Autumn Mondays...

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies,  

Where did that weekend go???!   He we are at the start of a new week,   I hope that you all have a good one.  

Karen I hope you enjoyed your last match of the season, I have to say that it barely seems a month ago that you were going in to get everything opened up for the season,   it's crazy how fast time goes.  

Lilian I hope that both your printer and mine turn up today 🤞🤞

A lovely drawing highlighting a very important reminder,  I had a break last week, not by choice but I do think a break from crafting can renew your excitement to craft.  I have my Autumn craft bits all piled up and I am excited to get creating.  

I did have a play yesterday afternoon, to create something for today.  I just followed a tutorial for simplicity and to try and give my mojo a boost.  

I coloured the background with Crushed Olive, Forest Moss & Ground Espresso (around the edge) then I added splatters of  Carved Pumpkin.  I used some Arden stamps around the edges.  

To add some brightness and a bit of shimmer I used Altenew Gold embossing paste through a stencil.

I picked out some die cuts, edged them with ground espresso and built the cluster,  I frayed some ribbon and placed it as a base for the sentiment,  I took the leaf sprig die cut and added some ink to brighten the colours. 

This was before I inked the leaves..

This was after,  I used Fired Brick & carved pumpkin on the top leaves and Crushed Olive and Forest Moss on the lower leaves.    This also helps to tie the leaf sprig to the background.  

I put the leaf on the page and added some tiny dots of gold to the leaves.  I then added the sentiments and then finished with some white splatters. 

I hope that you all have a good day

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

A look back at our craft makes..

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

Well I should re-title today's post to "a look back at what you have made this week "  because I have made nothing !!  I am struggling with loss of mojo maybe,  I have sat at my desk most days intending to create but I just end up sitting there scrolling pinterest for inspiration,   I have organised and reorganised but not creating a thing!  I could say that its probably due to lack of sleep but I have never been a great sleeper so that's not it.   I sat and pulled out a lot of Autumn craft bits yesterday so I am hoping that I will get enthusiasm from that.  

When I was reading your comments yesterday ( I usually go through them before I write the blog post for the next day.   I was surprised to see a couple of real coincidence comments.  

I was just messaging Sonia before starting post and had said about being rubbish with technology,   I said that i have a virtually brand new Scan and cut sitting in its box in spare room,  because I just can't get my head around the technology,   then the first comment i read was Karen's mentioning her Scan & Cut.   

Then Lilian was talking about her new printer arranging,   I ordered a new one in the week and it was supposed to arrive yesterday but didn't,  we have been talking about getting a new one for a while,  our older one is only about 6 years old but every time we go to use it we have to go through all the maintenance procedures,  cleaning heads, rollers,  ink flush and it still prints out with lines everywhere they shouldn't be.   I think its because we don't use it often enough, so maybe the ink dries where it shouldn't.  Anyway the new one is now coming Monday,  the thing that pushed me to buy it was Emilia Sieradzan new Autumn collection,  you have to download and print yourself.   

So I think I need to stop making excuses and learn how to use the Scan and cut,  I originally bought it to create and cut out my own sentiments etc and to cut out things that don't have dies.  I am hoping Lucy can help me.  

Funny reminder today after me talking about not being able to get the Scan & Cut !  I'm not sure I am 'capable ' of mastering that!!  🤣😂

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

Karen

Karen's Description:

Here’s a photo of the leaves I have created with Glossy Accents and scraps of Clarity card I rubbed over a little Pebio gold wax 

May keep them as leaves or use them for dragonfly/butterfly wings

Karen they look so effective,  they have retained all of the texture detail,  I love the colour you have created,  they actually look like Autumn leaves.   We have a great selection of leaves in our garden so I must give this a try.  

Thank you for sharing your leaves Karen XXX

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Hi, I’m back doing a little bit of crafting.

Here is my journal page for this week.

I used an old book that I have had for many years, I think it was called botanic garden.

The background is a Stamperia forest collection.

It was meant to be for the wings challenge but will try an autumn one this week.

Oh Lilian,  I was so happy to read that you felt up to doing a bit of crafting.   

What an incredible first project,  your journal page is amazing,  look at all that lovely detail 😍,   I love all of the butterflies too,  this week is a crossover between the two challenges so we have a mix of both projects this week.  

Thank you so much for pushing yourself to create a journal page for today's blog post.   I really do appreciate you XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

I like all seasons but did autumn this week.

I used a stamp and die set from temu that I stamped, coloured in with pencils and cut out. Made a disastrous background to put it all on with a few leaves flying around the scarecrow with its pumpkin stand.

I also this week have made this crystal work and I feel it has a bit of autumn feel over it so sending that too. 

Maria your card is adorable,  I love your scarecrow,  you are way too harsh on yourself,  although we are always our own worse critics.  

Your crystal art piece is gorgeous, I really love it,  perfect for Autumn home decor.  

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

Sonia 

Sonia's Description:  

I designed an Autumnal collection in ChatGPT

I made a journal page with one of the background designs and ephemera that I fussy cut out.

I inked the edges with Gathered Twigs distress ink.

Sonia, my goodness I think this my favourite collection that you have created so far, the colours are beautiful,  I love the green you have included too.  Everything from the vintage lace to the wax seals, the torn scorched edges, it all works so beautifully.  

Thank you for sharing your lovely journal page with us,  I'm excited to see your next collection XXX 

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday,  

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

Our first September Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,  

Welcome to the weekend,  what do you all have planned?   We are going to sit and plan a couple of weekends away,  one for our Anniversary and then maybe one to Cornwall again,  we have an annual ticket for Eden project and Paul would like to see it in slightly warmer weather so that there are more plants to see.  It would also be nice to pop in and see Lilian too, if she's up fora visit . 

I'm not sure if you all got to see Gina's craft quote that she shared in our chat group yesterday,  so I downloaded it to share with you today,  I seem to do a lot of fussy cutting recently and yes I do sometimes question myself!!   Thank you Gina for sharing it xxx

Very positive sentiment today,  of course you are all very important and this world would be a lot worse without you in it 😘

I know you ladies are probably fed up of seeing my Dahlias  but I just love them and there is something new to look at every time I go down the carden to have a look.

This one is huge, I got Paul to put his hand in to give an idea of the size.  The colours are so bright and vibrant and there are never two the same! 

A couple of lovely Fuschias,  they look like little fairy skirts. 

This Petunia is called 'Cherry Sky' it looks like it has had bleach splatters !  

This pop of pink petunia is called 'Circus Sky'  

This petunia is 'Craztunia' Cosmic Violet,  it was windy when I photographed it so petals are all over,  it looks and feels like crushed velvet.  

I didn't realise there were so many variations of petunia,   I was amazed to find our 'Climbing Petunia ' a couple of years ago.   These 'Sky ' variants are really lovely, fun too.  

I hope that you all have a lovely Saturday, 

Love & hugs 

Sandra xxx

My Lovely Birthday card from Sonia x

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,  

The Bank Holiday has made this week whizz by even faster than normal.  

Soph was home yesterday as usual, however she was feeling really unwell,  she started with a sore throat that got worse throughout the day, by afternoon she was feeling really achy.  They have been really busy at work,  so much so that they looked thoroughly washed out when they got home.  They have helping out others and swapping days off meaning they worked 6 day shifts too, it's surprising what a difference that can make.   We had a quiet day,  today will probably be the same.  I sat at my desk for a couple of hours but just can't summon any inspiration!! It's really frustrating me,  I did get a lot of my Autumn bits out yesterday,  so hopefully that will give me a boost.  

You are all very much loved,  Omg those cacti are so cute 😍 

Today I  am sharing the lovely card that Sonia made for my birthday.  I absolutely love the papers, they are Sonia's own design.   It must be lovely to create with your own designs, you should be very proud my lovely 😍 

I hope that you all have a lovely Friday, 

Love & hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

Karen's amazing stencilled Birthday card

Good Morning Ladies,  

I had to put my Gilet on when Lucy and I went to local Co-op, I was a bit chilly!   I don't think we will get that September heatwave!  

I fully intended to sit and craft yesterday but I just couldn't settle,  I started re-organising the Pantry,  but had to keep sitting down,  I opened two new bags of flour to top up my Big flour tupperware storage tubs, luckily I looked in as both had those little weevil things in,  ooh it made my skin crawl,  luckily I store the new flour bags on a seprate shelf to the other baking ingredients,  I couldn't see them in anything else,  it was a good job I saw them in the bread flour as I would have struggled to see them in the 'Cotswold Crunch' flower as its full of seeds,   but because I was actually looking for them I spotted them on the inside of the bag!  Bloody things must come in the flour!  

I hope that you all know that you are never alone in anything you go through,  I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such a lovely group of friends ❤️

Today I am sharing the lovely stencilled card that Karen made and personalised for my birthday,  I love it,  the colours are gorgeous,  I love that glossy top layer ....

You  can hopefully see the shiney definition layer on the top of the rose,  it really brings the card to life.   

Thank you so much for such a lovely card, 

I hope that you all have a good day, 

Love and hugs to all, 

.

Sandra xxx

My lovely fancy fold card from Maria

 

Good Wednesday morning Ladies, 

I hope that you all had an good 1st of September,   I spent day with my 'partner in crime' (Lucy) we popped into town to get a few bits,  I needed some more  'Really Useful Boxes' for my fast expanding Stamperia/Arden stash,  luckily Robert Dyas had a good range of sizes and they weren't too expensive.   I prefer them as they are really strong and stack perfectly.  We then did Waitrose & Sainsburys, then home,  Matt came over with Harley for an hour or so,  Lucy and I then had to go to Adam & Becca's to feed and entertain Benji & Boo for a while as they had been home alone for a couple of hours...

They look like so sweet & innocent in this photo, little Boo looks sweet but she winds Benji up like crazy, he has the patience of a saint bless him.  

By the time we got home I was exhausted,   fingers crossed I will actually get some sleep tonight 🤞🤞

A great reminder today, it can be a tough one to convince yourself of at times though.  Paul would probably laugh and say that I was 'more than enough' 🤣😂

Today I am sharing the lovely Birthday card that Maria created for my birthday.   

What an incredible 'fancy fold ' card, I have seen them called 'screen' or 'Wardrobe' fold cards.  Every panel is decorated beautifully,  I love the daisy theme,  also the brilliant idea of using the die cut tag to cover the greeting while holding the 'Happy Birthday ' sentiment.  I love that you added the date too. 

Thank you so much for designing and creating such a beautiful card my lovely XXX 

I hope that you all have a good Wednesday,  

Love & hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

Beautiful Butterfly Birthday card from Lilian

 

Good Morning Ladies,  

Welcome September,  August was over in the blink of an eye!  Autumn is a close second to Spring for me,  I just love the Autumnal colours, watching the trees and hedgerows turn onto beautiful shades of golden tones, oranges and browns.  

Mini Challenge:  

I love Autumn so I want to use that as our next 'mini' challenge.  You can use the same Season OR you can choose Winter , Spring or Summer.   The bonus of choosing Winter for instance would be being able to make Christmas cards.   That's just one example.  You can also make different cards for different Seasons.   All I ask is that you have fun creating 😘

Today feels oddly like a Monday,  Paul has gone into work, Lucy is home though, which is lovely.   I have to say that yesterday just disappeared, I started day off cleaning the inside of our Ninja combi oven,  we use it a lot when the Aga is switched off....

 Its basically an Air Fryer, better as its a normal oven style.   The 'combi' part mixes air frying with other ways of cooking.                                                     Yesterday we had a roast, so I cooked the chicken on Combi-Crisp,  you pop seasoned chicken in that bottom tray, adding a cup of chicken stock,  then set timer for 35 minutes, which seemed crazy for a large 5lb chicken,   it starts out by steaming the chicken and finishes by roasting,   it gives the juiciest roast chicken with crispy skin, in just over half an hour!!!!  This was a bonus we didn't know the cooker had,  we literally got it as we were used to having the Aga on constantly,  which we really missed when it was switched off,  this cooks pizza, jacket potatoes etc, really quickly, it was another great ninja buy.                                                                 Anyway the point of this story was that after cooking the chicken yesterday, the oven was a mess, the steaming / roasting had splattered everywhere in the oven,  the steaming had loosened any baked on food,   I applied Bicarbonate of Soda mixed to a paste with washing up liquid and left overnight,  Ladies if you need to clean your oven just apply that mixture and leave a few hours, i just wiped with a hot dishcloth and the grime and burnt on build up just wiped away, it did same to oven door too,  it was like a miracle,   no harsh chemicals either,  the oven was like brand new,  I then went and did our microwave, which is about 12 years old, it too doubles as an oven so had burnt on food bits,   I added the paste and a bowl of kettle hot water with lemons in to help steam the worst bits.  It worked so well, I was buzzing,  even the girls noticed.  I was worn out after such an exciting morning 🤣😂,  the only other thing I acheived was packing the holiday clothes away,  ready for Paul to put back in the loft for next year,   I was going to wait for thus next heatwave but I was fed up of seeing the boxes in the spare room.  So I packed all of those away,  Paul packed all holiday stuff away,  bless him he was hot and sweaty going up and down that loft ladder so many times.  So when we had finished we had a cup of tea and a cake 🎂 😋 

I love, love, love this piece of Artwork,   the reminder is a very important one but as I have explained before it's not always easy.  ❤️

Today I am sharing the lovely  birthday card that I received from Our Lilian,  it is hard to pick up on camera but the background is so lovely,  it has a stencilled design...

It gives a lovely textured look,  also look at those tiny, perfectly placed paint dots that Lilian has added to create antennae.   The butterflies are so pretty and I really love those clear little bubbles.  

Thank you so much my lovely for such a beautiful card. ❤️

I hope that you all have a lovely day  

Sandra xxx