Myra's card made without any dies

Myra's 'no die' card!

 

 



 

 



Good Friday Morning Ladies,

I was thinking of making Fridays that day that we show our 'Challenge cards'

Today's card has been created by our lovely Myra, the challenge for

this card was :

A card made without any dies !

If any of you would like to take part please email your challenge cards, they can

be any design or style, just made without the use of any dies.

Another challenge if I remember correctly was :

A Christmas card made with only One die. (please tell me if I am wrong)

I think it will be fun taking part in the challenges, encouraging us to think out of

the box, I think we could go on to do cards with a particular die or older dies too.

It may well get us using our older dies, like Anne had on her card yesterday.

I love the image that Myra has used for this card, a great card for all of our

girlfriends, sisters etc, after all, who doesn't like a bit shopping?!

Myra has picked some of the colours in the image to create her matt and layering,

Everything works so well, those cute little pearls picking the colours out perfectly,

I love the font on the little Sentiment you have used Myra, its really pretty,

Thank you so much Myra, your card is fabulous and just goes to prove

that we can make amazing cards without the dies we have become very

reliant on in our everyday card making, don't get me wrong, I love my dies and

what they can do by mixing them up and combining them.

I can't wait for an update on the wedding yesterday, I will be eagerly

pacing the Café until either Hazel or Patricia arrives and tells us

everything about the day!

Wow, I can't believe we are almost at the end of another week!

I hope you all have a lovely day

Love and Hugs

Sandra

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Gillian's Wedding

The Happy Couple

 Beautiful Grandchildren

Looking Fine in Kilts

 

Andrew performing his duties

 

Hazel sent us a few photos of Gillian's Wedding so I wanted to add

them straight away as I knew you would all being looking forward

to seeing the happy couple.

 xxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 









The Most Beautiful Wedding card by Anne !

A Beautiful Wedding Card

 



Good Thursday Morning Ladies,

 I couldn't wait to share with you this Beautiful wedding card created by our very own Anne,

it is so elegant.

The picture of the amazing beach in the frame makes the card just perfect for those tropical beach

weddings, Anne this is pure genius idea, I love it and I think that it will inspire a lot of others too,

you could put a photo of most venue's in that window.

I love that stamped image too, what stamp have you used??

I can see that you have used the Creative Expressions Heart Lattice Embossing folder for the background.  The Flowers are (CE) Faux Quilled Blooms and (CE) Ivy dies, all designed by Sue Wilson.  The Border is Spellbinders Floral Doily Accents Border Die, so pretty, I must make a conscious effort to go back and use these dies.

I love the touch of gold in the matting and layering, perfectly picked out in the gold centres of the flowers.  Anne, thank you so very much for allowing to share your amazing wedding card xx

 

This card seems so fitting for today, its Hazel's daughter Gillian & Andrew's wedding day today,

I would personally like to wish the pair of them a 'Lifetime of Happiness'.

Hazel I hope that the day goes smoothly, the sun shines and that you have a totally amazing day.

Love and Hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

 

 

 

Today's gift from Saba xx

A gift Beautifully wrapped

 

Such a Pretty gift inside!!!

 

 

 

Good Morning Lovely Ladies,

Today I want to share with you all this lovely gift that I received last week all the way from sunny Germany! It came in the pretties jiffy (padded) envelope I have ever seen! All flowery and beautiful.

Well it ended up being like a pass the parcel, I was actually that excited, but I was like the grumpy child at the party and was passing this parcel to nobody!!!!

The next layer of wrapping you can see above, a beautiful piece of card, delicately folded into an envelope, the card was really pretty and had texture too, it was all secured with a pretty pink tulle bow, with a lovely white flower to finish if off, I was eager to get inside but took the wrapping off so securely so as not to damage it, (( I really don't like throwing any part of such a gorgeous gift away)

I finally got inside the envelope and found the prettiest card inside, at first light I thought it was blue and white, but on closed inspection it was gorgeous shades of purple.

Saba has used Creative Expressions 8 x 8 embossing folder Scored Lines to create the textured background, I notice that you have got it to sit flat on your card Saba, what was your trick, mine seemed fine at first but I am still having issues with the card buckling in the folder?

The beautiful flowers that Saba has used are Creative Expressions Open and Complete Petal Camellia dies, designed by our lovely friend Sue Wilson, Saba has finished the flowers of beautifully with some flat back pearls, the different size and shape and position of the flowers make for a absolutely perfect composition, the card is totally gorgeous and the words inside were lovely too.

Do you know that there are only about 7 weeks (ish) until we get to see Sue again at Ally Pally, I hope that there will be plenty of you all going, so that we can have a pre= retreat meet up!

Thank you so very much Saba, you are so very kind, I have another gift card coming up maybe tomorrow too.

I want to thank you all also for your amazing responses to my post yesterday, I just wanted you all to know how very much I needed and appreciated all of your kind words of support over the past few weeks, it really has shown me how much you all enjoy coming in a catching up with each other, there is hardly ever a day goes by where someone has bought a smile to my face, whether it be Maureen's barrage balloon knickers or Saba tormenting the living daylights out of her long suffering husband.

But you are also there for the darker times when somebody needs some love and support, which has been proved over and over again, bringing this huge bond between us all, I can see that there will be some tears when it comes to saying goodbye after this retreat finishes in October, we may have to organise two next year, one in Spring and the other in Autumn, I only say this because I think that after meeting up that one weekend, saying 'see you in a years time' will sound devastating!

We will see how this one goes and go from there.

I have Pat and Sue coming over today for some crafting and laughter, I love my weekly highlight.

I will call in and catch up later ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx 

 

Another beautiful gift, from Myra x

Good Morning Ladies,
I cannot begin to tell you how totally uplifting it has been receiving all of the beautiful cards that
you ladies have taken the time and trouble to send me over this past few weeks.
All of the silly nonsense that went on made me stop and think twice about whether or not I wanted to
carry on blogging every day, because as both Hazel and Patricia have said before knowing that there are people that are looking in everyday in the hope of reading something to cause problems with does make you stop and think, is it really worth it, as anyone can read something and take it totally out of context and then things can snowball so quickly out of control.
But the amazing support and out pouring of love and friendship from all of you lovely ladies has confirmed to me that getting up each day and writing a blog message to share with all of you is SO worth doing, so many of you have benefitted in so many ways from walking through that "Café Door" it fills my heart with joy, I love being able to showcase all of your work, as it not only shows you how fantastic your cards are, it also inspires somebody else that may be struggling with a certain style or design of card, there are also the mixed crafts too, again so very inspiring, had it not been for mixed craft days we may never have come across Teacup candles or many of the other crafts we have shared with each other.
All of the gorgeous cards that I have received over this past few weeks really have reinforced how very important this blog is to me and also to all of you, so I want to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart, you are all the most amazing friends that anyone could wish for, I only wish that everyone of you were coming along to our Craft Retreat in October so that I could show you how much you all mean to me, but I am determined to meet you all one day.
So as much as I was upset by all of the nastiness that went on I am going to say that it has had a very positive effect, who would have thought it!!!!
But had it not been for all of that, I would never have known how much the blog means to all of you and that fact alone makes all of this so totally worthwhile, so lets hope those "Café Doors" will be swinging for many years to come.
Anybody looking in please come on in and join the most amazing bunch of ladies that you could wish to meet, we absolutely welcome anyone to come in and join our craziness.
Up above you can see one of the cards that I was talking about, this gorgeous card was sent to me from our lovely Myra, I absolutely love the sentiment on the front and once again Myra wrote some beautiful, uplifting words inside, thank you so much Myra xx
Myra has used the Creative Expressions Noble Square die to create the frame for the lovely teacup and has embellished the card with some pretty roses and some gorgeous little resin flowers in the corners.
That's all from me today ladies, I hope that you all have a lovely Tuesday and I very much look forward to reading your comments.
Love and Hugs
Sandra
xxxxxx

Man Card Monday

 



Good Monday Morning Ladies,
Its that time of the week again, this weeks Man card creator is Michele, I think that there are one or
two of you ladies who's husbands like a round of golf, we all know Michele's husband does after his
wet week in St Andrews!
I think that Michele said that she created this card from a CD rom, I am not sure which one but I am
sure Michele will pop in later on to share with us all how she made this fabulous card.
I love how everything ties in with the theme, from the background papers to the embellishments,
that is the benefit of creating cards from CD roms, if you are anything like me you have plenty of them but just forget to use them,  I know I have seen some of Patricia's cards and loved the papers she has used and then read that she too had printed them from a CD, I guess its like having your own patterned paper store, without the need for lots of storage.
I also noticed that Michele hasn't used any dies on this card either, another bonus, I guess it would also be helpful if you wanted to take some cards away with you on a holiday of trip, you could print of the bits and pieces needed and then just take, scissors, paper trimmer and some adhesive. No need to lug round all your die collection.  Yet again if you wanted to you could use the papers etc with your dies as I know Patricia has done.
Thank you Michele for inspiring us all and for making us stop and think once again about resources that we have got and in my case forgotten about and also proving that there was fabulous card making before dies!
I hope you all have a lovely Day,
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxx

Cheryl's amazing Teacup Candle Sale !

 

 



 

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,
I am so excited to share with you all Cheryl's photos of her Charity fundraising stall for Cardiomyopathy, it was a lovely sunny day and Cheryl had Robin, Fiona, Tiegan and Joseph to
help her get set up for the day and to help sell the candles, Tiegan and Joseph look almost lost in the
mountain of teddies and soft toys that they had brought along to sell too.
Cheryl I have to say that your Tea cups were wrapped so professionally, they look absolutely stunning all displayed together, somebody had the ruler out to get them all meticulously lined up.
After a very long day, Cheryl counted up and was thrilled to announce that she had raised an
absolutely amazing £115.70p, so well worth all the effort, plus Cheryl had the addition of
the therapeutic benefit of making the candles in the first place.
Cheryl, thank you so much for sharing your amazing achievement with all of us, we all agree that
you are amazing for what you have achievement, plus you have inspires so many of our ladies to
have a go that there will be no tea cups available if anyone has a 'posh aunt' round for high tea, she will have to make do with a mug!
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday,
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxx

Mixed Craft Saturday

Diane's Retirement Cake

 

Karen's Cute Cardigan

 

Margaret's Beautiful Wedding Cake Boxes

 

All 60 of Margaret's wedding cake boxes

 

 

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

welcome to another mixed craft Saturday,

you ladies never cease to amaze me with your many talents.

I would to thank all of you for sending in your photos to share.

 

First up today we have Diane's Fabulous Retirement Cake, she has

made it for a colleague, Angela that was retiring.

I love how you have made the cake look like an open book,

with the ribbon down the centre as the book mark, it looks amazing,

I can see that you have added detail to the edges of the cake to make it look

like the pages of the book, the flowers in the top corners look really pretty

and do a great job of framing your sentiment, the butterflies are just the

most beautiful finishing touch, are the made from that Cake Lace paste?

Angela must have been so excited to receive such a lovely gift from you Diane,

thank you so much for sharing it with us today xxxx

 

Next up we have the gorgeous little cardigan, that has been expertly

knitted by Karen, I just love the pattern that you have used it looks

like a box weave type of design, it is just so amazing, a proper little boys

cardigan that would go with just about anything, the buttons match so

perfectly too, I would love to see a photo of the little boy wearing it.

Thank you so very much for sharing Karen xxxx

 

Last up today we have these stunning little boxes that look like the have

been decorated with lace, Margaret has been very busy making 60 of

these beautiful boxes for a friend that makes wedding cakes, the cakes have

been made to look like little parcels and will sit in these gorgeous boxes,

Margaret has also had to line every one of these boxes as well as

decorating them all so perfectly, they are all identical, its no surprise

that you have been quiet for a few days Margaret, I bet there is a

trail of little die cut bits all over your house!

I can see you getting many more orders for these Margaret,

thank you so very much for sharing the photos with us xxxx

 

Thanks for stopping by ladies, I hope you have enjoyed looking at

today's crafts and that maybe they have inspired you to have a go at

something new, I know I would love to make some of those boxes

for jewellery and of course when the time comes I would love to knit

for my grandchildren, but I am not quite ready for that yet!

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 













Beautiful Gift From Lynda xx

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

Today I would like to share with you this gorgeous card I received from Lynda on Wednesday.

Isn't it just so pretty?? The words inside Lynda's beautiful card, really lifted my spirits and made me 

realise how thankful I am to everyone of you amazing ladies, such good friends xxx                                                  Lynda used Spellbinders Grand Decorative Squares to make the outer layers of the card, the frame for Lynda's beautiful stamped image is Creative Expressions Umbria Die from the Italian Collection, its great to see you going back and using some of your older dies Lynda, i think that we sometimes forget to go back to those dies that we once loved and used all the time.                                                                         The stamped image in the centre of the frame has been made by Lynda using the Justrite Wild Rose, Multi Layer stamp set. Everything on the card works so well together too.              The gorgeous embellishment has been made by cutting what feels like blue parchment with the Creative Expressions Cornflower Die, the flourish underneath is made from Creative Expressions Blossoming Branch die and a beautiful bow, tied in tulle.                                                                      Lynda, thank you so much, there is nothing better than receiving a 'just because' card.                                                  
 I hope that you all enjoyed Sue's shows yesterday on C & C,
I will hold up my hands and confess to ordering the new Foundation Card pack, the new colours are gorgeous, we saw them when we went Newbury to the craft show, John Next Door had swatches of all the new colours on his desk, there is  new blue colour that is amazing.  Thank goodness that expanded the range! Giving us all a little more choice, we tend to see a lot of Periwinkle cards otherwise, I am sure they will all be a hugely popular, well they sold out really quickly!
I will call in later to see what you are all up too, 2 lovely fresh home made quiches in the chiller for lunchtime, so help yourself.
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxx

Triple Flip Thursday & Thank you x

Good Morning Ladies,

Well one year ago today, I was hovering outside my local Coop waiting to meet two strangers that I had chatted to briefly on Sue Wilson's blog, I was very nervous, as were they!  

We met and introduced ourselves and well the rest is history, I would have never guessed that I was about to meet two ladies that are have become the dearest friends that anyone could wish for.

To any outsider looking in it would look as though we are lifetime friends, we have gone from being strangers to sharing all of life's ups and downs with each other, Sue & Pat, thank you for turning up on that July morning and thank you for one whole year of the best friendship any girl could wish for, our weekly meetings are the highlight of my week, you have given my very dull social life some spark, given me the inspiration to do my blog and keep it going, you have given my life a purpose, for that I will be grateful to you forever!

Here's to many, many more years of friendship, love you both millions xx

We had a lovely afternoon out yesterday to celebrate the anniversary of our friendship, with lots of chat and plenty of laughter!

Today's card is made using Pat's Spellbinders Triple Flip die, cut in white card, i then used Spellbinders Matting Squares to cut the Green Dotty Anna Marie Design card to add some detail to the frame, the centre die is the centre die of the Creative Expressions New York collection, Times Square Die set, it fits the centre perfectly and with the addition of a few green pearls finished the front of the card perfectly.

This is the detail under the first flap of the Triple Flip card, the sentiment is a Justrite Stamp, the die is the centre die from Spellbinders Captivating Squares, again it fitted the aperture perfectly.

This is the detail under the second Flap of the Triple flip, again a Justrite Sentiment, this time the die used is

Creative Expressions New York Union Square Die, the paper is Anna Marie Designs.

I mounted the whole card on a 6 x 6 white card base and this is the detail i added to the inside of the card

to give space to write your own words. The die used here is Creative Expressions Elegant Lace Edger die.

Just a different view to give the overall look of the finished card, I think i might have to purchase this die for

myself as I love the overall effect it gives and the dimension it adds.

I hope you like it too.

Welcome to Jenny and Laura O', Its so lovely of you to stop by, please stick around and enjoy the fun,

you get the added bonus of being amongst the most amazing bunch of ladies anywhere, they will be the best friends you could wish for, quite a giggle too!

Love and Hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxxx

Patricia's Pretty little girl card.



Good Morning Ladies,
I have a really pretty card today, just look at that angelic little face, you can't help but smile can you?
You have captured the colours of the image perfectly Patricia, picking up the soft lilacs to use as
background colours, the work perfectly, you have used one of the Grand decorative Oval dies from Spellbinders I believe, but I am not sure which one, the delicate nature of the image that you have used lends itself to simple decoration, no big bows or flowers necessary just the few pearls that you have added to the corners of the card and that gorgeous Creative Expressions Bow die, designed of course by our dear friend Sue Wilson, these bows add just the right amount of prettiness without going over the top, this card would work well for little girls and big girls like us!
Thank you so very much Patricia for allowing me to share your card with all of our friends here in the café! xxx
Busy day here, I have doctors this morning, to sort out one or two things and to have a Medication Review, then I think that myself and the other two Graces are meeting up and going out to lunch to celebrate our 1 year Anniversary as Friends, I believe the actual date is 23rd July, today is more convenient for the three of us.
I will catch up with you all later,
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxx

Jess's Craft room before/after and a giggle from Patricia !

Jess's Craft room under construction

Jess taking photo of her progress!

Everything ready to get put back in place

Now Look at that for organisation!

 

Lots of lovely organised storage

Even more super tidy storage space.

 



 



Good Tuesday Morning ladies,
Today I wanted to share with you the amazing transformation of Jess's Craft room, it is amazing what a difference a lick of paint can make, it makes the whole space look bigger and so much brighter.
I am just sat looking in amazement at your amazingly organised room, the lovely tray of printer paper, all organised into trays beside the printer all ready to go, in our house you have to go find the paper first!
Your workspace looks very neat too, with both your Grand Calibur and your Cuttlebug to hand when you need them, with all the plates neatly organised too. Your TV ready to watch your Crafting programmes, before to set your record as Sue is on on the 23rd I think.
You have some lovely storage units, I love the wooden ones, they look a good size for all kinds of different of papers etc. 
The cupboard looks too tidy though, with the bits and bobs in various storage tubs to the not yet filled tubs, awaiting your next purchase, so that you can pop it in there quick and pretend you have had it years! (not that that's what I do) 0f course!!
You must have been just 'itching' to get in there and craft, if you were like me it would be chaos in minutes!  Are you a good girl and tidy up after every card you make??
Thank you so much for sharing your Personal work space with us all Jess, we all love to share storage ideas, so these photos are really helpful. xxxx
Patricia sent me this hilarious verse about 'Granny being swallowed by the Computer' so I thought I would share it with you all today to bring a little smile to your faces!
Cheryl, What a fantastic achievement, raising so much money for charity, well done xxxx
Hazel, so thrilled your news was so positive, now take it easy these next few days please! xx
Thank you all for stopping by today, please call in if you are looking in, you will be made very welcome, we are a lovely bunch of friends that chat daily, put the world to rights and generally have a really good laugh.
Sending you all love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxx

Man Card Monday

 

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies,

Today's Mans Card has been made by Pat, I love this fishing stamp that you have used Pat and as usual you have coloured it perfectly.  The bulrushes bring the stamped image over the edge, so it blends into the card background, the stamp looks like a whole scene in itself with the background and

the birds and trees in the distance.

I love the colours you have picked for the Mats and Layers and for the stamped sentiment.

The gorgeous colour feathers that you have used finish the card perfectly, they look just like the fishing lure that is in the stamped image.

Thank you Pat for sending me this card to share with all our friends here in the café xxxx

We are sticking to one card a day so that I can have enough cards to schedule posts for my holidays.

Please feel free to send ideas for weekly challenges, it can be anything from colour theme, to style of card, shapes, seasons, anything your heart desires.

We will post the challenge and then a few days later, maybe on a Saturday to replace mixed crafts if we are running short, or we can do it on a sunday if you feel you want to keep mixed craft Saturday,

just let me know.

That's all for now,

I will catch up with you later,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

My lovely Gift from Diane



 

 





 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,

I want to share with you today the lovely gift that I got

through the door yesterday morning from Diane.

I absolutely love the 'American' style of this lovely

card that Diane has created, it looks as though the centre

sentiment is stamped and then surrounded and highlighted by

all of the die cut Circles, stars and arrows, all cut from card

that is perfectly matched, the different colours all go so well together.

Thank you Diane for the wonderful words that you wrote inside the card,

they really touched my heart, thank you for your kindness xxxx

 

We were supposed to go shopping yesterday to get the girls some bits for

holiday, mostly bikinis and shorts, but our plans were dashed as we were looking

after Diego for a couple of hours, well those couple of hours turned into 8 hours,

by the time they collected him it was too late to go, oh I get so frustrated when

we have to change plans last minute, we now have to go today, so an early start

as shopping with twins is frustrating and the shops close early today,

oh, its going to be a very long day, I can just feel it!!!

Bacon Rolls and Coffee here we come!

Have a lovely Sunday,

Love & Hugs

Sandra

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 





Mixed craft Saturday

Janet's knitted bag xx

Brenda's leaf plate 

Patricia's Beautiful Box

Good Saturday Morning ladies,

As you can our Mixed Craft Saturday us upon us once again, they come round so fast!

Can I ask you to either dig deep into your cupboards and drawers for crafts to send me photos of,

Or we can do something different, a weekly challenge maybe, if we launch it of a Monday you could make it during the week for the following Saturday, or we could make it the Friday, so that you have a whole seven days to make your entry to the challenge,  this blog belongs to us all so I would like to have your input into the decision making too.

Janet's gorgeous knitted bag is our first design up today, so beautiful in it's stripey design with those cute bobbles, I love the pattern, it would be loved by both young and older ladies alike, it looks like it took a long time Janet, are the bobbles added on afterward or are they part of the pattern? 

Thank you so much for allowing me to show your bag xxxxx

Brenda's leaf plate, Brenda you must be a Master Potter by now! 

All of your pottery designs, whether it be plates or bowls are so perfect and their design is timeless, not something that you will make one year and then put away, this particular one is stunning, I love the vibrant green colour and the amazingly realistic leaf design, you could sell these and make a fortune Brenda!

Thank you so much for sharing your design with all of us xxx

Patricia's beautiful box is our last offering for today,  such a gorgeous box Patricia, decorated with the prettiest card, everything about is is perfect, both construction and decoration, I can see that you have used Creative Expressions Butterfly Die and the little twirly bits from the CE Flourish die set, you have made some beautiful flowers to match the colour scheme too, this box is a gift in itself , I can just imagine it filled with your Amazing Scottish Tablet or Your Homemade Baileys Truffles, oh I am drooling at the thought!

Thank you so much Patricia for sharing your amazing box with all of us xxxx

Well that's it for another week, we are blessed with so many very talented crafters in our little family, don't you agree?!

We had an absolutely amazing night at Lucy's Orchestral Extravaganza, the sound of their Concert Orchestra /Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band just blows me away, we could have easily been at a concert that we had paid a lot of money for (tickets were £10 each), but worth every single penny, I was such a very proud Mummy! 

Janet I will try and do a rain dance, I did what looked like one earlier when I stepped on an upturned plug!!!!! so those showers should be on their way, I am so sorry you are struggling!

Love and hugs

Sandra xxxxxx

Gorgeous Gift From Michele xx

 Good Friday Morning Ladies,
Well at last I can share with you this gorgeous gift from Michele, 'Just Because' card are simply  the
best cards to receive,  Michele wrote some beautiful words in the card, that really touched my heart,
the cards that I have received over the past couple of weeks have really reassured me of how much you all enjoy the blog and how much it means to you all, it just feels like we are all surrounded by a
loving, caring, family.
Seeing how much you all rally around each other at times of loss and sadness really shows how strong the friendships between you all have grown over the past few months, its so amazing that it has all taken place right here.
You really are the most amazing bunch of friends!!
Now onto Michele's fantastic card, I have no idea what selection of dies or papers you have used
on this card Michele but I absolutely love it.
Pat and Sue are desperate to know what you have used to make the flower in the centre of the card, its beautiful, I love all the detail in the card right down to the dotty card candi on the corners.
Thank you so very much Michele, I absolutely love the card xxxxx
It was so lovely to read that we had a new visitor yesterday, welcome Ann, it is so lovely to have you stop by, please pop in whenever you are passing, you will not meet a friendlier bunch of ladies xxx
I had a day out with a friend to Ikea yesterday, needless to say that today I will not be going far
from my bed today.
Apart that is from tonight when I get to go to the end of term Concert where the Orchestra Perform,
so I get to see what Lucy has been practising for all week.
We went to pick her up last night, lets just say that she was pleased to be home and Soph was very pleased to have her home, although we have one very tired little girl !!
Catch up with you all later,
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxxx

Janet's Thursday treat x

Good Thursday Morning Ladies,

A changed to the advertised viewing, due to technical difficulties I couldn't bring you my beautiful gift from Michele, how her it gives me chance to share with you this gorgeous card from Janet.

So pretty in beautiful blue and yellow,  Janet has used mixed media to create this pretty, summery card, including Creative Expressions Frames and Tags collection, Dainty Oval Frames to create that stunning centre piece, I can also spot the sparkle of Iced Snow in the background and finishing touches include some beautiful yellow seam binding ribbon and some pretty lemon and white flowers.

Thank you so much Janet for allowing me to share your beautiful card with everyone xxx

Please check back tomorrow for Michele's card, Sue and Pat will confirm it's worth the wait.

We had a lovely day yesterday, Pat and I learned how to make Stepper cards, using the 

Old faithful Ultimate Pro !  Pat made about five I think, Sue was busy quilling, amongst a lot of

Chatting and laughter, I really am blessed with such amazing friends!

Love and hugs 

Sandra 

Xxxxxx

Hazel's Gorgeous Lily of the Valley Card.

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies,
Oh I am so looking forward to a day with my girls today, yesterday seemed like the longest day ever,
with out my special lunch companion! Oh why do I miss him so much??
Anyway I ended up with a poorly Sophie yesterday, but she was all day in bed, I think it was inevitable at some point this week, she had been up and down all night, so I kind of knew this morning that she wasn't going anywhere, I rang school and explained the 'twin' thing and that they had never been apart and the lovely lady at school totally understood, it was only a sports day today, so no big deal, she is going in tomorrow though,
Now I was supposed to be saving this card for my blogs while I was away, but I just couldn't wait,
(sorry Hazel) !!
I can see that Hazel has used a gorgeous Lily of the Valley Image, I love this particular image, its so sweet and innocent.
Its actually nice to have a card that isn't made entirely with dies, especially for the people that look in and maybe don't have any dies.
I think we forget sometimes that there were cards before dies and its sometimes nice to go back to the old, traditional ways. (jees I sound like an old woman)
Anyway, thank you so much Hazel for allowing me to share your amazing card xxxx
Maureen, my sweet friend, you were in my thoughts all day yesterday, it must have been the hardest thing to go through, we are here for you now and always, whatever you need. xxxxx
Michele, thank you from the bottom of my heart, that was the sweetest gesture, I will share it with everyone tomorrow (when my photographer is home) I really must learn, I need a camera that you can just point and click, Paul's has too many knobs and dials!!!!
Right off to get dressed before Sue comes to collect me,
love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxx

Pat's Pretty bag x

Good Morning Ladies,
Today I want to share with you all Pat's beautiful bag that she made for her Granddaughter Amy's
19th Birthday, Amy loved the Bag, it just proves that these bags are suitable for all ages from pretty little girl bags right up to more sophisticated bags like this one that Pat has made.
Pat used the usual 'Izzy' bag instructions, using the Phoenix Die from the 'Gemini' range of dies from Creative Expressions, designed by Sue Wilson.
Pat finished the bag with a Faux Quilled Blooms from Creative Expressions and the little Bows are the Itty Bitty Dotty Bow by Creative Expressions.
Thanks so much Pat for sharing Amy's bag with all of us xxxx

Yesterday's hospital visit was quite brief really, we arrived and after about 10 minutes a lady appeared and ushered us miles down a maze of corridors, she then measured the width of my wheelchair seat, went off and came back with a new wheelchair for me to try, it was very nice and
made of aluminium, so much lighter than the steel frame one I have now.  Sadly the wheelchair I tried and loved was only a 'trial' one and I now have to wait 6 weeks for this new one to be delivered.
So that's something to look forward too.
Today will be a long day as Paul has had to go away again, but I have plenty to keep me busy, trying to get organised for holiday, I still thought we had a month but no, its just under 3 weeks away.......
Panic!!!! 
Not really, just need to get the girls some clothes sorted, I can't believe that the new shorts and bikinis I bought them for holiday last year so small on them, they can't breathe in the shorts and the bikini tops just go nowhere near.  The most frustrating thing is with buying bikinis for them is their bottom half is small for a fifteen year old but their top half isn't, so bikinis that are a whole set are just no use, so we are going on the weekend to see if we can get some separates!
Well that's all for today ladies,
Will catch up later,
love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxx

Man card by Michele !

Good Monday Morning Ladies,
Just a quickie from me this morning as I have an appointment at the Centre for Enablement in
Oxford, to be assessed for a new Wheel Chair, I have had mine since 2009 and use it almost every day, so its kind of worn out, my GP called it a disgrace!! Its just got rusty wheels and a few wonky bits. Lord only knows what I will have to endure whilst being 'assessed' today.
Its actually only about 27 miles away, its a long one of the worst roads in Oxfordshire, so it will easily take an hour and a half!
I will update you upon my return.
How fantastic is Michele's card today????
I particularly love the script printed matt in the background, and the punched band around the card ties all the colours of the card together.
I am guessing your Dad is a steam train fan Michele? My father in law is too, he used to belong to a fund raising group in Wales and got the chance to have a drive of one too.
Everything about your card is perfectly balanced Michele, the Gold Card Candi finish the card perfectly.
Thank you so very much for sharing this fabulous 'Man' Card Michele, its hugely inspiring xxxx

I hope that you don't mind that I only posted one card today, its for two reasons, one being that
our internet was playing up and the second reason is that I have to save as many cards as I can to leave scheduled posts while we are on holiday, so you ladies have something new to look at every day, I will be 'live' posting when I can, but internet access in the shadow of the Pyrenees can be touch
and go at the best of time, but we have a few weeks yet.
So if any of you have cards that you would like to add to the collection to be scheduled, I would be very grateful.
Love and Hugs
Sandra
xxxxxxx

Another Happy Surprise through the letter box!



Good Sunday Morning Ladies,
I wanted to share with you today another beautiful card that popped through the letterbox.
This time the beautiful card and very touching inside were sent from Janice, as with Janet's
card it really touched my heart and bought a huge smile to my face and tear to my eye ( are you
picking up that I am quite sensitive, emotionally)!
But just to know that there are people out there that are enjoying what you do and are getting a little something out of it makes it all so worthwhile. The fact that someone goes to the trouble of making me a card 'just because' means the whole world, I think that as we are all card makers we appreciate
it even more.
Janice has used some beautiful papers to make this card and matched the base card beautifully,
I love the sentiment on the card too and agree, love does grow happy hearts.
Thank you so much Janice for the lovely card
and for bringing a smile to my face. I am so blessed to be among such amazing friends every day on this blog.
Love and hugs
Sandra
xxxxxx