Wednesday Blues!

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all well and that none of you have the 'Wednesday Blues' !  I don't either,  I was referring to the card 🤣😂🤣😘

We have an Electrical Test today,  up until now they have been in and out in half an hour, they checked the circuit breakers and smoke alarms and that was about it, this chap called me Friday to arrange an appointment, I knew Paul was working Monday and Tuesday so I made it for today so that someone is here to go upstairs with him etc, he told me that the check coukd take up to 3 hours andin that time the power will be on and off, which hasn't pleased Sophie as she has an online University class, hopefully it won't be that long or disruptive. 

Today's card inspiration started by me pulling out a paper pad and some flowers dies and sitting playing with papers and die cut flowers,  The products I used are all be Anna Marie Designs. 

I picked 2 papers from the Paper pad, distressed the edges and laid one piece directly on card front and tore the other one to leave rough, torn edges. I die cut a lot of flowers from papers in the collection and folded and inked the petals and layered them up, I used my glue gun to adhere some natural fibre to my card and then arranged the flowers on top, tucking foliage and some dried gypsophila (that i gently added some ink to) behind and in between the flowers. I fussy cut some birds from the papers and added 3 around the card, I inked a little frame and stamped a sentiment to place inside it.                 The finishing touches were adding the main sentiment and popping some pearls in flower centres and on card and swiping over flowers abd birds with glitter pen.

I hope you like it xxx

I hope that you all have a good day,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xxxxxxx

A Bright & Cheery Card

Good Morning Ladies, 

How are you all? Have you been enjoying the sunshine 🌞,  we had another sunny day yesterday,  it sounded like everyone in the village couldn't wait any longer to get their lawnmowers out, one started and then one by one a chorus of mower engines began. I think that they might have seen the weather forecast on Countryfile on Sunday evening,  it's not looking great for the next week or so, today wasn't forecast to be as lovely as it turned out to be, believe me they all made the most of it, we couldn't because Paul left for work at 6am and didn't get back until late, so our lawn is looking like our Hair, very long and out of control!! 🤣😂

Now on today's card, I bought a few Julie Hickey stamps after seeing Hazel Eaton demonstrate them on Hochanda,  the one I used today was smaller than I thought, so it has sat in my 'new' box waiting to be used.  I got it out today determined that I was going to use it, so this is what I came up with. 

The stamp is 2 1/2  x 3 1/2 inches, so not huge, what I decided to use the floral element of the stamp and repeat stamp it into each corner, the size I cut my card to make it so that the images fit around it perfectly was 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch. I placed the stamp in my platform and used low tack tape to cover the part of the frame I didn't want inked, once I inked the floral corner I removed the tape and stampex the image, I then rotated the card and repeated the process 3 more times.  I decided to colour the flowers with my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush markers, the colours I used turned out to be very bright, butI liked how it turned out when it wS finished, those pens have such a fine brush tip it was easy to get into those tiny flowers.  I searched through my stamps to find a nice big sentiment to pop in the centre.  I added a few of Julie Hickey's 'Glossies' resin dots here and there to finish the card. A bit of matting and layering and and that was the card finished.                                                     A bit brighter than usual but it will make someone smile 😃 ! 

I hope that you all have a lovely day, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                              xxxxxx 

New Things Challenge card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend,  it was nice weather here, lovely and warm when the sun showed it's face. We were out in the front garden, tidying up the borders, getting rid of these awful lily type plants that really don't seem to have any flowers as such, the ends of their leaves turn black over winter, they just look scruffy, so I got Paul to dig them all out, it looks much tidier without them, one thing we did notice was that there were loads of Ladybirds,  I must have seen at least 30, a year ir two back they were hard to spot. We went out at around noon and I was shocked that it was almost five when we stopped.  So I think today will be a relaxing day for me, Paul has to go into work today so I will just potter in my craft room. 

Today's card is Paul's Mum's Birthday card,  I made it over the weekend using things from my 'New /Unused' Basket.  I decided to create a z Fold card using a Dreamees Gatefold Die, not a company I have used before but I couldn't resist this lacy oval die set. 

