Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

We had quite a bit of rain yesterday which the lawn was grateful for, I did chuckle at Paul's determination to get the washing dry on the line though he was in and out so many times during the afternoon, it still ended up needing to be dried,  its currently on the airer in the conservatory.                 I managed to get a few little jobs done, descaling shower heads, the kettle, coffee maker, water filter jug and my metal drinks bottle.  It started because I used Paul's shower downstairs and the spray was more of a 'spritz' and went in every direction but down!  So I put a couple of scoops of Citric Acid into a jug with boiled water and popped the shower head in, it literally fizzed like crazy, within 5 minutes it was clear and back to normal, the best part of using Citric Acid is that it isn't harmful to us or our rivers and it doesn't smell like vinegar, so I went on to do all the other bits too, our water is really hard. 

We got all of the holiday towels and bed linen washed dried, aired and packed away for next time. All of the plants that we collected together in large trays for watering while we were away are back in their usual homes.  

We have a big difference when it comes to our holiday clothes this year, usually they get washed, ironed and packed into boxes to go away for next year, this year for the first time we still have the rest of July and all of August to go, so we'll leave a lot of our holiday clothes out for a few weeks, just in case we get another heatwave! 

Today's card is another of my 'pre holiday ' makes.  I started by masking off a strip at the top of the card and took a long stamp block with distress ink smooshed on it, spritzed it with water and smooshed the ink onto the masked off area, after drying the area I stamped over the ink with a script stamp.  I then took my wheat stalk silhouette stamp and stamped over the inked strip.  To finish the card I stamped the sentiment,  although despite a few attempts it couldn’t get a perfect image (I'm pretending its a distressed sentiment 😉).

I hope that you all have a great start to the week, 

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

Lets look at what we have been making this week

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

We had a better day than was forecast so that was a bonus, we managed to get 3 loads of washing dry, mostly towels too which was really handy as they take ages in the tumble dryer!  I got our bags unpacked and washing sorted, just have to wait for girls to do theirs, although they shouldn't have much washing as they lived almost everyday in Bikinis with a beach cover up over them, maybe a couple of t shirts from the nights we went out, I am hoping they don't just dump the whole bag out to be washed!  

Paul got the grass cut, although sadly it looks a bit brown and crispy, hopefully the rain that is forecast for tomorrow will help it,  we are on a hose pipe ban from Monday (i think) so it won't be getting a soaking other than rain.  

Let's have a look at what you have been making...

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Here is my art journal page for this weeks challenge.

Lavinia masks, indigo blue stencil.

Night of navy ink, also used a inktense pencil in navy blue.

So lovely in shades of blue Lilian,  what a genius idea using the vase stencil and filling it in with another stencil !!  Even with it all being blue every thing stands out individually,  you are so creative when it comes to scene building!  

Thank you so much for creating and sharing your journal page, especially in this ridiculous heat!  XXX 

Karen

Karen's Descriptions:

Card 1:

Last one for this week - shades of blue

Blue Serif background splattered with Posca paint

Sue W “Noel” die in navy and white xx

Card 2:

Another one for “shades”

….of grey

An image from Serif Have used a silver Sharpie on parts

Card 3 & 4,

Here are 2 challenge cards I had a play with the transparency button in Serif So created 3 rectangles and on 2 of them took the transparency down The images are from Serif and I printed the sentiment and cut with Julie Hickey banner die.

Wow Karen you have had a very creative week !!  You have made some amazing cards, all different too. 

Adding the paint splatters to that Serif background makes such a difference,  it transforms it from a printed background to something that looks more hand crafted,  brilliant idea ! 

Your second card looks 100% like you have stamped Julie Hickey flowers over the background,  I would never have guessed that it was a serif background!  

Again Wow For the last two cards, I'm not going to pretend that I understand the process but the cards you have created do not look like they are Serif created.  You are so blooming clever. 

Thank you so much for creating 4 amazing cards for this challenge XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

I wasn't sure what to make this week but I went for,

Brown and Gold. I made a border with a stencil that I got with TH inks. I got this fun Waistcoat die last week so used brown and gold card and white for the shirt and collar bits. Hope it fits even if it is not completely one colour 🤭😊. 

Maria I love this card, that Waistcoat die is amazing and I love how you have used it,  that border works perfectly with the Waistcoat and everything ties together nicely. I can't believe the detail that die cut has!😍

Thank you so much Maria for supporting this challenge XXX 

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As always ladies, I want you to know how muchbI appreciate the time that you all put in to supporting the blog ❤️

I hope that today is a little less humid than yesterday and that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

My love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

Our first weekend back, the garden chore list is endless,  the poor lawn looks half dead where its had no rain,  the weeds in the lawn are thriving though🙄.  The weekend before we went away I crippled myself when I got carried away moving the little stones on the rockery to get the roots of the bindweed out,  the time just disappeared while I was concentrating,  I filled a huge trug with bindweed roots, the first thing that I noticed when I went into the garden was the huge carpet of bindweed covering the rockery, thriving to the point that it was covered in flowers!!  Why can't plants that we want to keep thrive like that,  all of these genius scientists could surely extract the 'thrive in any condition' gene from  weeds and put it in plants!!  On the plus side we have harvested potatoes,  we have an abundance of courgettes and sprouting Broccoli, runner beans, kale & Spinach!  

What do you all have planned??

Gina

Gina's Description:

The Mechanism in the shutter card was made following Sam Calcots YouTube video from 5 years ago.  The images are from Serif Craft Artist.

Gina your Shutter card is amazing,  so detailed, I bet Max absolutely loved it,  you definitely can't buy anything with that personal touch.  Thank you so much for sharing your card with us XXX 

Karen

Karen's Description:

Mosaic blanket done I ran out of grey So it’s a bit shorter than pattern Just need to decide which charity to give it to now I’d like to keep it fairly local.

Karen it's amazing,  I love the Mosaic pattern although to me it looks way too complicated,  having that blue edging really finishes it off.  I think it will be instantly snapped up wherever you decide to donate it too. 

Thank you so much for sharing it with us xxx

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Chateau Du Rollin 

I absolutely loved the simple planted borders at the chateau we stayed at, mostly because of the beautiful Agapanthus,  the host a lot of weddings in the summer so I think the keep their borders fairly neutral so they work with all colour schemes. 

These Agapanthus are so beautiful, they remind me of those huge starburst fireworks, the colour of these ones was stunning. 

Beautiful borders x

I believe these are Standard Lavaterias, they look so much neater than the ones we used to have. 

Finally this Persian Silk or 'Mimosa' tree caught my eye, so unusual ....

The leaves are almost like fern  fronds and the flowers look like silky tassels.  

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  

Love & hugs to all,

Sandra xxx

Shades of Orange Agapanthus

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies, 

Yesterday just disappeared in a blur,  I had bladder clinic in the morning,  which I was worried about after last time, we got into the room and Cindy (who is lovely) said 'Mo' is doing your procedure today,  when I saw that Mo was the lady that did it last time my heart sank, particularly as my bladder was sore from the journey,  but she left the numbing in for longer this time which must have helped as it wasn't anywhere near as painful as last time.  Thankfully!  Soph and I then went to tesco to get some fruit and veg and fill the fridge up!  I really struggled in the heat in the afternoon though, we went to look around the garden and the heat just overwhelmed me!  

Today's card I made using my Agapanthus stamp again, this time I went for yellow/orange to colour the flower head, using the stamp tool makes it easier to add more colour where needed.  The accent colour I used was brown.  I added the stamped piece to a matching orange card base. 

I hope that you are all enjoying your day,

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

We're Home!!

 

Good Morning My Lovelies, 

We are back home, we were panicking that we wouldn't make our crossing due to long delays around Paris,  However Paul got us there,  it helped that our train was delayed 10 minutes,  we drove straight through,  both Passport controls were really quiet,   I did mention that to the French Border Control Officer,   he said he was putting my file to one side if it got busy later,  I would be having a 'full search' next time 🤣😂 He was telling us it was mega busy last weekend with the French National Holiday 'Bastille Day' being o  Monday.  It was nice to have one that was chatty. 

Today's card is another one I made to use up Inky backgrounds that I made a while ago,  I used a Tim Holtz background die to cut the detail out of the top layer, putting the Pixie Powder background behind the patterned die cut.   I then used my tiny Dragonfly dies to create some Dragonflies to embellish the card.  I used Mirror card (matt) for the details on the Dragonflies and the sentiment I used Silver Embossing Powder. 

I really like how this card turns out! 

Bladder Clinic today! 

I hope that you all have a lovely day, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Sonia's Father's Day card

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

Last leg of the journey today, our Channel Tunnel booking is for 5.00pm (4pm uk time) so we should be hitting the motorways for rush hour!  🙄🤣😂

We had a smooth journey yesterday,  we did around 350 miles,  got to our favourite little Chateau in Orleans at about 5.30pm. Showered, Paul had a nap and we then went out for something to eat,  we were both exhausted as I was up and down all Monday night as my bile duct was really inflamed and painful, causing that bloated feeling that making my bladder super sensitive!  Any food thats fatty or oily/ greasy really affects the bile duct in the same way that it caused incredible pain when I had gallstones.  It hasn't been a problem all the time we were in spain as we lived on salads most of the time.  

Karen I hope that your mouth isn't too sore after your dentist visit, I can't even imagine the pain, I have a huge dentist phobia!  I hope your clinic appointment went well too xxx 

Sue I hope your migraine has past and you are feeling brighter,  I have read about an 'Amish' remedy that thousands of people said works,  you take a potato,  cut in half length ways, spread both sides with Vicks vapour rub, then sprinkle salt over one side and rub both sides together and hold this on your forehead for about 10 minutes.   Its gota be worth a try! xxx

Maria I am sorry to hear that your Dad is back in hospital again, I really feel for you as its so hard when you are so far away.  Sending you hugs xxx

Today's card is the Father's Day card that Sonia made for her Dad....

Sonia's Description:

Father’s Day card.

I used Tracey Hey “Hey Cutie” stamp set and coloured the elephants dungarees with my Ohuhu markers. I stamped directly onto one of the designs from “Stamp Me” paper pad, the background paper is another of the designs. Sentiments from “Man, Myth, Legend” stamp set. 

Such a lovely card Sonia, I bet your Dad loved it,  I really like the background that you can stamp on,  I am going to have to look at her website!  The font of the sentiment is lovely too.                                         Thank you so much for sharing your card with us my lovely XXX 

I hope that you all have a good day,  it looks like we will be arriving home to rain!

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

Shades of Green

 

Good Tuesday Morning Ladies,

Just a quickie today as we have had to pull into McDonald's carpark to use their WiFi as our Chalet is so far up the site the WiFi doesn't reach. 

So I have used the same paper line from SU as last weeks card, this time in Old Olive,  a colour that will always be a favourite of mine. 

I created a 'Z' fold card using both sides of the paper for contrast.  I fussy cut the flowers from a piece with larger florals and adhered to the sentiment panel. 

It was super hot here in Millau last night with humidity in the 90's. 🥵

We have a very long driving day today,  we will be taking plenty of stops so we can keep hydrated. 

I hope that you all have a great day, 

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx

Man card Monday?

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

We start our lon journey home today,  we did manage another lovely afternoon at the pool after we had dropped the girls at the airport, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky compared to yesterday.  We were treated to the most spectacular lightning storm, not too much thunder, the girls and Paul went to find a good spot to watch it from at about 11.45pm!  Not for me though, I was in bed with a book! 🤣

Today's card does have floral embossing but I still think it works as a Masculine card, I layered it onto Kraft & Cream card and added a simple sentiment to finish the card.

A close up of the embossing (if it shows)  this bright sunshine plays havoc with seeing my phone screen! 🙄🤣 

I hope you all have a great start to your week, 

Love & hugs 

Sandra xxx

Let's look at our crafts this week

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that the heat isn't causing you all too much discomfort,  we had a dramatic day yesterday,  everyone at the pool had a phone call/message simultaneously,  which was odd in itself,   we all had a warning ⚠️ alert, there were severe storms forecast with significant flooding likely, it warned you to not be anywhere near bodies of water,  which is impossible for us as we are between a massive river/lake thats a nature reserve and the sea.  Our reps then came around to reinforce the warning and advised us that we shouldn't leave the resort site, so that we could be contactable at all times.  It has been a couple of hours since we received the alert and we are just getting the rain and thunder, this place was quite flooded from the storm earlier in the week, which there was no warning for, the good thing here is it dries up super fast.  There is a large area of Teepees here, that are right beside the river, their reps are panicking a bit as they have no alternative accommodation and they have about 50 teepees with families in.  Hopefully they are being over cautious because of that disaster in Valencia last year that they refer to as the deadliest natural disaster in Spanish history.   The girls fly out today at 1pm, so fingers crossed it clears up fast. 

Let's look at what you have been making....

Karen

Karen's Description:

Card 1:  

I have rejigged a Julie Hickey card that I have previously done This time shades of orange with brown mat The photo makes it look very dark/bright 

I shaded Carved Pumpkin DO and splashed with water A bit of Aall&Create stamping Sue W tag die and Julie Hickey flower Plus some Nuvo drops Not too sure about it but it’s growing on me

Card 2: 

Here’s another challenge card for “shades”

I found some Valspar paint charts and cut some  JL butterflies Found a piece of pink card similar in colour for mat and sentiment

Two lovely cards Karen, I love the layout of your 'rejigged ' card, I really love that colour too. 

I can't believe you still had some of those Valspar paint swatches, that has to have been years ago!  Like I have said many times...if you keep things long enough they will be just what you need, the colours work great with your chosen accent colour. 

Thank you SO much for 2 lovely cards for the challenge 😘 XXX

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Hi hope you still enjoying your hols. It’s very hot here.

This is my card for this week’s challenge 

Left over piece of stencilling from a couple of weeks ago, only reversed.

Not sure where the stamp came from, colour based on mermaid lagoon.

Ooh beautiful blue 💙!! Gorgeous card my lovely, those tiny butterflies are amazing they really do look like they are 'in flight',  the green is the perfect accompanying colour for mermaid lagoon.  Tje flowers are so pretty 😍 

Thank you so very much for another lovely card XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

Card 1:

The first card is a fold over one. I used a pink card and used a die to cut out the piece for the front and for the inside I used dies by SW. Heat embossed the sentiment x

Card 2:

On the second card I used some stamps from a magazine, can't remember which one, Dragonflies and butterfly. Heat embossed and then used some of TH inks in Green through some cut outs x

Two amazing cards Maria,  card 1 is a lovely 'Z' fold card, the colour is pretty and I like the details you have die cut into it,  using the fall out bits from the die cut as tiny flowers is a great idea, adding the little black gems really enhances them.

I love the inky background of your second card, the silhouette stamps work perfectly on it. 

Thank you so very much for creating 2 lovely cards for the challenge 🥰 XXX

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I will let you know if there are any changes to our situation,  

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I am sat outside writing this at midnight,  we have an extremely warm and humid night, I was sure it said 91% humidity,   its not pleasant,  we have aircon inside but it's nice to sit outside on an evening,  we popped to the Old Town earlier this evening,  so we didn't get dinner until 10 30pm,  which is quite normal here,  I don't know how they do it every night, I hate going to bed with a full tummy, it's too hard to relax.  We took some photos of the old town, I will share them below.....

There are definitely more flowers in bloom at this time of year,  the Bougainvillea plants look beautiful, they are all different colours, white, pink and purple, the scramble up the old buildings so easily. 

These photos were taken by Lucy on our walk home on Thursday evening...

Its hard to capture,  the moon was full and it glowered a beautiful peachy orange colour. 

This was taken from the Coastal path, the full moon over a cliff, it looked so pretty with the reflections on the sea, in the cove at far end of the beach.

These are 'Agave ' plants,  the flower spikes are reach up to a good 20ft, we thought it was a tree behind the plant at first,  its amazing to see up close, once they have flowered the plants die!  Which seems so sad. 

This last photo is looking the other way in the coastal path, those lights in the distance are Estartit, the little town full of souvenir shops that we went on Monday. 

Thanks Lucy for sharing your lovely photos 🥰😍

Maria

Maria has shared this stunning Crystal Art that she has recently finished.  

She managed to complete it while Rick has been watching Rugby and Cricket.  The colours are so beautiful Maria, I bet it will look incredible once its framed. 

Thank you so much for sharing your Crystal Art with us my lovely XXX 

Ladies, I hope that you all have a great Saturday,  

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx