Something Festive for Friday

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

Today's gorgeous 'Something Festive' Card was designed and created by our Maria, I love both the colours you and used and the layout Maria.  I so wish I had bought some of that soft blue glitter card, its such a stunning colour and works perfectly as part of a snowy scene.
Maria has used a pretty snowflake Embossing Folder to create her background, the sentiment in the circle frame almost gives the effect of looking through an aperture which is a clever idea. The 'Merry Christmas that Maria has used is one of those dies that you can use two ways, firstly you can use that delicate Merry Christmas on its own or you can make it stand out from the background  by using its matching background, this is a great idea when you are using a particular colour scheme as you can choose the background colour that goes with your card.
Maria has finished the card with what looks like Stampin'Up! Silver edged white ribbon and a pretty little snowflake.
Maria, thank you so much for such a stunning card, I will treasure it always xxx

We took the Oxford Tube to London so that Paul could relax and enjoy the break too, they have changed their pricing now so its cheaper, a return to London is £15 each and that is valid for three months, so it doesn't matter how long you stay for, before you had to buy a 'period return' which gave you a couple of days, not often something gets cheaper!
It was absolutely bitter cold as we walked through London and I mean bone chilling cold, I was so pleased to get into the warm hotel and have a hot drink and a warm up.  We had a delightful surprise when we got to our room, I had asked if we could possibly have the same room as we had last time and that we were returning to London to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary, then had indeed allocated us the exact same room and they had put a lovely bottle of wine in our room and a welcome back card. Such a lovely surprise! xx
We warmed up and had a rest and then headed out to decide on a show to see, we decided on The Lion King as it was one of the first theatres we came upon, so decided that that was fate, we have front row seats, I hope we can see everything ok, we are both looking forward to it.  (I don't think that Paul was that keen on seeing Chicago).

We had a walk around Covent Garden, it was dark by this time and all the lights were on, it looked amazing, we actually walked around a craft market that sold just about anything, one stall I did notice was selling cards, they had 3D items on the front of them, one of which was a Red front door, complete with wreath, it looked lovely and you could purchase a box to put it in too, it was only £60, which was a bargain as it was reduced from £70!! So come on girls lets raise our game!!
The lights were gorgeous, we then took a slow walk back to the hotel for a warm up and to get ready for dinner.  We had a complimentary 3 course dinner booked, which we were both looking forward to.  I will let you know tomorrow what it was like.

I hope you all have a lovely day, however you are spending it, please wrap up warm if you are venturing out as that wind is wickedly cold.

Sending love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxx

I'm not sure what we are planning to do today,

Another Amazing Christmas Card

Good Morning Ladies,

Todays beautiful Christmas card has been designed and created by Our Margaret, I couldn't capture it's magic with the camera but tried my best. It's so subtle by design but yet has so much detail to look at, the embossing folder is a Crafters Companion 3D folder, the Gemini brings out every tiny little bit of detail of the image, like the window frames for instance, or the branches on the trees.

Margaret has used her Watercolour pencils to highlight the buildings, the little touch of colour here and there really brings the scene to life.

Oh how I would like to be there, with snow up to the window sills and more tumbling down, just for a few days!  Be so lovely to through the curtains open on Christmas morning and see a lovely blanket of snow.

Preparations were all finished for leaving the house prepared while we are away, I wonder how much of it will like as clean and tidy on our return?  You can usually see what meals they have had by the pans and plates beside the sink, maybe this time they will make that extra effort to clean as they go.....

The above image says it all !!! But they may surprise me!!

Now I have something super cute to share with all of you...…..

Lynda's adorable Grandson Harry is playing a Mouse in the School Nativity Play, Sam (Lynda's Daughter in law) made the costume herself over last weekend.  I personally love to see proper home made costumes, not ones that everyone has bought, there is something so cute and charming seeing three wise men with Tea towels on their heads etc, or tinsel wings on the Angels.  I have spent many an hour over the years making various costumes, a few of which had you scratching your head, wondering how the costume you were making for a Brussel sprout etc features in the Nativity!!  Teachers must have great fun coming up with new ideas. 

I think Harry makes a Cheeky and Very Adorable little mouse Lynda, Thank you so much for sharing the photos with us. You can't help but smile. xxx

We are hopefully enjoying the sights of London today, I will tell you all about it over next couple of days.

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

My First Christmas card

Good Morning Ladies,

Today's card is the very first Christmas card that I received, it's from Our Lynda, it is gorgeous, I love that snowflake thats on the front, is it the Sara Davies one Lynda? I just love the detail in it.
Lynda's background was made using one of the Grand Octagon Die sets by Sue Wilson, I think that Lynda picked this one up from Ally Pally as they were such a good price from the ''A Crafty Place'' stand, in fact they were cheaper there than anywhere else.
I love the colours you have used too Lynda, I love the soft blue shades almost as much as green.
Thank you my lovely for a lovely card and the heart warming words inside. xxx

I spent pretty much the whole day sizing my cards and making envelopes for them, then stamping a sentiment on an insert sheet to go inside, which were all different sizes so I couldn't position the stamp in my Stamperatus and mass produce inserts, as some where landscape some portrait, some a lot bigger than others. Quite a few of the cards needed to have their envelopes cut from a sheet of 12X12 as A4 wasn't wide enough.
I was stamping and then embossing my inserts with Glitter Embossing Powder, as I was flicking off the excess all of the glitter was floating down and unbeknown to me was landing on my feet, I hadn't noticed until Paul came home and said 'Have you seen your feet' have you spilt something?''
I looked down and it looked like I was wearing sparkly slippers, I left a trail of glitter everywhere I went, you could see everywhere I had stood in the Kitchen, Harley ended up rolling on the floor so he looks very 'festive' now with his Sparkly coat.
All I need to do is write in the cards now and they can be sent off. .YAY!!

Last night I cooked Pork chops in the AGA and then made a Creamy Garlic Mushroom sauce to smother them with, I then made an Apple Crumble which was the nicest one I have ever made.  I can see us all gaining a few pounds at this rate.
Brenda sent me her recipe for Bread Pudding so I am going to try that soon, probably not until the weekend though, as Paul is treating me to a couple of nights in London, where we hope to see a show and do some sightseeing and maybe a bit of Christmas shopping too.  I can't wait, I am a firm believer in making time for yourselves as a couple, I think it's easy to neglect your own relationship when you have a family.
We never left them as children because Paul was often away with work and it felt wrong for us to go and leave them again when he was home, so I think we look forward to making up for it now they are older.  Mind you I still have to prepare meals to leave for them to cook etc, otherwise they will just be calling to ask what they can eat.  That is what I shall be doing today.

 I hope that you all have a lovely day and that those of you that are poorly start to feel better very soon. xxx

Michele, what did you think of the film, the reviews have been quite mixed, I think it raised a lot of questions personally! xxx

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Another Challenge Card,

Good Morning Ladies,

Today's Bright and Cheerful card was made using the new 'Happiness Blooms Suite' from Stampin'Up!  

I won this set at Onstage, otherwise I don't think that I would have bought it but as I was playing with it yesterday I really started to like it, its just as much about all the little elements in a stamp set not just the main images. This set has some larger blooms as well as tiny ones that have matching little punches, I have clustered 3 of them together on the right hand side of my card, the little bits of foliage are on another punch so its super easy to build up a background.  The main colours in this set are Calypso Coral and Call me Clover. 

I stamped the main flower onto my card and then added a few little clusters of dots here and there to build the background.  I inked around the card with Calypso Coral to soften the edges and mounted this piece on to a piece of Call me Clover card.  I then stamped a random pattern over a piece of whisper white card to create a background and layered that upon my Calypso Coral base card.

Dimensions are 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 inches.

AGA cooking update....I managed a perfect lasagne for tea last night, it cooked it perfectly, I may try one of the recipes in the Original Mary Berry AGA cookbook that came with the AGA when it was installed, its quite dated but the recipes look just lovely.

If any of you has a recipe for Bread Pudding I would be very grateful. I asked my Mum but she couldn't remember, which is sad as I remember it being delicious as a child.

I am going to get all of my Christmas cards sorted today, ready to be posted on Wednesday, its a job that I keep moving forward but want to just get it out of the way.

I hope that you all have a fantastic day today,

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Your Monday Challenge

Good Monday Ladies,

I hope that you have all had a lovely weekend, cold, wet and miserable outside where we are, I hope that some of you had some brighter weather.  On a positive note there was a huge, really bright Rainbow in the sky as we drove the girls to work, it piddled it down with rain on the way back though.😏

One thing I did conquer this weekend is baking in the AGA, it gives so much better results than the Oven that we have, I made the most amazing Almond topped mince pies, the pastry was crisp and the almond sponge was moist and delicious too.  It has encouraged me to get back into baking. 

Now onto this weeks Challenge..….

I would like you to make a project (card or anything you like) that is 'Anything BUT Christmas', I think that we have had a good two months of Christmas cards now and we have seen all we need to, I doubt that any of you need any more inspiration for them either, so it will be nice to have a Sunday full of Butterflies, Flowers, hearts, Birds, bees or anything you please!!!

I hope you enjoy the challenge and I can't wait to see your projects.

How many of you have put your Tree and Decorations up this weekend?? 

We got ours down but didn't manage to get it put up, we will do it when tonight probably, Lucy didn't want to do it without Sophie so we will do it all together tonight. 

Now I have noticed that some of you have been having logging in to the Blog, I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I changed the Email address a few weeks ago.  I will have a look into it, it may help if you try hitting the follow or subscribe button again.  I will let you know if I find out anything.  I really appreciate the trouble you all go to to get logged in and comment.

Have a lovely day however you are spending it,

Love and Hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxx

Your 'Project Half Done' Challenge cards

Good Morning Ladies,

Well you have done it again, you have all got slightly smaller 'PHD' boxes now and I have an amazing display of cards to share with all of you ……….

Brenda

Brenda has gone for a classic Black and Silver colour theme for her Challenge card this week, I will add Brenda's description below:

", I was  going through my third box of bits - the previous two hadn’t had a great deal In them anyway, the bits for this card were almost sitting looking at me, well they were all close together And straightaway I could see the silver, black and Santa sleigh all going together, Dived a bit deeper in the same box and the snowflakes were there already cut out waiting to be used,  I must have them some a couple of years I think. I actually think I have never had such and easy quick challenge card.

Thank you so much Brenda, your card was clearly just meant to be, you can't beat a Monochrome card. 

XXX

Janet 

Janet has finished these two gorgeous fabric boards for her Challenge Projects this week, I will add her description below:

" I started these two fabric boards months ago and never got around to doing anything with them so when you decided on this week's CC you  nudged me into finishing them.

The boards I bought from The Works in a pack of 6.

The paste is Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse and the and othe stencils are also Tonic.

The finishing touches eg the die cuts are also Tonic."

I love both of your boards Janet, you have added the Mousse perfectly, you must be thrilled with the results. 

Thank you so much for taking part ,my lovely.

XXX

 Karen

Karen was inspired to finish a Memory/Scrap Book for her Challenge Project this week as well as finishing the Head Piece for a Flappers & Frolics party.

"We are going to “Flappers and Frolics” party - about 20 of us including Charlotte and fiancé So we have to wear 20’s style clothes and this is my headdress The elastic feathery ones flattened my hair completely So it’s a child’s headband/Alice band and I’ve just decorated it with Pink Frog JL Poinsettia and ribbon to match my dress"

"Here’s another PHD finished! I have literally just finished printing all of the album
The project has been sitting in a folder on Serif since 2013! I gave up because my old printer stopped printing photos and the way I’d laid it out on Serif was not behaving but 5 years later (and a bit of practice with Serif) plus a new printer I’ve done it! There are 23 pages in total"

Thank you so much Karen for making the time to finish some projects for this weeks challenge, I am so pleased that the challenge pushed to finish it. 

XXX

Lilian 

Lilian used this weeks 'PHD's Challenge to use of some of the Toppers that she had left over from the Album that we she made into small cards.  

Such a great idea Lilian and they have made such lovely cards.  I am so pleased that you felt well enough to take part, Sunday's aren't the same without you!

XXX

Lilian

Lynda has made 2 fantastic cards from her 'PHD' box for this weeks Challenge, the cards couldn't be more different, both fabulous too of course!

"First card: I had four stamped & never got round to using then. Put circle mask over him & did my blending around.  On his had I put fluffy stuff heat setting but not showing up xx"

"My Cc second one I had the poinsettia on the edge in my bit box so this is what I came up with"

Thank you so much my lovely for two fantastic projects.

XXX

 Margaret

Three fantastic cards from Margaret, two stunning embossed card, I love the clean and simple look of both of those cards.  

The Cross Stitched card of Thomas the Tank Engine was one that Margaret made while recouperating from her operation earlier this year, its amazing and it will make some little boy very happy.

Thank you so much Margaret for taking part in this weeks challenge.

XXX

 Maria

Two stunning Christmas cards from Maria for this weeks Challenge.

Maria had a lot or Die cuts cut our from last year so she used them to make these two fantastic Christmas cards, those deer are so pretty Maria and the Candle on the second card is just so lovely.

Thank you so much for making time to make your challenge cards before your busy weekend. 

XXX

 Michele

This is a pile of 24 Cards that Michele managed to finish on Friday ready to take with her to her table sale yesterday.  Michele I think that Val could employ you to fill her shop shelves, you would do it in no time! Your cards are all do cute, are they from that pack that you won as a prize? 

Thank you so much for sharing some cards with us, I know you had a super busy week preparing for your sale. 

XXX

 Val

Val managed to get a lot of tags made up for her Challenge project this week, I am so pleased that it has encouraged you all to get a project finished....

"This is my challenge project for this week. I cut the tag shapes out ages ago and they just sat on a shelf waiting for me to do something. Anyway I finally got round to making Christmas tags out of them. I bit of a change for me from making cards."

Thank you so much for taking part Val, your tags are gorgeous.

XXX

What an impressive line up Ladies, you are all amazing, thank you so much .


I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday,

Love and hugs

Sandra
xxxxx
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Mixed Up Saturday: ATC's & More

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

We have had a chilly, miserable start to the weekend so what could be better than grabbing a cup of something warm and sitting with friends browsing through some lovely craftiness??

I thought that I would share all of the photo's of the ATC's that were made for the little Challenge that Cheryl set a few weeks ago. 

Mine are pictured above, the idea behind my designs was my crafting/card making style back in the beginning of this blog and the other one shows my crafting now, the difference being that I now stamp more than I do anything else, mostly down to (A) The faux misti tool (remember those)?  then stamping tools in general, followed by me purchasing my first Stampin'Up Stamp set, which are the best quality stamps, after having a couple of goes and amazing myself with the results, I was hooked.

Cheryl

 Dannii

Lynda

 Janet

Karen

Margaret

Maria 

Sue

I honestly think, looking at that display of ATC's that nobody would ever think that most of you had never made one before, every one of those little works of art represent you and your style, I love them all.  I would like to do another one in the new year sometime, collect enough to fill one of those atc display folders, because to me they are all a little bit of all of you. 

I know that you don't all enjoy 'ALL' of the challenges, mostly because we all like different things but I have to say that you always have a go, more importantly you all succeed.  

It gives me the greatest pleasure to put these blog posts together each week, especially ones like this where I know I have pushed some of you completely out of your comfort zone and you have rewarded me with the most amazing project.  That is the ONLY reason I would like to continue challenging you in the new year.

Now onto some other projects...... 

 Karen

This is the other card that Karen made for the lady who's friends is a huge Marmite fan, Karen's other card was the Marmite Baubles in last weeks challenge. I know I say it almost every week Karen but you are so amazingly gifted when it comes to imagination and picking designs that suit peoples hobbies, personalities etc. Thank you for inspiring us my lovely xxx

Lorraine 

Lorraine has been poorly so has missed a few challenges but she felt well enough to make this fabulous '3 of a kind' card for last weeks challenge.  Just look at the expressions on those Robin's faces, you can't help but smile!  Lorraine has 'Quilled' the birds, which looks so effective.  You must have amazing patience Lorraine.  Thank you so much for taking part in our challenge.  I do hope that the blood transfusion gives you a little bit of a lift to get you feeling better. Sending you gentle hugs xxx

 Michele

Michele popped to the Works before she settled down to make some cards for her Sale table today, look at the lovely things she managed to find.  Those dies are stunning, particularly those intricate pattern dies that cut patterns into your backgrounds.  We all need glitter and Mirror card so Michele added that to her basket too along with some glittery washi tape and a lovely sentiment die.  Thank you so much for sharing Michele, I really hope that you have a Sell Out today, you have made some fantastic projects so you should do great, I have everything crossed for you my lovely xxx

Cheryl

OMG!  Have bloomin' cute are these adorable little carts??  Cheryl bagged an absolute Bargain on a Facebook selling page, within 17 minutes of the lady putting them up for sale they were Cheryl's !

I can really image Milly-May pushing one of these around with all of her cuddlies in.  They look really sturdy and robust as well as being so adorable.  They will look amazing on your sale table, overflowing with your sisters crocheted animals.  Thank you so much for sharing them with all of us xxx

That's it for another Saturday, I think that we might get our Christmas Tree down this weekend, the girls are really excited to start decorating, Paul is too, which is a stark contrast to this time last year.

Lilian, thank you so much for popping in yesterday, it was so lovely to here from you, I hope that you are soon on the mend and back at your craft desk, it is after all 'THE BEST' form of therapy.  sending gentle hugs my lovely xxx

Pat I hope that you are coping ok, you are always in my thoughts my lovely, sending hugs to you both xxxx

Love and best wishes to all of you.

Sandra

xxxxxx