Just look at that gorgeous lace detail! They are lovely quality dies, I did use a shim but my Gemini is a few years old now so that could be why.

The paper pad I used was Dreamees too, it is lovely soft peaches and browns, it's called Vintage.

So I layered up the papers from the Vintage collection and the die cut the beautiful Oval, using one of the Vintage papers layered onto a piece of 300gsm card for stability, I then cut a soft peach glitter card to layer underneath the lace oval to give a touch of luxury. I layered the matching plain ovals to put the sentiment on and what I did to make sure the two ovals lined up was to hold the oval for the sentiment exactly matched up to the back of the oval on the front, i added a little glue to the back and the closed the card so that the oval was placed exactly behind the oval on the card front.  

To embellish the card, I used some of the papers from the collection and stamped flowers on and die cut them,  I shaped them in my Heartfelt flower mold and layered them up and arranged them on the card front. I stamped the 'Happy Birthday Mum' and used a flag die to cut it out, I glued in place lifting it slightly in the centre for dimension. I also stamped a verse on the oval inside the card.

I hope Paul's Mum likes it, I really enjoyed making it.

I hope you all have an enjoyable day,

Love and hugs to all of you 

Sandra

xxxxxx

Your Challenge Cards

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all enjoying the weekend,  well apart from maybe having a Roast dinner and watching Antiques Roadshow I guess its just like any other day of the week, but you know what I mean, I hope your day is enjoyable either way.

One thing that makes Sunday special for me is being able to share all of your amazing challenge cards,  so here they are.......

Brenda

Brenda has designed a gorgeous Easter card for our 'Favourite' Challenge this week, I absolutely love the colour that you have used, doesn't it make those beautiful pink ribbon roses (handmade by Brenda) pop?! I can understand why you have chosen Sue Wilson's New York Collection as your favourite item, you have made some beautiful cards with them over the years. This one is no exception, that Cross is quite simple but really elegant at the same time, your Vellum sentiments really add a touch of luxury to your cards too.

Thank you so much for taking part Brenda XXX

Maria 

Oh Maria what a stunning card,  I love your design, the colours you have used are gorgeous, any shades of green are my absolute favourite, I love that almost Peacock green you have coloured the Hummingbird with, it also works beautifully with the lovely Lilac flowers, you have made me want to get my stamp set out and have a play my lovely.

Thank you so much for creating such a beautiful, inspirational card Maria, I love everything about it XXX 

Sonia

Oh Sonia, your cards are simply stunning, I love all of the different techniques and products that you have used to transform a plain piece of paper into a fantastic piece of art!  Those Lindy spray inks give a lovely fine mist of ink across the page without big splodges that can draw your eye away from the focal point.  Your first card shows you may have been reading my mind,  as I was almost going to choose mixed media for this weeks challenge. You just can't beat a simple butterfly as the main focus of a card,  it works for so many different occasions. 

Sonia's Description:

"Here are my challenge cards

My favourites being my Tim Holtz butterfly dies and Kraft card. I’ve also used my new Lindy’s Gang sprays on both cards, which I can see becoming a favourite too. I also created my own backgrounds (another challenge favourite)
Have a lovely weekend. Stay safe."

Thank you so very much Sonia for two incredibly inspirational Challenge cards XXX

Lilian 

 Lilian,  WOW!! those flowers are so beautiful,  they look like they could be picked, so realistic, I really love them, the pattern on the petals gives them the depth and dimension. The corner swirls frame your floral display perfectly, your blended background gives the perfect backdrop too.

Lilian used thd last of her favourite 'Stamperia' paper to create her beautiful challenge card.

Thanks so much Lilian for creating such a beautiful challenge card XXX 

Janet 

Janet's cards for our Favourite challenge feature stunning papers from LABLANCHE.

If you look closely at the paper you can see how much work has gone into each design, there are so many layers of patterns and imagery, giving the effect of a mixed media piece really.  That's the great thing about good quality papers, half of your work is done for you.  

Janet's Description:

"My two Challenge cards this week follow the theme given to us of 'MY FAVOURITE THING 'is LABLANCHE and their latest release entitled 'SPRING'

As usual the papers are just of the highest quality and the cut outs just beautiful and so detailed they are just a joy to work with.''

Thank you so much Janet,  your 'Favourite' Challenge cards are beautiful XXX 

Karen

It had to be 'blue' for this weeks challenge cards from Our Karen!! Karen chose to use her 'Favourite'  Colour as the starting point for this weeks cards,  luckily she had been asked to design two, Baby Boy cards,  so that worked perfectly. 

I have to say that your 'SW Old faithful ' die set that you have used a few times for New  Baby 👶 cards and they have all been perfect. I think the faux stitching detail on the die and all of the lovely elements make it perfect. 

Your second card is simply by design but looks just as effective as the first card. Again its all the detail that Sue included that makes the difference,  the animals in the wagon, such a quirky 🦒giraffe, that make the recipient smile. 

Karen's Description:

"Here are 2 cc using my favourite colour- blue

SW shadow box dies and second is using my all time favourite 5x7 matting basics die - they never leave my desk:

Thank you Karen for designing two fantastic cards using your Favourite colour XXX 

Michele 

Four lovely cards from Michele all made using Michele's favourite Cdrom Designer "Ella's Design" We have al seen the amazing cards that you have made using Ella’s Designs before, these four cards are gorgeous! 

Michele's Description:

"4 cards from me using my favourite “Digi downloads” from Ella’s Design. The 2  Herb card toppers are on papers from my stash. The garden ones are mostly printed from the downloads. I have printed lots more but I’ve just not got round to cutting them out yet."

Thanks so much Michele for four lovely cards XXX

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

I hope that you all have a lovely relaxing Sunday,

Sending Love and huge hugs to all of you,

Sandra 

xxxxxx

Mixed Craft Saturday featuring Michele's Magazine Review

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all well and ready to enjoy the weekend,  now I must apologise for telling you that it was time to put your clocks forward,  thats next weekend, this weekend is the Spring Equinox, I am just too eager to get to the sunshine filled days and longer evenings!  If you think back to last March we were experiencing some glorious weather, I often go back and read what we were doing this time last year, I wrote a post about sitting out in the Sun watching Paul do some gardening!  Some of the better memories of last year! 

Cheryl

Cheryl has been busy 'upcylcling' some boxes ready to be filled with lovely things to add to the Sales Table to raise funds for Cardiomyopathy (Heart Charity). You must have raised a huge amount by now Cheryl with your different Sales, Lucky Dip bags and Charity Darts matches.  I am guessing thst Cardiomyopathy like a lot of Charities missed out on a lot of fundraising last year.  You should be so incredibly proud of your achievements. 

Cheryl's Description:

"Recycled sweet boxes ready t be filled with home made wax melts and small jar candles for my Christmas Lucky Dip bags"

Thanks for sharing your boxes with us Cheryl XXX

Michele's Magazine Review 

Hi Ladies,

Simply Cards & Papercraft has a lovely free gift this month. A very pretty set of coordinating stamps & dies.

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

First feature using the free gift-lovely cards.

More lovely card but something different. Spinner cards which look amazing.

A guide to colouring using the stamps & dies.

Even more inspiration for some different craft projects.

Great article explaining how to make a Pop up card.

This article is using an SVG file but I’m sure we’ve all got similar Dies to recreate these gorgeous cards.

WOW-just look at these, all created from paper,

More stunning creations.

Great idea for an all occasions card.

Some great ideas for cards for men in this article.

Some lovely ideas for using colour on your cards.

Some more inspiration.

That’s all for this week so
Happy Crafting

Love Michele

Thanks Michele for sharing that amazing magazine with us, I really like that Cherry Blossom die set,  some great inspiration too. XXX 

Your craft shopping 

Lilian 

Lilian you have bought some lovely things, I love those background dies that you have bought,  they look just like the ones I was looking for a couple of weeks ago.  Your Lavinia stamps are lovely,  especially that Bridge scene, the little branch is a really useful little stamp too. How gorgeous are those Swirl stamps?! I can't wait to see wgat you create with those.  Now I like you had to buy another Corner Rounder punch, infact I now have 3 for exactly that reason 🤣!

Lilian's Description:

'"New corner punch, because my old one is somewhere safe, it does round and Inverted corner.
The packet at the back is a pack 100 gold leaf sheets my son sent me for Mother’s Day, not used before.
Stamps are a few new ones I fancied, love those swirls."

Thanks Lilian for sharing your craft shopping with us XXX 

Michele 

Michele I love that background die you have bought and who knew that Biogradeable Glitter came in so many lovely colours!! You will love the Gilding kit, it's messy but great fun and so effective ! 

Michele's Description:

"Die was a eBay purchase & so were the jewel pickers. Glitters, gilding flakes kit & cello bags were from Craftstash."

Thanks Michele for sharing your shopping with us XXX 

Pat

Oh Pat your new Groovi plates are so lovely,  I love all of the 'Tea' themed plates, such a lovely range of plates,  the combinations are endless!  So many people are desperate to share a cup of tea with someone so cards featuring that theme seem extra special right now, I am looking forward to seeing your designs .

Pat's Description:

"My buys this week. This was one big bundle. You also get a lovely postcard to use with your orders now."

Thanks so much Pat, I am very much looking forward to our getting back to our weeks meet ups,  it seems like forever since I have seen you XXX 

That's all for today Ladies,  thanks to everyone for sharing. XXX 

Have a lovely day my lovelies,

Love and Hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xxxxxxx 

Your Next Challenge

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all well, we had another lovely day but it seemed much cooler, it is so lovely to sit in my craft room and hear nothing but the sound of the birds though.  I had one of those days where you sit at your desk but seem to get nothing done, I am too much of a procrastinator!  

Your Next Challenge

I thought that it would be a good idea to have a 'Use something you have bought or been gifted' that you haven't gotten around to using yet !  Now I know I have quite a pile, mostly because I see something that I really love and it inspires me enough to want the die or stamp then by the time it arrives I have forgotten what inspired me in the first place! 

Today's card was made with stamps, dies and paper that I bought but hadn't gotten round to using.  So in preparation for todays post I browsed Pinterest and combned a few ideas, I really liked how it turned out. The stamp set is called 'Pretty Perrenials' it has matching dies, the Navy and White paper is from a set called 'Paper Blooms' it has some pretty floral patterns.  I folded the patterned paper around the fold of the card then added a narrow piece of Seaside Spray and then a die cut scalloped piece of Night of Navy card.   I stamped and die cut the flowers using 'Petal pink' card and ink and then used Soft Seafoam card and ink for the foliage.  

I hope that you alm enjoy this challenge, if any of you are struggling to find anything new or unused just let me know and I will send you something! X

I am hoping that this will encourage me to start using my 'New' craft goodies basket!  I wonder how many I will get through?! 

I hope that you all have a good weekend, I think the clocks go forward tomorrow night.

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

My New Favourite Stamp

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Oh I am loving the sunshine we have been blessed with this past few days, it really does make such a difference to your day, if its raining and miserable I always feel like I want to pull up the duvet and stay snuggled up in bed, but once I get a glimpse of a sunny morning I am up,  curtains open, windows open to let that fresh air curculate!! It definitely makes a huge difference to my day mentally, I want to be outside soaking up that Vitamin D.  Do you all feel the same?! 

I wanted to pot up my Blueberry Bushes today but I need to get some Ericaceous compost for them, so that will have to wait a couple of days,  mind you there are plenty more jobs that need doing so we won't be bored! 

Today's card is a simple design,  featuring my current favourite SU stamp ' Art Gallery ' this stamp is a multi layer stamp but for this simple design I just used the base layer,  stamping in Versamark abd then adding White Embossing powder and heat setting. I love the stamp but the star of this show is that Stunning decorative paper, just look at the detail, it looks aa though it is actually textured! The paper collection is called 'Fine Art Floral' the whole collection looks like it is oil painted, I will be ordering more of this one as I am going to be using it a lot!!  

I layered my card onto Pool Party card and then onto a white card base,  I added a simple knotted piece of pool party ribbon and a 'Thank you' sentiment!   Some things are so lovely that you have to let them shine without too much embellishment. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx