Sunday Snippets - HB2U

I recently made a couple of colour swatches using 'Lindy's Magical shakers' - from the 'Tea and Crumpets' shimmery range. I kept the leftover strips as they're too pretty to just ditch. And this is my snippets card using them:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank - tent opening

- then die cut a further piece of the same white card using MFT's 'Diagonal Strip Sentiment Cover Up' die and popped the diagonal strips out

- trimmed another piece of the same white card to just a smidgen smaller than the diagonal strip die cut, covered one side with Stick It adhesive paper, peeled off the second backing and carefully adhered it to the back of the diagonal stripes die cut

- that meant I had nine diagonal die cut apertures in the white panel, backed with a nice sticky surface for the next step

- sorted the Lindy's Magical Shaker strips into the order I wanted 

- then used my Cuttlebug to position the strips, mostly one at a time, into the corresponding positions on the back of the die. Die cut them and then popped them into the correct apertures in the die cut white panel

- a lovely friend recently sent me a gorgeous unbranded flora die and I used it to cut a layer of black velvet card then back it with die cut plain black card for stability - all snippets of course. Such a pretty die! 

- die cut 'HB2U' using a Gummiapan die from their fairly recent Mystery Bags offer, again with black velvet card which was then backed with die cut plain black card - all snippets again

- adhered the silhouette die cut and the sentiment across and onto onto the broad white diagonal panel on the card front - using a glue pen

- finally, used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the panel onto the front of the card blank

It was a pretty time consuming process but quite rewarding not to have wasted those leftover little strips of Lindy's Magical Shaker samples!

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

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #60 - HERE - some of the 'Magical Shakers', as well as the two dies I used to cut the black velvet card, were having their first outing

Dudley Pupdate: We're all longing for some consistently dry and sunny days here. Meanwhile, Dudley is still snuggling up to us during the night - although I did spot him curled up in his own bed the other night. He seems to like to have a wander around and ring the changes particularly with the night temperatures being quite variable right now. Each day, when I make our bed, I carefully straighten the little fleecy paw printed cover that Dudley has in his bed - it's a good indicator of whether or not he's using the bed as it usually looks as if he's had a wrestling match in there if he has actually slept in it! When he came to us he travelled light with a puppy sized tennis ball, a much loved Monkey toy and his fleece blanket - plus some starter food. All from the breeder to try to help him settle into his new home. It all looked terribly sad looking back. But, he had to go to a new home and we three had chosen one another.

This was within an hour of us arriving back home with the tiny scrap and we, foolishly mistakenly, thought he'd settled in already! Fast forward to during that coming night ............. with Len ending up dozing on a sofa down in the lounge, with Dudley lying on his chest, wrapped in his fleece. so that the heart beat and warmth from Len along with the smell from his doggy Mum 'Dolly' would calm down one inconsolable and almost hysterical Havanese puppy. 

Such a little guy, who Len and I now realise, had a predetermined agenda ........... which meant absolutely NO intention of sleeping alone! EVER! Bless his cotton socks! 

Remember, the results from Challenge #475 are now published in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings for the current challenge too - I fully expect Sarn to be gearing up ready for Easter in a week's time!

Love as always, Dudley and yours truly,

Sunday Snippets - Holly!

Here's my snippets card for this week:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4" pale ivory linen card blank, tent style 

- a snippet of the same pale ivory linen card, cut using the Memory Box 'Contempo Holly and Stencil' set die (I didn't try the stencil ......... for now!)

- then extracted, a tiny bit of snipping was involved to my surprise, the holly twig and leaves from the panel

- then glued the resulting panel with its various apertures onto the left hand side of the card front as a 'frame' for my next additions

- die cut the panel once again to end up with a mirror gold 'skeleton' of the holly twig - I used Tonic 'Inca Gold' snippets

- at that point I pondered and realised that it needed something to define the line down the centre of the card - so I added a strip of Altenew 'Golden Edge Trim' Washie tape (it's about .25" in width and very useful stuff). I used it because it's very thin and wouldn't cause any 'bumps' when I added the holly leaves

- then I felt safe to add the gold skeleton outlines of the holly twig - just using a fine glue pen  (there was one piece I'd kept back from the pale ivory die cut so I popped that in place at the same time)

- then used the holly die again to die cut the holly leaves - using some beautiful green mirror card by 'Italian Options' (Amazon UK) and added them, using a glue pen

- all that remained was to add a sentiment so I dug around in my pot of ready made Tonic Mini 'Merry Christmas' sentiments and added a red mirror card one (probably made using Tonic 'Scarlet Organza' card

- finished - and I actually made four the same......... in a little batch bake!

I now have four leftover skeleton white outline die cuts of the holly twig and leaves - begging to be used. I have plans as they're much too pretty to waste!

I'd like to enter this card into a couple of challenges:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #60 - HERE - the 'Contempo Holly' die I used is NBUS, I'm still battling on using 'Never Been Used Stuff' and yet it keeps on growing! I need therapy.

- Christmas Kickstart #84 - Get Your Grinch On HERE. Basically 'use green' - and I did! Love this challenge run by Jo - go and take a look if you don't already join in.

Dudley Pupdate: After the traumas of the previous week (he recovered well from the vet visit, 24 hours if that!)  we gave Dudley a 'pass' on the full trim that Len had planned for him. So, this week has been filled with tons of cuddles and playtime - even more than usual, if that's possible. If only it would stop raining - he hates getting even his paws wet! Mind you, drying him off with a towel, even after just venturing into the garden, is a game he loves!

Remember, I've just kicked off a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings!

Love as always, Dudley and me,

Sunday Snippets - Wishing you a Beautiful Day

Still playing with Lindy's Magical Shakers here:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" pale ivory linen card blank, side opening

- first of all I made the piece for the sunset - and used Lindy's Magical Shakers in three stripes of colours which I then gently swept across a snippet of Mixed Media card using a wet paint brush to blend and create an ombre effect. The colours are from the 'Tea and Crumpets' range and they contain a glimmer of mica - 'Crumpet Crumbs' (yellow), 'Pinkies up Pink' (a peachy pink)' and 'Pass the jam Jane' (the colour of my favourite seedless raspberry jam!)

- then die cut the 'sun' from a scrap of card to use as an aperture template to move around the Lindy's background and choose exactly where I wanted to die cut. The die is another unbranded one called 'Dusk sunset' (many thanks to our lovely Val 'the enabler' for the inspiration).

 

- snippet of black 'velvet' card, from which I die cut the palm tree using an unbranded die from a set of two in different sizes, called simply 'Trees' (imaginative huh?) 

- then cut into a whole piece of Lawn Fawn's yellowish 'Watercolour Wishes' ombre paper, using a Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangles' die

- stamped the sentiment onto the top left corner of  the backing paper panel using a VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink pad and a stamp from an ancient set of sentiments by Whimsical Designs 'Whimsical Fun - Vol. 1' I wonder if they ended up calling themselves Whimsy Stamps?

- trimmed  a snippet of the same black 'velvet' card to just slightly bigger than the background panel and glued them together

- added the sun onto the panel then the palm tree (layered the tree onto a die cut snippet of plain black card for dimension) - using a glue pen

- finally added the whole panel to the card front using narrow foam tape and the usual glue stick - finished! 

I made this card for a good friend who lives locally and very recently celebrated her Birthday. A few years ago she joined Len and I when we went on one of our annual Autumn holidays to Thailand. We had a great time with loads of laughter and to this day she says it was unforgettable - in the nicest possible way I hope! So, I made my snippets card especially for Pauline, to bring back memories of a lovely holiday.........  and some beautiful sunsets.

I'd like to enter this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #60 HERE - the dies were having their first outing.

Also, the current Allsorts Challenge #771 HERE has the theme of 'yellow' this week. Hooray, so I'm entering my card there as well.

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley survived his week of a couple of small trim's, bath, drive in his new doggie seat in the car - and also his MOT at the vet's. He screamed and yodelled blur murder all the way to the vet's and then turned into a wriggling bundle of fluff once up on the table! However, he came through with flying colours and to my amazement still weighs practically the same as he did two years ago. He's still speaking to us - just! However, he's been very subdued and we've seen that in the past for 24 hours or so after a vaccination - poor little sausage! 

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #474 are now published HERE. 

Do please come and play in Sarn's current challenge over in the Snippets Playground! Let's try to beat 42 entries for our little satchel swinging mischief maker!

Love from myself and Dudley,

Sunday Snippets - Lindy's 'Have a Scone Heather'

There's a new Challenge being run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE. 

My snippets card for today used a snippet of Strathmore Mixed Media 'paper' (it's actually heavier than 300 GSM card!) which had been given the Lindy's Magical Shakers treatment:

I used:

- A6 black card blank, tent style (it was a deckle edged card  but I guillotined the very edges off to give a crisper look

- I backed a snippet of 'black velvet' card stock with Stick-It double sided adhesive sheet then die cut it using a Creative Expressions 'Stained Glass Collection' die called 'Butterfly'

- the die doesn't have an outer border, so I just carefully trimmed all four sides of the piece to form one - I chose to trim before doing the die cutting but either way would be fine

- made sure the pink background was trimmed with squared off corners then, with a lot of care, slowly peeled off about a quarter of the backing from the die cut

- lined up the top and one side onto the pink background - you only really get one chance with Stick-It sheets if you're positioning something and it needs to be 'spot on', although they're very slightly less 'instantly stuck in place' easier than (say) Woodware Double sided adhesive sheets

- trimmed the remaining two sides of the pink background to line up and form an even border all round the panel

- used a little snippet of the 'black velvet' card to die cut the 'just because' sentiment (using an Altenew die from the 'Essential Sentiment Strips' set) then glued it onto a larger snippet of the pink background 

- finally, used very narrow double sided foam tape, with a glue stick, to adhere both the image panel and the sentiment in place

There was a lot of trimming during the making of this card! The snippets I had leftover were literally teeny-tiny ones.

The pink background was made during an initial play with Lindy's Magical Shakers - using 'Have a Scone Heather'. The range is called 'Tea & Crumpets' and, importantly, the colours also contain Mica for a gentle shimmer. NB. Not all of Lindy's ranges contain Mica! I did the 'spray with water then sprinkle' technique and then spray a little more. Then my little Mini Mister spray ran out of water so I grabbed a water brush (rather then disturb Dudley who was sleeping with his head on one of my feet!) and just swiped it across the whole piece a few times. It blended the colours more and is an alternative to a more splattered effect.

I'd like to add this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #60 HERE. The 'Stained Glass' die and also the Lindy's 'Have a Scone Heather' shaker were having a first outing.

One day, when I'm at a loose end with enough time to think about peeling a bunch of grapes, I'll dig out a ton of brightly coloured snippets and use the stained glass die to create a glorious piece of art work! One day, I said!

Dudley Pupdate: We have a fun week ahead of us. First of all, Dudley needs a bit of hand trimming done by yours truly, then he will have a bath as that's overdue with Len having been unwell. And then, to put the icing on the cake for the little chap - next Saturday he's off to the vet for his annual vaccinations and check up. That entails a first ride in his new doggy car seat - just to add some sprinkles on top of the icing - he absolutely hates going anywhere by car. We have to whisper all of this to one another - he'd be frantically packing his little back pack to run away from home otherwise! Wish us luck!

With love from Dudley and myself, 

Rudolph Days Challenge - February 2024

Helen Nile has stepped up and taken over the Rudolph Days Challenge - hooray, well done Helen! And many thanks to Maureen (Scrappy Mo) and her DT for running it for so long.

I decided to try to get a bit further ahead with my 2024 Christmas card making and did an 'assembly line' run of 10 cards, same basic design, a mixture of various sentiments  - and 10 different Penny Black 'Masterpieces made Easy' ready printed images:

This card, using an image from 'Winter views' is my entry for the current Rudolph Days Challenge - HERE.

I'd also like to add it into Darnell's NBUS Challenge # 58 HERE - the sentiment stamp sets were having a first outing

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white linen card base, folded to be either tall tent style or side opening, on the short side

- used pieces of the white linen card left from cutting the card bases to die cut rectangles using a Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangles' die

- used snippets of Tonic Pearlescent card in 'Majestic Gold' and 'Luna Silver' to cut rectangles to just add a narrow 'frame' around the outside of the stitched white layer

- stamped a sentiment onto each of the Penny Black 'Masterpieces made easy' images using VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink and stamps from two small Penny Black sets called 'song of peace' and 'winter vibes'. The sentiments are a little different to usual Christmas ones and there are times when I do need Christmas cards with more thoughtful messages and sentiments 

- assembly time!  Glued the images to the stitched white linen card rectangles, then glued the pearlescent pearlescent layer to the back of each stiched/image layer

- used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panels

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panels onto the card blanks 

- 10 Christmas cards, finished!

This is another one of the cards, very typically Penny Black as you can see:

And here are the other eight cards - for my own records as much as anything:

I'm such a greedy little Piglet - I've bought every single set of Penny Black 'Masterpieces made Easy' over the years they've been producing them. They're rather addictive and I still have a bunch of unused ones to play with!

Both the hedgehog images came from the 'adorable amour' set and the rest came from five different sets - I won't list them but Buddly Crafts are a UK stockist and all images can be seen on their website. I do recommend them, for their stock of USA craft items, decent prices and great service! Click the link - I dare you! 😂

Sunday Snippets - 'hi'!

I finally had a play with some 'Lindy's Magical shakers' - 'London Summer Sage' and 'Butter the Bread Blue' from the 'Tea and Crumpets' shimmery range and some snippets of Strathmore Mixed Media card - it's expensive stuff so I never throw the tiniest scrap away! 

I love the gentle shimmer and the clever caps in these shakers. The best sprinklers I've come across. Had them ages and just never got around to playing with them, then used a couple of similar experimental pieces to make these cards, sorry the photo colour is a bit 'warm'. My desk light not only switches in intensity of light but also from warm white right through to white light - I forgot to change it as I was snuggled in the warm light setting at my desk during in a rainstorm on Friday!

Leftover snippets - some will live to fight another day! 

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank - side opening, on the short side

- first of all I put two snippets of white card out of harm's way for when the outline die cutting commenced

- then backed snippets of the green and blue 'Magical Shakers' backgrounds and also snippets of Tonic's pearlescent 'Majestic Gold' card with 'Stick It' double sided adhesive sheet 

- next, die cut the outline with the corner flowers twice, once from each of the sticky backed snippets (the die, possibly discontinued, is by Memory Box and is called 'Starflower Flower Frame')

- peeled off the protective backing then popped the outlines and the flower centres onto the pieces of white card before then filling in the petals with little die cuts left in the contrasting card - using a small brayer to ensure adhesion 

- then die cut the word 'hi' from the MFT 'Hello There' die set, using the centre pieces from the die cut frames as they would have been such a waste, layered onto white card (snippets again) before being glued in place and then brayered (a small step but really worthwhile - I keep my TH mini brayer handy in a large scissor 'whirly organiser') 

- next step was to die cut around the assembled 'image' using a die called 'Side Stitch Rectangle' made by Lil'Inkers, sadly discontinued as they closed down but what a perfect fit!

- next, I used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panel

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panel onto the card blank 

- final touch, just three self-adhesive clear Memory Box 'Fairy Drops' per card

I made two cards at once as it made sense to 'flip' the outlines and the petals of the flowers in the two colourways, just by exchanging the card snippets. I really love these 'Magical Shakers' - particularly the gentle shimmer in the range and the new sprinkler caps - I'm hooked. Needless to say have raided my piggy bank to add a few more to my current meagre collection of three. The Brushos are destined for a hike into the land of unwanted craft goodies!

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

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #58 - HERE - the 'Magical Shakers' were having their first outing

Dudley Pupdate: Len whisked Honka Duck away in a plastic bag when Dudley was busy elsewhere and hid it in the garden shed. We'd had the new replacement one jumbled in amongst his favourite toys for well over a week in the hope that he would switch over of his own accord. Fat chance - so drastic action was called for. There have been some frantic searches all over the house made by a bereft Dudley. But, it was becoming a health hazard so the deed had to be done. It's heartbreaking to see but we do know that he took to Honka Mark 2 after a few days so hope springs eternal that the same will happen with the new Honka Mark 3.

Len is still making great progress - he says thank you for all the 'well wishes'! x 

Remember, the results from Challenge #473 are now published in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you on the swings for the current challenge too!

Love as always, Dudley and yours truly,

Sunday Snippets - a Valentine card for Len

Here's my snippets card for this week:

I used:

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

- a piece of the same white card, cut using the largest cutting die from Penny Black's set of dies called 'zig-zag stackers'

- then used a NBUS 'Bunch of Hearts' die I've had for ages, bought from Positively Papercraft but no longer stocked. However, there are lots of unbranded dies just the same to be found online 

- used the same die, to die cut the bunch of hearts from the centre of the white panel to leave apertures and set it aside 

- used the same die and a snippet of Tonic 'Red Velvet' pearlescent card  to cut the bunch of hearts again 

- next step was to add a piece of Woodware double sided adhesive sheet to the back of the white panel apertures, flip it over and then, one at a time, insert the single 'heart flowers' before then running a small brayer over the panel to ensure they were adhered properly into the apertures

- trimmed another snippet of the 'Red Velvet' card to leave a narrow border around the white panel and glued them together using Collall All Purpose gluer

- added the sentiment across the 'Bunch of Hearts'. It came from a 'ready to peel and stick' (hardly used) used set of 'Words' sticker sentiments by Clarity - I did back it with a little strip of card to add some lif,t before using a glue pen to stick it in place

- next, I used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides of the back of the completed front panel

- used a glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the completed panel onto the card blank 

- final touch, I used some teeny 'Red Velvet' snippets to die cut a few little hearts. The die was a 'freebie' included with an order not so long ago; and I used the little hearts on the envelope instead of a stamp!

A fun card to make and, although I stuck to red for the bouquet, it would be a great way to use up several different coloured snippet strips to create a bouquet of different coloured flowers!

I'd like to enter this card into a couple of challenges:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #58 - HERE - the 'Bunch of Hearts' die I used is NBUS

- Double D Challenge 'Heartfelt' - HERE.

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley has settled down beautifully since Len came home from hospital and, if anything, is now less anxious when 'his Dad' leaves the house. I can almost hear his little doggie mind thinking 'I survived for three whole days once before just with Mama and didn't lack for food and love, so I can survive now, just so long as Dad eventually comes home!'! 

Len is making progress and so far it's all positive. He had the first of his local GP blood tests for kidney function on Monday and on Friday the results came back clear - cause for celebration here. So no more weekly blood tests after all - hooray! He's still eating plain and simple food, albeit gradually becoming more adventurous. I think things such as Chilli con Carne might be off the menu for a while though!

Remember, there's a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Hope to see you On the swings!

Love as always, Dudley and me,

Sunday Snippets - Robin Christmas card

The lovely Sarn has taken over the Results post for this week - and I've just hopped in here before going to bed by 10 pm on Saturday to say a quick 'Hello' with a Katy Sue decoupage Christmas card from Christmas just gone - given to my Avon Lady:

The snippets are little ones I used to make the layered sentiment of course!

Dudley Pupdate and news from Hampshire: First of all, many, many thanks for all your kind wishes for Len. He was hospitalised for three days, on a drip in isolation, and finally came home on Monday - early in the evening. Dudley went crackers of course! Only now is he actually feeling that he can step down from the huge responsibility of being my protector 24 x 7! It's so nice to see him relaxed and back to lying spreadeagled on his back, displaying all his wares and snoozing peacefully - NB. I'm writing about Dudley folks!

On the subject of Len, at this point in time everything points to it being a viral infection and looking back he was so lucky to be admitted into hospital when he was. It's still causing issues so he's on a light diet until he feels he can cope with more substantial meals. But, he's back home with us. As a little extra gift, the severe dehydration has caused kidney issues and he's faced with weekly blood tests until things, hopefully, regulate back to normal. After that it's potentially six-monthly blood tests for a couple of years.  Right now he's drinking gallons of water to keep his kidneys working as much as possible. We'll get there - Team Dudley can do this!

I'd like to enter this card into the current challenge over at Christmas Kickstart # 83 'Out on a Limb'. It's a great theme with loads of potential - why not join in?

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #472 are now published HERE - huge thanks again to Sarn!

And to all of you, once again! 

Do please come and play in the Snippets Playground!

Love from both of us, and Len, normal service will resume as soon as possible!

Di and Dudley xxx

Sunday Snippets - wine anyone?

There's a new Challenge being run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE. 

My snippets card for today went through a couple of rethinks, before I ended up making this:

Two small black leftover snippets after die cutting the bottle and glasses, twice

I used:

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

- first of all I die cut a ' wine bottle with wine glasses' outline shape twice, using an unnamed die that's been languishing here for ages waiting to be used, then layered them on top of one another using a Zig glue pen. I used some leftover snippets of black card, squirrelled away from a delivery of Royal Mail postage stamps a couple of Christmases ago! 

- piece of white card onto which I stamped the background words, using Gummiapan's 'wines' background stamp (bought in a sale and now seems to be discontinued) and VersaFine's Clair 'Tulip Red' ink pad

- next, stamped the sentiment using a piece of grid-lined acetate on top of the stamped background to line up the small stamp properly and do some test runs before actually printing onto the card panel - for which I used the 'Carpe Vinum - Seize the Wine' Gummiapan stamp and VersaFine's Clair 'Nocturne' ink pad

- only then, did I die cut the main panel (using a die from a lovely set by 'The Works' - bought a long while ago for minimal outlay and so useful)

- then used a snippet of silver mirror card - brand unknown - to trim a 'frame' to fit behind the main stamped panel. There was so little left of the piece I used that the slivers went straight into the waste bin

- added the 'wine bottle and glasses die cut' using Stix2 Micro Dots and gently rolled over them with a Tim Holtz small brayer to be sure they were fully adhered

- glued the front panel onto the silver outline using Collall All Purpose glue

- then added the entire front panel onto the card front using thin strips of self-adhesive foam tape - and the glue stick trick

- all finished!

The stamps are lovely, but they're unmounted red rubber - hence the extra things I had to bear in mind and do to line them up properly. Also having to use a glue stick or similar to adhere them to the Misti lid was more messy than clear stamps for sure!

I do love the clever background stamp (in hindsight, a deeper wine red might have been better but I didn't want to lose the impact of the die cut) and the sentiment did make me smile - a lovely play on Carpe Diem (Seize the Day).

I'd like to add this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #59 HERE. The 'wine bottle and glasses die' plus both Gummiapan stamps were having a first outing.

Dudley Pupdate: It's been a rough week here with Len becoming more unwell with what initially seemed like a tummy bug. He's now in hospital for at least a couple of days for tests etc. Dudley stayed beside him so much - providing his own special support - he certainly has a little invisible nurse's uniform hidden away! Right now, the little guy is spending most of his time sitting, or lying, at the top of the stairs watching the front door - just waiting for Len to come home. And he even left half his evening meal today, a sign that he's probably pining. 

With love from Dudley and myself, 

Sunday Snippets - Nativity Christmas card

My snippets card for today is a Christmas card. Last year I was woefully short of cards depicting The Nativity etc., so I decided that this year I'll make sure they are made really early:

My leftovers

I used:

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

- piece of Tonic Pearlescent 'Majestic Gold' card, die cut using the largest die from the Taylored Expressions 'Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets' set of dies then glued onto the card front 

- whole sheet of Crafters Companion 'O Holy Night' paper*, trimmed to 0.25 inch smaller than the scalloped layer, corners rounded using X-Cut's small corner rounder punch then glued onto the gold scalloped layer

- then dug out several snippets from the pack of Tonic Pearlescent 'Majestic Gold' card and used the Altenew mini die cutting machine** to cut out two each of the figures in the Crafters Companion 'O Holy Night' set of dies before layering them together - using a 2mm Zig glue pen

- glued the nativity scene pieces in place

- I'd gone right through my Star of Bethlehem dies cutting different ones early in the process and kept coming back to this one I used - again, double layered - which I glued in place above Baby Jesus in the Manger. The die is from the Memory Box 'Star of Wonder' set of two dies, the one I used and also a smaller version

- no sentiment needed as the scene says it all really

* The 'O Holy Night' paper pad is absolutely gorgeous - the front of each sheet bears scenes relating to the Nativity and could easily be trimmed for some really quick and easy cards. All really sumptuous colours too. The reverse of each paper is equally rich but much plainer and great for backgrounds. I used a reverse for today's card.

** I know I keep mentioning my sweet little Altenew 'Blossom' die cutting machine, but it's one piece of kit I would now hate to be without. Brilliant for sentiments and smaller dies, without digging out plates for the larger machines I have. I don't have a dedicated cutting station for the Cuttlebug, although I do for the Gemini Junior. Just planting a seed there folks! Not cheap but worth every penny!

I'd like to enter this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #58 HERE - the paper pad and the Nativity figures were new-ish - I take ages to use things for the first time!

And, Christmas Kickstart Challenge #82 - The Midas Touch HERE.

Also, Scrappy Mo's Rudolph Days Challenge HERE. This is the final Rudolph Days challenge that Mo will run - thank you so much to you and the DT, and good luck to you and Al with your house move and future plans!

Dudley Pupdate: Sarn and I were having a telephone 'team meeting' and Dudley needed to be in on the act of course. Eventually, he went into the garden to play with Len and, just as Sarn and I were wrapping things up - then in shot Dudley, totally in 'party time mode' fresh from garden 'zoomies'. Jumping, trying to get up onto my lap and also frantically calling 'Hello' to his Aunty Sarn in 'dog speak yelps'. I could imagine her rushing off off to scribble in her diary - 'that dog is loopy, rather like his Mum'!

Very importantly, the results of Challenge #471 are now published HERE.

Do please come and play in in the second week of my current challenge over in the Snippets Playground!

Love from both Dudley and myself,

Decoupage donkeys!

I made another Katy Sue image 2023 Christmas card which was hand delivered to a friend who loves horses. I thought these donkeys were really cute, even though they aren't exactly show jumpers:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4.25" white card blank

- a backing piece of Tonic 'Firestone Red' mirror card 

- then the decoupaged image - the dark line above the robin shows the shadow from one of the umpteen layers 

- the double layered sentiment in 'Firestone Red' mirror card was made using a Tonic Studios 'Mini Moments Merry Christmas' die

- final touch was a 'stamp' on the envelope, from the same Katy Sue decoupage set

I'm posting these on here for the record - this next Christmas I may do it all again and just make sure that different friends receive different cards. Me not totally daft! 

Sunday Snippets - Eclipse technique

Wow, what a cold week we've had, down in the minus temperatures a lot of the time. Little Dudley has slept right through every night ............ on the fleece bed cover between Len and I, and has barely stirred!

Here's my snippets card for this week:

I used:

- 4.75" x 4.75" square white linen card - side opening ( let me know if you want the supplier)

- two pieces of the same white linen card, cut to 4.5" x 4.5" square - I used a die from the Presscut 'Nesting Square Die' set - which has 32 dies in!

- then used the Misti to stamp the same image onto both pieces of card, in the exact same position several times, using a VersaFine Clair 'Monarch' ink pad and an orchid stamp from the Marianne 'Floral beauty' set of silhouette stamps (not the best of solid stamps I have to say) 

- next step was to take one of the identical square panels and use a die to cut the Altenew 'Window Sphere' cut, centralised into the orchid image

- grabbed a little snippet of white linen card and stamped the sentiment - using the same 'Monarch' ink pad and Clearly Besotted's 'Speaking Out' set of sentiment stamps

- then trimmed it and glued it to another small snippet - of Tonic's 'Majestic Gold' card and trimmed that to fit behind the stamped part of the sentiment

- added the sentiment piece directly onto the die cut part of the front panel using a glue pen - very carefully with a glass mat underneath - then whisked it up pronto!

- next, I used very narrow double sided foam tape to stick around all four sides and also right around the central 'aperture' of the die cut image

- used a old glue stick to allow some movement room and then adhered the top die cut layer onto the identical bottom layer

- then added the whole front panel onto the card blank - using Collal glue as I so often use - finished!

I LOVED making this card, such a fabulous technique and certainly one I'll repeat for sure. I did first spot it on Christine Stokes' YouTube Channel, ask if you want the link - although Chrissie didn't add foam tape underneath the die cut layer and for me that extra bit of lift is what absolutely makes this card so special. Despite additional postage I guess!

I forgot to enter this into a couple of challenges! So here goes:

- Darnell's NBUS challenge #58 - HERE - the stamp set and the die I used are both NBUS

- We Love Stamping January 2024 challenge - 'Something new' - HERE (the stamp set and the eclipse die are both new) 

Dudley Pupdate: Apart from sleeping on our bed during the night, Dudley has decided that it's his current general lookout place! Underneath the desk is now forgotten, sigh, and I miss my boy. From the end of our bed he can see me in my craft room, see Len coming and going, me travelling downstairs and back up on the 'ski lift' - and also be within easy reach of the top of the stairs, his warning post for any callers who could be intent on running away with Honka Duck! 

We've battened down the hatches here in readiness for the forecast high winds due on Sunday. Fingers crossed it isn't as wild as they say it will be.

Remember, there's a new challenge over in the Snippets Playground - hope to see you there!

Love as always, Dudley and me,