A card from Dudley for his 'Dad'

Dudley 'ordered a card' for his human Dad's Birthday last weekend, and this is what his design team came up with:

I used

- A6 white card blank, tent style

- a snippet of turquoise paper (unknown origin, unless I flip through a load of paper pads here) - trimmed to the card front size and glued in place

- the cutest Snoopy and Charlie Brown cartoon, stamped by a lovely friend and enclosed in her own Birthday card to me - which also featured the same image. I kept the extra image safely hidden ....... with Dudley's card for Len in mind

- coloured the image using Polychromos pencils to match the turquoise paper and the red card as best as possible

- mounted the trimmed image onto a snippet of SU 'Real Red' card stock, which I'd die cut using the MFT Die Versions Corner Concepts 'Happy Birthday' die. I backed the image itself with two or three layers of leftover card just to lift it a bit bfore gluing it to the actual sentiment panel

- glued the image panel onto the card front

- then die cut the 'WooF' from teeny snippets of the same red card stock twice, glued the layers together and popped them onto the card front to finish it off

It was a pretty easy card to make, once I dug out the dies etc. - and also made sure that Len wasn't likely to walk into my craft room as I was working. Dudley was on lookout duties!

No NBUS challenge for me this time around, apart from the image itself - everything has been well used previously.

Sunday Snippets & remembering Janis Woolbright

There's some fun and games going on over at Jo's 'Christmas Kickstart Challenge #79'. Jo is running a 'Cat Lover's Christmas Challenge HERE, in memory of Janis Woolbright, who died suddenly in January of this year. Janis and her helpers ran the annual 'Cat Lovers Blog Hop' tirelessly every October and it's such a wonderful tribute to a beautiful soul.I1

The sponsors have been incredibly generous and what nicer way to remember a talented and well loved crafter?

Confession, being a doggy person, I did initially struggle to find any Christmas cat stamps but so far have unearthed a couple. Still need to go back and have another look through the Really Useful box of Penny Black Christmas stamps - there could be more lurking! 

This is my first entry - made very much with Janis, a cat loving crafter, in mind: 

I used:

- A6 white card blank

- a sheet of paper from Craft Consortium's 'Frosty & Bright' paper pad, trimmed to A6 size and glued to the card front

- stamped the image onto a snippet of white card using Versafine's Clair 'Nocturne' ink pad and a Penny Black wood mounted stamp called 'Xmas Crafts' 

- then coloured the image using Polychromos pencils, before die cutting it using a Heffy Doodles die from the set called 'A6 stitched rectangles' 

- I had a snippet of Tonic Pearlescent'  'Navy Dazzle' card lying on my desk so I used that to create a narrow 'frame' by trimming it a little, then gluing it behind the die cut Penny Black image

- glued the whole image panel onto the card front 

- finally, added the sentiment, in the same Tonic 'Navy Dazzle' from my little pot of small 'ready to roll' layered die cut sentiments

- stepped back and called it done!

Another one for the 2023 Christmas Card box here.

Of course, I'm adding this into the Christmas Kickstart Cat Lovers Challenge! Do please join in and help to make this a success! Well done Jo & Co.!!

It also qualifies to enter into Gail's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge, which is being run within the whole Janis event. My line is the right hand side downwards one of patterned paper, scraps and stamp. Brilliant idea!

Sarn is at the helm in the Playground this coming fortnight with a new Snippets Challenge - #465 to be exact. Go HERE to join in.

Dudley Pupdate: I'm sure some of you will recall the saga of the 'Stinky Monkeys' when Dudley was younger and how we had to secretly 'replace the old with the new'. Eventually, Dudley's affections switched completely over to Honka Duck and we were left with some brand new unloved neon pink and green monkeys! One of them he keeps in his cocoon of favourite toys .......... but there were several other brand new ones in need of affection. 

Around 10 months ago, during the back garden revamp, we had a 'proper' log cabin built in one corner of the garden. A while ago, when Dudley was out there with us having a little snooze, we decided that one of the spare monkeys would be company for him in the cabin rather than it languishing in a drawer unit containing 'all things Dudley' in the garage. He knows that Honka Duck lives indoors thank goodness and so far, so good apart from the very occasional sneaky try to take his beloved Honks for a quick tour of the garden!

However, now - whenever either of us goes towards the cabin during the daytime - Dudley is there in a flash waiting patiently to be let in to see his 'Garden Monkey' for a quick 'Hello' lick and to check he's still there safe and sound, tucked into one of the chairs! We prefer to think it's his 'maternal instincts' rather than paranoia! 

Today is Len's Birthday and we plan to just have a quiet day with a pleasant evening meal at home. And possibly some cabin time with Dudley .................. and Garden Monkey!

 

Take care, with love from Dudley and myself,

Sunday Snippets and a happy smile

October is a busy month for Birthdays here so, for today's snippets card, I took yet another short cut and this time used a Penny Black Stickeroo. A good while ago I stuck every single Stickeroo in my possession onto what I judged to be snippets of toning card stock and popped them all into a single cello bag to sift through at leisure. That really makes life much easier when the mad dog of panic is snapping at your heels (not Dudley I hasten to add!). I did note the set that each one came from on the backs of each 'mounted Stickeroo'. And this is my card for today:

 

My snippets are  non-standard sized card blank, snippet of thin foam and snippets of green card, all found on my desk - plus the Penny Black Stickeroo that started it all off!

I used:

- A6 (but quarter of an inch narrower due to operator error) white card blank, tent opening. It was a happy mistake a while ago when I was making some card blanks. The PB Stickeroo image being long and narrow fitted in just nicely, thank you very much! 

- the mounted Penny Black Stickeroo which I trimmed ever so slightly (it was on an ancient snippet of SU Designer Paper to pick out the pink as I recall) - is from the PB 'Touched by Love' set

- then glued the image panel onto a very slightly larger snippet of green card. This green card stock is called 'Forest Glades' by Altenew and I hit lucky buying a pack here in the UK ages ago. No longer stocked over here it seems and it's such a favourite of mine - think of a deeper shade to SU's 'Certainly Celery' and you're getting there

- glued the image panel onto a snippet of thin white foam sheet, trimmer to about quarter of an inch smaller all round than the image panel

- used a precious teeny snippet of the Altemew 'Forest Glades' card to die cut a couple of 'Smile' die cuts using a Penny Black die from their 'Hooray' set of dies then glued it in place

- final touch, something just didn't 'gel' so I used an X-Cut large corner rounder punch to nip off the bottom left hand corners of the card!

Sarn has posted the results of Challenge #463 over in the Snippets Playground HERE. Some lovely choices from Sarn as 'Picks' - and congratulations to the prize draw winner too! No names here, go and see for yourself. 😆

Dudley Pupdate: The entertainment continues here. Dudley's utterly predictable morning ritual is to have his little bowl of doggie breakfast (in between checking there are no available nibbles to be scrounged from our own breakfast of course). 

He then eats his Multi-Vitamin pill with no encouragement (popped in his dry food bowl) - wags his tail a few times and goes off to hunt for his precious pal 'Honka Duck'! He does sometimes forget where he left Honka the night before as I do close my craft room door overnight (lest he should hop up and find the scissor carousel or decide to have a rummage through my waste bin) - but we always take note and steer him in the right direction. The sweetest thing is how a Havanese trots - his little paws go ninety to the dozen, trit-trot, trit-trot! - and from behind, the view is of one very waggy and rather fluffy rear end. You need a trim young man!

But, for now, busy, busy and his only thought each morning is that there's a day to be faced by the 'Honka and Dudley Team' - stand well back!

There's still one week of the current challenge left to run! Make a card and come and play - there's a chance to win a nice prize if you join in the draw! See you on the swings!

Sobering thought, as I was typing this I looked at the date of 5th October and realised that my darling Mum was born 100 years ago today. Bless her, she only lived for 46 of those years - and I do know for sure that she would have adored Dudley Dog! And he, no doubt, would have been her utterly devoted little pal.  

Love, as always, from myself and Dudley,

Penny Black Masterpieces for fast cards

The other day I made five cards in one batch bake for Christmas 2023, using some of the huge stack of Penny Black 'Masterpieces Made Easy' toppers I have here, no two are the same I might add:

I used:

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

- each card then had a scalloped layer of white card glued on top, die cut from the same white card stock, using the largest die from the Taylored Expressions'Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets' set of dies 

- left the Penny Black toppers at their full size for this particular run of cards and trimmed suitable card stock to be a narrow backing for the images

- then mounted the images onto pieces of flat, thin and cut narrower craft foam before gluing all the layered on to the card itself

- final touch was the double layered sentiments, which I'd worked out and also made a pot full of beforehand. Using my current favourite Tonic Studios 'Mini Moments Merry Christmas' die of course 

- the toppers came from the following sets of Penny Black Masterpieces, left to right and top to bottom: 'Icy Winds',' Reflections', 'Critters Cuddles', 'Across the Miles' and finally 'Christmas time'.

Out of interest, Penny Black have brought out at least two new Christmas 'Masterpieces' topper sets. They aren't exactly a cheap addition to a card, but I feel they're worth it for speed and possible impact! IMHO of course.

Sunday snippets and Christmas 3D embossing

It's the First of October and Autumn is certainly settling in here. The sun is lower in the sky, nights are beginning to draw in and a couple of early mornings the central heating has kicked in.

Time for a new Snippets challenge #464 HERE and this is my Christmas snippets card:

A closer look at the 3D embossing

The snippets I used. Unsure what colour I wanted to use for the sentiment I die cut three different colours - and kept the unused (the red and blue as it turned out) sentiments for another day!

I used:

- DL (UK sized) white card blank - tent style

- piece of white card, embossed using a Nellie's Choice NBUS 3-D embossing folder called 'Snowy Landscape'

- trimmed the embossed piece of card to .25" smaller all round than the white card blank

- trimmed a piece of SU's 'Real Red' card to measure very slightly larger than the embossed panel, ran a silver calligraphy marker around the edge then glued to embossed panel on top of the red one

- glued the red framed embossed panel onto the card front

- the sentiment was die cut using a snippet of Tonic's Pearlescent 'Luna Silver' card and my much loved Tonic Studios 'Mini Moments Merry Christmas' die - twice then layered one on top of the other

-  glued the sentiment to the card front - finished!

I'm very wary of 3-D embossing folders and used my hand cranked Cuttlebug to do the embossing - at least that way one can feel if the pressure is too much rather than risk damaging the Gemini. 

This card is for Darnell's NBUS Challenge #55 over HERE. My NBUS was the embossing folder of course!

Pupdate: Dudley has the most beautiful white plume of a tail which he generally carries rather jauntily curved over his back. Whilst playing with him a week or so ago I could feel that there was some 'clumping' of the plume hairs going on. It then took me two 'de-matting' sessions with a lot of cuddles and love plus even a bit of nursery rhyme reciting to try and distract him! He's a very determined little dog when it comes to certain things he doesn't like - he will resist all the way. He even tried the anguished and pleading looks - which almost broke my heart. The comfort I do have is that I know it wasn't hurting him as he's very quick to squeak - and also, the time spent means he doesn't need to be tackled with scissors or worse still clippers! Basically, the long fine silky hair gets a tiny tangle in it which then grows rather like a seed, gathering up other hairs to try to form a matt - which needs gently teasing apart one little bit at a time. A long and quite stressful job and there were a good few of those pesky 'seeds' to be tackled. Gone are the days when Dudley was small enough for me to tuck underneath my armpit with his head poking out looking behind me so I could get to his tail easily - he used to look rather like a set of small Northumbrian bagpipes! 

I didn't dare mention to Dudley during our 'up close and personal' tail grooming sessions that he's actually got the very beginnings of a 'doggy hum' - which means a bath is on the horizon! Poor little guy - another 'treat' in store! We celebrated his 'Gotcha Day' during the week - five whole years of fun and frolics.

Love from Dudley - and of course me, 

Christmas decoupage and some challenges!

I recently posted a set of decoupaged  'robin Christmas cards' on here - and it reminded me of what a gentle and relaxing technique it is. 

I then spotted someone selling, in a FB 'Decluttering Group', a huge (24!) Christmas bundle of Katy Sue's die cut Christmas decoupage sheets. I've assembled a few images and really love them. This is the first completed card:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white scalloped card blank, made by Craftwork Cards - it's years since I used a scalloped card and have fallen in love with them all over again - just as well as I have a box full of them in various sizes!

- decoupage sheet called 'Bear with Snowman' from the Katy Sue 'Christmas decoupage bundle' 

- popped out all the pieces, keeping them in their respective layers - snipping off the little 'pips' of card where they'd been attached to the whole sheet as I went

- and this is where things almost went askew (to put it politely) - I usually use thin snipped up sticky pads for the assembly process - but had a wild idea that Pinflair silicone glue for decoupage would be quicker and even cheaper and so had ordered some from Amazon

- I really love the end result but almost gave up in despair partway through - that stuff is sticky and oily at the same time and I hated using it!

- layered the completed decoupage panel, using Collall glue, onto a 5.5" x 5.5" square piece of Tonic 'Firestone Red' mirri card - having run a silver calligraphy pen around the edges of both the image panel and the red mirri card 

- then glued the whole panel onto the front of the card

- added a little tag which also came in the decoupage sheet, having also run a silver calligraphy pen right around the edge - I added the label using thin sticky pads as by then the silicone glue had been given its marching orders - amazing how quickly the tube goes down as well - not a money OR time saver

- before sticking the tag to the image panel I made a dinky little bow using red metallic cord and glued it onto the tag using a tiny drop of 'Glossy Accents', which I'd weighted down using a thick very heavy old acrylic stamping block to let it dry and not make a leap for freedom!

- finished off by adding a couple of the 'extras' including a border strip from the decoupage sheet to the envelope - not something I usually think of doing but am always impressed when others decorate their envelopes!

So, my big lesson was that silicone glue and I do NOT get along well together - it took ages to clean up my glass mat as well as any tool that had come near the stuff - thank goodness for  having a bottle of 'Sticky Stuff Remover'!

Another thing I realised was that some of the topmost layers on the few images I've assembled so far are too small and fiddly to add without jeopardising the look of the whole  thing. So I just glue those flat onto the topmost layer using a glue pen. I'm referring to really teeny, tiny pieces - and it doesn't spoil the 3D effect in any way.

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

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #78 'Chillin' with my Snowmies'

Darnell's NBUS Challenge #54 - the whole set of decoupage sheets was my NBUS item 

Rudolph Days Challenge for September  

Sunday Snippets and a thank you card

We're seriously thinking of building an Ark here! The rain has been torrential and temperatures have dropped radically.  I'm not complaining though as it's an improvement on some of the steaming hot weather we had prior to that.

My snippets offering for today is a Thank You card with a really heartfelt sentiment:

A close-up of the sentiment - my camera didn't capture the gorgeous shine of the embossing too well on the main image

The snippets I used for the leaves and the sentiment

I used:

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

 

- a selection of snippets from the Dalton Manor 'Pearlescent Greens' card pack 

- for the stamped images and sentiment I used MFT's 'Geometric Greenery' set of stamps

- stamped and heat embossed onto the snippets of various shades of green card, using an ancient 'Emboss' pink tinted ink pad and Stampendous 'Pirate Gold' embossing powder (such a true gold!). The embossing pad was so old I had to totally revive it using some of the refill bottle of 'pink refresher gloop' but it worked really well and I will happily carry on using it if/when I do more heat embossing **

 

- die cut the stamped leaves using the matching set of MFT dies and then the sentiment using a die from the MFT 'Mini Mail' set of dies. The sentiment die was a tad too long so I die cut it then replaced it in the die with it partially poking over the straight end to die cut the straight end to suit

- time to assemble the card - bit of a heart in the mouth event after all the work thus far

-  trimmed a piece of white card to a bit smaller than the same size as the card front

- then used a NBUS Penny Black die called 'Curved Stitch' to cut right across the piece of white card, ending up with two curved pieces to use

- dived into the packet of Dalton Manor green pearlescent card and, shudder, had to slice off the end of a piece of A4 unsullied card to used for the 'separation' piece area of the two white curved edge panels held in my sticky paws

- at that point I went for broke and guillotined the right side of the bottom curved layer so that the pattern ended without partial holes

-then did the same with the upper portion of the white panel and glued both parts onto the strip of green card I'd cut just earlier - making sure it was lined up at the right hand end

- then trimmed the complete left hand side, complete with the backing piece of green card to the closest complete holes

- so now I had the width measurement and just trimmed the top of the curved panel to make an exact square

-  ran a gold calligraphy pen around the square front panel and also the sentiment strip for some definition

- glued the unadorned but waved panel onto the card front 

- used easy peel masking tape for a straight line for the leaves across the top portion of the card, which I added using snipped up thin sticky pads 

- did the same with the sentiment strip and called it a wrap!

** That was my first foray into heat embossing for absolutely ages - and I know why! So much of my craft stuff is tucked away on shelves behind custom made sliding doors in categorised and accessible Really Useful Boxes but it's quite a palaver hauling all the bits out to heat emboss the likes of a single card. I just can't craft in total chaos and having everything to hand would probably discombobulate me!

I'm entering this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #54 HERE.  The MFT stamps and dies as well as the Penny Black die, were all NBUS items.

The results of The Snippets Challenge # 462 are over on the Snippets Playground blog HERE.

Dudley Pupdate: The change in the weather here has made Dudley very reluctant to venture out in the rain unless it's really essential. We have to literally push him outside at times - any chance of Dudley ever entertaining a proper walk for sheer pleasure in the rain is not in his DNA! I suspect that Len doesn't mind that to be honest - and there's no way I could easily give Dudley a run around the block!

Earlier in the week I had all of Dudley's numerous grooming tools, sprays etc. spread all over our bed to be sorted more logically into additional baskets for easier access and then loaded into a wheeled trolley to be kept in Len's study/small lounge where much of the day to day grooming takes place. And one little guy must have been watching me with growing horror and the fear of an impending grooming session 'cos he went missing! He eventually was located - tucked right down by the hidden side of a guest bed! By that time the sorting out was finished and he had nothing to worry about after all - what a silly sausage! BTW, his new dew claw is doing really well - hooray!

There's still one week of the current Snippets Challenge to go, hope to see you in the Playground soon if you haven't played already - make a card, come and play. No doubt Sarn is getting ready to dispense hot chocolate drinks the way the weather is going! 

Love, as always, from myself and Dudley

Sunday Snippets and a bunch of Christmas robins

I was digging through a pile of stuff on my desk the other day and came across some decoupage sheets that I'd made a start on then put to one side. Purely so that they could find their way down the increasing pile and be temporarily forgotten - as one does! I suddenly felt in the mood for some evening crafting and assembling a load of decoupage robins using snipped up thin sticky pads fitted the bill nicely. The following day I made up the cards and produced six in no time at all - two of each design:

Sorry, no photos of snippets - they're the scraps of pearlescent gold card that I used for the sentiment die cuts

I used:

- 5.75" x 4" white card blank, side opening

- piece of Tonic pearlescent 'Majestic Gold' card for the outer 'frame' - cut at just under the size of the card blank and glued in place (sometimes wonky, just for fun!)

- piece of white card, embossed using a Sizzix 'Holiday Frame' embossing folder and trimmed to just slightly smaller than the gold layer of card before being glued on top of it

- glued the decoupage robins in place - such fun to play with and so relaxing. They 're made by Craft UK - Line 000430. I bought them years ago at a craft fayre and doubt if they're available now. The beaks are properly lined up - those are shadows you can see.

- then die cut the sentiment twice using the mini Altenew die cutting machine (if you don't have a mini die cutting machine to quickly grab for small dies then you're missing out. The plates are 3" wide and 6" long so it's surprising how versatile such a small machine can be)

- the die I used for the sentiment is one I return to time and time again - Tonic Studios 'Mini Moments Merry Christmas' 

- glued the two sentiments one on top of another for more stability and dimension then glued them onto the card front - using a glue pen

We now have our latest Challenge, run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE - with a lovely prize made up of several goodies.

Dudley Pupdate: The drop in temperatures here in Hampshire, and no doubt most of the UK, is SO welcome! We're sleeping well and Dudley is much more settled during the night. The past day or so he's been holding up his left paw where he ripped out the dew claw. Len managed to take a look - a bit like wrestling a box of frogs dealing with Dudley at times - and there's a new claw just poking through the end of his left 'thumb'. Gosh that's got to hurt - rather like teething. But, he still manages to do zoomies around the garden when he's not having a little 'pity party'. We're watching closely of course and are on standby in case he needs to see the vet. In fact, as I do the final check on this post on Saturday, he now seems to be just fine!

It was my Birthday on Tuesday and, as always, Len came up trumps with his cards for me. The one 'from Dudley' is below - and never was a truer word spoken/written!  

Love from Dudley - and of course me,  

Christmas cards and the 'Fractured Card' technique

Ages since i posted on here, other than on a Sunday - gotcha!

I revisited the Fractured Card ' technique the other day. Using just two pieces of patterned paper and one and a bit of 'almost minus a pattern' pieces of beige paper from the same pad - I made four cards. Two of each colour layout and here's a couple of them - the light caught the right hand card so the left hand one is the truer colours:

I used:

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

- a snippet of white card measuring an eight of an inch less than the card blank on all four sides as the base for the patterned paper layer

-  whole sheets of 6" x 6" paper from the First Edition 'Perfect Christmas' paper pad

- die cut a piece of beige very lightly patterned card from the paper pad using a die from The Works 'Square Stitched' set of eight dies

- this time I used one of Ann Melvin's sticky pads in the mini Misti - I love it (thanks for the tip-off Val). And  stamped 'MERRY and BRIGHT' using a sentiment from Penny Black's 'Yuletide Wishes' set of stamps and a VersaFine Clair 'Shady Lane' ink pad (think I first spotted Kathy K using this gorgeous colour - love it!) 

- glued the sentiment die cut onto a further piece of the same paper, already die cut with the same die to make it into a double layer then glued it onto the 'base' piece of white card 

- cut four quarter inch wide strips of the beige lightly patterned paper 

- then, one at a time I used a glue pen to glue them from a corner of each side of the sentiment panel, right down to the edge of the white card layer

- flipped the paper over and trimmed off the 'overhanging bits'

- then used the two complimenting patterned papers to 'fill in the blank spaces'. It's very easy, so long as you always butt a 90 degree corner of the patterned paper into the 90 degree angles you've created with the strips

- and also remember to alternate the patterned papers!

- I just trimmed them by hand, first of all roughly so I could move onto the next area and then from the back, using a large pair of Fiskars dressmaking scissors - kept purely for card making. My dressmaking scissors are almost under lock and key key here

- glued the completed panel onto the card blank - finished!

Oh boy, what bliss to have the drop in temperatures here. We've all slept quite well for at least two nights now - not sure how long it will last but we do feel really refreshed!

I had a lovely Birthday on Tuesday - still trying to get round to thank everyone for the lovely cards and good wishes. You helped to make the day wonderful! Mwah!! x 

Sunday Snippets and a fun Birthday card

WARNING: put your sun specs on! I wanted have a play with lots of different coloured snippets - and this is what I came up with:

The snippets - I also added a snippet of black as the card evolved

I used:

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

- first of all I die cut the bottom portion of the card using a Memory Box die called 'Cascadia Background Strip' - which left me with a row of apertures

- backed the aperture section using a snippet of double sided adhesive sheet - leaving the backing in place on the inside of the card

- then die cut a load of 'rainbow' coloured pieces from small snippets and inserted them one by one into the apertures - they form almost two complete rainbows with a black one in the centre - fearing for the state of my own sanity doing this fiddle faddle to be honest!

- using the leftovers from the snippets I began with, then die cut a selection of stars using an unbranded 'Stitched Stars' set of dies

- at that point I glued a 5" x 5" square panel to the inside front of the card to hide the double sided sticky panel

- put the stars to one side and returned to the already sized up final remains of the snippets of yellow and green card - along with the leftovers from the black snippet I'd had to fish out along the way

- die cut and glued together the 'happy birthday' dies with their black 'shadow' backings (my original plan had been to use vellum for the backing die cuts but that wasn't going to have an impact). I used Julie Hickey's 'Happy Profile die set' along with her 'Birthday Profile die set' for the sentiment 

- now I had a selection of stars and the sentiment words so just placed the stars slightly randomly  and glued them in place using a glue pen

- finally, added the already glued together 'happy' and 'birthday' sentiment words using thin sticky pad pieces with a coating of glue stick to allow some movement whilst putting them in place

- and that was it - done!

I actually made two identical cards as we have some 'younger' folks Birthday's in the near future. One thing I find is a great advantage when making two identical cards with lots of elements to be positioned is that you can set the layout up on one card with no adhesive and then eyeball it to actually glue the pieces in place on the other card. And of course follow suit with the 'sample' you set up for the layout. Easy peasy.

I'd like to enter this into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #54 HERE. 'Cascadia' die, the star dies AND the Happy Birthday dies were all having a first outing.The stamp set was having its first outing. 

AND, big cheer from me when I spotted that the new Allsorts Challenge Week 745 theme HERE is 'Use die cuts' - and this card certainly does exactly that. 

Sarn has posted the results of Challenge #461 over in the Snippets Playground HERE.  

Dudley Pupdate:  So much for me mentioning last Sunday that we'd had a bit of a nip in the air - this past week has been like Hades here! Not only red hot but also very humid - to the point that my reading specs have steamed up at times! Dudley hasn't been coping at all well with the heat and is constantly on the move trying to find places to keep cool. He's up at around 3am, panting and wanting to be out in the garden - not that it's much cooler there to be honest. But, having a little snuffle around with the huge family of hedgies we're currently feeding does seem to distract him a bit. His paw is doing great - thank you for all the 'virtual' waves and cuddles you sent to him! 

There's still one week of the current challenge left to run! Make a card and come and play - there's a chance to win a nice prize if you join in the draw! See you on the swings!

Love, as always, from myself and Dudley,

Sunday Snippets and a new Challenge #462

Challenge 462 is now up and running over on the Snippets Playground folks! 

As there's been a little bit of a nip in the air lately, I'm ramping up Christmas card production and made this one, using some snippets:

You'll have to trust me that I used some cream snippets, left from cutting the card blank and image panel - as well as a snippet of Tonic's 'Scarlet Organza' mirri card.

I used:

- 6.25" x 3.25" cream 'mini slimline' card blank

- a very slightly smaller layer trimmed from a snippet of Tonic 'Scarlet Organza' mirri card and glued onto the card front

- the image panel was die cut from a snippet of cream card stock, using a die from Lawn Fawn's stitched border 'Large Mini Slimline Stackables' set of dies  

- stamped the stack of robins and sentiment onto the image panel using VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink and a NBUS set of Woodware 'Bubble Robin' stack stamps

- then stamped the individual 'part images' onto snippets of the same cream card

- coloured the robins on the image panel as well as the robin 'part images' on the snippets - using Polychromos pencils and Sansodor blending solution - at this point it was important to colour far enough beyond the stamped 'part image' as it would be die cut using a circular 'bubble' die

- die cut the part images using Woodware's 'Big Bubble' die - made a few mistakes but I'd cut spares and basically my mind wasn't fully on the card at the time

- once I had four images cut into 'bubbles' - I backed them with 'bubbles' of the same size to make a total of three layers to add dimension. An alternative is to 'round' the circle from the back using a foam pad and a large ball embossing tool - either would work fine IMHO

- glued the 'bubbles' onto the images on the image panel using a glue pen and 'wham!' - it sort of sprang into life

- glued the image panel on top of the already adhered mirri card layer and there it was - all done!

Along the way, I did question why Jane Gill designed the 'part image' stamps and didn't just rely on using the outlined images of the robins. But, they would never have lined up perfectly I expect and I'm converted to her way of thinking! Clever lady and I always love her designs. I made two at the same time of course.

  

I'd like to add this card into Darnell's NBUS Challenge #54. The Woodware stamp set and the 'Big Bubble' die were having a first outing. 

Dudley Pupdate: Dudley has been in the wars, poor little guy. He managed to remove one of his (front) dew claws in a rather traumatic fashion. We had one almost sleepless night with him - severely shocked (as we were too). Of course it bled at first and I can't imagine how much it must have hurt him. Len found the offending claw and thankfully, it was a clean removal job he'd done on himself and after loads of cuddles and more than his share of treats, as well as the aforementioned almost sleepless night with him - he's practically back to normal now. We did have the 'poor paw' scenario for a while - which was heartbreaking to see. 

Ha - then I returned home from having some blood tests and he ran to greet me and forgot to hold up his 'sore paw'! Err, hello Dudley - did you forget something? 😉 For now he's only out in our own back garden - away from any dirt he might choose to investigate. As he hates his front paws being touched at the best of times, I can only monitor progress by taking photos, when he's dozing on his back .......... and it's healing really well. 

Love from myself and Dudley (aka 'Sore Paw, Need Sympathy, Dudders' right now) - as always. Life is never dull with him around for sure!

Make a note on your calendars ...

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Sunday Snippets and Rudolph Days August 2023

It's hard to believe we're heading towards September really fast. As a September baby, I really love the Autumn and look forward to cosy evenings in front of the dancing flames of the (electric effect only these days) lounge fire, using the slow cooker more for lovely stews and casseroles, not sweltering trying to keep cool with fans blowing from all directions etc and most likely still able to spend time in the log cabin to enjoy the Autumn days and evenings. 

BUT, then the panic as Christmas looms closer. So, my snippets card for today is a Christmas card - and I made two the same whilst the place was in an uproar of umpteen dies and goodness knows what else:

The sentiment circle is bright silver but our shower room (usually a great place to take photos) is bathed in golden light for much of the afternoon and so I had to go with the photo I managed to capture!

And the snippets I used:

I scrabbled around in my box of 'best' white card and found a ton of snippets, which I thought would look more interesting as 'leftovers' from some of the die cutting than just plain white snippets

I used:

- A6 white card blank, tent style

- loads of white snippets and a bundle of dies from the Sizzix Tim Holtz 'Funky Festive' set of dies. I did the die cutting using my Altenew mini die cutting machines and assembled the foliage etc. as I went along as it was much less confusing that way

- I also used white snippets to die cut a Creative Expressions Tree and star using their 'Christmas Tree Triple Layering' die set. Sizzix Micro dot sheets were a life saver when assembling the intricate layers of the tree!

- finally I had what I could see in my mind's eye enough foliage etc. to decorate the card so I then turned to the backing layers and for those I used fresh whole sheets of the same white card and two dies from the Spellbinders 'Resplendent Rectangles' set of dies

-  ran the smaller die cut layer through the Gemini using SU's 'Freshly Falling' embossing folder - and then it was time to assemble! So I went to bed for a good night's sleep to approach the 'White on White Marathon' with renewed energy - the following day

- before I went to bed I did swipe a Wink of Stella clear glimmer layer over a lot of the die cuts - not the main part of the Christmas tree as I liked it how it was, and some of the small foliage pieces only had parts 'glimmered'. Not that it matters as the camera absolutely refused to show the glimmer anyhow

- did my morning yoga session with Dudley (he strikes a cool downward dog pose during our sessions and then back to the card). OK, so truthfully I got up and just trundled into the craft room - but yoga sounds pretty impressive huh?! 

- glued the two pretty Spellbinders die cut panels onto the card front (btw, those intricate Spellbinders dies are not the best cutters so I'd had a tussle the previous day with them)

- then added the Christmas tree using red line tape and popped the star in place with a little SU sticky pad 

- next, it was just a matter of faffing around adding the foliage pieces to two opposite corners using partly glue pens and partly red line tape

- final touches, adhered with pieces of thin sticky pad, were the assembled poinsettia - from the same Sizzix set of dies - plus a sentiment circle by Craftwork cards. It IS silver, and a lovely bright shiny silver too - but once again the light and the camera weren't on my side at all! 

So that was my first 'proper' foray into making a White on White card. I did enjoy the process but am not sure that the time taken is really justifiable. The 'in house critic' hugely approved  - probably as it kept me quiet and occupied for a good while! 

I'm entering this card into two challenges:

Rudolph Days for August - HERE 

Darnell's NBUS Challenge #53 HERE.  The Tim Holtz Sizzix dies were NBUS.

The results of The Snippets Challenge # 460 are over on the Snippets Playground blog HERE. 

Dudley Pupdate: Poor Dudley, he's super quick to pick up on most 'vibes' - no matter how subtle we are. Every other week, his grooming session includes the application of either anti-flea or anti-tick liquid just in a little strip down his back, between his shoulder blades. In Winter it's just a monthly thing with the 'anti-flea' as the ticks here die off in Autumn. However, he seems to just know when the required vial/tube of a single application of liquid is brought up by Len to where I groom him. He does get groomed but he knows that 'vial application' day is serious stuff! He has light grooms meanwhile and his eyes are cleared every single day - but the 'vial of doom' is something else for him! 

When it was time for Len to lift him onto the table where I work on him, he (Dudley of course) hid right towards the far corner under my desk. He had to be coaxed, quite strongly at one point, but it's only ever verbally - to even stick his nose out from under the desk! I was sitting on my desk chair, pushed back from the desk when he popped his head out. Before Len could even lift him up - Dudley whipped out, put both of his paws up onto my knees and buried his head in my lap as if to hide from his fate. It was heartbreaking - especially as I'm the one who was lined up to do the grooming session! Talk about pulling at the heartstrings!

However,  Duds and I  got through it OK - with Dudley stood up on the table on his hind legs like a boxing hare - fighting me for much of the time. What a scamp!l

There's still one week of the current Snippets Challenge to go, hope to see you in the Playground soon if you haven't played already - make a card and come and play and also have a chance to win a nice prize if you join in the draw! 

Love, as always, from myself and Dudley (aka 'The Boxing Ring Scamp/Champ'!),

Sunday Snippets and the 'Fractured Card' technique

I spotted a 'new to me' technique the other day, perfect for using up a few snippets. and this was my first play, and the snippets I used:

I used:

- 5.5" x 4" white card blank, tent style

-  a snippet of black and white patterned paper, found in the back of my Studio Calico 'Snippets' paper pad - it was only 3.75 " wide, which is why my card blank is slightly narrower than a true A2 size. Trimmed the paper to 5.25" long and put it to one side

- then die cut a snippet of white card using a die from The Works 'Square Stitched' set of eight dies, one of my best bargains ever, but sadly no longer sold by them. The square measures just over 2" square BTW

- for the first time I used some Sizzix grid-lined sticky plastic in the mini Mistii to grip the square whilst I stamped the sentiment **

- stamped 'Happy Birthday' using a sentiment from Woodware's'Deco Sayings set and a VersaFine Clair 'Nocturne' ink pad onto the white square, twisted to a diamond shape

- glued the sentiment onto the piece of black and white patterned paper

- cut four quarter inch wide strips of reddish paper - from the same 'Snippets' paper pad

- then, one at a time I used a glue pen to glue them from a corner of each side of the sentiment panel, right down to the edge of the paper

- flipped the paper over and trimmed off the 'overhanging bits'

- glued the completed panel onto the card blank - finished!

** Another time I will probably stick the double sided Sizzix Sticky mat to a piece of appropriately trimmed thickish acetate to fit inside the Misti aperture. Less mess and curling IMHO. I do have the Misti Sticky mats as well - but the cost makes me shudder 

Here's the link to the best tutorial for making a 'Fractured Card' that I found on YouTube.  There are plenty around, some using mixed papers - even better for using snippets, but this one appealed to me the most, due to the clarity, speed and simplicity.

I might make a bunch of these using Christmas paper - they really are rather effective and so very easy and therapeutic to make, I made this particular card with one of Len's G. Nephews in mind. He will be 18 so I might add a die cut 18 in the lower right hand corner. Still plenty of time to decide though.

We now have our latest Challenge, run by Sarn, over in the Snippets Playground HERE - with a lovely prize made up of several goodies.

Dudley Pupdate: Not much to report about Dudley really, he's been feeling the heat lately, despite the rain and even though we've previously had higher temperatures. I think the 'muggy' atmosphere affects him much as it does us - we tend to turn into sloths! There again, perhaps he's almost ready for yet another 'puppy cut' - whisper that one! 

I thought he'd run away the other day - major panic stations - and a 'dog hunt' through the house and garden. Turns out, there he was quietly cooling off .................... tucked in between the cool porcelain toilet and the tiled walls in the shower room having a little snooze! It seems as if no place is 'off limits', once he makes his mind up. 😃 And the way he looked up, rather indignantly, when I disturbed his dream cracked me up!

Love from Dudley - and of course me,