Jan and Billy No Mates

Two things, if you seem to have lost your followers from your blog sidebar, apparently it's a known bug and is supposed to be fixed ASAP. You should still be able to see them when you go to your dashboard so they haven't disappeared altogether. There are some tips on the internet about going into HTML and doing it yourself - I'm going to sit tight though and see if it's rectified. It's all to do with domains having to have your country of origin now - best not to play until we see if Mr Blogger comes up with the goods as promised earlier today! Playing with HTML can be tricky business, it's really easy to get wrong! 

Edit: Whoop, whoop - looks as if it's been fixed by Mr Blogger:))

Secondly, after a posting earlier that triggered a few sad memories for so many of you, and some very moving comments, I thought maybe this might make you smile a bit.

Remember the paper sack from Wednesday when I met Julia and Jan. We decided that 'Billy No Mates' the paper sack wasn't needed but he still wanted to play and here he is beside Jan, (sorry the piccie is dark, the sun had also come out to play!) - trying to decide how to eat his lunch :) Nah, that's NOT me inside the bag you daft lot, it's over Jan's hand!!

Oh dear, am surprised we didn't get ejected - with my record that was a distinct possibility!

Have a super weekend y'all!

Di
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Sunday is a day of mixed feelings.

Each year I sort of dread Mother's Day - my Mum died when I was 22 so it's been a long time, but of course I still miss her. However, socks have to be pulled up a bit as I do have a step-mum to make a card for, even though I'm not sure if she fully realises what's going on. Advancing dementia and living in care now means that some days are good and some not so good as far as her awareness is concerned.

She loves the colour blue so for a change I've gone for blues rather than the soft pinks she also likes:

I used:

- a LOTV Cute Square, which comes already coloured so it's most certainly not my own colouring. I love those little girls sharing a cuppa! Die cut into a circle using a Nestie

- dark blue card from snippets folder for the scalloped circle and the scalloped edging strip. I found a Fiskars edge punch that I've had for donkeys years in amongst the punches here - it's going to be used a lot more from now on

- papers from a Papermania Capsule Collection, loads of lovely papers in this pad - and quite a few are great for 'chap's' cards

- white flowers with the diamantes already on - bought ages ago from Hobbycraft

- a row of diamantes down the scalloped strip

- sentiment from a Craftwork Cards goodie bag

I hesitated about posting this card on here as I know that one friend especially really goes through a lot of pain at this time of year. So, this card is also a little tribute to those of you who are also missing your Mums right now, I do think that they're still watching over us.

Di
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Glam it up with glitter

Oooer, two posts again today! It's 'cos I want to catch Hazel's Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Number 63, which is 'Glam it up with glitter'.This card is really such a cheat, but I couldn't bear to throw away a glittery card from Christmas 2011 so just did some chopping and layering onto gold mirri card then onto a cream card. Ha, the work will come when I need an envelope as it had to be made to a very non-standard size to accommodate the size of the image. Maybe not such a time saver after all:

I resisted adding anything else to the card - it looks elegant as it is to me so best not to make it into a bit of a dogs dinner!

Di
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Friday Feast - Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Plate Pie

Oops, I accidentally published, then swiftly deleted, a snippet of this posting yesterday - so perhaps today's recipe isn't a surprise:

Friday Feast - Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Plate Pie

For the shortcrust pastry:

250g plain flour
Pinch of salt
60g butter
60g lard

For the filling:
2 tbsp light olive oil
4 chicken breasts, skinned and cubed
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
125g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
30g butter
30g plain flour
150ml milk
1 chicken stock cube
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and ground black pepper
Egg, for glaze

24cm (9½in) enamel pie plate (I usually just use a Pyrex pie plate)

To make the pastry: (Or cheat like me and use ready made!!)
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter and lard into cubes and add to the flour. Use a knife to start cutting the fats into the flour.

Rub the fats into the flour, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, lifting the mixture.

Add 2 tablespoons very cold water and start mixing it in to the mixture with a round bladed knife. Gradually add enough water until the mixture binds together, using only the minimum amount of water, because too much water will make a tough pastry.

When the mixture starts to form the dough, roll it into a ball — again, handling it as little as possible. Wrap the pastry in a freezer bag, or cling film, and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before rolling out.

To make the pie:
Set the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 and place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chicken and bacon, and cook for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a further 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the mushrooms have softened. Remove mixture from the pan.

Melt the butter in the pan and add the flour. Stir well and then gradually beat in the milk and 150ml (¼ pint) water to give a smooth sauce. Crumble in the stock cube and stir until it dissolves. Stir the chicken, bacon and mushrooms into the sauce and add the chopped parsley and season to taste. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Roll out half of the pastry to a round large enough to line the base of the pie plate. Spoon the chicken mixture on top. If the chicken mixture is still warm, then you’ll need to work fairly quickly, so that the fats in the pastry don’t melt.

Roll out the remaining pastry for the top. Brush water around the edge of the pastry on the pie plate and lay the top  over it. Seal the lid of the pie and decorate if wished with pastry trimmings.

Brush beaten egg over the top to glaze and make a hole in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape when it’s  cooking.

Place pie on the hot baking sheet. Bake it in the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until pastry is golden in colour. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

 

Things I do: I usually cheat and use Jusrol frozen pastry sheets, already conveniently in round shapes :) Chestnut mushrooms really do give this pie added flavour. The recipe suggests serving this with salad, I usually serve it with new potatoes and either a nice green vegetable or asparagus.

 

Enjoy!

 

Di

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Less Is More - One Layer - Script - Week 58

I'm beginning to really look forward to the LIM Challenges, even if it takes some time chewing over what to make. This week's challenge got me thinking a bit - do I stamp the script and a flower separately, or resort to a lovely and very rarely used stamp peering at me accusing from a shelf and begging to be allowed to play? It won in the end :)

 

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white card stock

- image stamped in 'London Fog' using the 'now happy' stamp, it's a Penny Black one called 'Letters & Flowers'. Softly coloured using lilac and green chalks with that wonderful Dove blender pen that I've raved about on here before

- a piece of lilac organza ribbon from the ribbon box

All done - and I'd like to enter this into  the Less Is More Week 58 Challenge.

That piece of ribbon has been on and off the card more times than enough - in the end I opted to keep it :) My in-house critic had the deciding vote in the end!

Di
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Meeting Julia, Queen of WOYWW and her handmaiden, Lady Jan

Well, where to begin huh?

Julia and I - just having met! See, I've just been given a WOYWW badge - hence the pink embarrassed nose and cheeks as well! Trust me, if I ever had to go and be 'invested' at Buck House I'd be in danger of keeling over!

For me, it was a brilliant lunchtime (hope Julia and Jan agree). I promise you, they are two totally fabulous ladies and within minutes it was as if I'd known them both for years, so warm and welcoming! We chatted and laughed non-stop (and also included Sandra in the fun, by phone.....talk about tele-conferencing).

The brown paper sack wasn't needed at all - I think we christened him Billy No-Mates at one point, as I had taken him along as an emergency opt-out :) Julia did take a photo of him with Jan, but I don't have a copy of that little masterpiece!

So, all I can say is one very big thank you to Julia and Jan for making yesterday's lunch such great fun. Hope you ladies don't come by again without letting me know - just remember the cherries for the stone spitting contest next time!

OK, so here's the usual silly tale. On Monday I went to get my hair chopped in honour of the occasion. I think my hairdresser totally messed up my usual light honey 'semi' colour mix! Oh boy, since Monday morning I'd washed my hair three times and was still squeaking in alarm every time this no-longer blonde stranger peeked back at me from a mirror. So there was another reason for almost resorting to the paper sack!

And thank you too for the lovely comments on here yesterday everyone :)

Di
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WOYWW - 145

Not a lot on my desk this week - just this:

Yes, you do see right - a paper sack with eye holes. Just 'rustled' up (ha, ha) yesterday afternoon when the enormity of this week's WOYWW hit me!

I won't be here at lunchtime today, instead I'm 'the stranger off the internet' who's meeting up with Julia, Queen of WOYWW, and Lunch Lady Jan about five minutes (for me) away from here - right next door to Hobbycraft (where else!).

OM Gosh!! I have to look out for their WOYWW badges so thought I maybe ought to go in disguise and check them both out first, before I decide whether to stay or run away :) Mind you, it's not exactly a very discrete disguise I must admit :(

Have a super WOYWW, whatever you have planned for today! Do go and check out what everyone else is up to today here - bet they aren't nearly as nervous as me!

Di
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A Tuesday Tale - 'en garde'!

Although not a truly naughty kid, I did end up in pickles at school, mostly through either talking too much or giggling.

In the late afternoons, once lessons finished and we'd had tea, there was a gap before it was time for supper - which was then followed by prep. time. The school deemed that we had to choose at least a few extra-curricular activities to fill up most of those late afternoons - they sure kept us busy there! Sport was top of my list - especially during the warmer months as it got pretty cold on the North Sea coast of Germany. One Winter term I got terribly excited about some new indoor lessons though - in fencing!! Whoop, whoop - now, that was much more like it!

I signed up immediately! We spent what seemed like endless hours learning the moves plus the correct names and terms before even being allowed a sniff of a foil, but I just loved the pure elegance of the moves - a bit like 'ballet for fighters'.

After a while, the big day eventually arrived and we raced off to get all geared up. Now, in those days, fencing apparel was nothing like it is now - as I was soon to learn. My pal and I found a couple of jackets - hers was a good fit, mine was too large :( Undaunted though, I carefully turned the cuffs back and then we were shown the 'additions'. WHAT? Tin saucer things, and you had to put them WHERE? In my haste I shoved the pair of saucers up inside the front of the jacket and scampered off to join in the fun.

We dutifully lined up and were finally given our foils to hold - after another safety lecture. On went the masks - ooer, beginning to look 'the business' here I thought. We lined up, raised our foils in salute and then it was lights, camera, ACTION!

Yeah, right! Remembering the previous lessons, back and up went the left arm, gracefully curved in one of the more balletic poses. Feet in position at 90 degrees, knees bent and foil arm outstretched - then 'Lunge' came the order. Left arm was sharply brought down to counterbalance the lunge - and then it all happened. The left hand tin saucer promptly popped up and partially out of the neck of the jacket, walloping underneath my chin. A squeak of pain and sharp intake of breath, meaning that said jacket was even looser for a moment, and the right hand tin saucer then decided to make a bid for freedom - choosing the bottom of the jacket as an exit point. With a clatter it hit the floor, rolled a few feet and then merrily and very noisily spun round for ages before finally grinding down to a halt. By this time the mask was off and yours truly was gawping in horror at what had just happened before dissolving into embarrassed hysterical laughter.

This was absolutely not good etiquette and it was tersely explained that you didn't just 'shove the tin saucers up the jacket front and hope for the best', apparently there were pockets inside the jacket for them to be placed in :) Unfortunately, the laughter merely subsided to uncontrollable giggles which just wouldn't stop so that was another exit for me - shame, as I truly was keen!

This incident was brought to mind when we were watching a James Bond film with some fencing in the other evening and later on, having already told my OH about the incident, he was in bed and heard me scuffling around on the landing in front of the full length mirror there.

Next thing I knew, he was looking out of the bedroom door demanding to know what on earth was going on. 'Err, just wondering if I could remember the correct fencing moves' I replied, followed by a quick demonstration of 'en garde, lunge and parry'. 'And anyhow, I bet Errol Flynn practised his fencing moves in front of a mirror' I added defensively.

With a sigh Len said 'I doubt if he'd have been wearing pink fluffy slippers, a Winnie the Pooh night shirt and hopping about brandishing a hair brush instead of a sword though!'. You know what, sometimes he is such a 'party pooper' :(

Di
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Made for each other

Sometimes, totally different sources of things seem to be perfectly made for each other. Whilst rootling round looking for something or other I came across some vintage style decoupaged toppers, already made when I bought them ages ago. I needed a 'quick to make card for today', writing up the snippets playground roll call took my crafting time up over Saturday. Sunday was all booked up but I ended Saturday by finding the backing papers I had in mind and bingo - one very quick and easy card!

I used:

- 6" x 6" cream card stock

- backing paper from Pink Paislee's 'Butterfly Collection' - oh boy, are there some gorgeous papers in this collection

- the teddy bear topper came from a pack I found in Wilkinson's of all places! They seem to get odds and ends from 'Craft and Create' in sometimes, so it's always worth checking what they have - I just used a decoupaged teddy topper and added the lilac butterfly, also in the packet, to what seemed to be a bare spot on the heart. It doesn't show in the photo but there are lovely touches of glittering plus some little gems on the toppers too

- organza ribbon from ribbon box

Whew, a quick and easy card which I think makes good use of that fabulous paper!

Di
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Pixie's Crafty Snippets - Challenge Number 11

Another week, another playground roll call :) Firstly, my snippets offering:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square cream card stock

- all the other card and papers came from the snippets folder including the white card as I never throw a single scrap away!

- stamped image using Penny Black's 'A touch' stamp then paper pieced the leaves and petals (trust me, I had a thumping headache after doing those petals, there are very fine white dotted lines on the paper, but they don't really show up too well - after all that effort too!). Just a touch of Meadow Green Pro Marker in the centre of the flowers

- scalloped half daisy edging using a Martha Stewart punch

- sentiment from the 'Good Friends' sentiments set by Hero Arts, stamped using a Brilliance 'Pearlescent Orchid' ink pad

- Josy Rose nail heads

OK, now the all important roll call - much more interesting. A quieter week in the playground - nobody ventured near those pogo sticks, and nobody (no names) decided to have a swim in the duck pond!

First into the playground last Sunday was Princess Judy, a bit astonished at being first too with this super card. Oh dear, how frightfully British that sounds - sooper - and Judy is an all-American gal, with a sense of humour to match. Her card is made using some die cut gorgeous scrolls, along with other delicious goodies such as pearls, lovely butterfly and flower. I did giggle when, in her posting, Judy wrote about having worked out 'the proper number of shims and swear words' to make it cut out properly :) I think we've all been down that route!

Next was Linby, with a gorgeous Spring card - flowers, birdies and bugs featured largely - many punched out of such pretty paper. The result is a really fresh and uplifting card and I just love the edges - great stuff Linby! Often it's really funny to read the comments on snippets postings, which is why writing the roll call takes me so long. 

Shazza arrived next with a card, here, made by very cleverly using offcuts from the back of a card. The loveliest coastal scenes, layered onto backing which had been coloured using a matching Pro Marker to pick up the red gingham ribbon (neat trick). Some really pretty green checked paper snippets and a sentiment by Craftwork Cards. Brilliant job Shazza!

Next was Brenda with her first - and I suspect not the last - use of a LOTV image, here. Gorgeous colouring and a perfect mix of green, pink and purple - those colours all go together brilliantly. Brenda had a bit of a sad face as she hadn't put her sentiment on the front of the card - I think it would have had as much, if not more, impact anyhow on the inside where it ended up :) It's often good to open up a card and then see the link between the sentiment and the front of the card. Do go to see the beautiful result! Then Brenda returned later in the week with this beauty. It's a Christmas card, yup we're already making those, and the red and blues that Brenda used go so well together. Do hop over to see - I've just been for another look and not many of you have called by, you're missing a super card!

Karen brought a super card with her this week - to see it go here. The joy of the playground is seeing what others are playing with and picking up new ideas and techniques - Karen had been playing with offcuts of glossy photo card this week, using water based ink and a clear water spray to create a background - and the effect is really stunning. To find out just how she did it, do go and take a peek - it'll be well worth the visit! Plus, I've never seen peel offs so perfectly positioned and to such great effect - love it Karen!

Our next playmate was Irene, with a really elegant card using an embossing folder for the background, lace and ribbon - and a beautifully stamped image. It's a Stickaroo image and I totally love the different colours that Irene applied to the stamp - a terrific result Irene. I can't see in the write-up just what inks Irene used, or how she applied them, but the delicate blending of the colours is certainly something I'd love to be able to do.

Tammy's first card this week followed both a sketch and a colour challenge - and such a gorgeous result, aptly called 'Welcome Spring'. Do take a look and see how well everything goes together on this lovely card. Tammy's next visit was on Friday with another terrific colour combination here, do check out the cutest of fawn images too. A bit like Bambi maybe? The lemon and fawn colours work so well together too!

Hazel called by to play a few times this week - her first card is here and it's just the things to make you start thinking about lazy Summer days! Fabulous sentiment too - 'A perfect Summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and the lawn mower is broken' Love it! Next Hazel brought this really chirpy (no pun intended) Easter card to show - great isn't it?! Then Hazel showed us an altered notebook. Love all the pond elements Hazel! Hazel's next offering was a card which is perfect for anyone who has a gardening friend - it's here and I really love it! And take a peek here at Hazels Saturday afternoon card - it's for her next Christmas Challenge which is 'Glam it up with glitter' - you'll see the link at the top of her blog. Plenty of lovely glitter on your card Hazel - and what a great idea using left over pieces of Christmas crackers too. Hazel's next offering was another altered notebook (I'm gonna have to have a go at these!) - just take a peek at the cheeky, happy lion here - great Hazel!

It was just about a week ago that I made the connection with Tara (Craftilicious) and St Luke's Hospice Card Challenge) - this is the lovely card that Tara made. Unlike me, I think Tara is really a natural neutrals crafter (whereas I had the heebie jeebies at last week's Less Is More Challenge, which was to use neutrals). Shades of brown used perfectly Tara - do hop over and drool over that luscious flower too girls! Get the 'dark brown sugar glitter' - isn't it just beautiful?!!

Mary's first visit of the week was to bring this gorgeous pop up Christmas card, whilst recovering from a nasty cold. I made her carry a huge box of tissues the whole time :) Love the traditional Santa image and it looks as if Mary has also tracked down the Bo Bunny Christmas papers she was looking for! Great stuff! Later in the week Marry popped back with this really darling (pink too!!) napkin card. Using napkins on cards is a new one on me - do hop over to see the result, it's absolutely gorgeous, and also here's a link to how Mary made the card too. Now all I need is a bunch of pretty napkins!

Next into the playground for her visit was Karen T. As we have two Karens now I've added a T to our latest Karen to differentiate. Do hop over to see Karen's first card for the playground - here. I happen to know that Karen T is dotty about cats, and this card doesn't disappoint :) Also, check out the 'quilted' background - isn't it great! Hope to see you playing again Karen - doubt if the pogo sticks are really your scene after recent problems, but the swings are very calming just so long as nobody sneaks up to give you an extra push! I'll watch out for them, never fear :)

Carol brought a really cute Tatty Ted card with her this week. And a great tip too that I got all excited about - which I now know is called 'gutting' to make special card and papers go further. To find out more, go to Carol's Tatty Ted posting - and I also did a little bit about it here on WOYWW. What a gorgeous result Carol, aqua, white and grey make the perfect combination! And thanks again for the great tip!!

Next in was Lyn who opted to sit on the bench and watch over the satchels and sandwiches - coward! Do go and see her lovely flower shaped card featuring Poppy the Fairy - it's adorable. I know that some of you have already called by to say hello, it would be so nice if you hop over here to take a look, and maybe start following Lyn. And, whilst this isn't entered as a snippets card - look at this one I spotted, also made by Lyn! How clever don't you think? I'm trying to establish if Lyn stamped the letters onto card candy to spell out 'Cute as a button' - if she did then I might just as well pack in any thoughts of doing it again as the results are perfect on Lyn's card! Edit: Just found out that they are beads, but do please go and look!

Jules is mega-busy right now, so it was great to see her call by during the week. I swiftly hid the ruined pogo stick and the trail of duck weed in case Jules gets to think we've become a bit unruly. But, despite being so busy, just look here at the card Jules brought with her! Wow, how stunning huh?! It blew me away - I love the lace frou frou skirt especially - and, as always, Jules has come up with a really gorgeous card. If you haven't already seen it, or even if you have, I recommend a visit!

Sandra H arrived next, with such a bright and cheerful Christmas card, which you can see here. Like me, Sandra is a fan of scalloped edged cards, and this was made using one. Traditional red and green always does the trick on Christmas cards - plus Sandra had rescued some lovely little robins from a card that a friend was about to throw away - those, with the super background papers, lettering and a pyramage too all adds up to a super result Sandra! 

Aha, now we have even more excitement girls! Gilly trotted along with a lovely card using snippets and leftovers from die cutting a swirl - I've seen Sarn use these with a duster brush as a template - and Gilly used hers as an element on the card which you can see here. Isn't it super - I just love the end result. Then, if you scroll down Gilly's posting - finally, her wedding invitations for us to see! Aren't they great?! So elegant - love them Gilly! Things are getting a bit out of hand, we now have a skip arriving in the playground for you all to dump your tiniest snippets in 'cos we have until 30th June to fill it so there's plenty of confetti for the big day:) I suspect that Gilly will be keeping the venue secret in case we all turn up with bulging pockets of snippets plus our trimmers to form a guard of honour outside!

Shaz in Oz. whizzed in next with some great snippets makes - using the lushest shades of purple - totally brilliant! To see the results, and also to find out how Shaz made the backgrounds using her brayer go here. Yikes - like Elizabeth I think said, I approach my brayer as if it's a live grenade! Shaz also posted some great photos of where she lives - anyone for a crafting convention Down Under? :) We'd be no bother Shaz :) The pogo sticks would be left in the playground!

Next came Liz - with another stunner. My, you girls are bringing some fabulous makes to the playground! You can see it here - what a beauty don't you think? One of the challenges Liz made it for was to have 10 elements on the card - and Liz achieved this without it looking over the top - so elegant Liz! The clever part I think was to stick to shades of the same colour - mine would just end up looking as if some one had been fighting in a paint shop!

Hettie, aka Sam, hasn't been too well with a lurgy. Not sure if many of you know that like Sarn, Sam keeps chickens, and just reading all the comments left on Sam's posting I see that Sarn (the little rascal) says she hopes it isn't bird flu! Anyhow, I digress - here's the fabulous layout that Sam brought to show.  Well, what d'you all think? I love the layout in brown, copper and cream - beautiful. But what really caught my eye are the fabulous photos of Sam and her hubby - oh my, she sure scrubs up well! Super!!

Moving on, and trying to not mention P sticks again, Sylvia then trotted along with this absolutely gorgeous card - also made for Less Is More. Oh wow - one 'Neutrals Challenge' totally cracked Sylvia! Do go and see the layered borders and those pretty flowers. And the 'pin pricked' flower stems are truly inspired! Another little technique to try out some time I think! Yup, it's a winner to me for sure!

Next to visit was Jackie - with a fabulous card, all in vintage/sepia tones (to my eye anyhow) which you can see here. What stunned me was that this lovely creation of Jackie's followed a sketch that I'd have run a mile from! Brilliantly done Jackie - and super use of those Funky Hand snippets too. Do hop over and take a peek, it's great!

Heidi arrived next with a card full of fun for her daughter's birthday in (wait for it) August! Now, if that isn't organised!! Loads going on here, and it all works together so well - great image too. And wow, check out the hand made flowers - love the idea of the calendar page too, I've seen that on a few cards lately and it's a terrific idea! So, did you make the flowers yourself then Heidi?

I was getting a bit worried, but yesterday Maggie arrived after all - with an armful of seven lovely cards, here. A gorgeous mix of techniques and some lovely results too Maggie! Embossing using embossing folders, stamping, colouring and decoupage to name but a few. I do like Maggie's idea of having a stock of cards without sentiments, so that those can be added later on. Maggie also used Dufex (not sure if they're still trading Maggie?) - and, like her, I adore Dufex foiled images.  Edit: Maggie has confirmed that you can still buy Dufex goodies, phew!! Thanks Maggie. There are some great tips about how Maggie does things too, so do hop over to have a nose, and be sure to read the explanations. Fantastic selection Maggie!

Our Laura managed to find some time in between Uni. studies to bring such a cute little card here - made for a baby boy. Isn't it totally adorable? The Forever Friends bear is so sweet - and terrific Pro Marker colouring too. I love it Laura. I'm just about to leave Laura a comment, as recently I've noticed that only part of a card is showing in her photos - I'm sure it's because you need to choose a smaller size when you post an image Laura - if it hasn't been changed when you hop over girls, just click on the image and the card will appear in full on your screen, I'd hate you to miss some of it! So pleased you like the babies dummies and are finding good use for them Laura :)

At almost the last minute, Sarn flew in with a really clean and straightforward card, which you can see here - lovely sentiment, backing paper and a punched flower. All co-ordinated beautifully in white, turquoise and mauve - last I saw she was dejectedly picking up left over sweetie wrappers all on her lonesome :) Thanks for getting here Sarn - much appreciated!

So, that's it for another week. I'm off out to play this afternoon, helping at a local Craft Fayre. Please note the emphasis on 'helping' - the one and only time I had a stall there I made less than £3 all afternoon :( And I spent that anyhow on cupcakes and other stuff!

As usual, Mr Linky is below - have a great Sunday everyone, whatever you have planned! I'm closing the gates at 10pm UK time next Saturday - it's only a couple of hours sooner but it just might mean I can do the last check before going to bed on Saturday and then release the roll call to have the gates open again really quickly. I was too tired last night to sit up until 1am or so! Hope to see you in the playground this week - it seems as if calm has been restored once again, grin! 

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 :) 

Birthday card for a real cat lover

Hey, ho - I'm really a dog person (or, I really wish, chickens). But, this is for a crafting friend who adores cats in all shapes and forms - her house is like a 'full on display' of all things cats, right from the moment you step onto her doormat with something like 'Welcome to the Cat's Palace' printed on it. Ornaments. trinkets, mugs, spoon rests, goodness knows what - she's nutty about cats! And her cat, Willow, is Queen of the House for sure! So, my friend's Birthday card just had to feature a cat of course:

That gave me some grief as cat stamps etc. are waaay down on my wish list of crafting goodies - then I found a LOTV freebie image which came with a magazine a while back:

The colouring ain't good and I feel I threw too much at the card but, it was made with a lot of thought, and a blindfold! Plus, it's kinda cute - even if that mouse is dicing with death and I'm not sure about the little pink pearls!

I used:

- 6" x 6" scalloped square white card stock- Craftwork Cards

- free LOTV image with a craft magazine, coloured with Pro Markers and some Stickles on the 'bubbly'

- patterned card from First Edition 'Bird Song' stack. The lacy trimming was punched using a Martha Stewart favourite

- Core'dinations card in a sort of magenta colour :)

- 'Meow' pink ribbon from stash - bought from Hobbycraft, or my local haberdashery store - no flouncy bow as said friend isn't into bows that much

- Pauline's name spelled out on Card Candi - using a really cheap alphabetic set from The Range the other week (99p!!). It works OK as an experiment and saved me buying an expensive one from Craftwork Cards until I knew roughly if it would work OK

- pink pearls from stash along the lacy edging, which I think could be OTT and might removed before handing over the card :)

I hopped round with it yesterday afternoon and it's a hit, and the little pink pearls were especially liked - yay!!

Remember, tomorrow is the Roll Call for the Snippets Playground - I could be burning the midnight oil!

Di

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Friday Feast - Carrot and raisin cake

Before anyone keels over at the thought of having to make the topping on this cake, I don't do it, but have included it in the recipe anyhow. I don't make it partly as neither of us is too keen plus the 'two-legged mouse' demolishes this loaf so quickly there's no time for fancy stuff! It's a quick and easy bake - and always a real hit.

Carrot and raisin cake

For the cake:
200g (7oz) self-raising flour
175g (6oz) soft light brown sugar
150g (5oz) raisins
2 level tsp ground mixed spice
Pinch of salt
150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil
3 medium eggs
250g (8oz) carrots, peeled and grated

For the topping:
200g carton cream cheese
3 level tbsp icing sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Sugarpaste or marzipan carrots, for decoration, optional

1kg (2lb) loaf tin, buttered and lined with a strip of baking parchment. I use those pre-formed greaseproof paper 'loaf tin liners' - you can buy them in Lakeland and I also spotted them in The Range last week.

Set the oven to gas mark 4 or 180°C.

To make the cake: Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar, raisins, mixed spice and salt.

Beat the sunflower oil and eggs together and add to the dry ingredients and carrots, then stir until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin.

Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hr, until it is just firm to the touch in the centre, and a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the cake.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for about 10 mins.
Turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the topping: Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon zest. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate with the sweet 'carrots', if liked.

How to freeze: The undecorated cake may be wrapped in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months (as IF, in this house!!). Allow the cake to defrost before decorating it with the cream cheese topping.

Things I do: I use large eggs and it works just fine by the way, I do use a whisker less than the quantity of sunflower oil though. It's a lovely moist cake and isn't at all oily - although I do wait until Len's out of the way when I'm measuring out the ingredients . I suspect his eyebrows would shoot up at the sunflower oil but what he doesn't see won't harm him :)

Enjoy!

Di
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Less Is More - Neutrals Challenge - Week 57

Yikes, this week's challenge over at Less Is More seemed really daunting - until my buddy Sarn nudged me with some pointers. This is what I came up with in the end, having been bogged down in thoughts of purely stamping, before the nudge:

All it took was a rummage through my snippets to find neutral card scraps and I was away :)

I used:

- a white square card, just under 5" square

- grosgrain ribbon from stash (I bought this ages ago from QVC, loads of spools in all shades - not much on each spool, but it always seems to come to the rescue)

- hearts punched out of cream, grey, mid-brown and dark brown snippets. Just a line drawn down each using an embossing tool, then arranged onto a small circle of white card into a flower and topped with black card candi

- sentiment stamped using Brilliance 'Pearlescent Chocolate' and a stamp which is one of Hobbycraft's own brand. I thought the quite sombre colours lent themselves to a sympathy card

Thank you Sarn - where would I be without you?!

Friday Feast will follow shortly :)

Di
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Red and turquoise - together?

Those of you who come to the snippets playground will know what a prolific card maker Hazel is - and you may also know that she runs a weekly Christmas Card challenge called Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge. This is my second entry this week (the theme is 'seeing red' - brilliant for Christmas cards of course). The makings were lying on my desk on WOYWW yesterday, although I would never have thought of using red and turquoise together, and this is the end result:

Enough red d'you think?

I used:

- the usual, and favourite at the moment, 6" x 6" square white card stock

- part of a 2011 Christmas card

- a single 6" square piece of Core'dinations turquoise card - with the centre 'gutted' as I now know from Lisa, and it's perfectly acceptable-  so that I got both the main backing and some for the image itself. I showed this on WOYWW yesterday, and thanks to Carol for giving me the idea originally

- paper from a freebie papers pack with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine - called Berry Merry by Jennifer Ellory (some great papers too!)

- red ribbon from stash

Job done - and of course I'm entering it into Hazels challenge here :) What with that, plus Rudolph Day over at Sarn's each month, I just might make a few cards well in time for Christmas this year.

Di
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WOYWW - 144

It's more like what's heading for the floor:

Ooops, some already down there - ahem, so that's where the half done albums of unmounted stamps have been hiding :(

But, there's still a teensy bit of working space left:

Some serious sorting needed before next Wednesday though, otherwise it could just be an arm waving from underneath a heap of stash!

What is on the desk, in the place where it should be (only available place in fact) is a card in the making - with a great hint that I picked up this week from the lovely Carol (thanks for letting me show and tell!) who comes to play each week in the Snippets Playground. It's one of those ideas that I just know lots of folk will jump in and say 'I already do this' in a slightly smug fashion - but I'm a bit slower than many :)

Basically, what's above is a piece of 6" x 6" turquoise Core'dinations card and instead of cutting into a second fresh piece to layer the image onto (like I've done for many years) - I cut the centre part out of the card so I could use it for the image layer. If you look at Carol's lovely card she did that twice for her Tatty Teddy card, by using dies.

On the card above, my next layer is to be just paper and the square of card I've cut out is larger than the top piece of turquoise card will end up so there would be a potential 'dip' underneath the image as I'm gonna use paper. To counter this I just used a piece of plain white card to 'fill the hole' - mine was cut using a craft knife, if you've cut a die out then just cut an extra one in white card. To hold the 'packing' in place I used sellotape across the back before sticking it to the actual card - it's already stuck in place in the photo. And, I still have the second, uncut square of turquoise card left untouched.

I'm a bit like Carol on this one though, she also wonders if it's a bit mean - but we do both think it's a great way of making special card stock go further. A bit more fiddling than I always have time for, but still a great tip - especially if you make lots of cards for your favourite charities or only have one large enough piece of card to play with in the right colour.

Right, I'm off for a good hop round, do go to our leader Julia's and see what she's up to today - there are some lovely looking WOYWW badges lying on her desk :) I'm hoping she's going to follow through her threat to come to our local Hobbycraft before too long for a joint 'wobble round' and a coffee :) I wonder if the fork and ladders will come along for the outing too? They've been moved so just might be brushing themselves up for a trip!

Di
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A Tuesday Tale - remembering Maurice

Mulling over what to write today, I recalled one of the most terrific men I ever had the privilege to work for - his name was Maurice. This is string below - you'll understand why later :)

Years ago I had the very dubious honour of working on a huge Government IT programme. They were among the most miserable working years of my life - except for Maurice and his successor, the mad and zany Sylvia. I might write about Sylvia someday - your hair might just stand on end though:)

What to say about Maurice then, he was bright, funny but also a worrier deep down. Trying to control a team of us four female IT systems analysts can't have been fun - but he managed it it with aplomb and we loved him so dearly. His wry smiles in meetings helped us to know that he was on our side, whatever!

Let's get the negatives over first, one day whilst I was out of the office for the day, Maurice complained of a headache at work and then collapsed. I'll never forget the following morning, being met by our quite stern security guard at the office and being wrapped in his arms, whilst my colleagues ran across the grass (forbidden!!) to break the news that Maurice had died from a cerebral haemorrhage, aged just 46 if that, during the night. We were all heartbroken and his passing left a huge void. His funeral was amazing - we spilled out of the chapel onto the lawns - he was truly loved and left a huge void.

Not long after - by then we'd had two suicides as well - so it wasn't a good project to be on - I got the job of 'librarian' to pull together all the documentation and 'put it on ice' - for that read 'close the project down' as it wasn't considered viable after over 200 man years of both our and tax payers work and money! What a waste - and how I wept whenever I filed away documentation with Maurice's signature on.

But, remembering this today did bring back some sweet memories:

1. Maurice did like a pint at the pub after work (not surprising given the pressures) and he also had to walk the family dog each evening - a 'poncy', in his words poodle, no less. He professed to hate that poodle with a vengeance (he secretly loved it to bits!) but did his duty and one morning he came into the office with very muddy trousers. Not at all like Maurice. Apparently he'd (Maurice not the poodle!) had a pint too many and whilst walking said pooch it had trotted along the upward sloping path above him along the road as he tottered deeper into the village stream :)

2. His next adventure was when he came into the office with strange muddy sort of ripple marks over his waterproof jacket and a lot of bruising - claiming that he was sure he'd been run over on the way home from the pub, unsure really - but the poodle was fine:)

3. On a previous project a really oily manager had flounced into Maurice's office and screamed about the lack of organisation - err, Maurice didn't really DO organised I must admit!. This horrid man was called Roy and I'll never forget his very unpleasant, slimy face. He screamed that he wanted a full alphabetic filing system 'Immediately!!' and in true Civil Service fashion he wanted something filed under each letter of the alphabet. Maurice quietly got his staff to sort out the system and then he set to and then did the sorting and filing himself, sleeves rolled up in true Maurice fashion. A week later, 'Slimy Roy' flounced back in for an inspection. 'Brilliant' he muttered as he flicked through the cabinet and pristine folders.....until he came to the letter 'S' and pulled out a piece of string. 'What's THIS' he roared - to which, that dear man, Maurice calmly replied 'There were no documents to file under S but you said you wanted something filed under each letter of the alphabet' :))

So, he was a man you could never forget - and I hope you don't mind me sharing a bitter sweet memory or two with you today. RIP Maurice, I bet you're creating havoc up there! I hope there are no pogo sticks or duck ponds :)

Di
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St Luke's Hospice Monthly Challenge

I just heard I was a February winner in St Luke's monthly challenge, which was 'Love and Lace' - whoop, whoop!

The current month's challenge is 'Spring into Spring' - if I can win then you certainly can! Do hop over and have a go, and remember that you can also send cards to them to raise much needed funds.

Di
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It snowed yesterday and so..............

...........I made another Christmas card :) Our local robin has been hopping around quite happily too so the image I used seemed really appropriate:

Last week I'd unearthed our 2011 Christmas cards and sorted out which ones could be kept for recycling. Having seen a lot of Hazel's makes using recycled cards, it was time to give it a whirl.

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card stock

- backing paper from a pack by My Mind's Eye - free with Cardmaking and Papercraft

- toning pale plain green pearlescent card plus some red card from the snippets folder

- trimmed down Christmas card - you can't see but it's beautifully embossed, both the main image plus additional leaves on the white background - not done by me I hasten to add!!

- red pearl stones from stash

- Craftwork Cards Christmas sentiment

I'm entering this into Hazel's current challenge over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge which is 'Seeing red'. It can be a little or a lot of red - so I just might return with a card featuring a shed load of red. :) 

Hope you all have a great week, whatever you're doing.

Di
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Pixie's Crafty Snippets - Challenge Number 10

It's roll call day in the playground - firstly here's a really quickly made offering from me:

Only snippets were used in the creation of this - no fresh sheets of paper were harmed at all. It's very simple as I lost three days crafting this week due to other commitments, and it's fine for a chap too:)

I used:

- white 'linen' C6 card stock

- snippets of card and paper

- Papermania 'Vintage Decor' Vinyls sticker, with a little bit of Stickles on the headlights. One thing to be aware of is that these are 'repositionable' stickers - I just added some glue to the back using a glue pen

- card candi, Josy Rose nail heads and a Craftwork cards sentiment

OK, onto the roll call now.

This week has seen a lovely cross section of crafting going on, cards will always be a favourite with most crafters of course but some playmates have brought some goodies to show that are even more adventurous, read on.

Our very first visitor shot in not long after the gates were unlocked, and that's Craftilicious (edited to say I now know it's Tara), with this super card. I was quite stunned by the amount of time it must have taken to piece all the little snippets (0.5 and 1 cm pieces at that!) together to make such a gorgeous patchwork card. It's really terrific so for inspiration do hop over and see - this week we also had the Less Is More Challenge to use up your scraps and a few of you wisely combined the two!

Linby was almost hanging onto Tara's pigtails when she raced in with this beauty - also for the LIM challenge. Oh wow, don't the bright pinks work so well together and those little butterflies are adorable. There's a real knack of getting different shades of the same colour to work well together, and you sure cracked it Linby!

On Tammy's first visit she brought a really lovely card, using lime green and turquoise. You can see it for yourself here - it's absolutely gorgeous. Lime and turquoise work so, so well together Tammy and the addition of pale coffee shades is brilliant! When you go for a peek, I wonder if you'll be like me and think that the doily is actually made of cotton rather than stamped? I did at first! Tammy's next visit was to show a St. Patrick's Day card - I think Tammy sneaked in when I wasn't looking and I feel really bad that I only spied her entry yesterday when I was writing up the roll call - apologies again Tammy! Naturally there's green and shamrock - there are some really cute touches to be seen so do hop over for a look. I love the little leprechaun's hat :) Then, yesterday, Tammy nipped back in with such a happy card - have you seen smiling strawberries? To see, go here. Not only smiling strawberries, paper piecing as well - brilliant Tammy!

Hazel visited a few times, tidying up the skipping ropes on occasion too. This is Hazel's first card - a fabulous Christmas 'stepper' card, once again using up a recycled Christmas card for the main image. That galvanised me into rooting out out Christmas cards - and sure enough, we were sent one with the same jolly Santa image on. Thanks for the prompt Hazel! Next, Hazel brought this Less Is More Easter card with her - lovely greens and lemon make for a beautiful card, a real touch of Spring. Then, on another trip we had this Get Well card using green, grey and lilac/purple from Hazel - sure to make anyone feel better too. Another Easter card here from Hazel was next - I love the olive greens and the cheerful flowers Hazel! Hope the card sale went well and that you raised lots of funds for charity. And, another card from Hazel is here, it's a bright Christmas card, and this week's challenge over at Hazel's Christmas Card Challenge is to 'use red' - I'll be rootling through my Christmas stash with luck again this week - time permitting! The final offering from Hazel this week can be seen here - it's a gorgeous sticky notes holder, so bright and cheerful and sure to inspire you to have a go yourself.

Jules hopped in next, with a really great card, as always, reminding us of Summer and lazy days watching cricket (and wondering how many grass stains there would be to remove from the 'whites' after the match!). Such a great image here and I always look for the heart on Jules' cards of course, this one was a tad sneaky to say the least - I found it though, can you? Jules has been uber busy this week so it's especially good of her to still come and have a swift go on the swings!

Our first surprise of the week was when Brenda arrived with two things to show. The first is a gorgeous card featuring a wheelbarrow full of flowers - really bright and so pretty - being mostly pink it really made me smile. Then, little drum roll please, in the same posting was something I doubt we'll see again in the playground. Mr B (Andrew in fact) is a clever guy and actually has had an idea patented! Brenda had strict instructions for no glitter, grunge or embellishments when she made a layout for the patent ready to be framed for his birthday - yikes, could have been a tall order but Brenda came up with a perfect result! Just scroll down her posting to see what I mean - great isn't it? I'm laughing as I type this 'cos Brenda hopped back later in the week and I commented on her posting, which can be found here, that it was quiet in the playground thinking it was her first trip - it's been a long and busy week here is my excuse!  And wow - what a card, also made for Rudolph Day, love the Scandinavian influence of red and white Brenda! Do go and see for yourself, it's beautiful! And, last in the playground before the gates closed last night was Brenda again. Muttering and tying up the skipping ropes - having brought a real stunner of a card for a man's birthday - lots of work had gone into it and the end result can be seen here. Brenda used a 40% off stamp for the first time (OM Gosh - you girls across the pond are so lucky, I guess that was bought in the super special 1st March sale I've been hearing about?), distress inks and lots of other great elements - including a vintage car not totally unlike the one I used on my snippets card this week :)

Lyn was next to arrive with a really lovely 'cupcake' card. Very clever touch to make the icing from felt and carefully sew seed beads on as 'sprinkles' too. A lot of work went into this card Lyn, and the result is great - hope the duster brush arrived OK and that you're now 'pouncing onto the ink pad' with it and dusting away! Cupcakes are always super on cards and this one is no exception :)

Next in to play was Irene, with two adorable baby gift cards which you can see here. So elegant I think, predominantly white with just the right touches of blue and pink. Irene makes some truly elegant cards - certainly there's a real knack to it and I so admire those of you who manage to pull them off with such flair. Well done Irene.

Carol arrived next, oops sorry, another one I initially missed commenting on, with this really soft and gentle Easter card. What a gorgeous vintage image and so beautifully made - great papers too (including one printed with the words Easter Wishes which is just perfect for the card). Do go and see the really fabulous bow which is the perfect finishing touch. Love it Carol! Carol's been trying to craft around tradesmen and decorators this week - not the easiest of things to do.

It was cupcake week in the playground when Liz hopped in with such a cute Birthday card. The cupcake was sure going to fill the teddy bear's tummy if he tackled it alone! To see what I mean, do take a peek - I love the combination of lilac and mustard yellow too. Tell you what, cupcakes certainly are much better than the big currant bun and mug of cocoa we used to have at school break times! Later in the week, Liz returned for another go on the swings with such a pretty Spring card - you can see it here. It's really fresh looking, with a gorgeous image - and of course using snippets :) Liz's final visit was to show a really effective card, in greens and using a Marianne butterfly die that I really love - a stunning result!

Elizabeth also brought something a bit different this week - an altered notebook. It's to be used for writing ideas in for quotes, sentiments etc. to be used on cards - sure beats my (pink!) plain ole notebook that I use. This would be a joy to have on your craft desk - take a look at what a perfect job Elizabeth has done with it, flowers, birds, butterflies make it almost too nice to use. I'd just want to gaze at it and stroke it!

Next was Gilly with a lovely card, just the splash of turquoise on the browns made this into a stunner! Go and see here - isn't it great? Another wry smile here - Gilly had to take her photo in the kitchen (the tiles were a perfect backdrop in fact!). It made me think that I bet we get up to all sorts of antics trying to find decent light for photographing cards at this time of year! Ooer, also, there was a teensy sneak peek of Gilly's wedding invitations on WOYWW - I'm watching for the full show of them and will link into the roll call once all is revealed :)

Karen had combined her Rudolph Day Christmas card with the snippets playground and what a stunner too - all gold, cream and burgundy - it's truly beautiful. Do hop over here to see what I mean. And, another super way of using ribbon too, plus a lot of work must have gone into all the embossing as well as everything else Karen did when making this card! Love it!

Next to whizz in was Sandra H, with this charming card. Do please go and see if you haven't done so already - and while you're there, take note of such a clever idea - I've had my nose pressed against the laptop screen here and I'm pretty sure the embossing folder that Sandra used is little flowers. Yup, just had another peek and it is - but what a great idea to colour the centres of the flowers using Pro Markers - it really makes them 'pop' and I think it's a tip to store up for future use don't you think? Brilliant Sandra!

Kate arrived next, for her first visit to the playground - aaah, I see that Sarn gave Kate a go on her pogo stick to welcome her! I do love to see you all playing nicely :) To see Kate's lovely collage work, go here. I love both cards, as I said to Kate, if I attempted it the result would just look as if two dogs had been fighting over some scraps of paper! Hope we see you again Kate - really super collages.

Next for a turn on the pogo sticks was Amanda with this lovely Thank You card. Penny Black's cute images are always winners and I love the backing paper, whirly edging and die cutting Amanda. The photo is fine BTW, I've found that it blows up beautifully if you click on the photo and then hit F11. That makes it fill the whole screen and steps it up even bigger :) To get the toolbar back just hit F11 again. I'm guessing that the 'whirly edging' might be a MS punch? Love it!

Sarn makes me laugh at the best of times, this week her comment as she flew into the playground was along on the lines of 'Had to run back for my satchel but here's my homework Miss' - a few little puffs and pink cheeks as well :) And, I'm so glad she did run all the way back home - go and take a look here to see the cutest LOTV image, perfectly teamed with pink and lilac papers plus a pink and lilac flower on Kraft card. Flipping brilliant - and the funnier bit is that we all squealed at the fantastic colouring, only for Sarn to confess it was a pre-coloured image. But, it shows that we truly could have expected her to have coloured the image herself!

Heidi's first card this week is here, it's a Christmas Card for a boy and absolutely right too! Plus, it's an easel card with lots of interesting things going on - Heidi requested a go on the swings, I gave her two for such a great card :) Later on, Heidi returned with one of those cards that sort of makes you gasp - using a Sweet Pea image and stunning white on white. I can't describe it well enough - you'll have to go here and see for yourself - it's really fabulous!

The lovely Bernie had made a beautiful card, covering both Rudolph Day and the Snippets Playground - to see it go here. As always, Bernie has produced a really lovely card, very soft and gentle - for a lady threatening to hammer the snow plough driver with her snow shovel a few weeks ago she does show her inner softness when crafting :) Bernie's husband is undergoing some hospital tests so it would be kind if you keep him in your thoughts right now. Fingers crossed from all of your playmates Bernie!

Jackie whizzed in yesterday with two lovely cards as well, both also for the latest Less Is More challenge which is 'Neutrals' - you can see Jackie's cards here. Both are 50th Birthday cards and so clean and fresh - great use of snippets and a really early start for the LIM challenge too. Hmm, I think there could be some head scratching here thinking of what to make for the LIM challenge, but certainly not the case with Jackie!

Next was Maggie waving three decoupaged cards - all of them gorgeous, and you can see them here. A lot of snipping and clever layering went into making these beauties! Life is really busy for Maggie right now and she's planning a gardening blitz. Her suggestion that we should have a butterfly garden in the playground plus a 'who can grow the tallest sunflower competition' did make me smile at gone midnight when I was finishing off the roll call :) When you hop over to Maggie's, be sure to check out the TV series she writes about - I've noted it down here and will be watching it.

So, another week has gone, and the playground is open again - Mr Linky is below. I've missed commenting immediately on your entries a couple of times this week, sorry and I hope I've caught up OK, bit of tail-chasing been going on here! 

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 :)

The gift of love

No card from me today, instead I want to share this with you:

I've written on here a few times about Alice and Frank, who were my guardians when my parents ran away moved back to England and left me at school in Germany.

Sadly, Alice died just over a year ago and my lovely 'Uncle Frank' has just sent me this as a keepsake. It has their photos inside, taken on honeymoon, a lot of years ago now.

They were a totally devoted couple and I feel really honoured that Frank has entrusted such a special locket to me. I feel as if I'm really just looking after it and will wear it with very fond memories of Alice - one of the kindest and gentlest ladies I've ever known.

Thank you again, Uncle Frank!

Love

Di
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Friday Feast - Salmon en Croute

Ha! Today's recipe was meant to be a cake. I baked it and then the two-legged mouse went in for the kill - big time! Ooops, cake almost demolished before I had a chance to take a photo :( A swift re-bake hasn't happened yet, but should be done ready for next week.

Meanwhile, today's recipe is fish, despite not being top of my list of favourite foods. The two-legged mouse loves fish though so I have to find recipes that I'd like and experiment a bit - this one was a hit earlier this week, even with me!

Salmon en Croute

Serves 4

150g mascarpone or cream cheese
1 bag watercress , spinach and rocket, about 120g
500g shortcrust pastry
500g piece salmon fillets , skinless
1 egg , beaten 

1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the mascarpone or cream cheese in a food processor with the watercress, spinach and rocket and whizz the lot until you have a creamy green purée. Season well.
2. Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (just a bit thinner than a £1 coin) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under. Spoon half of the watercress mixture onto the salmon. Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you don't have any thick lumps of pastry as these won't cook through properly. Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.  
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test whether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress purée as a sauce.

 Things I do:

For speed I used Jusrol frozen pastry - you could make your own of course, if so it's better to use butter for added richness.

The mascarpone cheese and green leaves purée is a lovely counterfoil to the sweetness of the salmon and pastry, but do be aware that rocket, watercress and spinach are all quite bitter leaves so you might want to reduce the proportion of leaves to cheese.

I served this with new potatoes and asparagus - and managed to fight the two legged mouse off long enough to take the above photo :)

Enjoy!

Di
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Card for Rudolph Day and Less is More

Both of these fun challenges can be combined right now I found, in fact this card could also be added into the snippets playground but it's a bit busy in here this week!

 I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock

- silver holographic backing card from snippets folder

- white card from snippets folder with sentiment stamped in 'Crimson Copper' Brilliance ink using a Woodware stamp called 'Merry Christmas' designed by Francoise Read (love those swirls!)

- 'fir branch' was the end of a die shape, cut from a snippet using a Marianne Creatables die

- baubles made using snippets of Christmas paper, centering round Nesties dies over the snowflake pattern. The caps are made using a tiny scrap of really shiny silver mirri card (funny isn't it, when you want the shine to show in a photo it doesn't play ball!). I just punched a small scalloped square and then trimmed out the little caps. A silver line for the hanging thread and then a little gem was added to the centre of each bauble.

So, if you haven't done so already - why not join in the fun and make a card for Rudolph Day over at Sarn's (there's a little prize on offer too, plus you get to make an early Christmas card each month!).

And of course, there's the great Less Is More challenge which this card is for as well, called 'Don't Scrap It' this week. Chrissie and Mandi might have been peeking through our Snippets Playground fence girls - if you spot either of them, invite them in for a quick spin on the roundabout :)

For anyone worrying that I came home broke from The Range yesterday, relax. It was one of those days when you buy very little and wonder what all the fuss was about :)

Have a lovely day, it's Friday Feast tomorrow!

Di
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