Cheryl's Beautiful Wedding card

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you have all had a lovely weekend,  we were once again blessed with beautiful weather on both days, so we spent most of the weekend in the garden, with it being so hot in the sun yesterday I mafe Paul stop every half hour for a break and a cold drink. We managed to get both Kale and Rocket planted out, so it's just the Tenderstem Brocoli that needs planting out now.  It's nice to physically see what you have acheived at the end of the day, just seeing a stripey lawn makes a difference!! 

Janet I hope you had a safe and trouble free journey home, does anyone else hate the unpacking when you get home?? 

Becca was supposed to be home from Santorini yesterday but her flight got cancelled,  so she spent the morning on the phone trying to organise a flight for today and to make sure work was ok as they would be without a Manager and Head Chef, luckily they just swapped days off, then she had to find a dog sitter for Benji as the girls are working.  Today they have to fly to Athens and then get another flight to Gatwick, fortunately the Villa they have been in doesn't have another arrival until Tuesday so the lady said its fine for them to stay another night. 

Today's card is a Wedding card that Cheryl was asked to make, the card is for children to give to the Bride & Groom, Cheryl also has been asked to make one for the Bride to give to the Groom.  The request was for the card to include red, I think you have fulfilled their wishes perfectly, your card is beautiful, the perfect Keepsake,  keeping the box simple was a great idea, it frames the card perfectly,  Thank you so much for sharing your amazing Wedding card with us Cheryl XXX

I am hoping to get to play with my IndigoBlu Magazine freebies today, what are you all up to?

Sending love and hugs to you all, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Your Cards for Maria's Shades of One Colour challenge

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope you are enjoying a lovely relaxing Sunday, fingers crossed for some good weather today!  We did our trip to the tip yesterday and got rid of loads of garden  waste and a load of bags of clothes that the girls sorted out a couple of weeks ago, I love the feeling of decluttering!   Stopped at the garden centre on the way home and picked up 9 large terracotta pots for £15, I'm not sure why they were that price as they were supposed to be £3 each pot so should have been £27 !! But we weren't complaining,  we did have to evict a very large 8 legged stowaway from one of the pots though, I noticed him just as Paul picked the pot up to put it in the car, he nearly dropped the pot when i told him!  

We just pottered in the garden for the rest of the afternoon,  ticking those jobs off the list!  What did you all get up to ???

Let's see what you have all been designing for Maria's  challenge......

Michele 

Michele made a lovely card perfect for this weeks 'Shades of One Colour " challenge,  she used a lovely 'Little Claire ' topper featuring two lovely cats and then used shades of purple that work beautifully with the topper.

Absolutely lovely card Michele, thank you so much for taking part in Maria's challenge XXX 

Karen 

Karen's Description:

Had a play yesterday afternoon and today and did this I have definitely “copied” a Tracy card but can’t find it now!

Shades of pink (with a little bit of Antique Linen too)

Oh Karen I have this stamp so I will definitely be having  go at this card, its so lovely and the colours you have used enhance the beauty of the tulip!  Thank you so much for taking part my lovely particularly as you have been feeling rougb with Covid.  XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

"My first card today is in Lilac. I found a piece of paper with pretty flowers

so used that and also cut out a couple to make the flower on top.

The second card is made with a die from Christina Griffiths and an old Get well

soon sentence in my stash, all made in pinks."

Two beautiful cards from Maria for our Challenge this week, that purple paper is so pretty, I am glad you left the design simple so that the paper is the star of the show.

Your second card is stunning that Christina die is lovely,  enhanced by your colouring,  with that beautiful die cut panel the card looks perfect with a simple sentiment. Thank you so much for suggesting this weeks challenge XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Hi, here is my card for this week, as you can see my magazine came today, haven’t had chance to really look at it yet, but love the flower stamps. Used two of them on this card. Also used the new mica powders, can’t see they are much different from other I have.

Wow Lilian you have made me excited for having a play with my magazine freebies now, your card is awesome, I love those flowers and the beautiful wreath you have created with them too. Did you buy the extra dies?  Thank you so much for supporting Maria's challenge XXX 

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

I’ve used Speckled Egg with the Tim Holtz snowflake die. The sentiment is from a Woodware stamp.

On the second card I’ve used Tattered Rose with a Tim Holtz stencil and the butterfly.

Two absolutely stunning cards Sonia, that snowflake die is gorgeous and looks amazing inked up with Speckled Egg, I do love that colour.  How gorgeous does Tattered Rose look on your second card, it's a very under rated colour I think, it blends out to such a lovely soft peach colour.

Thank you so much Sonia for sharing two amazing cards for Maria's Challenge. XXX

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

Some beautiful cards once again ladies, our Sunday displays are The Best !! 

Thank you so much for being so supportive 🥰

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xx❤xx

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all well, what are you all up to this weekend?  We have the excitement of a trip to the tip with some garden waste, we did look at the green bin but it's £55 a year here and Paul thinks thats way too much, especially as the tip is not that far away.  On the way back from the tip we are going to stop at the Garden centre that Sue and I went to on Wednesday, as they had some Bargain Terracotta pots in all sizes £3 each, they are washed out looking terracotta but I like the look of that with herbs growing in them. We will them come home and get on with more garden chores, the lawns look like meadows after all the rain we have had this week, The weeds are the same, the only bonus is the ground is now soaked so it's easier to pull the weeds out.  I hope your weekend is more exciting to ours! 

My IndigoBlu Box Kit arrived yesterday, so I thought that I would share that with you, the papers and free gifts are excellent quality as you would expect from IndigoBlu.  I did buy the accompanying die set so that I could get the most out of the magazine, they are nice dies too! 

IndigoBlu Magazine Review

The free gifts are really lovely, you get a stencil, A4 stamp set, some sentiment stickers, 2 rolls of Washi tape and a metal die. 

This first feature shares some lovely Clean & Simple card designs, (heads up...I am thinking of having Clean and Simple as our next challenge).

Here Teresa shares some great ideas using the free stencil, using it to create backgrounds using techniques like Faux letter press.

An extra special make designed by Kay, lots of layers and texture (lots of products too)!

Some great gift box and bag ideas in this feature a Chocolate bar cover too.

Some lovely all occasion card ideas from Kay, very mixed media, some lovely textures and colours.

Sue Jacob has designed some fantastic cards using the sentiments that are including in the Kit, some lovely designs not many extra products needed either.

The Papers 

The papers are absolutely stunning in what I would call Jewel tones, something for all occasions and would be great for Journal pages too.

I have included this little Ink pad guide as I think there are so many different inks out there these days it's nice to be reminded of which ink pads are good for which techniques. just zoom in to read.

Different colouring techniques from smooshing to watercolouring in this feature.

Some brilliant ideas for upcycling things like Loo roll tubes to old cans, although I do wonder if we need any more encouragement to hoard recycling!!!  I will confess my  number 1 thing to hoard is jars!! 

This is an interesting feature,  showing different ways of using the free die to enhance your backgrounds.

Some fantastic ideas for Cards for men using the kit.

Lastly some lovely ideas for quick and easy cards.

Die set (add on) .

IndigoBlu have designed a set of dies to go with this kit, I am a sucker for a leaf/foliage die so I couldn't resist. 

All in all a good value for money magazine, all of the free gifts are goid quality and are usable, even when you have finished with the magazine. 

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  we have a cloudy day forecast today and slight chance of rain Sunday, so we could be gardening or crafting!! 

Sending my love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx 

Our Next Challenge

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

Firstly I would like to wish a safe journey home to both Janet & Sonia, I hope you are both returning home relaxed and unwound.  We had Sophie & Lucy back home last night after their few days away, it was lovely to sit and listen to their adventures of fending for themselves for a few days, I always forget that at their age we were living together and running a home!  

Sue and I had a lovely lunch out on Wednesday, Sue chose a Chinese restaurant, the food was lovely, after that we popped to a pet shop as Sue needed Bird seed while we were there we got to admire some beautiful Birds, the colours of which you wouldn't believe were natural, they were Kakarikies from New Zealand, they ranged from peacock blues and greens to the most vibrant yellows and greens, one had so many colours on it it didn't look real.  It took me back to childhood when my dad had an aviary in the garden filled with brightly coloured budgies, I thought that they had gone out of fashion but apparently not, there were quite a few people in when we were there.  After the pet shop we drove around the corner to a garden centre, it was a cross between the one really well priced one that Paul and I have been going to and fancy garden centre, there were as many Ornaments and decorative things as there were plants.  I did manage to get a Squirrel and Large Bird proof bird feeder for £14.99 though, which is a really good price, we have a huge problem with crows or rooks stealing all the bird food and the smaller birds don't get a look in, so now we have something for everyone!  

Thanks so much for a lovely afternoon Sue XXX

Our Next Challenge

I thought that it might be nice to have a Jubilee themed challenge, 70 years on the throne is a Huge achievement after all.  

We do have choices thankfully, we don't to stick to the Red White & Blue that are traditional at these events as the Queen chose Purple and Platinum as the Official colours for the Emblem.

''Two colours make up the emblem of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – platinum and Pantone 3515 C. The platinum colour represents Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne, whilst the purple colour is synonymous with royalty.''

That shade of purple is above, but for the purposes of our Challenge we can use any shade of Purple

Also don't think that you have to use Red, White & Blue together, you can use the colours on their own if you choose or combinations of them. 

It's something different for a change, I hope that you all enjoy taking part, I look forward to seeing your Journal pages or cards. 

I hope that you all have a lovely Friday,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Pretty So Saffron Card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

This week is speeding by, how is it possible that it's Friday tomorrow?!!  I know Janet & Sonia will have felt the week whizz by, you always do when you are on holiday.  I hope you are both enjoying the last couple of days of your trip, have a safe journey home.  I am looking forward to seeing Sue today, we are continuing are trials of finding somewhere nice for lunch, I will update you on our success!! 

Today's card is a quick and simple card but I love how it turned out. It helps that it is made using one of my all time favourite SU colours 'So Saffron', I die cut a circle out of a piece of card and used that as a mask to ink through, I changed out the card stock mask for a thinner scrap paper mask made with the same die, so that I could add some script stamping to my circle, had I tried stamping through the card mask I would have missed the edges of the circle as the thicker card would have created a raised edge. I added the 'Woodware Seeds of Change' stamped image, then added a some birds flying off into the distance and one of my favourite sentiments, its a HoneyDoo sentiment from a few years back. I layered the card onto a 6 1/2  X 6 1/2 inch card base. I added a few sequins in matching soft yellow to add a little sparkle.

I hope that you all have a fabulous Thursday,  

Love an hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Shades of Green Challenge card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Phew what a scorcher yesterday was, Paul got back from work late afternoon and did another hour or two's work from home, so we didn't get much done in the garden.  I daren't even attempt to go out therewhen I am here on my own as my knees just 'go' at any time, otherwise I would be out there potting on Seedlings a morning,  I am thinking aboit getting myself one of those 3 wheeled walking aids with a seat to make it a bit easier to get around safely at home when I'm on my own.  I looked at them a little while back but I don't think I want to mentally admit that I need one, but reality is either get one or sit doing nothing when I am home alone!  

On a lighter note let's look at today's card....

It doesn't take much to persuade me to reach for these stunning papers, they are called 'Expressions in Ink' I absolutely love them, this particular sheet has beautiful shades of green, the card itself couldn't be simpler,  the pattern is so pretty I don't want to cover it!  I simply cut a piece and adhered it to a Just Jade card base, I stamped the sentiment from the 'Biggest Wish ' stamp set in Pear Pizazz (Birthday) and Just Jade (Happy).  I finished the card with some iridescent gems that have both green and some gold (that also features on the paper design).  Its simple but effective I think. 

We are having a really quiet few days as Lucy & Sophie are dog sitting Benji at Becca's until Thursday,  my goodness the house is so quiet without them, it is nice just cooking for the two of us though, the other bonus is that the kitchen looks just as I left it when I go in in the morning,  no coffee making paraphernalia all over! But I do miss the little darlings, they had an early start yesterday morning as Benji had them up at 6am, Becca just feeds him and goes back to bed for an hour on her days off.  They decided to make the most of the good weather and took Benji out for the day to the Wildlife park,  he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying being spoilt. Who even knew you could get 'Dog Icecream' !! Sonia, have you treated Barney to one yet?? 

Have a lovely day ladies, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

New Orchid Oasis Challenge card

 

Good Morning Ladies,

How are you all today?  Michele how was your first day back at work after 4 weeks off?  I was thinking of you yesterday,  I hope you weren't in too much discomfort at the end of the day.  We had a mixed bag of weather yesterday,  we have a little seed house outside the back door, I went out to turn the hose on to water the Seedlings and just as I turned the hose on the heavens opened, I got as soaked as the Seedlings, that rain was cold too!!  We had a really good thunderstorm late Sunday/early monday morning too, which really cleared that muggy air. 

Today's card is made using one of the New Stampin Up! 2022-2024 Colours called Orchid Oasis, it's a bluey purple to my eye, I quite like it.

I made a 4 1/4  X  5 1/2 inch Card with a Fold back front panel  (which I scored at 2 1/8 inch), I then used the Colour & Contour Stamp set and matching layering die set to decorate the card, so everything is made with that same colour, I didn't have matching ribbon so I used a piece of narrow seam binding and coloured it with the Orchid Oasis ink pad that I squished onto my mat, spritzed with water and then sqidge the ribbon into the ink and dried with my heat tool, it turned out kind of tie dyed.  I quite like how it turned out. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day,  it's forecast to be quite warm I believe! 

Sending love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx