Something Simple to start the week

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

Welcome to the start of a new week,  let's hope it's a good one 🤞

For years we have had our holiday from mid to end of August into September,   so when we get back we pack all summer clothes away for next year,  the shops have Christmas stuff in and the cooler weather is soon upon us.                                                 So I was finishing sorting holiday clothes etc yesterday afternoon,  preparing to pack the clothes back into the boxes,  it then dawned on me (you'd think the heat would have been a clue 🤔)  that we'll need the shorts, summer dresses for the next couple of months,   so I split things into two laundry baskets , one to go upstairs and get popped into drawers or hung,   the other things like swimwear, beach cover ups,  Pauls swim shorts etc will go into box to go back into the loft.  It felt good to get all the bags etc emptied and packed away.  I had to take breaks every ten minutes as I was exhausted.  Paul got all lawns finished which made him happy.  

Today I am sharing a clean & simple card that I made using a Tim Holtz 'tuck in' die to create the lovely detailed corner aperture,  next I stamped the sentiment onto the card and embossed with gold embossing powder.  I die cut the ivy in dark green card and added touches of gold mica flakes here and there, to tie in with the gold sentiment. 

I added foam pads to raise the front of the card from the background,  so that the aperture stands out more. 

I love the simplicity of the card,  the linen texture adds some lovely texture to the card too. 

I hope that you all have a great week, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

Lets look back at this weeks makes

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

I hope that you are all managing in this extreme heat,  it was so much more bearable in Spain,  I have looked on line for an A/C unit for upstairs if nothing else but the whole country seems to have sold out of them.  Everyone is now also selling fake copies of the cool towel too, so be careful if you are thinking of getting another.  

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

Karen

Karen's Description:

It was my uncle’s funeral whilst we were away She sent me a copy of the Order of Service So created a quick card using “bits”

I used Artspira for the first time and downloaded this flower and shadow So so easy to do 

I resized it and flipped it to cut The “mat” is a little too big but we learn 🤣

I absolutely love the simplicity of your card,  it's perfect for the occasion too.  I love the font of your sentiment too. 

Thank you so much for sharing your lovely card with us XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description: 

Hello, here is my page for winter, done with the help of chat GPT. A little random stamping., and a lot of cutting out and changing bits around.

Ooh Lilian, I could do with being right in the centre of your scene right now.  Although we'd probably moan about the cold then !  Although I'd sooner be cold than too hot.  

Your ChatGPT background is perfect for the 'Winter' theme,   I absolutely love your composition too.  

Thank you so much for supporting the challenge my lovely XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

I had planned to make another card but not even with a fan I felt comfortable sitting in my craft room so I did this one yesterday very early.

Cant remember what you call it but I have risen every second one of the strips of a piece of paper. Cut out Happy birthday and finished it off with a few blings x

Oh Maria such a pretty reverse eclipse card, I love that paper that you have used, its so summery!  Your sentiment colour works well with the pink too.

Thank you so much for enduring the heat to make a card for today my lovely,  I really appreciate it XXX 

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

Birthday card for Luke

I uploaded a photo to ChatGPT. Added his likes - football, racing cars and Xbox.

I printed the finished image. Matted on a piece of black card, and die cut edge with a Stampin Up die. I added the sentiments from a selection by Tracey Hey 😊

OH wow Luke must have loved his card Sonia, it features all his favourite things, how brilliant!  You really are getting the very best out of ChatGPT my lovely.   

Thank you so much for sharing your card with us XXX 

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

I hope that you all manage to stay cool on this very hot day, 

My love & hugs to all of you  

Sandra xxx 

Its Saturday 😁

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I'd like to say that we have a lovely relaxing weekend ahead of us,  however the lawns are almost at knee height, well the weeds in the lawn are, Paul cut it the weekend before we went away!  I have about 12 loads of washing today,  atleast the weather is good for drying it 🤣😂  One thing that I can't understand is how weeds survive extreme heat and no water but your beloved plants die at the slightest bit of drought.   

We have already had messages from Thames water telling us to be very careful about every drop of water you use!  

I think that we all prove this time and time again,   it's a good one to remind yourself of though especially when you are feeling low 😘

A few photos from Holiday 

These are from an evening beach walk,  Soph was really enjoying my new phone camera,  she took some amazing photos.  

These amazing driftwood creations were in a little gift shop in Pals Old Town,  i think they are amazing, especially the Octopus.  

I will share some more photos next week. 

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

What a frustrating travel day

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,  

As I am writing this we are in the car after a huge delay at the Le Shuttle crossing,   we were sat there for 4 hours,  it will be midnight before we get home.  I have a bloomin uti and very swollen ankles!   I am so looking forward to getting in my own bed!! 

I will definitely be doing this today 🤣😂,  this one couldn't have been better timed 😂

I got my Stampin Up stuff out for this card   I used a piece of the lovely scenic 6 x 6 papers,  trimmed down to fit into this lovely frame die cut.  I used one of my favourite SU embossing folders and mounted that onto a piece of lilac/pink card and then mounted onto a white card base.  The sentiment is a Temu cheapy die, I added a piece of die cut foliage to bring a bit of extra detail.  

I hope that you all have a lovely day, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Last day of holiday 😢

 

Good Morning Ladies,  

Well that's it, holiday over,  while I feel ready to get home, my fingers are itching to craft,  I always find this last leg of the journey a bit emotional,  we see all the cars,  caravans etc heading off towards the beautiful  French coast, while we are homeward bound.   I'm not sure if any of you get the post holiday blues,  I'll be fine once we are home and back in a routine!   I might just look at booking something for Paul and I for September/ October time for our birthdays and wedding anniversary,  its Paul's 60th so he deserves a special treat. 

I think we all underestimate our strength, not necessarily our physical strength 💪,  more our mental strength,  our ability to tackle frustrating situations.  We are all much stronger than we give ourselves credit for 😘

Today's card is another 'smooshed" background, I used Twisted Citron,  Mowed Lawn and another that I can't remember.   Just like the last one of these cards,  I smooshed the ink into my mat, swished through it with my finger to break up any harsh lines,  after spritzing with water, I spritzed my card and tapped it into the inks, drying between each layer. 

I stamped a Tim Holtz sentiment and added a simple white die cut foliage stem for contrast. The final touch was a few tiny pearls.

I hope that you all have a lovely Thursday,  

Love and hugs to all of you

Sandra xxx 

Beautiful Bird Journal page

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies,  

Well we were sad to say goodbye to our little holiday home yesterday,   one thing I struggled with was the bed,  there was barely 8 inches between the edge of the bed and the wall,  you couldn't move it either,  some nights I was up 3 times in the night, each time was a frustrating experience,   I cannot get up from sitting with my feet set back from my knees (in sitting position)  I had to 'shimmy' myself to the end of the bed and grab the wardrobe handle to get up!   So while we were saying goodbye to our hosts I asked about the 'Supreme Lodge'  it is more expensive,  so we went to have a look,  it would be worth the extra money for the bed alone,  its much higher, has a proper high end mattress and there was loads of room around the bed,  the whole lodge had a much better lay out too,  you get a good discount if you book early, so we might look into it.  

As we arrived at Millau the temperature was 39°, it was getter hotter as we drove down through the mountains to the town.   We dropped our bags off, got changed and headed to the pool,  we stayed there until almost 9pm.  

A great reminder today,  love the artwork too, although it does look a bit like a snowman to me!  🤣😂

Today I am sharing a journal page made using Stamperia All Around, I used both my Junk Journal and the Focus junk journal for all of the detailed pieces.  I mean just look at that,  the detail is incredible!  

I added some green paint with a dry brush,   then I added some texture paste that I turned gold by using a mica powder, it works really well,  the gold is really vibrant.   I used a tag as the base of my focal point and then added more, using flowers to ground the bird,  I took a piece of hessian ribbon and roughed up the edges and placed my sentiment on it.  A few white splatters finish the page.  

Here you can see that gold embossing paste shining brightly!  

I hope that you all have an amazing day,  especially Sonia who will be awaiting the arrival of her newest grandbaby!! 

Love and hugs to all of you 

Sandra xxx

All packed up and ready to start journey home

 

Good Morning Ladies,  

We got mostly packed last night, just overnight bag and wash bags to get packed and then we are off, I usually spend a few hours cleaning before we leave but with holiday you pay for a final clean which is €65, so I will not be scrubbing and bleaching! 

We have huge wildlifes ahead of us in France just over border,  fingers  crossed the roads will be open.  

We have had this one a few times, I agree with the statement but it remains something I find hard to do 🥰

Today I am sharing a journal page I made using Stamperia Secret Diary collection,   the blue paint was added using a baby wipe,  I added stamping in a tone on tone colour and added some stencilling for texture.  I then arranged the ephemera from the top down, finishing with some white splatters.  

I hope that you all have a great day, 

Love and hugs, 

Sandra xxx