Angela's Rocker Cards & Michele's 2nd Bargain Die Review

Good Morning Ladies,

Have you all got a fun weekend planned? Not much planned here, I am hoping to spend some time in my Craft room .

I heard from Our Val, she is having a fantastic time.......

"Anyhow, having a great time here. Nothing much to do except lie on the beach eat and drink. They've been making me the most amazing non alcoholic cocktails. It's such a hard life.

Well must go, off into dinner now. I must have put on a stone. The food is delicious and the deserts out of this world. I'll worry about the weight when I get home!!!

We fly back to UK on Sunday then 5 days in North Wales.

I think I've come away at the right time. My village in Spain has had snow for the first time in many years and yesterday it was thundering and lightening with lots of flooding. Yuk."

Lots of love 

Val xx

Angela has sent us some photos of Rocker Cards she made recently, they are amazing.

Thank you so much Angela for inspiring us, it's lovely to see something different,

Hopefully we will see you in a few weeks at Farnborough xxx

Now a look at Michele's 2nd delivery of her bargain dies........

A lovely range of dies Michele, something for everyone in your collection. Here is the information Michele has given us.....

 My quick diecuts. The box die was £4.45.

Motorbike die was £3.16, circles die was £2.37-it has no outer cutting edge so you can make it whatever size you need or use it to stamp a background. House dies were £1.51!! All in all I think they're bargains and once again, cut like a dream.

Michele xx

Thank you for you brilliant review Michele, the link ladies is in the post featuring Michele's first die haul last Thursday.

Matt is feeling better today, he asked me to thank you all for your kind thoughts and wishes.

Sending Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
Xxxxxxx

I am now off to find a comfy chair to sit and wait for Janet's pastry review!!!!

Oh and did any of you spot the 'mistake' in yesterday's post???

Hexagonal card

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope you are all well and those that aren't feeling 100% are starting to feel a little brighter xx

I recently had the urge to make different shape cards, to challenge myself and do something different, so I order a set of Sizzix Thinlets Plus Hexagon dies, I then spotted that Sue Wilson's Pacific die range had a Hexagonal theme to so I ordered the Bora Bora die (well and the striped Nasturtiums but that's another story)! The two die sets work perfectly together, so I have been itching to make a card with them, so last night after tea was sorted I retreated to my craft room and the above card is the result. 

I basically used one of the larger Hexagons to die cut a card base (I just use an 8x8 white card), I then cut a blue Matt, then. Slightly smaller white one, I die cut the Bora Bora die background in blue, the detail part in white, another blue frame, the centre from Pat's Tahiti die and then my stamped Sentiment. 

I then cut out my flower box and my glue gun and arranged some flowers on the side and a small spray on the opposite side for balance.

I really hope you like it.

Ladies, I just want to add something this morning, I want you to know how much I love hearing your stories, yesterday's story from Janet's past, I talked about nothing else for the next couple of hours, same as with you Lilian and Brenda, all of you intact, please don't feel like you have to apologise for finishing a story, I really don't mind how long you chat for, the longer the merrier!!  It's just lovely hearing about your lives and about what made you -you!!

Sending love and hugs to all,

Love and hugs

Brenda 

xxxxxxxx

A couple of Challenge Cards & Michele's Cheap Dies

Karen's Challenge card (last Sunday)

Sue's Challenge card 

(from week before)

Good Morning Ladies,

Well what a 'kerfuffle' of a day yesterday turned out to be, firstly I awoke with an agonising reoccurrence of my Sciatica, not the best start to the day, not helped by the fact that I had another terribe night, I must have drifted off sometime after 4.10 am.  So at 6.15am Matt comes in to ask me to look at his face, he had come home from work on Tuesday with a really sore looking swelling on the bridge of his nose like a small boil/spot, I advised him to put some Sudocrem (our family cure all) before he went to bed, well when he came in yesterday morning his eyes were all swollen and he looked really rough, he went to work though, but when he came home he walked in absolutely white as a sheet and sweating, so I packed him off to the Doctor telling him to not leave until he had been seen, (I panic a little as he has very little immunity due to his Arthritis medication), he came back about an hour later, they have given him a strong dose of antibiotics as he has an infection in his face, I think he has gotten himself really run down worrying about this hospital appointment today.  I will be glad when its all done and we can all relax, his lovely friend Jodie is going with him, she is really good at keeping him upbeat and his mind occupied.

It was Paul's last night of 4 nights shifts last night so I look forward to getting back to 'normal' for a few days, plus I felt terrible trying to not make a noise as I was lying next to him trying to get some sleep yesterday morning, I find when I have sciatica I can't help but let out a little 'oh' every time that pain shoots down my leg, poor chap, luckily he sleeps like a brick!

Now onto todays cards......

Karen, It looks to me like the couple on your card are doing the 'Argentine Tango' (one of my favourites), I guess this is a Serif Image that you have die cut, I really like the way you have embossed the background and sanded it back, revealing a little of the core of the card, it looks like the scraper foil board with a copper core, so effective (i hope thats what you did)!  The band across the card looks like embossed vellum, it ties the whole card together. Is the treble cleft a Scan & Cut embellishment?   Thank you so much for re-sending your card Karen and for taking part xxx

Sue, I love the colours you chose for your trifold card, the papers are pretty too, you matched your butterflies and flowers pefectly to the colours of your card, the gemstone trim really drew your eye in and finished off the edges of your card.  Thank you so much for taking part Sue, I look forward to seeing your Easel Card 😉 xxx

I am sure you all remember that Michele recently ordered some cheap dies from China, well they arrived and Michele has done a little review of them for all of us.......

My cheap dies from eBay (seller in China) arrived today-they're not very well packaged but not at all damaged. The three dies cost me €7.17 & no postage which I think is about £6 which I consider an absolute bargain . I cut them out using scrap card, various thickness and they cut like a dream. I used my Cuttlebug because it was on my desk already, the cutting plates really should be replaced as they're so marked & warped but the diecuts still came out perfectly, in one pass through. The only negative I can think of is how long the order takes to arrive, it did arrive when the seller said it would.

Thank you so much Michele for taking the time to give us a quick review on your Bargain Dies, I will include the link below to the seller that Michele bought the dies from.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cute-Metal-Cutting-Dies-Stencil-For-DIY-Scrapbooking-Embossing-Paper-Card-Decor-/182243964560?

Phew, another long blog post, but we all like to know about a bargain, don't we?  By the way if any of you don't do Ebay but still want some dies just let me know and I can get them for you.

Brenda, I hope both you and Ciara enjoyed the Young Voices concert at the O2, you must have been so proud, I expect you will be tired today so please have another blanket day, sending warm hugs xxx

Karen, I hope your throat is a little better today, does honey and lemon help?  healing hugs on their way xxx

Maria, I hope that your tummy has eased a little today, it must make you feel so miserable, not that I can ever imagine you being miserable, you always have a smile on your face, hugs xxx

Tracy, you must be sick with worry, I can so understand why you have no confidence with your GP, I hope you get seen and get some reassurance very quickly, we are all here for you xxx

Elaine I hope your GP visit went ok, sometimes when we get wrapped up in caring for someone else we forget about our own health, I hope than can help you quickly. I am sorry to hear that Andrew has reacted badly to his new medication, the set backs that these things cause can be so frustrating both for Andrew and yourself, hugs on their way xxx

Janet, I hope Marigny is a little warmer this morning, please thank Dobbie, he is doing a fine job in your abscence.  I should wrap up super warm for market day tomorrow, I hope your journey to shops was ok yesterday too, warm hugs en route! xxx

Have a lovely day ladies,

Love and Hugs

Sandra

xxxxxxx

Stampin up card from scratch!

Good Morning Ladies,

Pat and I had a lovely day crafting yesterday, sadly Sue had car trouble so she couldn't make it.  I think she called to see back last night. I have to say Pat had a sideboard full of beautiful handmade cards, they look amazing all sat beside each other, you ladies are so amazing xxx

My card has been made totally from scratch, I used Stampin Up Touches of Texture stamp set...

A very versatile set, with which you can make lovely cards!

Lovely background images, its amazing how quickly a lovely 

Pattern fills the page. 

I stamped my background with the above die set, I then added  a small panel of silver card, to pick the Embossed silver dragonflies that were stamped in that background.  

To finish the card I added a Mirror Card mat behind my stamped focal point image, which is again a stamp from the above set,

I added a mirror card "DetailedDragonfly " die cut and a few green heart stones to finish my project.  

I hope you like it  xxx

I do hope our poorly girls on the blog feel better soon xxx 

I need to sit and craft today to get caught up and maybe do some more tutorials, what are you all up to??

Have a lovely day my dear friends,

Love and Hugs

Sandra 

Xxxxxxx

Janet's Double ZigZag Tutorial & Happy Birthday Pat

💝Happy Birthday Pat 💝

Good Morning Ladies,

A very busy blog post today, first up I would like to wish our Very Dear Friend Pat a very, very Happy Birthday, it's a very Special Birthday too, I won't say which Special Birthday, only that you are now 58.3 + VAT !!! 

So happy that we get to spend the day with you too xxxx

Now I am going to hand over to our lovely Janet, who has created an amazing tutorial on how to make her Easel card, I would love you to all have a go, we could have it as a mini challenge, I will give you until next Wednesday to send them in.

Here's Janet's  tutorial.......

 Janet's Zig Zag Card Tutorial

TUTORIAL FOR DOUBLE ZIG ZAG CARD 1 - Take 2 pieces of A4 size card - good quality GSM and cut each piece to measure 8" x 10". SCORE each piece at 4" 6" and 8" SEE FIG A. picture 2. Measure (each piece of card) 2.3/4" from the bottom at 8" score side. Cut from that mark to top edge of 4" score mark SEE FIG B picture. 3. Now fold your scored panels in mountain and valley folds on both pieces of card making your Zig Zag shape. 4. GLUE your two pieces of card together overlapping your 4" panels SEE FIG C picture. 5. You are now ready to decorate your Zig Zag card. Your will need 2 x 8"x 8" pieces of any patterned paper of your choice to cover the plain panels of your card. Only cover the planels which will be seen. If you are careful at cutting 2 pieces will be sufficient but if you're not sure than use A4 patterned paper. 6. You will need to choose a picture to place in the inside of your card making a theme of your choice. (I have used a picture of flowers set on a piece of music which I printed off Pinterest (make sure that if you do this permission has been granted for free use of the picture) 7. To fasten the front of your card use a die cut of your choice which will match your theme. As you can see I have used a die cut of a ball gown following my theme of music. You can now use your own Finishing Touches eg flowers etc to complete your card. HAPPY CRAFTING

14.01.17 janet

An absolutely fantastic tutorial Janet, thank you so very much, it must have taken you
Hours. I can't wait to have a go!!!

Well I am off to pack to go to Pat's with Sue.

Have a lovely day ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra
xxxxxx

Monday Challenge

Good Morning Ladies,

It's that time of the week again where I challenge you to try something new or different.  This week there is no specific 'sketch'.  I wanted to go back to the card fold theme, so I thought that this week we could all try to make an.......

Easel Card, it can be any shape and size you choose, for anyone that hasn't made one before I have done a very simple tutorial to give you the idea. 

Take your base card

Score and fold top part in half 

(Across the card)

Apply adhesive to the lower section of the 

Folded front 

Then add a piece of card exactly same size as your 

Original base card. This forms the area for you 

To decorate.

You will need to add something at the front of the 

Base card to act as a 'stopper' for the folded top section.

I have taken a side view so you compare.

This is a rough sketch for a round Easel card 

It works exactly the same way as any other shape.

I hope you enjoy the challenge, if you are unsure of anything please just ask and I will explain further.  Most of all I want you to have fun. I am going to have a go at a Hexagonal Easel card.

Now after reading your comments I have decided on a new twist to sharing your cards on Sundays.... I am going to just share the card with No Names under them, I will number them instead, then either later in the post of later in the day I will post the list of which card belongs to who!! What do you think?

Elaine and Tracy, please feel free to join in our challenge, it's not taken too seriously, it's a good mojo booster too!  Just email me a photo of your card to

paul.riley01@ntlworld.com

Now I am stretching my arms super far to give Brenda a huge hug, I so hope you are starting to feel better my lovely.  Xxx

Hugs dispatched to Broadstairs too, for our Lynda, you'll find an extra one tucked in for Terry too! Xx

Have fun with the challenge ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra 

xxxxx

Your Challenge Cards

My card

The sketch

Good Morning Ladies, 

I have a lovely assortment of Challenge cards to share with you today, so without further delay I will share them with you.......

Janet's Challenge

Janet,  I just your Art Deco image, you have a huge selection of images of ladies throughout so many different era's, such a useful collection too as you always have something for most occasions. All Of the elements on this card work so well together, the Spellbinders 'Botanical Bliss Beautiful Banner' die works perfectly as the frame for your image with its Art Deco style.  The plaited RicRac works well too, you have picked the perfect shade of blue for your sentiment too, it really highlights the blue in the card, a gorgeous card, thank you so much Janet for taking part xxx

 

Lilian's Challenge card

Lilian, such a beautiful card, to me there is nothing better in gloomy January than a gorgeous card that features Spring colours, I love the flowers you have used on this card and the colour is both delicate and spring-like, the other feature that stands out to me is the delicate green vine border, so pretty! The subtle yellow gingham ribbon compliments the card perfectly, thank you Lilian xxx

Lynda's Challenge card

Lynda, WOW, what a stunning card, the verse is beautiful, I love the 

Laces you have added they really give a luxury feel to your card, 

As do your beautiful flowers.  A truly beautiful card Lynda

Thank you so much for taking part xxx

Maria's Challenge cards 

Maria, two fabulous cards from you this week, one for men, I think beer is

A winner for most men! I love that stamped banner too.

Your second card is really pretty, the oriental lady is beautiful,

 the flowers in the stamped image match perfectly with your

 embossed frame. The pretty pearls and gems are all that is

Needed to finish your card.  Thank you so much Maria xxx

Margaret's Challenge card

Margaret, your card is fantastic, I love that floral die cut, it works 

Perfectly with the stamped sentiment, I think your card is 

'Bloomin Marvelous' too, thank you so much xxx

Michele's Challenge card

Michele, a fabulous Valentine card from you this week, you are very organised!

I love the embossing folder you have used.....details please.

Thank you so much xxx

Val's Challenge card

Val, I love your card, the sentiment/verse is lovely, I think I may have 

Something similar somewhere, from a kit I bought years ago, I must get 

Them out, I never think to use them with my cards,  guess what I will be 

Routing round for today!! I hope the Cape Verde sun is shining upon

You all, thanks for taking part xxx

Sue's Challenge card

Sue, I am so pleased you remembered in time for me to add you to the 

List this week! I saw the beginnings of your card on Tuesday, I love how 

Bright and cheerful it is, I'm sure Helen will love it, that looks little

Owl family look so cute, putting them on the branch was a stroke of 

Genius.  Thank you so much for taking part xxx

Thank you all so very much for your lovely responses to my email, you have no idea what having your support means to me. xxx

Have a lovely relaxing Sunday ladies, 

Love and Hugs

Sandra 

Xxxxxx