Friday, 19 August 2022

Our Next Challenge

 


Good Friday Morning Ladies,

How are you all today?  Has the heat reduced at all?  We have had  a mixed bag of weather yesterday,  it started with clear sky this motorway then clouded over then we had a few spots of rain,  the sky over the mountains was black when we left to go shopping but when we returned the sun was shining  'Fingers crossed' that the sun shows up tomorrow please!!! 

Our Challenge Challenge 

I thought that we could all do with a Challenge to use up some of our patterned papers, I personally have enough for all of us!! 

So this week I would like you to make some cards using some of your Patterned Papers please 😘

I can't wait to see your cards or journal pages! 

I hope that you all have a Fabulous Friday,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx

Thursday, 18 August 2022

Karen's Fun Fold Challenge card



Good Thursday Morning Ladies, 

I am happy to report that we had a deliscious meal out for Paul's birthday, we had a mouth watering steak and salad with chips,  followed by my favourite dessert in the whole world Creme Brulee, let me tell you I did not want that dish to finish! Paul had what they call Café Gourmand, it consists of half a brownie in a little glass with creme anglaise, a petit Creme Brulee, a scoop of ice cream and a tiny coffee.  It was lovely, we were treated to a spectacular lightning storm on the drive back to our cabin.  
We arrived in Spain mid afternoon and then unloaded the car to make room for the girls and set off to collect them,  now the Sat Nav took us on a terrifying journey up through mountains on the narrowest winding road I have ever seen !! The road finished and there was a sheer drop, I don’t have travel sickness but I had a bag in my hand as I felt awful, it must have been the twisting and turning combined with the fear!  To give you an idea we couldn't go faster than 23 mph and at one point we had 15 miles to go and it was going to take 37 minutes!  We got there eventually,  there were a few cyclists enjoying the journey in the opposite direction!  The girls were very pleased to see us. 

Today's card is Karen's Fun Fold challenge card, I asked her if she would mind me sharing it today as she had so kindly added measurements , so if any of you were struggling you could have a go.

Here are Karen's measurements:

Here’s a fun fold card A piece of A4 made 2 cards
Wasn’t easy to photograph- sorry

The measurements for the fun fold card are piece card 11x8 1/2 
Score 11in side at 5 1/2 and 
4in along 8in side 
Cut diagonally to create two cards Cut 2 pieces of paper/card 5 1/4 x 3 3/4 and diagonally cut for mats


 Karen, I love the fold and love the paper you have used too, it works so well with the design.  I will definitely be having a go at this one. 

Thank you so much Karen for such an inspirational card and for sharing how you created it XXX

I hope you all have a lovely Thursday,  

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

Pretty Pink Fun Fold card

 





Good Morning Ladies, 

Paul asked me to thank you all for your kind Birthday wishes yesterday, we didn't have a very exciting day but as always we made the most of it, I know you probably get sick of hearing me say it but I am so incredibly grateful for every minute I get to spend with Paul, that in itself to me is a gift ❤️

Today's card is basically a Centrefold card, the two front panels are cut on an angle to add interest, I used a pretty Designer series paper in coordinating colours, I just live that bright pink, the card is held closed with a 'Belly Band that I decorated with flowers die cut from that same paper pack.  A simple sentiment and flower finishes the inside and that's about it apart from added matching gems to opposite corners of the front of the card.  I really enjoyed making this card and loved how it turned out.  I hope it gives you all a little inspiration. 

Have a lovely day my lovely friends, 

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Tower Card

 








Good Morning Ladies, 

I hope today finds you well, we are waking up in the beautiful 'Chateau du Rollin' today, what could be more perfect for my Amazing husband than waking up in a Castle on his Birthday!   






Not an exciting way to spend your birthday,  driving hundreds of miles but we will make the most of it,  we will have a lovely steak dinner tonight too!  

Today's card is a real Fun Fold,  it's called a 'Tower Card' it's super simple to make, you create a tube in the centre by cutting a piece of paper to 4 1/2 inches long, score at 1,2, 3 & 4 inches and burnish, then add adhesive to the last 1/2 inch piece and fold  into a tube glueing the flap on the outside,  you then cut 4 pieces of contrasting card and adhere to all 4 sides of the centre tower, then decorate as you please, I went for  black , white and pink.  I will do a proper tutorial when I get home.  The bonus with this card is that it folds flat to fit in an envelope. 

Well I had better go and get ready for breakfast, I will update you a over on our chat group 

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Monday, 15 August 2022

My First Fun Fold for this weeks Challenge

 







Good Monday Morning Ladies,

I hope that you have all made it through that horrendously hot and sticky weekend without too much discomfort.  It wasn't the best weather for packing and cleaning the house so that its all perfect for when you get home (I have asked the girls to leave it the same on Wednesday,  although Becca is staying over a few nights too so goodness knows what we will find 🤣😂

We ended up leaving later than planned as those last minute jobs always take longer than you expect!  But there was no rush really, we couldn't check in to our hotel until after 3pm anyway.  The car was packed to the seams, it isn't as big as our Previa and with the girls bags etc it made quite a difference but Paul got it all in !  

Today's card is one that I made on Thursday after deciding to do a 'Fun Fold' Challenge.  It's a 'Book Fold', its super easy to create, you basically score 1 inch in on the front flap and stick it down to the back of card.  You can then decorate as you wish, I decided to use a newish stamp set called 'Wonderful World' I stamped the flowers for the front and die cut with a circle die and created a matching mat in Orchid Oasis.  I created a ribbon border using punches and used some diamond gems that I coloured to match.  I used the same stamp on the inside to add some interest. I hope you like it 😘 

I will update you on our journey as we go along, 

I hope that you all have an amazing day,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx

Sunday, 14 August 2022

Your Challenge Cards

 





Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

Well yesterday was not the day be doing last minute ironing and packing, it was a case of do a bit then have a break and cool off then do some more, I got the clothes holdalls packed, Paul and share a large one then we have an overnight Holdall for clothes for the journey down there, I was really ruthless this year and cut down what we take by quite a bit, I thought that I was ruthless last year but we still came home with a good bit not worn, so this year I left out anything we didn't wear last year, we don't tend to go anywhere 'fancy' so there is no need to take stuff to dress up,  I have a few pairs of smart shorts and nice tops for going out, that should do. Paul has smart shorts and I have popped him some nice t shirts in, he isn't really one for wearing shirts other than for work. 

Your Challenge Cards 

Karen


Karen's Description:  

'One down, thirty to go'  I used a blend of:  Squeezed Lemonade Shaded Lilac and a hint of Wilted Violet.

Karen's first 'Thrinchie'  which are 3 x 3 inch pieces of artwork,  very popular at the moment especially among Tracy Evans followers,  after seeing yours Karen I think I might start them when I get back, it's a good way to use those A&C stamps that are sat gathering dust.  



Karen's Description:

Another background 
DO Spiced Marmalade Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet Some stamped text in Spiced Marmalade The toucan from #563




Karen's Description:

Final card/journal page for this week’s challenge 
Another Thrinchie 
This particular background is blended Speckled Egg and Evergreen Bough
I then added white acrylic paint to the Lotza Dots stencil I spritzed it with water and added I added shadows with an Inktense pencil I stamped the sentiment from #618 and the focal point #561 Stamped it again and triple embossed some of the circles.

WOW Karen,  thank you, thank you, thank you for some incredible inspiration, I really want to have a go at these, I have a whole stack of those albums that Becca bought years ago to start scrapbooking and never bothered, they are same as yours, so even more reason to make some! I really appreciate you taking time to support the challenge XXX

Lilian 


Lilian's Description: 

Hi, here is my card for this week, very simple back ground paper, with some gold stencilling.

You make think the background is simple I think it's stunning,  with the brick wall at the bottom it looks like a sky full of wispy clouds!  Your gold embossed branch is the perfect place for the sweet fairy to rest beneath.   Thank you so much for taking part I know you haven't felt up to it this week my lovely XXX 

Sonia


Sonia's Description:

I’ve used a LOTV image and stamped sentiment on a embossed background. The ‘celebrate’ sentiment is from The Stamp Market.

Another amazing 'Man' card Sonia, thank you so much for the inspiration, you simply can't go wrong with a Lilli Of The Valley Image they are cute but not tio cute, that stamped sentiment is fantastic and works perfectly for your card.  Thank you sp much for taking part my lovely XXX 

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

That's all for today Ladies, the car is packed and ready, Paul did an amazing job yesterday, one less thing to do before today, fingers crossed to traffic!!

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Saturday, 13 August 2022

Mixed Up Saturday featuring Sue's Magazine Review

 


Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I think the heat yesterday was a degree or two too far!! It was so hard to do anything,  annoyingly I had a lot of things that I needed to do!  It was simply a case of one little job at a time then a rest on the bed in front of the fan!  

Sonia it must have been so hot for you at work this week my lovely.  I hope you get time to sit and cool off between jobs. 

Karen how was the 2nd visit to the chemist with boxing gloves?!  I think that sometimes these people need putting in their place! I hope you got sorted.  One of our Dr Receptionist is the same, in fact Paul picked up my medication yesterday and he said he felt really awkward,  there was a lady talking to Receptionist about making an appointment for some test results etc, the Receptionist said let me check your recotds, she then preceeded to discuss what her what each test was and what the results showed,  Paul said he didn't know where to look (the reception is tiny) barely room for 2 people, she told the lady that there was some good news and some not so good, at which point Paul had had enough and told the pharmacist that he would wait outside to give the other lady some privacy ( aiming his comment at the Receptionist).  I often want to ask them how they would feel if some discussed their medical records publicly!! 

Sue has done us a Magazine Review....


Simply Cards & Papercraft Issue 233 

 (Aug 2022) 


This months magazine has a festive scenic die with houses and Father Christmas driving his reindeer over the sky. It is from Crafters Companion. There are plenty of ideas of how to use the die cuts which can be snipped into for different looks. As usual there are downloads of matching papers and toppers that you are free to print off. 




The first article uses inks to colour both the buildings and the sky giving a variety of looks. The How To: Create circular cards using your landscape die!





The Tried & Tested this month is the Crop-A-Dile from We R Memory Keepers. It is used to punch holes and fix eyelets to lots of materials. 

There is a How To: get started with your Crop-A-Dile which clearly shows how to use it and there is a list of ways to add eyelets or punched I holes.




 There are some great gift wrap and keepsake ideas here all made using the freebie die and free download papers and toppers. The first make is a decorative jar and tag set. Add some home made or shop bought goodies and you have a lovely gift. Other makes are some tags, bags and a shaker lidded box and also a battery operated tealight candle holder. Most of the makes are quite quick and easy to make with just the shaker lid box taking longer. 



This is a tutorial to make See-through die cut cards. It’s just what it says on the title- you cut through both the front and the back of the card before decorating so something different for a change. There are two How To: in this article, one basic and one that is more intricate. Both create a see-through die cut card and shows just what you have to do. It’s a technique I’ve never tried but you get some lovely cards so I must give it a go. 



Candy cane lane shows three pretty Christmas off the page makes with free template downloads for you to use. You can make stencils of other celebrations to use if you prefer. A tote bag, banner and wooden signs decorated with different pens all make more keepsake items. Having templates means even I can have a go at brush lettering! 


The In-Depth guide to this month is Double Heat Embossing. The guide shows the step by step instructions using layering stamps, and matching dies if you have them but you can fussy cut them if you prefer. This technique gives real depth to the butterfly or whichever layered stamps you have. Definitely one to try. 



This article is the final one using the freebie die. It has four makes of different card shapes and styles that all look lovely using pink and purple as the main colours which are very popular again this year. These colours look great against the black silhouette die cuts. The How To: creates a scenic shadow box card. A different style that still folds flat for posting which is very important especially at Christmas! 



In the Spotlight shows how to use this die cutting technique. There are many ways of creating cards in this way. The basic idea is to have a portion of the card front “in the spotlight” You could stamp an image, cut a portion of it out, colour that portion then replace it. Of course you can do the opposite too. Also die cut letters or numbers, add foam tape to the die cut portion then replace. Just a couple of ways to spotlight cards. The How To: explains clearly how easy this is to do. 


The final technique is using this issues digital papers and toppers downloads to make some quite traditional Christmas cards using teals and gold as the main colours. These colours work so well together. 

If anyone would like more information please let me know Sue xx

Sue thank you so much I know how long these take to do, you have written an amazing review XXX 

Shopping 

Karen 


Karen has had this amazing Doodle Square die set from Clarity on her wishlist for a while and has finally treated herself,  you work hard Karen and definitely deserve a treat,  I can't wait to see how it cuts ,thank you so much for sharing your shopping Xxx

Lilian



Lilian treated herself to some new Stamperia Papers, the look gorgeous Lilian 😍  Some of the images look like Spanish Flamenco dancers, so so pretty. 
Those Folied Christmas inserts are a brilliant idea to cut down on the insert stamping on Christmas cards.  Last but not least the Hunkydory Sentiment strips, I have these and they are so useful, just to snip and layer onto any matching card. 
Thanks for sharing your shopping Lilian,  I cant wait to see what you create. XXX

Well that's all for today my lovelies,  

Have a fantastic Saturday, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx