Card Challenge over here. This is what Sam said - bad girl:

Lovely card Di but isn't this challenge a little sexist - there are snow women too you know!
Do you know the difference between snowmen and snow women?
Snowballs!
LOL!

Well, honestly - there was fighting talk, and a laugh as well of course.

I hadn't explained that Hazel did say that snow men or women were fine for the challenge so of course, once the gauntlet had been thrown down, I just had to make this cutie in response to Sam's tongue in cheek 'accusation':

I used:

- 4.75" x 4,75" square white card stock

-  Craft Creations 'Snowflakes On Pale Blue' backing paper

- Penny Black Stickeroo, again from the 'Every Christmas' sheet - cut and layered using a Nesties Labels die

- magenta Core'dinations card for the matting and also behind the image

-  white card cut using a Marianne Creatables icicle die (LR0135) and a Marianne Creatables snowflake die (LR0123), both covered in double sided sticky paper stuff,  before being die cut and then dunked in Art of Craft iridescent glitter (I keep a box of these already made to hand)

- sentiment from my goodies - from QVC in a big mixed set of colours, possibly by Kanban

- a cheap Poundland clear gem, coloured to match using a Pro Marker - I did three different shades before I was happy with the match :)

So Sam, hope this one meets with your approval :) And here's another entry Hazel!

Di
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WOYWW 162 - and to chop up or not?

Firstly, my desk is still remarkably tidy (but of course I could just have dumped all the piles of stuff onto our bed):

I took this photo yesterday, if only to prove there was a bit of sunshine streaming in the window.

So, what's to see -  the makings of a card right at the back, a new stamp from my little trip for 'one item only' to Hobbycraft yesterday (how come I staggered home with a bag full of goodies?), a little RU box full of tiny shells plus 'flip flops' buttons and some other buttons from 'the haul', three 'Nesties' waiting to be put away - the fourth one is missing in action at the moment, and finally a book.

The book - 'Wild Flowers by Anne Pratt':

Found in a big box of books in the loft here - I bought it over 20 years ago at a jumble sale when I lived 'oop North'. It was in a dire state as you can see and already suffering from the effects of old age and damp but I just couldn't walk away and leave it:

The inscription says 'Percy L Armstrong from C.Armstrong April 12 1886' - the book was already quite old by then as it was published in 1857. Way back then I think it was common practice to hand on much loved books to others so the inscription probably indicates that it was being passed down the family.

And this is one of the plates with the plant description to the right.

My question is - what should I do with the book? It's obviously been very well loved/thumbed over the years, a lot of pages are loose and but some of the plates are are really pretty like the one above. So it's not worth more than between £5 and £10 in monetary terms - thank you Google for at least reassuring me on that point. It was interesting to read about the author - she was self-taught and lived mostly in Kent.

Do I bite the bullet and demolish the book to use in a mix of cards and possibly a project or two? I have a few very old family photos from Len's side of the family which I'd love to scrap book for him. The illustrations are certainly already looking very distressed! Or do I keep it as it is, not looked at much and really quite neglected and sad.

Sigh, I really don't know what to do :(

Would it be criminal? Or would it inject more love into it?

While I sit and ponder, why not hop over to the lovely Julia's, our WOYWW hostess - from there you can leap onto loads of other desks to see what everyone else is up to today.


Happy WOYWW :)

Di
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A Tuesday Tail (sic) - Lassie Come Home

OK, to set the scene. My Dad's father was quite an eccentric, as well as being very strict with his offspring. Even up until Grandad was in his 80's my Dad was still a bit in awe of him.

When I was a kid, Grandad lived in the wilds of Yorkshire in a little stone cottage, no electricity (except from a temperamental generator), so the lighting was all gas lamps, and for a long time there wasn't even running water. To be honest, I think he was more than a bit eccentric - verging on bonkers more like :(  His faithful companion was a Border Collie, imaginatively called Lassie (or Lass for short).

One Winter, when I was about five years old we were staying with him and I came down with pneumonia - not surprising really considering the place was damp and pretty cold unless you huddled in front of the fire.

Grandad had a job as a night watchman and off he went to work one evening, I should say that he had to walk as we had more than a couple of feet of snow. My Dad had already struggled miles through the drifts to get the local doctor and then again for a prescription so he wasn't overly happy when Grandad issued instructions to take Lass out for her evening walk. Crumbs, the snow was higher than she was!

Come about 10pm Mum reminded Dad of the task in hand, Dad took one look out of the little front door and saw that the snow was falling thick and fast and sort of lost the plot a bit :( 'No way am I going out in that' he muttered and went into the kitchen area for a rummage. Ha, just the thing, a washing line!

Poor Lass was coaxed from her cosy spot by the fire and Dad tied the washing line to her collar, opened the front door, kneed her out into the night and reeled out the washing line so she could 'do what comes naturally'. He then tied the end of the washing line to the front door knocker, closed the door and settled back down in front of the fire.

About 30 minutes later it was time to let Lass back into the cottage - front door was opened and the line was reeled in, I guess you know what's coming next. Just a chewed end of the washing line where Lassie had gnawed through it :(

So, being more than a little afraid of Grandad's temper, on went the layers of clothes once again, wellies were donned and, waving a tilley lamp, off into the night went Dad. He called and searched until he was hoarse but no sign of Lassie - and the snow was still falling thick and fast. Eventually Dad decided he'd have to face the music and returned to the cottage - this time thinking it was a good idea to return via the little back porch where he could leave his wellies and not trudge snow right through the place.

Ahem, and there, curled up fast asleep in the porch out of the driving snow was - Lass :( Seems she merely chewed through the washing line, scarpered round to the back of the cottage and had been there all the while.

Today's card, appropriately enough with a snowman on, is below :)

Di
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Let it snow

It might as well, we've almost every other sort of weather thrown at us! The current challenge over at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge is 'Snowmen':

Once again, the camera isn't showing something very well - the embossed strip at the bottom of the card says 'Let It Snow' - imaginative of me huh? And the embossed lines I carefully scored above and below the sentiment have sort of faded back too so you'll just have to press your nose against the screen or take my word for it :(

I used:

- white DL card stock

 

- Penny  Black 'Stickeroo' from the 'Every Christmas' set, snowman, snowflake and the border strip right at the bottom of the card

- backing card from Dovecrafts 'Let It Snow' pack (a lot of 'let it snow' going on today!). These card sheets are great - the reverse of a lot of them is plain and the green was a perfect match to the image

- the sentiment was embossed using white card and a Crafts Too Christmas sentiments folder which I'd chopped into message strips a while back

I've got a 'shed load' of different PB snowmen here to use in the run up until Christmas - could be a bit of a theme going :)

Di
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A little bit choppy today

Whilst in Art of Craft the other week I bought a set of Warren images, made by Craftwork Cards. A real delight to colour and this one is such fun:

I love the way the seagull is perched at the front of the little fishing boat looking hopefully to see what catch there might be :)

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- backing paper from Bo Bunny's 'Barefoot and Bliss' collection. As soon as I flicked through the pad here this particular paper cried out to be used with Warren - I added nothing to the background itself, it comes complete with the choppy waves and seagulls

- Craftwork Cards 'Warren' image coloured with Pro Markers to go with the backing paper

- I then cut two dark blue card (from the snippets folder) 'portholes', one for the image and one for the sentiment, by using two Nesties together, held in placed before die cutting with low tack tape. The porthole effect isn't as obvious in the photo but in real life it's pretty distinct, even my in-house critic noticed, bless :)

- sentiment also came with the 'Warren' pack

I've had to put the card out of sight though, I do get sea sick sometimes and found it was making me feel a bit queasy :(

Whoop, whoop, I was a runner up in June's challenge over at St Luke's with this card:

Why not have some fun and join in this month's challenge which is cards for teenagers?

Di
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Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge - 28

I doubt if many UK 'snippeteers' will hop into the playground during the Wimbledon Tennis Final today - crumbs, the stress is too much!

Here's my snippets make for the week, so funny though, I decided a really quick card was a good idea - yeah, right. I punched all the butterflies and only then did I decide to stamp and emboss the sentiment first (sorta flying my the seat of me pants and making it up as I went along). So far, so good - until I turned the heat gun on - up flew all the butterflies round me and I spent about 20 minutes searching for the very last ones. It would have been quicker to punch more, but these were from tiny snippets in the first place and I didn't like to be beaten - so much for a fast card:

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white card stock

- white card from the snippets folder, layered onto silver holographic snippet

- sentiment by LOTV, embossed in silver

- 24 teensie butterflies, punched from little snippets and arranged round a circle embossed by running an embossing tool round the inside of a round die (at the back of the card front) as a guide

- ickle, teensie diamantes on the butterfly bodies

I just looked at the photo now that this has published and blow me, it looks as if the sentiment is totally off centre but am waving the card here in real life and it's fine. Also the card doesn't look square, and it is, you'll have to take my word for it as it's packaged up and put away lest those butterflies try to take off for another flight!

OK, roll call time now - and it's been a fun week in the playground, despite a few friends on holidays.

In like a little whippet shot our Rach last Sunday -with a great card for a chap, using ribbon so effectively. Before you say 'What, ribbon on a masculine card?!' do go and see how super it is. Just shows, you should never be afraid to venture and this is really such a good example of that Rach. Love the other photos on your posting too - picture post card stuff :)

Next was Sandra H, with such a cute Christmas card - using a delightful Penny Black stamped image. So sweet and the monochromatic theme of greens is just perfect Sandra. Love the layout), swirls and stars - and those little hedgies are a real tonic when you need a smile. So sweet the way one has lost his hat :)

Carol was next, with a Santa in Blues Christmas card - do go here to see. Fabulous backing card from QVC, and the image is terrific. I'm pretty sure that it was only in more recent times that traditional Santas are dressed in red - I have a Santa from Holland dressed in greens and have also seen them in blues. A lovely change and a great card Carol.

Hazel was next - also with a Santa in Blues, this time opting for a delightful silhouette, it's great! We also had a few more visits from Hazel with these cards: a bowls card for an 80th birthday, super card and a great layout, a delightful butterfly card (following another super sketch), and finally this snowman card to kick off Hazel's own Christmas card challenge for the week. Love him Hazel! I'd been following Hazel's card making all week and knew that she was feeling pretty poorly - turns out it's shingles, in the face and head. Ouch, very painful and we all send our love and hope you feel better soon Hazel.

We had two visits from Lynne this week. The first one was to bring such a pretty card with the sweetest bird box, beautifully coloured and the backing papers are just perfect with it Lynne. Next, Lynne brought two delightful baby cards - one for a boy and one for a girl. Both fabulous and using a favourite LOTV image - I love both of them so much, and it's such a great twist on the baby girl one to have matched the baby's 'blankie' with the backing paper as a contrast to pink. Both totally adorable cards. Ahem, I take no responsibility for the little printout shown at the bottom of Lynne's post - hope you have a note from your parents if you read it :)

Beth was next, I think she has visited before and this time she brought a very clever card using snippets to make stars with. Really CAS and in red, white and blue just perfect for 4th of July celebrations.  I do love the idea of rounding just one corner of the card Beth and the stars backing paper just peeking out round the edge - great make all round.

Jules had made six Christmas gift tags for last week's fiendish tricky Rudolph Day challenge - each one different, and each one lovely. I did grin when Jules wrote that she doesn't spend an age making tags as they get thrown away, I certainly wouldn't be throwing any of these away Jules! And, there's at least one heart on each one, which flummoxed some folk - for a change I found them all without any help :) Do go and see for yourselves.

We had three visits from Hettie this week, the first one was to bring this brilliant set of not six, but 12 Christmas cards. All made in the pop up style and using Penny Black's 12 Days of Christmas stamp set - if you like PB stamps you'll just love this set I'm sure. Great work Sam. The next two cards featuring bees are also brilliant, using some delightful ribbon (sparingly as it's very precious and is sort of honeycomb patterned with bees on). How clever is that - and what super cards too Sam, are you looking after the bees whilst Simon's finger heals up? Lastly, our little Mrs Beeton brought us this to share :) I'm not saying too much - you have to go and see for yourselves, but I doubt if there's any left by now - there was a flurry of eager little playmates all diving in and helping themselves!

Amanda was next, with a great card for her ex-bosses birthday (must have been a good boss) - which you can see here. Great airbrushing Amanda and a perfect image to go with the snippets (notice I said it that way round, snippets rule and we colour to match!). It was interesting to read about a male lacrosse player. I think the game began, like hockey, for men - before 'ladies' became involved. I used the term 'ladies' very loosely there, having been on the receiving end of more than a few whacks from hockey sticks at school :(

I wasn't totally daft, I played on the wing where at least you got a chance to run as if the Hounds of Hell were after you when a hoard of screaming banshees descended in a mob. Snort, I lost count of the times I just abandoned the ball and ran to protect my life, shins and front teeth :)

Sarn came to play twice this week, firstly with 'twinchies'. This seems to be one of the latest crazes sweeping the crafting world, unless I'm waaaay behind, and such gorgeous ones too. You can see them here - fabulous greens Sarn, super stamp and great doodling too! Then, on a return visit, Sarn brought three of the cutest cards - totally designed to bring a smile to your face. So fresh and clean and, even now looking again, I'm sniggering at the vision of chooks on a trip to the beach :)

Next was Elizabeth, batteries sort of recharged from her hols but suffering from swollen little trotters - not pleasant at all :( But, just see the fabby card Elizabeth brought to show over here - doesn't that sum up what relaxing on a lovely beach should be all about? Lovely combination of green, orange and blues - and the image reminds me so much much of beaches in Thailand, one of the most beautiful places to go and relax. Super Elizabeth!

As always, Irene brought a really elegant card to show this week. Great embossing, punching and die cutting - but the bit that blew me away is the terrific technique of colouring directly onto a stamp before stamping. I really would love to try this but and sure I'd make a right pigs ear of it. Such a pretty and delicate effect Irene - and the colours are absolutely beautiful too. Love it!

Mary Mac whizzed in very quickly here to wish folks a Happy 4th of July. She's off travelling, as well as having just celebrated her daughter Amy's Wedding whilst away, there are some great photos to be seen in previous posts - and isn't Mary just as you'd have imagined? I think so, and such a lovely smile too! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip Mary, looking forward to welcoming you back to play - the girls will no doubt let you have first goes on everything!

Mags B brought a great card to show - such a cute little LOTV bear image from their newest stamps release. Beautifully coloured Mags, and the papers, flowers and ribbon go perfectly - a fabby result! Oh dear, I feel a trip over to LOTV's website coming on :( And, Mags is planting sunflowers this week in the playground - I'm sayin' nuffink as I gaze outta the window here at grey skies and almost constant rainfall.

As an aside, Mags had recently been to see the Great Bed of Ware, actually back on loan to Ware where it originated - I saw this a couple of years ago at the Victoria and Albert Museum and it's hard to grasp the sheer size of the bed unless you see it for yourself. It was supposedly built to sleep about 12 travellers, you can read more about it here - quite an amazing feat to transport it back to Ware indeed! Snort, imagine ironing the sheets for it!

Next was Brenda, with a 4th of July card - and what a stunner!  I love the vibrant colours, the backing paper is gorgeous - but my very favourite, and so clever part, is the way Brenda used a Penny Black flower head stamp for the star bursts of the fireworks. Really inspired Brenda and a great card all round. Now, how about sending us some of your sunshine?

In fact, at this rate the Olympics look set to be a bit damp - I don't suppose running in wellies, tossing the brolly, swimming through puddles and dodging the hailstones could be added as events at this late stage?

Must tell a little tale here as we don't have any male playmates - it's a girlie thing. Last weekend I was talking to a friend after the school association meeting and of course the dire weather came up. Apparently, she'd been out somewhere and decided to take a short cut home through open fields as clouds were gathering - after a lovely sunny start to the day. So, no umbrella or waterproof. Sure enough, the heavens opened and there was no shelter so on she plodded, getting absolutely drenched. She then remarked grimly that she could vouch for the efficiency of the brand of pantie liners she uses. Apparently the rain, pouring down her back and front, gathered in said liner until it became like a huge wet baby's nappy. Her demonstration of waddling like Daffy Duck, legs apart and leggings drooping almost down to her knees was a sight to behold. Almost needed a pantie liner myself - so funny!

Back to the roll call - enough wittering on.

Karen T came to play next, bringing a really charming card featuring such a sweet image called 'Honey Pip'. I've never heard of these before, really cute Karen and the colours you used to colour the image go so well with the backing paper. Love the die cut fence and it's a great card. Anyone heard of sherbet pips sweets? I'm off to Google them - nope, can't recall them at all :( Must be after my time although I do recall sherbet 'Flying Saucers'. They were good for a diet, have ten of those for breakfast and by the time your mouth unpuckers it's time for breakfast the following day :)

Next was Darnell, with another CAS yet so striking card. Just perfect for a 4th of July baby I think - it's over here and just look at the tiny paper piecing on the toes of the booties, how totally cute! Such a perfect sentiment and, as always, a very amusing posting too. Darnell also just celebrated her birthday - to see what a joyous smile she has go here and look for the photo with 'Bama' in - that's Darnell :) Belated wishes from us all - betcha there's no cakes left for the playground though Darnell :(

Quick count here - oh no, only 24. Seem to have missed a card. Back in a minute :( Found it!! 25, so now the roll call is finished - yay!

Whoops, almost forgot - the Pro Marker draw! Sam chose the Summer set when she won a little while back so please ignore that in the photo:

There are now four sets to choose from:

Skin Tones - Cinnamon, Dusky Pink, Blush, Satin, Ivory

Spring - Orchid, Leaf Green, Buttercup, Pink Carnation, Powder Blue

Autumn - Pear Green, Tan, Honeycomb, Cocktail Pink, Burnt Orange

Winter - Bluebell, Soft Green, Oatmeal, Cardinal Red, Denim Blue

Do note that they aren't the 'Limited Edition' sets.

When the playground closes next Saturday, I'll draw one name and you get to choose whichever one of the sets you'd like from Skin Tones, Spring, Autumn and Winter. All you have to do is say in a comment if you'd like to be included - a snippets card would be good if you can, but not compulsory. The only other condition is that you must either have already been playing in the playground or be joining in this week, even for the first time.

Enjoy the tennis, at least we Brits have enough practice in being gracious in defeat :( But my fingers are still firmly crossed of course!

Mr Linky is below as usual and the playground will close at noon on Saturday 14th July. Hope you have a great week and please remember to follow the conditions below. 

Di
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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 :)

Missing in action due to snippets, not snipers!

Just a quick post to say I'll have my head down this morning, doing the Snippets Playground Roll Call :) So this might well be me:

Up to me neck in muck and bullets  - beavering away and peeking at your blogs whilst writing rubbish comments. Think of me - I could be some while :)

See you tomorrow I hope - and there's gonna be another giveaway for playmates this coming week. 

You have until noon today for any snippets makes, but don't feel you have to rush, and then the gates slam shut until midnight - by which time I might well be lying on the floor chewing the carpet and shouting for a very LARGE glass of wine.

Have a great Saturday my friends :)

Di
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Cute as a button

Quick card today seeing as the Snippets Playground roll call is looming:

I love every single element in the set bought from QVC a while ago called 'Special Moments'. It's brilliant for quick cards and the only personal twist here was to add a pearl button from my goodies, with an embroidery thread bow tied through it.

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- 'Cute as a button' gingham backing card, contrasting strip, layered image and sentiment

- button with an embroidery thread bow

I made two at the same time - two more cards for the St. Luke's Hospice box :)

Today's recipe for 'Rumblethumps' is below - I know, unusual name but a really good dish for cooler days. Ha! That's why I made it this week, for goodness sakes - the weather is still generally pretty dire.

Di
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Friday Feast - Rumblethumps

I found this recipe in a woman's magazine a little while ago, reprinted from 1982. It's the name that initially appealed to me I must admit, as well as using great yet simple ingredients. Apparently (I bet Elizabeth will confirm this) it's a Scottish dish, I made it for the first time the other evening and it's delicious, real comfort food:

Rumblethumps

Serves six

500g (1lb) cabbage, finely shredded
1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
Salt and ground black pepper
60g (2oz) butter
500g (1lb) mashed potato (use just over 500g/1lb potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed, or use leftover mash)
125g (4oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Large ovenproof dish, buttered

Set oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

Mix cabbage, onion and seasoning in a large buttered ovenproof dish.

 

Pour in 150ml (1⁄4 pint) water, and dot with butter (I used Flora Light instead of butter). Spoon potato over evenly, then sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Serve with sausages, if you like.

 

Things I did: nothing different really, although I didn't read the number of people it serves so I made the whole whack!  It really would serve six quite adequately. Half a cabbage wouldn't be easy to buy these days anyhow so I kept half and just reheated it, covered in foil, in the oven the following evening. The first evening we had it with sausages and then the next evening with thick cut ham and a fried egg each - oink, oink! I could only find white cabbage in the supermarket and it was just fine, although I reckon that a dark green Savoy cabbage would be really nice too.

Enjoy!

Di

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Who dat der lookin' back at me?

This week's challenge over at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge is 'Festive Funnies'. I entered a card earlier this week when time wasn't on my side, but this is my 'real and properly made' entry:

Such a silly little mouse - and bought not that long ago when I discovered a place based in The Netherlands which still has a few Elzybells stamps in stock - just image ones though.

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- Elzybells 'Mouse bauble' stamp, coloured with Pro Markers and a little bit of Anita's glaze added to the bauble cap and the shiny streak on the bauble itself

- cut with a Nesties die, then embossed. The red matting layer was cut by tracing round the outer edge of the die and hand cutting it - red card came from the snippets folder

- sentiment stamped in Memento 'Tuxedo Black' using a stamp by Woodware, included in their 'bubble Christmas tree' set

I made two the same but totally resisted the urge to use any patterned backing paper, embellishments, Josy Rose nail heads or ribbon. Phew, needed a lie down in a darkened room afterwards though.

Di
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WOYWW - 161

Wednesday and time for a trip round the planet to snoop on desks in every shape, size and form. After the shame of last week - I did a bit of a tidy up:

Such a relief to know that there's actually a bit of spare desk to work on now. I hereby pledge to keep it tidy - it's so much easier to think without being almost overwhelmed/surrounded by a mass of detritus, cr*p, rubbish stuff. That's not to say there isn't still a basket of goodies waiting to be used for the first time to the back right though :)

I can see some opalescent big gems waiting to be put away, the stuff to make a Christmas card and my new big boy laptop - which is driving me crazy 'cos I mostly touch type and keep hitting the wrong keys to the right hand side :( Love the huge screen though - cor, am I gonna be able to snoop today :)

Ah, and here are the final two lovely ATCs - I did find yours Kay, and it was indeed in a safe place as I thought:

Kay's fab Doodly Bird on the left and Mary's (GlitterGrammy) beauty to the right - aren't they both fabulous.

Oh dear, there's also a sign of my OCD streak - those big gems waiting to be put away have been neatly sorted into little squares while I was speaking on the phone to someone! The little charm is a silver plated fish bone BTW. Avon sometimes sell discontinued jewellery in their bargain booklets and I always look out for things like these little cuties.

Right, that's me done - now it's your turn to go leaping round everyone's desks - using Julia's as a launching pad. Have fun and Happy WOYWW!

Di
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A Tuesday Tale - Vesuvius in the kitchen

As a child, I loved nothing better than being in the kitchen with my Mum cooking. She was a trained cook and always trying out different things.

One wet afternoon she decided that we'd have a go at making this stuff:

Cinder toffee, just like the stuff in Crunchie bars! Out came the ingredients and off we went.

Ahem, I think I distracted Mum at a crucial moment and instead of adding the bicarbonate of soda (which reacts with vinegar and makes the bubbles) in a teaspoon she absentmindedly added a heaped tablespoon of the stuff! BIG mistake, a very BIG mistake in fact.

Whoosh, up and over the pan it went like a volcano - totally alive and spewing all over the cooker. It truly was quite spectacular as it bubbled its merry way absolutely everywhere whilst Mum chased me away from the 'monster' and tried to get to the controls to turn the heat off. No way could the pan be touched so all she could do was to wait for it to subside. I clearly remember hiding behind the kitchen door, peeking in horror at the ever growing stream of sweet lava.

That evening, Dad arrived home to a very tearful wife still trying to clean the mess up, hours after the volcano. I think we dined on tinned Heinz tomato soup and bread and butter that night.

Happy days!

My card for today is below.

Di
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Dance like no one's watching

My teenage friend Abi had a birthday yesterday. She's a super ice skater, and is passionate about it too, so the image for this card was a 'no brainer' really:

We have some real colour issues with the photo though, the purples are really rich (almost Royal Purple) in real life. Mind you, it was such a dull day yesterday (raining cats and dogs too) I guess it's not surprising :( 

Hope you had a brilliant day Abi!

I used:

- A5 white card stock

- image downloaded for free from the internet, it's a Bratz image and I found it at Colouring Planet, then coloured with Pro Markers and a silver pen. Abi has a great piccie of her skating on her Facebook profile so I printed that off and tried to copy her purple costume colours, the sparkly bits and long blonde hair as best I could :)

- backing card came from the snippets folder and the backing paper is from a Papermania 8" x 8" 'Rich Purple' pack

- ribbon from the ribbon box

- sentiment by Stamping Bella, ink pad used is SU's 'Perfect Plum' and also I used SU's oval punches (love these!)

- flowers were die cut using Joy! dies and snippets, the white layers were coloured with a water based pen giving a little stripe before being removed from the dies (a tip from Jules I think) and then card candi was added for the centres

This month's challenge over at St Luke's Charity Cards Challenge is 'Teenage Kicks' so I'm entering this card as it sums up so well at least one teenager I know :)

I had almost the whole day yesterday without IT access - ironed like crazy, even next door's cat is standing to attention without a single crease in its fur :)

A Tuesday Tale will follow - once I have my 'thinking head' on.

Di

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Frosty the Snowman - a blast from the past

The craft room 'sort out' continues here, and whilst poking round in a box of Christmas crafting goodies I came across this:

I guess this card was 'assembled' about 10, or even 15 years ago and did make me smile as I think I was quite proud of it at the time. He does have a cute smile though :)

Just for the sheer h*ll fun of it, I'm hoping it will make Hazel smile so am entering it into Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge which is 'festive funnies'  (a proper entry is also planned Hazel!).

I have no real idea of what I used, I suspect the pearlescent blue card stock came from Lakeland when they sold card making goodies, along with the sentiment, gems, snowflakes - hey, probably the whole lot was bought from them! The snowman is all puffy and squidgy :)

I hope I won't be kicked out of the challenge world for not taking it seriously enough - normal service will resume once I'm back on the medication :)

Have a nice day!

Di
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Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge - 27

Hi there - snippets card first, as usual:

I needed a Get Well card to be signed by us all at tomorrow's meeting (more about the meeting at the end of this post), one of the chaps is in hospital, so I turned to the snippets folder of course :)

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock

- backing card (the plain is SU and the patterned is from First Edition's 'Sweet Owl' paper pad) - all snippets

- the ribbon was a snippet - not long enough to go across the card widthways but it's OK diagonally I guess

- image is a LOTV Cute Square - already coloured BTW so not my handiwork :)

- sentiment stamped onto a snippet using a SU Sincere Salutations stamps and VersaMark 'Hint of Pesto' ink pad, then punched using SU's 'Decorative Label' punch and just 'tickled' round the edge with the Pesto ink pad

- Josy Rose nail heads

Onto the roll call now:

Bernie came to play, with this fabulous card for  a Wedding Anniversary - more butterflies, and such a delicious flower Bernie - I love it! While you're over at Bernie's, do see her latest post -Bernie's husband Jim is very unwell right now and they need all the positive thoughts and prayers you can send their way please, (you can do this by going to 'Home' at the bottom of Bernie's blog - I guess you all know that so I hope you don't think am trying to teach 'Granny how to suck eggs').  Sending our love and hugs Bernie.

Irene nipped in next with two very elegant cards, which you can see here. Super embossing and just look at the brilliant stamping - this was done by colouring the stamp itself with water based markers before stamping and the effect is gorgeous. A few pearls and a couple of brads complete two super makes Irene!

Our super-busy Jules then arrived with her snippets card, as always so well thought out and featuring a Penny Black hedgehog ready to kick off his football. Hmm, least said about that the better - but what always amazes me about Jules is that she has such an extensive stock of appropriate backing papers - how I'd love a rummage through her snippets :) Lovely card Jules, and thanks so much for making the time to still come and play, we really missed you during your blogging break.

This week, Sandra H had been beavering away on a fantastic pennant for her adorable grand daughter Tayla - do pop over here to see. Isn't it just so pretty and perfect for a little girl, lots of lovely die cutting topped off with Tilda - lots of lovely pink of course. I just bet Tayla will adore it Sandra!

Linby (Lynn) was fighting dizziness this last week, possibly a virus or the return of vertigo, so wasn't playing on the swings or roundabouts - I think she was likely to just sit quietly in a corner, not a nice sensation at all. But, undaunted, she'd made this little beauty of a card - also for Less Is More - and such fiddly paper piecing of those tiny flowers too. A fab result Lynn and we all hope you feel lots better. 

A double offering from Sally - here - with two adorable cards. The first is a maternity leave card which was quickly followed up by a new baby card - apparently whilst the maternity card was still being signed Baby arrived early :) Do go and see, I adore both cards - such lovely colours and both are perfect Sally. The tiny flowers on the maternity leave card are so sweet.

Hazel came to play three times this week - firstly with this very clever card, depicting a lemonade stand and one of my favourite sentiments - harrumph though, sometimes we could be awash with lemonade here! Next with a really bright and cheerful Birthday card  and then with the sweetest card, featuring a little PB mouse and just so perfectly thought out - really lovely Hazel. All super cards, and all so different too.

The first playmate to have a near miss with flooding in the UK this week was Victoria, she nipped in with such a great card, again one for Less Is More and you can hop over here to see it. Well? What d'you think - I love it and do like the idea of a montage depicting us playmates :) Such tiny paper piecing Victoria and a brilliant result! Hope you're still keeping dry and safe.

Sam (aka Hettie) whizzed in for a few goes on the swings this week - and what a mixed week too. It began after a fabby weekend in London celebrating her birthday (tea at the Ritz even - no sandwiches were snaffled out for us I note) and then spiralled down when Simon (Mr Hettie) had an accident at work resulting in the loss of a finger tip. OUCH. Do send him hugs from us - although it made my knees go weak I do recall queuing up at Junior School to peer at a friend's freshly exposed scar after some stitches were removed, kids are sooo gruesome! Anyhow, this is what Sam brought to show this week: first, this absolutely luscious tag with the most gorgeous flower ever, and then not one but six Rudolph Day cards which are here. I love the pop-up style and of course the 12 Days of Christmas is just such a great stamp set by Penny Black. Super cards Sam!

There is just about enough time for you to enter this month's Rudolph Day challenge over at Sarn's - mind you, the little slave driver wants six cards in one go! If I can do it though, anyone can :) You have until 8pm on Monday so if your Sunday afternoon is a void that needs filling why not go for it?

Next was Rach, with a great card for a chap (always so hard to get right and this one works so beautifully) - love the shell on the card - made using the 'acetate and tissue technique'. Err, I have no idea what this is but the result looks really stunning Rach. Plus, there's also a link to the most delicious 'chocolate heaven' pudding over at Rach's on the same post. Bad, bad girl trying to influence us to indulge :)

Lynne was next with some of the loveliest daisy cards ever - so clean and crisp, featuring - err, tiny daisies. Beautifully made and there are loads of them to see all in different colours - I can't pick which one I like best and I bet you won't be able to either. Maybe the lavender one, by a very little whisker Lynne, and such a great way to use up the tiniest of snippets.

Next was Kath - taking the bull by the horns with the Rudolph Day challenge so we have six snippets cards................but hang onto your hats, there are 33 in total, over here.  I just love the play on Peace (Peas) on Earth Kath and am amazed you rustled up 33 with paper piecing as well. Fabulous results - now I need a lie down.

'Taking the bull by the horns' reminded me of one of this week's 'goofs' here - I'm known for mixing up metaphors and announced to Len before embarking on some scheme or other that I was 'going to take the bullet by the horns'. When he raised his eyebrows and grinned I corrected it to 'Sorry, I meant bite the bull'. At that point I shut up and trotted off to tackle whatever it was I had in mind to do! Sigh, often me mouth is waaaay ahead of me brain :(

Darnell jumped in next to play, with both a great tale and this so, so funny card :) Do go and see, what a laugh - it's actually beautifully paper pieced so make sure you look at that side of it too, once you stop giggling that is :) I'm playing with my new laptop here and 'cos it has a big screen I can peek really closely at cards and the paper piecing is just perfecto Darnell! You don't truly wear fins when taking a dip do you?

Next was Amanda with another paper pieced card - and it's a great one too. Spot on for a chap and bang up to date for 'techno geeks'. The stamp is an MFT one, now on my wish list. I've got a few of these stamps and the simplicity of the design is absolutely perfect for paper piecing - great choice Amanda! Bad girl though for enticement to spend more money :) Then we had a return visit from Amanda with a really cute card which is here, aw, such a sweet little nurse. I noticed that Sam jumped in to comment as soon as she spied it, bless. Great image and the blues, white and red are of course perfect. I did grin about your new 'corner rounder' Amanda, we do fall in love with new playthings in our craft rooms - bet you'll get loads of use out of it!

Shaz, all the way from Oz, came to play this week - yay! And, what a pretty card too - lovely embossing, die cutting and such a great stamp. I'm truly beginning to veer towards lavenders and purples as a close runner behind pink. Such a shame the stamp is now discontinued Shaz - on the other hand, maybe you just saved me some money so now your challenge is to only use discontinued stamps in future :)

Our 'Sarn The Slavedriver' came to play twice this week - finding time between cracking the whip for this month's 'Rudolph Day so make six cards oh ye slaves challenge'. The first trip was to bring a delightful card, all using SU goodies in which and shades of turquoise/beige (beige to my eyes anyhow) - such a lovely card Sarn, fresh and absolutely perfect as ever. Then, a second whizz on the swings and Sarn brought this beauty of a card, and I can vouch for it being beautiful as it's here right in front of me on my desk right now. Great colours and I just love the way you stamped the tree Sarn. Maaaaybe you're forgiven for spurring us on to make six Rudolph Day cards after all :)

Carys, our youngest playmate, came back to play after being absent for a while. And just see what delicious cupcakes she brought for us over here! This gorgeous card looks as if it's been made using paper piecing as I know it, using a stamp as the guide, but I know that Carys made it all from scratch and it's so cleverly done - no wonder it took ages Carys! Just great.

Next was Elizabeth, back from her holidays and the excitement of our Golden Day lunch - with this gorgeous shabby chic style Christmas card. Phew, and what a lot of work went into making this - all centred round a red gardenia and so much beautiful detail including lots of pretty beading and a luscious big bow, which incidentally looks perfect Elizabeth!

Laura nipped in next - bringing this cute card. Bunting and a very jolly Penny Black cat skipping along make it such a happy card - great colours Laura too. The good news is that Laura is gearing up ready for a much needed holiday in August - I guess that's between finishing your studies and starting work in  September? Hope you have a wonderful time - you've certainly earned it Laura.

Brenda came skipping (not looking like Laura's PB cat though) into the playground - brandishing a length of ribbon found in the office, which had presumably fallen out of someone's hair :) It had been put to good use on these great Rudolph Day cards though. Each one is different and used a few snippets too - I love them all equally Brenda and hope you left them as they were - perfect!

Finally, Heidi arrived with a brilliant take on The Old Lady Who Lived In  A Shoe, well, a boot really. Do go here to see what I'm on about, I love the image Heidi and the idea of the loops of ribbon attached with brads is great. The colouring is absolutely fabulous - an awful lot of detailed work there Heidi with a super result!

Caramba, I'm finished the roll call! It's been another battle as am getting used to a much wider keyboard with a numbers keypad to the right,  hadn't realised just how much I 'touch type' so have been shooting all over the place when accidentally hitting the 'up' key instead of the right hand caps key. Also, other keys seem to have had me whizzing all over the place - no doubt time will help but not what I needed today! The air has been a delicate shade of blue at times :(

Today I'm off up to The National Herb Centre near Banbury for a school association meeting - so I expect your day will be a lot more fun than mine. It's good to catch up with people of course but sometimes I just wanna scream when things are chewed over for much longer than needed. Ever wanted to stand up in a meeting, climb up onto your chair and scream 'Move it!'? Oh dear :(

Mr Linky is below as usual and the playground will close at noon on Saturday 7th July. Hope you have a great week and please remember to follow the conditions below.

Di
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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 :)

For one of our Snippets Playmates

Today is Gilly's Wedding Day! We've been following the preparations - so I made this card from all of us in the Snippets Playground:

Yeah, right, another one of my clangers - I raced to make it in double quick time ready to post off on Thursday then realised I can't find or don't have Gilly's address :( How dumb was that?! Of course, responding to email will be waaaay down her list of priorities at the moment so let's just hope the day goes really well.

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white petal edged card stock

- peel off Wedding dress, looks as if it's made by Stampendous

- doves and rings embellishment by Artoz Artwork

- sentiment by Craftwork Cards

- strip of pink edging card from snippets folder

- pink pearls from Hobbycraft

- white organza ribbon with silver hearts on from the ribbon box, bought in Germany but am sure I've since seen it in Hobbycraft

The addition of some pink is because I checked Gilly's Wedding invitations on her blog and saw that they had pink, albeit a deeper rose pink, ribbon on them. Any excuse to use pink is just fine and dandy by me.

Many congratulations and love to you Gilly, and of course Jamie, from all of your Snippets Playmates. Just watch out for rustling bushes and whispering - we could be watching the proceedings with trimmers for a guard of honour and buckets of snippet confetti at the ready!

Di
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Friday Feast - Sausage and Mushroom Pot Pie(s)

Trying this recipe came about from having bought a load of Cumberland sausages from Costco, which turned out to have really tough skins. So, rather than waste those left in the freezer, I searched my 'clippings file' for a suitable recipe:

Sausage and Mushroom Pot Pie(s)

Serves 2

2 tsp olive oil - what? Not enough, I upped it to nearer 2 tablespoons in total
1 small onion , chopped
6 pork sausages (Cumberland ones worked great)
250g chestnut mushrooms , halved
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 tbsp low-fat crème fraîche
small bunch parsley , chopped
85g ciabatta , torn into small chunks 

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins until softened, then push to one side. Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll into balls. Add to the pan and fry for 5 mins until golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 mins more until softened.

Season, then stir in the mustard, crème fraîche and 4 tbsp water. Bubble for 2 mins, then remove from the heat and scatter in the parsley.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Transfer sausage mixture to 2 small pie dishes or 1 large baking dish. Toss the ciabatta in the remaining oil, scatter over the top of the pies and bake for 20 mins until golden and bubbling.

Things I do: As you can see, I opted to bake it all in one dish but you can use individual dishes. I followed the recipe but next time I make it, it was delicious so worth another whirl, I'd increase the amount of crème fraîche by another 2-4 tablespoons. I also increased the amount of olive oil - see ingredients. If you don't like mustard you can leave it out I guess. 

Today's card, for cat lovers, is below by the way :)

Enjoy!

Di
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Just Purrfect

This is en route to Jan, a cat lover, who hosted the 'WOYWW Golden Day' last week:

Hopefully I was sneaky enough for this stamp not to be seen when I bought it at Shopkeeper Gal's that same day :)

I used:

- 4.75" x4.75" white square card stock

- stamp made by Funstamps, called appropriately 'Just Purrfect', stamped in SU 'Bashful Blue'

- SU 'Bashful Blue' backing card

- paper from Papermania's Capsule Collection, all pretty blues by Jesse Edwards

The stamped image didn't cry out to be coloured, so I tucked my paws in my pockets and left it well alone :)

I humped parcels and packages to the Post Office yesterday, one of them is a HUGE one stuffed full of crafting goodies for the Care Home where my step-mum now lives. But, you know what, she doesn't even go to the card making sessions :(

Friday Feast will follow, see you later.

Di
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Six cards for Rudolph Day

I almost lay down on the floor here and threw a tantrum when I realised that Sarn wanted SIX cards for this month's Rudolph Day challenge. In the end I caved in, wouldn't wanna miss the fun, but did take the option of making six almost the same, only the sentiments vary slightly:

I promise those cards at the back aren't just blanks, didn't feel up to climbing up on a chair or stepladders to take a photo. 

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white card stock

- Hobby Art's 'Flower Wreath' stamp, stamped using a Dew Drop ink pad in 'Mediterranean Blue'

- double sided clear sticky film and a coating of Art of Craft's own iridescent glitter'

- blue and silver card as backings

- Craftwork Cards Christmas sentiments

Another six for the box Sarn - what's coming next month then?

I'm also entering this into this week's Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge which is to 'Get Inky'. Wonder if getting covered in glitter along the way gets extra brownie points? :)

And also, 52{Christmas} Card Throwdown - add some glitter.

I waited all day yesterday for my new laptop to arrive, it turned up at about 4pm and I swear the driver was grumpier than Shrek - he also looked a bit like Shrek. He practically threw the box at me but I did thank him nicely, in between jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas, and he just thrust the electronic signature machine at me and barked 'Sign 'ere', sigh, how unpleasant. He grabbed it back and off he marched, something had obviously gone wrong with his day :(

But I just bet it got even worse if, when he got back to the depot, anyone noticed that I'd signed his flipping signature pad doo-dah like so ..................Minnie Mouse xx :)

Di
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WOYWW 160 - what a messy pup!

Hangs head in shame here, I did a bit of a tidy last week and now it's back to this:

No more crafting for me until this lot is sorted out - that's my pledge for today. It's just piles of made, used, waiting to be put away, newly bought and waiting to be played with stuff. Just dumped and it's driving me totally nuts.

But, the prettily set out bit looks like this in close up:

From the left, top to bottom: a tag and ATC from Kyla (my WOYWW ATC link), then ATCs from Sarn, Judy, Jo, Annie, Sam, Judy, Judy, Judy and last but not least Rach. Snort, Judy ain't a gal to do things by halves is she? All amazing ATCs ladies and I'll treasure them - they look so lovely all laid out that I feel the need for a board of some sort to display them on :)

I also know I have a lovely ATC from Kay - I was emailing her about it, and had been showing it to Len so I just know it's tucked away somewhere safely, possible protected by the load of cr*p stuff piled up on my desk!

Plus, more photos:

Such a pretty 'bits tub' from Jan last week when we had our WOYWW lunch - love all the sparkly 'jewels' and:

From Elizabeth, what a work of art! Loads of fabulous detail and enough to make me give up card making altogether :(

The lovely Julia's goodies are already in use, I don't suppose you'd also like a trip round my dressing table while you're here?

Now, run away over to Julia's to see what she's up to today - and then onwards for a good snoop at what everyone else is playing with this week. Do let me know if there's a desk in a bigger mess than mine is right now - I'd feel loads better :)


Di
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