Cyanotype Thrinchie 1

 

Good Morning Ladies,  

Today's gentle reminder applies to all of you,  you are all more than enough xx

Another week is almost over,  where do these days go??!  We have bladder clinic today,  the girls want to make the most of the trip to Cirencester and have lunch out and maybe look in a few shops too,  depending on the weather of course.  

Brenda if you are looking in, I hope that you are recovering well and the physiotherapy isn't too exhausting, I'm sure you can't wait to get home to your own bed.  Although I'm sure there is plenty going on around you to keep you entertained.  🤣😉sending you love & gentle hugs on the way xxx

Yesterday I saw that Tracy Evans did  video on 'Cyanotype' or it's sometimes called 'Sun Prints'

Here is a brief description: 

A cyanotype is a historic, camera-less photographic process that produces striking Prussian blue prints (often called blueprints) by using light-sensitive iron salts, sunlight (UV light), and water to create white silhouettes of objects on a blue background. 

So I decided to make a pair of Thrinchies using the 'Faux Cyanotype ' technique  

I took my Thrinchies and taped off a small border around the edges of the Thrinchie.  Then I inked the whole piece with Blueprint Sketch Oxide ink.   I picked out a couple of different silhouette stamps (important for this technique). 

I took white opaque ink pad and inked up a Berry stamp and stamped onto the inked background, I did a light inking on some of the berries and then I inked ( wiped the stamp before re-inking or you will end up with Blueprint Sketch on your white ink pad) stamped and repeated  a few times to get a whiter image, so that there is a variation of colour there would be naturally.  I added some little spatters of water to bleach out a little more ink. 

I mounted the thrinchie onto a black mat and added a description/sentiment. 

I will share the other thrinchie tomorrow. 

I hope that you all have a good day,

Love & hugs to all of you  

Sandra xxx

Another Quiet Life Card

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

I hope today finds you as well as possible and that gloomy weather isn't dulling your mood..  i have to admit that I am more than ready to see a little sunshine, I don't mind if it's a clean, crisp , cold day, a little bit of sunshine really does lift your mood.  I have two daylight lamps but even having them both on makes little difference.   The other reason is that I want to get out and have a little walk around the garden to see it showing the early signs of bursting into life.  

Today I am sharing the second card I made using my Stamperia 'Quiet Life' junk journal. I cut my card base 'landscape' for a change,   with that in mind I cut out one of the postcards and added it on an angle on my card base, (I inked the edges of all of the elements before adding them)  I cut the over hanging bit of postcard off,  then I fussy cut the beautiful flower spray from the bottom of one of the background papers and popped some foam pads to lift it so that I could tuck some of the elements behind it.  I pressed out the watch from the die cut sheet and fussy cut the label from one of of the lovely papers. I inked them, rolled the corner to make it look more 'distressed'  and arranged them behind that floral spray.  I love the added detail of the coffee rings etc on the postcard, making look more aged and interesting.  

Quite a quick card, no splatters, the only added embellishment is the little pearl drops I added randomly with a pearl pen.  

Today's affirmation really helped me,  I have no choice but to go slow, whether its up the stairs or out in the garden, I often feel guilty for holding everyone up,  but it's ok to take your time,  mentally and physically.  I hope you find them helpful  😘

I hope that you have a good Wednesday,  

Love & hugs to all of you,  

Sandra xxx

A Sepia effect card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Just a quick one today as the girls and I are off to IKEA,  they absolutely love wandering round and having lunch, Paul is in the office today so I wasn't going to refuse the offer to join them.  I need some bits for pantry organisation and I want different storage for tea /coffee /sugar,  I don't want a traditional set of three as we have 2 different types of ground coffee, white sugar and demerara cubes for coffee and coffee whitener as well as teabags,  we did have big glass jars with glass lids (old instant coffee jars I think) however the girls have smashed two lids because they are tricky to push ij sometimes so they don't push far enough in, when they grab it in a hurry at 7.15am the glass lid will fly off, thankfully they a good job of cleaning up as I'd hate the cats to get glass in their paws.  

Yesterday was a really busy day,  we had boiler man, who loves to chat,  I made him a cup of tea he was meant to be here about 40 mins,  but 2 hours flew by and he was still chatting to Paul!  We were hoping he'd sort our hot water issue, the water is so hot coming out of taps and upstairs showers, it literally scalds you,  the same in the kitchen sink,  I thought the boiler wasn't cutting off and do water just got hotter and hotter,  but apparently not, he told us it was the Hot water tank thermostat,   (which I thought was only for if you used the immersion heater)  but it the thermostat sits against the tank and cuts off when water reaches right temperature,   he was convinced thats what it was, so I asked for him to recommend one,  ge picked one out and Paul picked it up and fitted it with Bill's assistance.  I asked why the water got so hot if thermostat stopped working,  I mean why didn't the water stay cold?  Apparently its because of Legionnaires disease,  because water is held in a tank the water has to be at a minimum temperature to prevent Legionnaires,  so it defaults to the water getting super hot.   I can't wait to get back to showering upstairs,  although the water will probably still be too hot today!   They didn't get finished till 7pm,  so dinner wasn't ready until almost 9pm,  I made home made doner kebab meat with minced lamb and spices,  everyone loved it.  

Luckily while Bill and Paul were tinkering with electrics I sat and made some cards from my new Quiet Life Junk journal,  the paper and colours are so lovely 😍 

Today's card is like a sepia toned card,  I just layered a piece of the background paper onto a 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 Card base,  they pushed out the film strip die cut, inked the edges and placed it on the background,  then I added the lovely vintage looking lady with her camera,   I cut a little floral card,  distressed the edges and inked them a little,  then came the lovely postage stamp and the sentiment banner.  I really love the simplicity of this card. 

So...not a quick blog post at all 🤣😅😂

I hope that you all have a lovely day, 

Ooh I will add todays affirmation in a while as its 1.11am and Im in bed,  so I don't have book with me, 

My love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Welcome to thestart of a new week

Today's Gentle Reminder 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

Let's welcome in this new week,  although the weather isn't very welcoming is it,  it's not as cold but the wind and rain have been battering us all night.  Before the rain started, earlier in the day yesterday I was excited to see all of the bulbs coming through,  as you drive into the village all of the snowdrops are out,  they are so beautiful,  I really love seeing those very early signs of the garden getting ready to burst into life 😍

Today I am sharing a journal page that was a little more involved than others that I have done,  I enjoyed every minute of creating it. 

I started by using a Stamperia stencil to cover the page with wild flowers,   when this was dry I added green paint, then added Old Ivory while green was still wet,  I then replaced the stencil and wiped some of the lighter colour off of the stencilled flowers to try and make them stand out more.  

Next came stamping and white splatters.  You won't get perfect images stamping over the texture paste but it adds extra interest.  

On the tutorial I was following the lady used this numbered circle die cut which I didn't have but I loved how it gave the page a focal point so I wanted to add something similar,   so I had to get creative,   I die cut a couple circles,   tried one without any stamping but it didn't look right,   I then added some script stamping but that looked too busy against the background.  So I thought I'd try and recreate the piece that was used ...

I bought these calendar stamps from Temu a while ago to use as background stamps, but I haven't used them so far, so I decided to cut one up into the individual numbers.....

Its definitely not perfect but it will do the job,   creating little bits like this, improvising and making something that works is a real buzz,  it took my a while mind !! 🤣

Now I had the background complete and all the elements ready I was ready to do the fun part, assembling a of the elements to create a lovely page. 

I started with the border strip and built the rest of the elements around it, I like having different textures so added that little piece of hessian.  You can see my little hand stamped dial in the background too.  These die cuts have a gold shimmer to them that I'm not keen on but you it doesn't stand out too much.  

I really do enjoy all the little techniques involved in these journal pages,  I hope you don't get too bored of seeing them.  

I hope that you all have a great start to your week, 

Love & hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Let's look back at our projects from this week ..

 

❣️ Today's Reminder ❣️

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

I hope that you are all having a good weekend,   I am glad to have the house back to some kind of normal,  as Paul finally got all of the Christmas boxes back up in the loft,  no more having to breathe in on the landing to get past the boxes, the room that was stacked the most was the spare room,  I mean it makes sense as its the 'spare ' room but I use it every day as Lucy and Soph got me a vanity unit ( kind of a desk with a drawer and a cupboard)  they put a big mirror on and storage bits for hairdryer, straighteners,  makeup brushes etc,  it was a great stool too,  I thought it would be something I would rarely use but couldn't have been more wrong,  I struggle to stand long enough to dry my hair,  let alone have the upper body strength to hold the dryer up long enough,  having all of my face creams, lotions and potions all organised in front of me is so useful,   I was a bit naughty and wouldn't bother with face routine etc but I have made it a habit.   For Christmas this year Lucy researched the best skincare for my skin and wrote me a daily schedule 🥰 .  Now I didn't realise how much I'd miss going in there each morning and evening,  sadly any obstacle in my way makes it too hard for me to even attempt,   so I was so grateful to have it all cleared yesterday,   I went in and gave it a quick spring clean, so it's all ready to go,  I will add that the girls both use it almost as much as I do.  

Let's have a look at what you have been making:

Gina

Gina's Description:

I made this card, it's well outside of my comfort zone,  Butterfly is an old Crafters Companion stamp, base card is Kraft card,  embellishments are Rub-ons,  which is my first time using them.  The background detail is a very old Sentimentally Yours Honeycomb stamp.  

Wow Gina!  It might be your first mixed media style card but you'd never know,  all of the elements work, love that honeycomb stamp, it makes a great background,  that butterfly is very 'majestic!  Love the colours you have used too,  I am sure that the lucky recipient will have a huge smile when they open it.  

Well done for pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, it really did pay off !!!  Now.... what's next ?! 

Thank you so much for sharing your lovely card with us and supporting the blog. XXX

Karen

Karen's Description:

Feel better now that I have turned it into a card So 2 things possibly 3 things that I haven’t done before 

A gel plate print

Used a sentiment never used before from Craftipotential

And possibly first time I have cut a corresponding mat for the sentiment on ScanNCut

Karen that Gel plate background works perfectly as a background,  it has real 'Tim Holtz ' style,  those little bits of stamping really add to the look,  I really love the blue/purple colour too.  

This would make a great mixed media journal page background too!   The sentiment you have used stands out so well with that perfectly cut white mat behind it !   That was the main reason I wanted the S&C for but I just have never got my head around using it, which really frustrates me,  but never mind,  I love seeing what you do with it.  

I am so happy that you  managed to acheive 3 firsts yesterday,   it really is a buzz isn't it!  

Thank you for another inspiring project Karen and for your continuing support XXX

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Here is my card for this week, once again using Stamperia papers.

They are all from quiet days, which is one of my favourites at the moment. The stitch stamp is also from quiet moments.

Aww Lilian,  another beautiful card, that stitch stamp really works,  it draws your eye into the main focus of the card.   I bought the Quiet Days collection before Herbarium,  but it arrived just before Christmas so I put it to one side,  then Herbarium arrived (after you tempted me 😉) and I haven't wanted to stop creating with it.  However after seeing your last two cards I am going to get it out and have a play.

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing card with us and for always supporting the blog  XXX

Sonia 

Sonia's Description:

Card 1:   Made this for my Niece’s partner. I used one of my new stencils on the background with Lost Shadow distress oxide. The cake and number dies are also from Temu. I used some Tracey Hey papers for cake and numbers. Sentiment is from The Stamp Market.

Card 2:   Made for my Dad’s birthday. Papers from stash, which I inked round edges with vintage photo distress ink. Die cut the stars and embossed with a crafters companion texture folder. The stamp sentiment from stash and the die cut letters are from Memory Box.

Its so lovely seeing you getting back in your Craft room my lovely,   you have made two lovely cards,   your Niece’s partner has probably never had the gift of a hand made card, so will feel really special knowing that you sat and made that card for him. 

Your Dad would love anything that you made Sonia,  this one is a perfect 'Man' card. 

Thank you so much for sharing your cards with us and of course I thank you for your ongoing support. XXX 

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Today's positive affirmation is so very true,  you are all loved very much,  

My love & hugs to all of you,  

Sandra xxx 

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,  

Thankfully we were very lucky Storm Goretti didn't hit us too hard, we have a fence panel that was blown loose,  so Paul needs to a fix that,  I got excited when I was up multiple times in the night to go the bathroom,   we did have snow, the car rooves were covered,   but then it warmed up and rained and washed it all away 😔.  There was snow on the ground 10 miles up the road in Stow though,  we saw as we drove through to go to shops.  

Today's Gentle Reminder.....

I know that I have personally felt that I was at breaking point,  I think most people do at some point,  however we manage to dig deep and manage to acheive more than we ever thought we could.

I am finding these little 'affirmations' quite helpful, if nothing else it makes you look back and see how far you have come.  🥰

I did a bit research yesterday into what Papercraft trends will be big this year and looked at the 'Pantone' colour of the year. 

I like the idea of our projects becoming more  'tactile',  funnily enough I started a journal page that had hessian on it and got out my lace box the other day, this trend is something I like the sound off, whether its simple embossing or something more exotic having a surface to feel is definitely a bonus. 

Ooh we love a 'kinetic' or fancy fold card don't we😊  I downloaded a tutorial for a new one last week ! 

Adding stitching to your cards or tags etc is becoming more and more popular,  creating your own 'washi' tapes too, I'd love to see is all experiment a bit more this year ! 

I feel like we already pair neutraks with bright accent colours,  I do love the Jewel tones though. 

I really want to have a go at flower and leaf pressing,  the ephemera you can buy is becoming more and more realistic so why not have the real thing,  I am guessing it takes a while though.

A nice idea, I have started a few scrapbooks over the years but lost enthusiasm due to lack of inspiration,  I do think that they are a valuable gift to leave our children and grandchildren. 

Some fun ideas, whether they become 'trends' remains to be seen. 

Colour Trends

Cloud Dancer does seem to be the main 'Colour of the Year'  it was mentioned in that research that I did too.  I does just look mostly white though 🤣

Some lovely colours in this 2026 Colour Palette

Aventurine is another predicted popular colour too. 

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Gina' Shopping 

Gina's Description:

You have some lovely new stash to play with,  I have those Spellbinder Squiggle dies, they add some lovely,  fun detail to flower sprays.  I can't wait to see what you create with them.  

The Napkins were a great Charity shop bargain,  have you got any plans for using them? ?

Thank you for sharing your shopping with us my lovely XXX 

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I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

Our Next Challenge

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,  

Firstly today I hope that you are all safe, warm & dry and that Storm Goretti has missed your area.  

We had all weathers yesterday,  well apart from sunshine!  We started with fog so dense that the hills usually easily visible were totally invisible, then came rain,  in the afternoon the temperature dropped and it got really windy,  then torrential rain that turned to sleet,  as I am writing this snow is apparently on its way!  

This first Challenge after New Year is always a tricky one, I want Spring Flowers and all things Spring but it seems a little early for that, Seasonally we should be making Valentines cards but we don't all make them abd those of us who do only make one!  

So for now we will go with 'Anything Goes' which is something we had talked about, it was Our Sonia that suggested it yesterday. 

'Anything Goes' means you can use any new stash or old stash yet to be used.  It would be a great time to try a new technique too.  

I hope that you enjoy the challenge my lovelies x

Here is todays Gentle Reminder....

This is so incredibly true,  I didn't believe it but I think we have all proved it to be true at some point. 

I hope that you all have a great end to your week,

Love & hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx