Friday 29 April 2016

Welcome our newest Blog Family Member & Guilty Secrets

Welcome to A Very Special New Arrival x

 Janet's New Toy

Val's New Stamp

Brenda L New Goodies

Karen(lotty) BARGAIN

Lilian's New Stamp and Glue Gun

Margaret's Range Bargains

Michele's New Embossing Folder

Sonia's New Dies and Ink

Val's New Goodies


My New Dies

Good Morning Ladies,

Please join me in welcoming our newest and very special new Blog Family Member...........
Baby Oscar, Oscar is our Karen's Very Precious Grandson, he arrived on Monday morning,
Huge Congratulations Karen on becoming a Grandma (or Nanny),  I hope you will share lots more photographs of Oscar as he grows, I can literally see your smile from here, I do hope that Charlotte is doing ok too.  Thank you so much for giving me the privilege of sharing your amazing news! xx

Now onto this weeks Craft Shopping........

Janet,  I am so pleased that your New Glue Gun has arrived, you can now get down to some serious 'Altering' and using all of your new Laces and trims, I am soooo excited to see the results xxx

Val, I see you managed to get hold of a Crossword Stamp, I never knew there was such a Stamp, Val told me that she decided she needed this stamp after being directly inspired by Our Michele's Crossword card last week, looking forward to seeing your cards xxx

Brenda has bought a few bits from Crafters Companion, that Magazine looks like its packed with Inspiration, I did buy one last year and I often flick through for some ideas, I saw the lady from 'Be Crafty' (i think) using Linen card with her painting techniques at Ally Pally and it looked really effective so I am excited to see how you get on, the Aqua Blend pencils have had 'rave' reviews across the board so I know you will love these Brenda, I am sure our Ciara will love them too, these are on my wish list too, thanks for sharing xxx

karen (lotty) has shared a BARGAIN with all of us, these make up sponges look and feel very similar to the Smoothies that we all know and love, at £1.50 for 2 they are well worth a try, I have some too, they feel slightly denser than the originals but not hugely different, at that much of a price difference its worth having a go, you could always wash them and use them for make up if you don't get on with them.
Thank you Karen for taking the time to share your bargain, I am sure craft has been the furthest thing from your mind this week xxx

Lilian, I see you have bought a new Glue Gun too, I love that fine nozzle, I would love to hear how you get on with it, I have a Rapid point one, that has a fine nozzle too but the glue really pours out between applications.  I believe those stamps are Leoni's new Stamp range, there is loads of them in that collection, just about something for every occasion, lots of background building too, I think that Anne has these stamps too, so you can compare notes and ideas.  Thank you my lovely xxx

Margaret and Sue popped to the Range last Friday and these are Margaret's great deal purchases, there are two paper pads with mixed colours, I believe Sue said that they were a similar price and quality as the Lidl card we all know and Love, Margaret also bought a new Ruler and a couple of very useful little stamps too, thanks so much for sharing Margaret, did Sue buy anything??? xxx

Michele bought the new Dotted Matrix Embossing Folder from Creative Expressions, I believe she had the same reaction as I did when it arrived though....shocked by the size, we are so used to the A4 size Folders now these A5 ones seem too small and I am not that great at matching them up without getting a little line across, thanks for sharing Michele xxx

Sonia has been doing a little 'SET craft' shopping I predict....I love the Perspective Dies, I am not imaginitive enough to make full use of them, but I love the effect they give and what other people have done with them, I think that they are a very versatile die and I can't wait to see your creations with them, Versafine is a brilliant ink for detail stamping, is this your ink of choice Sonia?? thank you for sharing your buys xxx

Val, part two, some more amazing CE goodies, John Lockwood's Stamps are always good and very useful for many different cards, it looks like you got a 'Stamps to Die for' Stamp for the Melbourne Die too, very pretty and last but not least some Double sided adhesive sheets, CE ones are fab quality! Thank you Val for taking part xxx

I have bought the Stitched Lattice Frame from SET Craft, after using Pat's and loving it so much I just don't think I could manage with out it !! lol, I love the effect it gives and the 'Stitched' detail is amazing too! I also bought the New Ornate Framed 'Happily Ever After' die, not for the sentiment really, I just love that frame with the little hearts in the corners, I did buy some Mini Smoothies and the gorgeous Green Gilding Polish by Cosmic Shimmer, which I love!

Now speaking of New Dies, I want to give you a new 'Mini Challenge'..............
I would like you to delve back to the bottom of your Die Storage and pull out a die that you haven't used for 6 months of more, you can make any card you like, I just feel that we let our older dies slip into early retirement!  At the time we purchased them we thought we couldn't live without them, for instance the Lyra Gemini die, about 8 months or so ago, (maybe longer) I bought this die thinking that I would never put it down, but months have passed and new dies have been launched and it just gets neglected!
So come on, pull out those old favourites, any brand of die is fine.  
I will post your cards next Friday so you have a good week to make one, as well as your weekly challenge of course!  
Everybody that enters will be placed into a little prize draw, you will win a Sue Wilson Original Card and a little something from me too.  So get the dust blown off of those dies!

I am so sorry about this HUGE post today, I just got a bit carried away !

You ladies are amazing, I awake every morning with that little sense of excitement of checking in and reading your comments, you are all my extended family and you mean the world to me, so thank you all for brightening my day xxx

Love and Hugs

Sandra 
xxxxxxx

26 comments:

  1. Morning Ladies

    Congratulations Katen- Baby Oscar looks gorgeous, I hope you're daughter is OK.

    Another interesting selection of purchases. I'm not sure why I thought the embossing folder would be larger -guess it's because Sue's most recent ones were all A4. It's not a problem as I seem to be making smaller cars as its quicker & easier to fill them!

    Work was nice & busy yesterday, got lots sorted. Bloke arrived to discuss delivery of my new machine. I'm hoping it won't be next week as I feel it's too soon-we'll need to buy all the chemotherapy in "ready made" and it's quite short notice now. I'm going to take Tuesday off work to make a long weekend then work Wednesday to Friday.

    I had my sister in law (from Florida) on the phone last night saying how excited they all are about their trip to the UK. She'd taken Max (3year old) and baby Liam to a coffee morning and asked Max to tell someone there where they were going but he suddenly went shy, so she said "who are you going to see " and he quickly said "Uncle Phil " so Kelli prompted him to explain where Uncle Phil lived & his answer was "The North Pole"!!!!!!!!!!! I know the weather has been dreadful here so I said to Kelli that they would all feel like it was the North Pole.
    We have another wet & very windy day here-good day to go to work I think!

    Michele

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  2. Good morning Ladies,
    First of all Karen, Congratulations on the birth of your new baby grandson "Oscar" such a great name , hope it's not too long before you have a lovely cuddle with him , he looks adorable! xo.
    Well , congratulations to all the girls on your wondrous stash hauls this week !
    I have also been indulging but haven't taken photos I don't know that I want to be confronted by my guilty secrets ha ha , I only bought one of Leoni's masks , FUN, and the middle set of stamps in the bottom row of Lillian's photo ( just to try them out) they are quite fun, I also ordered Sue W. Stitched ovals and the Jubilee Gemini die , and yesterday in Inverness I bought some card stock , mount board sentiments and cellophane wrapping in several colours, I was tempted to order Sue's stitched lattice but decided on the large ovals but would love to have both!
    We were so tired last night by the time we put everything away and yes we do have a large kitchen with lots of storage and two upright freezers in the garage , fortunately ! (necessary in the country.)
    Sandra , your mini challenge sounds interesting , I must have a rake around and see what I can find?
    We are enjoying cold but sunny weather at the moment , long may it last!
    Love and hugs to all xoxo

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  3. Morning Everyone
    First of all WELCOME OSCAR - you are adorable and I'm sure you're the apple of Nans eye and looking at this beautiful picture how could you not be. CONGRATULATIONS to MUM and DAD and of course NAN.

    What a range of purchases this week. Everything looks so useful and of course very much needed by everyone!! I bought my new glue gun even though I do have one here but it works on batteries which don't last at all but most of all it's so heavy that I just cannot use it properly so this little one is just the job. It's light in weight and fits into the hand and it doesn't drip in between uses. It's from Hobbycraft and only cost £5.

    I cannot believe it's Friday again and Housework is calling. The washer is already churning away but not a hope of cloths drying outside. We have a little sun but it's pouring with rain, bitterly cold and a slight covering of snow on the grass. The Snake Pass is closed because of snow but that's no surprise.
    So I'm going to have to push myself to get going after this cup of coffee and then we'll see how I feel.

    Everything's up and running in the Cafe. Lemon Drizzle and Chocolate cake just waiting so come on in and sit a while and have a chat.
    Hugs for everyone. xxxx

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    1. Thanks for the cake Janet it was delicious.

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  4. Morning Ladies,

    Welcome to the world Oscar. Many congratulations to the new parents and grandparents.

    What a lot of guilty secrets. Enjoy them all girls.
    My guilty secret is still waiting to be delivered. I did succumb to some of the lovely Fernli range despite my banning myself from further purchases until my teddy bank was full of spending money for my forthcoming American trip. They will become Christmas presents for family members if I haven't sold them at our Church Fete, lol

    Well the rain did hold off until late last night when the heavens opened. Sun again this morning so I may get the second coat of decking protector on the part I have already started.
    I didn't get much of the lawn strimmed as I had hoped for. I didn't realise the swinging action of using the strimmer would play havoc with my knees and hips. Never mind, there is always tomorrow to finish it.

    More crafting on the cards for today, I have a quite a few birthdays in May. Thank you Sandra for all the Sketch challenges, I copied them all into a book for reference and most of them give me ideas for quick cards to make. Saves hurting the brain cells too much when in a hurry.

    Love & hugs
    Cheryl xxx

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    1. Hi Cheryl
      I'm glad you managed to start on your outside. Just take it slowly though, we don't want you laid up again. It's cold out there. Don't forget we're at the North Pole according to Max.

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  5. WELCOME TO THE WORLD OSCAR,.
    Certainly will have a delve into the depths SANDRA to find a die, though if you could see my study (craft area) you could be forgiven for thinking will I ever find anything. I am easily led in this room, look for something specific see a piece of paper that I had forgotten about and thats it I am off in a tangent .

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  6. Hi Sandra and everyone.
    Lovely to see a picture of Karen's Grandson - such a little cutie :-) Congratulations Karen, enjoy all the cuddles.
    Lots of lovely purchases again this week. I have to admit I didn't get mine from Set Craft. There is a craft shop near to where one of my clients lives and I often pop in there. Their prices aren't as good as Set, but I do have a discount card to get 10% off if you spend over £20, so I made use of that :-) It's the first time I have used the Versafine ink, and have been very pleased with it. I usually use Memento, but was finding the image wasn't as crisp on some newer card stock, so thought I'd try something new.
    Love the new challenge Sandra, I know I have loads of dies which haven't been used in a while - I will have trouble deciding which to use! ;-)
    I hope everyone is well, and has a good day ahead of them.
    Lovely words Sandra - thank you for this wonderful blog, and a big thank you to you and everyone for welcoming me into this lovely blog family :-)
    Hugs to all xxx

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  7. Morning Sandra and ladies.
    Gosh a lot of guilty secrets today, I forgot to take a photo of mine from last week.
    Karen your new grandson is gorgeous.
    I'm off to cover our wee craft shop today, so better get a move on, take care xx

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  8. Good Morning Sandra and all.
    What a little cutie Karen. Bet you're as proud as punch. Hope mum and little Oscar are doing well.
    what a great pile of purchases today ladies. The problem is I always want them all.
    Your new challenge sounds great Sandra. The problem will be which one of my old dies to use.
    I finally got round to making this weeks cc card. I'll send it to you later Sandra.
    Well its Craft Club today so have to go get my craft bag organised. I usually have it ready on Thursday evening but this week seems to have been so chaotic.
    Just realised it's May Bank Holiday weekend. Have a lovely time for those lucky enough to be going away and enjoy R+R if thats what you plan.
    Bye for now.
    Love Val x

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  9. Morning Sandra and all in today.
    Welcome to baby Oscar and Congrats to be Nanny Karen !
    He is gorgeous and I can't wait to meet him. Enjoy all the cuddles.
    Oh Boy, you ladies seem to have been on a spending spree again hihi a lot of essential tools for crafting !
    Michele- don't you just love how the little ones sees you. I guess it is a bit like the North pole at the moment, brrr! Have a good day at work.
    Anne- don't know how you managed to put everything away, I'm just tired after putting away our weekly one. Love your freezer space. We will put a extra 98 L one in the kitchen when that's happening. My dream is to have a full fridge and full freezer, always need more room.
    Janet- have a nice day. Thanks for the yummy cakes in the cupboard today, will be nice to have some to a coffee later. Hope the weather up North getting more Spring like soon. Cheryl- glad the cleaning of the bench worked so good. Take care doing the decking, not to much shimming :-) Have a nice day and the same goes to all of you whatever you are doing. I got some cards to make so must get a move on. Love and hugs to you all, Maria xxxx

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  10. Good morning Sandra and everyone at the coffee shop,

    I was leaving a comment under Sonia's and almost got to the end when it disappeared off into cyberspace. I was to cross to start again, I have now calmed down and will try.

    Firstly, big congratulations to Karen and family on the birth of beautiful Oscar. I know he kept you waiting , but looking at him now you will agree he was worth the wait. Enjoy every moment of him Karen I know how excited you are waiting for him to be born, enjoy every moment. LOLXX

    What are lots of lovely guilty secrets we have on the blog. I too would be interested to know how you get on with the glue guns. It's not something I have used often.

    After Ciara had had her dinner yesterday evening I was showing her all the messages from last Sunday's blog about the challenge cards. She inspected each one with great interest and keep saying wow, wow. After a little while she said "grandma next time you leave a message on Sandra's blog would you please say to all the ladies I really love all of their cards" she also said "everyone has looked at the same sketch, yet every card it's really different, I like that" it's great seeing things through such young eyes.

    Right must crack on, have another load of washing to put out the towels I put up earlier I think that all dry it's blowing beautifully out there.

    Try and catch up with you later, love and hugs to everyone, Brenda XXX

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  11. Congratulations to Karen and there are some fabulous goodies bought Ladies.

    I hope you and your family are okay Sandra, great purchases from you too lol!

    Have a great bank holiday Weekend people

    Love & hUgs
    Jacquie J xxx
    http://jewelscardcraft.blogspot.co.uk/

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  12. Hi everyone, cold and wet here first thing, but dry now.
    Karen congratulations on the birth of your little Oscar, my Oscar is five now, I warn you the years fly by enjoy every moment.
    What a lovely lot of goodies this week .
    Have to say Set Craft is amazing, postman bought my order this morning !!!!! so not only brilliant prices and free postage, but superb delivery as well.
    We'll have finished lunch so I'd better go and do something.
    See you later, hugs Lilian

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  13. Thank you ladies for your lovely comments He is total dreamboat I am so so glad he arrived safely and that Charlotte is Ok I tried hard not to worry but that's what makes us mums isn't it My son was born on a Monday and was same weight He was definitely looking after him and Charlotte
    All of your buys look brill I must look at SET I might need to go to Hobbycraft too for a glue gun!
    Leonie's stamps look amazing and so different to what's on market at mo I have to admit I have had a quick play on Serif and I've achieved similar results ... I'll problaby still buy them though!
    I might be able to do both challenges It'll depend when I get my next cuddles! I have old dies that I have bought in a C&C bundle and never used them Now there's a challenge for me!
    Take care all Lots of love (with my new title - Nanny!)

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    1. Hi Karen I must go and look at Leonies stamps. Congratulations on the birth of baby Oscar, what a cutie he is.

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    2. Margaret Palmer29 April 2016 at 19:10

      Hi Karen,
      Congratulations on the arrival of Oscar, he looks gorgeous, just enjoy every moment.xxx

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  14. Hi Sandra
    Can I please welcome baby Oscar into the world. Karen he's such a cutie well worth the wait. I hope Charlotte is ok.
    It's lovely to see all your goodies ladies on the blog that you bought ladies. I like the look f the dotted matrix and the crossword stamp. Will have to look out for that one.

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  15. Well, just to let you know that when we got to the hospital yesterday to see Doreen she was waiting to go hope. To say I was cross is an understatement. Whatever happened to her going into converlesence I asked. A shrug of the shoulders was the reply, and that she'd been signed off by the physios. Well she could hardly walk let alone anything else. What about getting herself a drink or something to eat when she can only walk very badly using two crutches, let alone getting up stairs. The upshot was she came home with us. My word what a struggle she had getting up our stairs to go to bed. Pete and I had to help her, so she'd never have managed on her own. They'd send her out with diarohia as well which she'd caught in hospital and a sore bottom. It really beggars belief. Soapbox back in its corner now ladies.

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    1. Margaret Palmer29 April 2016 at 19:15

      Hi Pat,
      Sorry Doreen has been discharged home once again without convalescent, I so not understand. Just take care.xxx

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    2. Oh for goodness sake, what up with the nhs sometimes. She was /is clearly not ready for to go home ! You are a very good friend taking her home with you and Pete but this is not right and poor Doreen, it can't be easy for her either. Hope you can arrange for some help, do keep us updated.
      hugs to you all xxx

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  16. Hi Pat, it beggars belief that Doreen has been discharged in that state. Do they have a complaints department at the hospital? You cannot be expected to be her carers.
    Please take care, LOL xx

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  17. Hi Sandra & all in cafe,
    Sandra lovely lot of guilty secrets again this week. I had said to Sue that I needed some plain coloured paper & I was surprised at the selection. The ones that are like the Lidl ones are 160gm. 24 sheets for £2.99 & the card at 240gm 48 sheets for £ 5.99, the ruler 50p & couple of stamps for £1.00 each so didn't feel to guilty. Sue bought a £1.00 happy birthday stamp & some buttons which we shared from the odds bin. I did order the lattice die yesterday, I will blame you Sandra for showing your lovely card. Only joking it will hopefully be a useful die. Hope you have a good weekend .xxx
    Another mixed with weather day here hope it is better for the weekend. Sending hugs to all who need them love Margaret xxx

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  19. Hi all, just had to pop in again to have a peek at baby Oscar, he is soooo cute Karen. You will have some wonderful time over the years with the little mite :-)
    Disgusted to hear how the hospital have treated Doreen Pat, have comment under yours.
    Did finished three, yes 3 cards today Yay me ! hihi
    Step-son coming up from Bournemouth for a weeks stay so the blow up is up and ready for him on the lounge floor just hope some warmer weather coming soon or the heating will have to stay on, it's still so cold and we had hailstones, rain and sunshine during today so didn't get any walk in and the bank holiday don't seem to be much better but I wish you all a good night for now and I'll see you tomorrow xxx

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  20. Hi Sandra. Last year I challenged myself to use every single die I had in my stash and I blogged each and every one. Great fun. xxx

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