Clean and Simple Bit box card

Good Monday Morning Ladies,  

Welcome to the start of a new week, crazy to think that tomorrow is the last day of June! 

We had a really lovely day on the beach yesterday,  we stayed until around 8pm,  we thought it was going to be windy but it wasn't at all,  I had a good hour or more in the sea which was heavenly, Paul and I were in for a while then all of us went in together,  the sand got so hot though, I thought I had given myself  actual burns on my feet,   it hurt so much,  luckily an hour in the med was the cure! 

This is so true,  there are days that I definitely don't have my life together!  On such days you just have to cross your fingers and hope you make it to bed time unscathed! 🤣😂

Today I am sharing a clean and simple card that I made using bits of Alcohol lift ink that I did weeks ago. 

For this I used the second from the right!

I cut the hexagons 'tuck in' die into the left corner of my card top layer,  I then added a piece of that inky background behind the die cut area.  I raised the top layer off of the background using foam tape for a bit of dimension.  

I took my Gummiapan Dragonfly die and wanted to get a bit of that darker colour at the top, I managed to get it on one wing, as you can see in the close up!  

I stamped my sentiment and embossed in Silver to match the body of the dragonfly. 

I hope that you have the best start to your week, 

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

Happy Sunny Sunday

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

Phew!!! Yesterday was almost unbearably hot,  not sure if was because humidity was higher but I really struggled,  we had been to a local market and were back and down on the beach by ten am,  we had to use our beach tent as it was really windy,  the umbrella wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes,  people running after their errant umbrellas is actually like a local sport,  quite fun to watch! 

This our beach tent, the windows are mesh with can be zipped closed to eliminate all wind,  its a great wind breakand gives good shade too.  Paul and I fit in quite nicely,  even with my new chair!   After being at beach for about 40 minutes it was so hot that we just needed to cool off in the sea, my goodness was it cold,  the coldest its been in the years we've been coming,  although that could be because it's so much hotter on the land,  we cooled ofc for a good 45 minutes before returning to the heat.  I am taking my time to get in the sea though as I am trying to protect my heart from going off in  crazy rhythm!  

Let's look at what Lilian and Sonia made this week...

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Good morning, a bit cooler today.

Here is my version of Snail Mail.

It’s very simple but took ages trying to decide what to do.

All from chat GPT , took ages cutting all the bits out as usual, stamp is one of Stamperia’s older one.

Enjoy your hols.

Lilian your page could not be more perfect for the 'Snail Mail' category!   It's so brilliant 👏!!  

I cannot tell you how proud of you i am my lovely,  you have grasped this ChatGPT process like an absolute pro!!  It's so lovely to see you using a tool that was totally alien to you a few months ago and you are creating some amazing projects with it. 

Thank you so much for a truly inspirational piece XX 

Sonia 

Sonia's Description:

Hi lovely, here’s a double spread Journal page for Sunday.

Vintage.

I’ve used papers and empheria from Stamperia Quiet Days junk journal and 8x8 pads. I inked all edges with Gathered Twigs distress inks 😊

Absolutely gorgeous double page spread my lovely 😍,   I do love the quiet days collection,  you have created two lovely pages that would be great individually but balance each other perfectly too.  With the right side having a bit more detail,   your 'clusters ' are so perfectly balanced and draw your eye up the page.  

Thank you so much for a gorgeous,  inspirational double page spread,   the fact that you made it despite feeling so poorly makes me appreciate it even more 😊  I hope that you are feeling better today my lovely XXX 

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I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra xxx 

Its Saturday!

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all having a more comfortable time now that it's a bit cooler!   We had a very humid day yesterday which makes it seem even hotter,  it was quite windy too, so we didn't bother with the beach, which is always my first choice to sit.  The pool gets very busy when its windy on the beach,  although it seemed a bit quieter yesterday,  the calm before the storm I think,  I imagine that there will be a lot of new arrivals today,  I think the camp 'animation ' (entertainment) team start this weekend so that will give us some entertainment at the pool,  we love watching the water aerobics classes etc!  

Maria I very much agree with you regarding the Air Conditioning,   it always gives me congestion and a sore throat,   particularly in the car,  its odd because it feels like it totally dries you out but gives you cold like symptoms as well,  I must say that we have it on pretty much constantly at the mobile home,  this new one has a 'quiet mode' for over night,   we used to have to turn it off as it made us have such dry mouth/throat at night, but this one seems ok.  

This is a great reminder for all of you,  especially our Sonia who is feeling really poorly 🥰

I hope that you all have a lovely Saturday,  

My love & Hugs to all of you,

Sandra xxx 

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. 

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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