Throwback Friday card

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,  

Can you believe that a week of our holiday has gone already???  When Paul said that yesterday I was shocked. 

Today's reminder,  sometimes a tricky one to get to grips with xxx

We had a bit of a cloudy start to the day, the sea was calm as a mill pond,  we spent about three hours on the beach and as the wind picked up we relocated to the pool, which is really sheltered.  We were all sat reading and didn't realise it was gone 7pm.  Not that it matters,  no watches on holiday!  

I have read a couple of books,  one of which was 'The Twins of Auswich', it was very well written, highlighting the unbreakable bond that identical twins have, obviously it goes into to the evil that they endured at the hands of Mengele, although she does explain that being twins is what kept them alive.  

Todays card is a throwback to June 2022,   this is the card I made for Becca's Birthday!  I used Anna Marie Designs dies for this card and some flowers and lace from my stash.  I had actually forgotten about both the papers and those dies,   so I might search them out when I get home.   

I feel that it would be a good idea to totally rotate our craft stash from time to time,  it would feel like we have new stash to play with. 

I hope that you ladies are all managing ok in the heat. 

Karen I hope your cabin is amazing and that you have an amazing cruise xxx

Have a lovely day my lovelies,  

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

A mixed media tag

 

Good Thursday Morning Ladies, 

Another very hot day for us yesterday,   we decided to spend the day in the shade by the pool,  the beach was a real mess as there were many parties going on with lots of bonfires and fireworks, which were spectacular!   The downside was the group of young men and Ladies the rented the mobiles either side of us decided to party very loudly until 5am !   I could understand until maybe 1 or 2am,  but 5 was a bit too much.  I felt sorry for the other families that had young children.  Anyway we had a lovely relaxing day to recover, the pool was very refreshing too. 

Today I am sharing a tag that I made using a couple of different techniques.  I used vaseline through a stencil in a couple of areas on the tag and then sprinkled some Lindys Gang Magical Shakers over the tag and spritzed with water.

 I loved the pink so decided to pick that out as the accent colour,  I used a die cut flower from 49 & Market collection,  then added some stamps from Arden Creative ephemera,  the flowers on the stamps worked so well with the colours in the background.   

To finish I added a small sentiment and some pink seam binding ribbon that I have had from Sue Wilson days!   It's a fun little tag that makes me smile when I look at it. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day and stay cool in the extreme heat.  

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

 

Pretty 49 & Market card

 

      

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

Today I am sharing a card I made last week using  49 & Market.  Bis song

Tuesday was another very hot day,  We went to the beach and stayed all day.

This is a super simple card as apart from ribbon was most made from 1 piece of Patterned paper, cut down to fit my card base.  Then came the fun..part all of the ephemera,  tickets,  postage stamps etc

I hope that you all gave a great week

Love  and hugs.

Sandra   

Trivia Tuesday

 

Good Tuesday Morning Ladies,  

I have always been curious about the Churches and crosses that we see on the highest mountain peaks as we are driving through the Pyrenees and other mountains through France.  So I thought I would look it up and share the reason with you.

Crosses on mountain peaks—often called summit crosses—are primarily expressions of Christian faith, especially in regions like the European Alps. They mark the highest point of elevation and also serve as borders, memorials and historical symbols of gratitude for safe return from dangerous climbs. 

The reasons for placing Crosses on top of mountains spans centuries....

Religious Significance: They act as declarations of Christian faith. Because mountains are high up, people historically felt they were physically closer to heaven.

Safe Returns & Thanksgiving: After major conflicts like the World Wars, or following daring mountaineering expeditions, many communities erected crosses as symbols of gratitude for surviving the mountains and making it home safely. 

Boundary & Property Markers: By the 16th century, simple crosses were erected to mark the borders of mountain pastures or local municipalities.

"Weather Crosses": Dating back to the Middle Ages, people placed "weather crosses" on peaks to ward off violent thunderstorms, hail, and storms that threatened alpine farming.

Scientific Utility: In the late 18th and 19th centuries, early explorers and scientists erected crosses that doubled as lightning conductors and anchor points for meteorological instruments like barometers.

Today, while the meaning varies from a deeply spiritual emblem to a simple marker signaling that a hiker has conquered the summit, they remain a prominent part of alpine culture. You will also often find logbooks locked in small metal boxes near these crosses, allowing climbers to record their achievement. 

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

Quite interesting answers,  I pretty much guessed correctly when Paul and I were discussing it in the car.  

I hope you found it interesting 😊 

Very, very important reminder my lovely friends ❤️

Now I got the date of the 'St Joan' Festival wrong (or I was wrongly informed by our reps)!  It is today,  so the big fireworks party on the beach is tonight,  we have heard a few going off this past couple of nights as people have their own celebrations.  We are pretty sure that Wednesday will be a Spanish holiday as the celebrations go on into the wee small hours, the DJ doesn't start until 1.30am!!!   I think we will go and have a look at the fireworks on the beach.   

Have a lovely Tuesday,  

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Another reverse eclipse card

Good Monday Morning Ladies,  

Welcome to the start of a new week my lovelies,  I hope that you all had a lovely,  relaxing weekend. 

We had a lovely morning/early afternoon on the beach, we then went back to the pool as the wind picked up, finished the day there and went for dinner at our favourite restaurant for Paul's father's day treat x 

I absolutely love the artwork to this reminder, such a beautifully coloured flower.  The sentiment is spot on too.

I am sharing another 'reverse eclipse' card with you today.  

I did this one a bit different I cut my SU scenery dsp down to 4 x 5 1/4 inch,  I then cut the dsp into 1/4 inch strips and added foam tape to the back of every other strip, so one adhered straight to card then next had foam tape etc all the way across. 

This method saved paper too as I didn't start with a piece adhered to the card base and attempted to match the raised pieces up. 

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

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra xxx

Our Crafts from this week

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all enjoying the warmer weather,  we had a busy day yesterday, after collecting girls and doing the shopping we had some lunch and the relaxed by the pool for the afternoon,  the girls were wiped out and so was Paul,  it's so good seeing him relax.  

As I am writing this preparations are under way for a huge Spanish festival of St John throughout Spain but here in Catalonia it's St Joan,  they are having a huge party on the beach with fireworks and a DJ that starts at 01.30am,  so it could be a long night !

This is a great reminder, something we all definitely deserve ❤️ 

Let's look at what you have made this week....

Karen 

Karen's Description:

Number 25 in the A&C challenge- Countries Looking at FB people were concentrating on one country So I created this on  ChatGPT and was so pleased with the results I kept it quite simple BUT I moved top sentiment so the Che’evete wasn’t covered.

 on the FB page they seem to have focused on one country So I chose Cuba Same as above on ChatGPT but moved sentiment across so as to not obliterate Che’ face 🤣.

I wanted the page to take centre stage So no stamping, texture paste etc

Wow Karen that's absolutely incredible,  you have included everything that Cuba is known for from the Cigars to the incredible dancing!  There is so much to look at and something new catches your eye each time you look at it. 

This ChatGPT thing has given you all a real creativity boost.  I really want to join in, I can have a play out here and create some bits to use when I get home. 

Thanks my lovely for a truly inspirational piece XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description :  

Hello here is my challenge piece for this week.the theme is camping. All papers made on the iPad using chatGP.

Took ages to get the images the correct size.

Longest bit was cutting all the ephemera out.

Lilian I absolutely love your Camping Challenge piece,  the scene you created is lovely, I love all the little camping itinerary items at the top too, what a brilliant idea 💡 I also love a of the little details like the sign, the camp fire etc. 

Thank you so much for an amazing challenge piece my lovely XXX 

Sonia 

Sonia's Description:

Here’s my journal page for tomorrow my lovely ☺️ 

Birds/Butterflies.

I’ve used Stamperia Dew Drops collection. The large tag is from the 12x12 collection and the rest from 8x8 and elements from the press out die cuts. 

Inked edges with Gathered Twigs and Stormy Sky distress inks.

Absolutely stunning page my lovely,  All of the little elements you have used work together to create a gorgeous journal page.  Those Dewdrops papers have some beautiful details.  All of your little clusters work so perfectly, they help the sentiment to stand out. 

Thank you so much for another amazing journal page my lovely XXX 

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

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,  

A super early start for us as we are driving to Girona to collect Lucy and Soph,  their flight lands around 8am,  they have to do the new passport thing, uploading their finger prints and retina scan,  poor Lucy is stressing about it already,  her anxiety can really hold her back sometimes which makes me sad,  I've struggled with anxiety for years and it isn't fun, luckily Soph is with her and she has soph, who can turn any situation into a joke,  so she's in safe hands!

Great reminder,  we all grow in different ways at different times, nobody has a set schedule,   you stay relaxed and go at your own pace 😘

A Quick look at our home for next 18 days....

This is as you walk in the door, kitchen area to the right, dining area straight ahead,  although that is full of stuff still to be unpacked  

To the left as you walk in is our bedroom, there are wardrobes at the bottom of the bed. 

A compact and Bijou bathroom,  shower is great though,  very powerful!  

Closer look at kitchen area

The smallest room ! 🤣

These two are the girls rooms, we just put their stuff in  their rooms, they unpack themselves,  as I would have no idea which bed they want, or where the want their bits and bibs, I will give them their bedding tomorrow when they arrive. 

Our dining area outside,  which we use all the time!

I love that they built the decking around the tree, a lot of other places would have cut it down   2

This end has an outfside sofa area, which is really comfortable! 

Then I filmed our walk to the beach for you....

These two videos show walking onto the beach,   I did film getting to beach from our Home but it was too long so I need to cut it down a bit. 

Just look at these beautiful Bougainvillia bushes, growing in a Service station off of the motorway in France,  it is so beautiful and has a lovely scent. 

I hope that you all have a lovely Saturday,  

Love and hugs 

Sandra xxx