Your Challenge cards

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

An early start today as girls are off to work and I want to make sure Paul gets his breakfast in bed before they go, they can manage themselves but I know they will be rushing so I will give them some support, plus they just don't make tea like Paul and I do, they can make the most amazing coffee, any kind you like but tea takes patience I think.  So today I will be doing my best to ensure Paul had a relaxing day, he will want to treat it as though it's any other day I expect,  I have some bits to do a little afternoon tea,  the girls are working,  Becca is away and Matt is helping a friend today.  We had Harley for the day yesterday while Matt & Alex had a rare day off together, it was lovely spending some time with him, we took him for a long walk which really tired him out, I look forward to babysitting my Grandchildren rather than Grand-dogs, but you have to take what you're given I guess!!

Let's have a look at your TicTacToe Challenge cards....

Brenda

Brenda's Description:

Here is my challenge card,  the Category are masculine, circles and stripes, Paper used is StampinUp from a few years ago. I stamped within the circles a few times with a Versamark pad and added gold embossing powder. 

Thank you so much for taking part in this weeks TicTacToe Challenge Brenda,  your card is perfect, I love the extra embossed lines and adding the extra stamped circles and embossing in gold was an absolute Genius idea!!! I also love the addition of the gold mirror card it really gives an extra special touch.   Thank again my lovely XXX 

Cheryl 

Cheryl has designed a lovely 'Man' card for this weeks challenge using  Categories:  Masculine/Metallic/circles.

Thank you so much for taking part in this weeks TicTacToe Challenge Cheryl, I absolutely love your card, such a perfect colour combination, the stamped detail really ties your card together,  it works so well with your dotty border strip and the colour matches that fantastic topper brilliantly, a perfect 'Man' card XXX

Karen

Karen's Description:

Here’s a sort of Two-fer 

I inked the Tracy Evans stamp with Squeezed Lemonade Carved Pumpkin and Crackling Campfire and stamped on a piece of Pink Frog card which I spritzed with water I spritzed the stamp and stamped onto a second piece I then used other stamps etc to finish off So 1st one is Feminine Die cut (card base and mats) and  Metallic/metal (gold ink flicks)

Feminine/Die Cuts/Metallic 

Second card has an embossed base in cream card

Feminine - Die cut - Dry embossing

Thank you so much Karen for two amazing Challenge cards,  I love the effect you have achieved,  managing two cards for price of one is a huge bonus, I really need to get me Tracy Evans stamps out and play, thank you for inspiring me Karen XXX 

Janet

Janet's Description:

My first CC for this week was made using STAMPERIA 'ROMANCE' papers etc.

I used FEMALE/CIRCLES/DIE CUTS from the grid.

My second CC for this week was made also using STAMPERIA papers etc but this time I used their 'AROUND THE  WORLD'.

I used MALE/CIRCLES/DIE CUTS from the grid.

Thank you so much Janet for two lovely, timeless Challenge cards, both cards would work well for many different occasions so perfect to have in your card collection,  as always with these papers there is so much detail going on, you find something new each time you look.  Thanks again Janet XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

I used, stripes, feminine, die cuts.
Background is made using oxides, with a piece of foam packaging.
Paper is Stamperia, house of roses.
Message is an old sue wilson die,

Thank you Lilian,  your Challenge card is just so pretty,  I love the combination of the pretty floral paper and the soft striped background, the doilly gives thay extra special Feminine touch. 

Such a beautiful card XXX 

Michele 

Michele's Description:

My challenge card. I used a Little Claire topper, DoCrafts wood collection papers & Nailhead stickers as shown. Masculine/wood/metal.

Card 2:

Another challenge card -made for a colleagues 50th birthday next week. Embossing/circles/bling.

Thank you so much Michele for two amazing Challenge cards, I love the combination of the Ella's Design image with the wood effect background, it really works.

Your second card is just so beautiful, I absolutely love that die set that you bought,  the design is so beautiful, I also love that you have dies for the layers too so that everything looks perfectly finished off. XXX

Sonia 

Sonia's Description:

Here are my challenge cards
First one is masculine/circles/embossing. I’ve used a LOTV simply print digital image and the circular sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.
My second card is masculine/stripes/die cuts (and embossing). I die cut the ‘You’ sentiment by Sugar Pea Designs. I embossed with Speckled Egg embossing glaze, as well as the die cut stars. The striped backing paper is from Blissful Teal by Anna Marie. This card also fits our next challenge, so I hope it inspires.

Thank you so much Sonia for taking part in this weeks TicTacToe Challenge, I love both of your cards, your first card is super cute and I love the embossing folder that you have used.  Your second card is amazing,  I love the background paper, just the perfect amount of distress, I haven't tried the Tim Holtz  Embossing Glazes but after seeing your card I really want to, I might just pop onto Amazon after finishing this post ! 😂🤣 Thanks again Sonia XXX 

********************

Another incredible display of cards Ladies,  thank you all so very much for going to the trouble of taking part, I really do appreciate it XXX 

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xxxxxx

Mixed-up Saturday featuring Michele's Magazine Review

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

We had a lovely cool day of rain, rain and more rain yesterday,  the garden really needed it and fingers crossed it was enough to replenish all of the water butts. We used some 'Wildlife attracting'  seed boxes in our front borders after Paul spent literally hours and hours pulling out the Ivy and Clover that were tangled between the fir tree roots, we haven't seen anything much coming through, despite us watering every night  hopefully the thorough soaking yesterday will get the seeds to germinate! Otherwise the butterflies will be looking at my cauliflowers!! 😂😅

The card above is another of Sonia's inspiration cards for our next Challenge,  such a lovely Sentiment in a pretty font, I love the bold colours too.  Thank you so much Sonia for giving us more inspiration XXX

Up next is Our Michele's Magazine Review.....

Michele's Magazine Review 

Hi Ladies

Diecutting Essentials (issue 78) has a great set of Dies as the free gift this month.

Here’s some ideas of what’s inside the magazine.

First of three features using the free gift.

Second article, these all look so different just keeping to the two main colours.

This article show you can make some great projects not just cards using the free gift.

Gatefold cards-look at all the various styles you can make.

I’m sure we’ve all got some flower dies in our stash so we could make something similar to these cards.

More inspiration.

This feature shows you how to use Diecuts as stencils which creates done fantastic results.

More ideas.

These alphabet dies & stamps used here are lovely, so pretty.

More inspiration. I’m sure you could use any large alphabet dies and add mini flowers to them to recreate this look.

Great article on Hinged Diecuts-they make very impressive cards.

Some lovely summer colours used in these cards-made using basic shapes.

More inspiration.

Cards showing how to use the dies in a boxed set.

This photo shows the box set from John Next Door.

More idea using the  same dies.

How to use your intricate dies to show them off perfectly.

More ideas-lovely cards.

How to get creative using circle dies.

More ideas.

That’s all for this week so
Happy Crafting.

Love Michele

Michele thank you so much for a fantastic Magazine review, I do love this magazine, the free gifts always look useful and the magazine is packed with great features. I like the look of John Lockwoods new Magazine Kit, some great 'mixed media ' style sample cards included too. The Daisy cards are all very inspirational,  as are the 'circle' cards, what a great way to encourage us to get the best from our 'Basic shape' Dies.                                    I hope that you and Phil get to spend some quality time together this weekend with him being away this past week etc, relax and enjoy time together ❤XXX 

Cheryl

Cheryl got a great bargain from a Facebook selling page, a lovely big bundle of Crochet yarn for £6 50 posted! A real bargain Cheryl,  pretty colours too, I look forward to seeing what you create with it. XXX

I hope you all have  lovely weekend,  

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Sonia's Sentiment Challenge

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

Woohoo thank goodness it's Friday!! As I said yesterday it has been a very long week, now that Paul works all week I really do appreciate the weekend.  Nothing much happened here yesterday after a busy day Wednesday, I had a very lazy morning mostly due to no sleep and a terrible headache, I think the headache was partly due to the weird pre-storm atmosphere to be honest.  As I am writing this it is so dark outside, I think we might get some heavy rain but the threat of a storm has passed.  I hope that the rain bought some of you a little relief. 

Maria I hope that you have a lovely time in Colchester and Norfolk, we used to holiday in Norfolk every year as children, Paul and I used to take our caravan to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk with Matt and Becca when they were tiny, so many happy memories.

Your Next Challenge From Sonia

Sonia has very kindly chosen our next Challenge, which I am very grateful for x💓x.........

So for our next challenge Sonia has asked that we use the Sentiment as the main feature of the card.

Your sentiment can be Stamped, Die cut or Digital whichever you prefer.  The rest of the card can be decorated in anyway that you choose.

I am really looking forward to this challenge and  I hope that you all enjoy it too.

Thank you so much Sonia for choosing this weeks Challenge XXX

I hope that you all have a lovely relaxed weekend,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                                                                                      xxxxxx 

Pretty Daisies

Good Morning Ladies,

It feels like it should be Friday today for some reason, this week has really dragged.  The humidity yesterday was almost unbearable here, we had lunch at the local pub on the Thames yesterday, the breeze was wonderful, but as the afternoon went on it just seemed to get more humid, I am hoping that the forecast storm happens tonight and clears the air a bit.  Now it's so different to when we are on holiday, the temperatures far exceed ours but there isn't the humidity plus we are beside the sea so there is generally a breeze. I hope that you are all managing to stay cool and comfortable. 

I wanted to create something elegant and simple for todays Challenge card, I used Categories:  Feminine/Stripe/Die cuts

I took a piece of White Linen card and used an off cut to create 3 stripes across the card that I mounted onto foam pads for dimension. I then used a Brittania Die that I have had for years to create 3 daisies,  the foliage was made using John Lockwoods 'Additions' Foliage die, I cut them in Old Olive card and arranged them to create a base for the daisies.  I then stamped the sentiment on a piece of leftover card and added foam pads to the back.  I made this card for a lovely lady in the village that has just had hip surgery,  she was really worried bless her.  I hope this card brings a little smile to her face. 

I really need to tidy my craft room today, it looks as though we have been burgled in there, like they just emptied draws and cupboards! I am that exhausted after making a card that I just don't have the energy to tidy my space!  (That's my excuse anyway)!           In this heat even thinking is exhausting! 

I hope that you all have a lovely day, 

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx                                                                     

Two more challenge cards

Feminine/Die Cuts/Metallic 

Stripes/Die Cuts/Embossing 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Becca has asked me to thank you for her lovely Birthday messages, she had a lovely day Kayaking down the Thames,  followed by a yummy looking dinner out in the evening.   We are taking her out for lunch today at the Red Lion here in the village,  she has been there a couple of times but we are yet to try it, she booked the table a couple of weeks ago, the girls are off too so we there will be 6 of us (luckily) Matt is working and can't get time off sadly.  It should ve lovely if the storms that are forecast wait until we are done! 

It's so frustrating to see the Covid 19 numbers rising, but I can't say I'm surprised,  people have become so complacent, yes it's frustrating that the opening up has been delayed but it is for our own good, look what happened last summer when the government eased lockdown restrictions,  we ended up in another lockdown because people went crazy.  I think the government would have received criticism which ever choice they made!  I personally welcome the cautious approach. (Rant over).  

Sophie and Lucy got their invitation to be vaccinated yesterday,  they have both booked for next Friday, which is great news. 

Card 1:

I made this card last year using the Brand New 'Scripty' Embossing Folder from Stampin Up! I used the folder to emboss a piece of Green card, I placed this piece onto a piece of the same colour card that was 1/8th inch bigger and then onto a 6 x 6 card base.  The frame was made using 'SU' Woven Heirlooms ' Dies and Embossing folders. (You get an Oval and Rectangle frame die with matching Embossing Folder for each shape)

I used a Matt Gold card for the frame and corners.

Next I stamped my sentiment in ink to match the background card and placed it in the centre of the card with the frame on top. 

I added some foliage and a bow topped with a flower, but I thought the card needed something 🤔 else, after a bit of thinking I decided on corners die cut in the same matt gold card as the frame, i finished those with a tiny pearl to match the one in the centre of the 🌼 flower! 

What do you think?? I love it  😍 hahaha

Card 2:

I used the Concorde & Ninth Stamp set that I bought a few weeks ago, taking the Stiped one and stamping it multiple times in different shades of Green Distress Oxide inks. I matted this background piece onto a black mat, then onto a white card base. 

I have an old Spellbinders Die set with matching stamps, I used the 'Friend' die to cut two layers, I then adhered them together and pushed the front piece into a Versamark ink pad and them covered with clear embossing powder, I repeated this twice which gives a lovely glossy finish to the die cuts. I then stamped one of the matching stamps to finish the sentiment.

I wanted to keep this card fairly clean and simple so I used my Chinese Rose flower dies to create a simple rolled rose, I coloured the card with matching Distress Oxide before cutting, I rolled three roses and added two leaves in slightly darker shade.

I arranged these in the bottom left hand corner.

I really like how if turned out, it has quite a modern look I think.  I hope that you like it too!

I hope those cards give you a little inspiration.

Another warm and muggy day today, storms later on tonight, stay cool my lovelies,

Iove and hugs to all of you

Sandra

xxxxxxx

A Nautical Man card

 

Good Morning Ladies,

Today is our Becca's 27th Birthday today,  how is that even possible, it barely seems a couple of years that she turned 21!  We aren't seeing her today as she is going Kayaking down the Thames with friends, I was surprised to hear that as Becca is a little 'accident prone' 🤣😅🤣, She has promised me that she is wearing a life jacket!  We are going out for lunch with her tomorrow, she reminded me that this is her birthday 'week' , not just the one day.   

I feel bad for her as she is always taking photos of herself,  I love her confidence,  she has bought lots of new outfits for the different occasions this coming week but she was attacked on Saturday night, she manages 3 pubs in Burford, she was called on to help with a 'situation' and a few people were asked to leave, she then went outside to calm another customer when this 18yr old girl came at her, grabbing her by her hair and started kicking her in face, she said ' i kept my hands in the air as i didn't want to be seen hitting a young girl even in self defence! So she now has not only a black eye but the whole side of her face, she was so upset bless her,  she said that it isn't worth taking photos with a swollen, bruised face. The police were called at the time but wete unable to attend. She wasn't going to press charges but since we have been talking she has changed her mind, she gave a statement yesterday. 

How are you all coping with the heat, I ended up spending half the day laying on the bed, My AF does not like the heat!  Paul worked from home yesterday which was nice but he's back in the office today, but the girls are home which is lovely.  

Today's card is my next Challenge card, I used Categories:  Masculine/Metallic/Die cuts.

The paper I used is from the 'World of Good' suite, the stamps and dies are Stampin Up! Come Sail Away stamp set and matching dies to create the die cut elements.  I matted and layered with Gold Mirror card and Misty Moonlight card to create the card base. I arranged the die cuts around the sentiment banner.                                                             I quite like how it turned out. 

Another warm one today Ladies, so take it easy,

Sending Love and hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Man card for Monday

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

Well what a fantastic weekend,  beautiful Sunny Weather and England Won their first match!!  I am no big football fan to be honest, we spent most weekends following the girls round taking them to matches when they were younger, when they turned 18 they were in two minds whether to continue on into Ladies football but sadly our town didn't have a Ladies team then plus the girls decided it was best to concentrate on their A levels,  which was a wise decision.  So I know a little bit about football but it doesn't really interest me, Paul's not big into sport either, but we always sit and watch England play,  I actually got goosebumps when the scored!! 🤣😂

Today's card is a Masculine Birthday card, very simple design that was inspired to use from a card on Pinterest.

This card uses Categories:

 Masculine/Wood/Metallic 

I took a piece of Chocolate Chip card 4 1/8 X 5 3/8, and embossed 4 lines down the right hand side of card, I left a gap of 1 inch between the two so that I can add a piece of decorative paper, I chose a piece of wood themed paper as it worked well with the brown card.  I stamped a simple 'Happy Birthday' sentiment and embossed in gold for a bit of luxury. I mounted it onto a Chocolate Chip card base 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 inch. I added another piece of tree themed paper and stamped a sentiment and embossed in gold. 

Ladies I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx