Spring theme anniversary & craft shopping

Good Morning Ladies,

How can it be Friday already???  

I took my card to the lady that ordered it in Becca's bank yesterday, she was over the moon with it, I was so relieved, some of the other ladies saw it too and were very complimentary!  We talked about me making a box of cards to have in the staff room, which they all thought was a great idea, just a selection of everyday cards, I thought of having a little portfolio of my Bespoke/personalised​ cards that can be made to order too.  So I had better get busy making.  

I can't believe it's the last day of March already, this year seems to be whizzing by like last year did.  

I am going to put a last order into Stampin Up today too, as Sale-a-bration​ ends today,  so I can grab last of the freebies. I will be putting it in about lunchtime if anyone wants anything, I got your order thank you Karen xxx

Now onto your Craft Shopping.....

Lynda is up first........

Lynda has bought the prettiest dies from China I have seen so far, they look Stunning Lynda, I cant wait to see them die cut.

You have bought some lovely stamps too.  Thanks for sharing xxx

Val's​ up next.........

Val you managed to get some great new dies in the short amount of time you did manage to go out shopping.  I love the Alphabet die set with the Banner die included, you could have made bunting for your home decor Challenge! Lol x, those Diesire Bested label dies will be really useful too. The other two die sets will be perfect finishing touches for the many, every occasion cards you have to make for the shop. Thank you for sharing xxx

Micheles's Craft shopping..........

Michele has bought some amazing dies from China, the little boat die is to go with the 'Swirly Dies' she bought from Stampin Up.

The Woodware stamps (now owned by Creative Expressions) will be great with the Shadow Box dies Michele! 

The magazines were bought for the freebies i believe Michele said. I see you bought some colour pencils too, i am looking forward to seeing what Amazing cards you come up with! Thank you Michele xxx

Janet's craft buys.........

Wow Janet, you have become a stamper!!!!!  You have bought an amazing selection of stamps, so vintage, I love them and I can't wait to see the cards you make with them, are you taking them to Marigny ????, Can you fit them in, is the question i should be asking?! (Hide them in J"s shoes) ! Haha xxx

Val also sent me a photo of her Craft Desk

I am very impressed Val, so organised !  (Although did say that she had had a little tidy up)!  I would love to know how many hundreds of cards you have made at that desk Val . 

Thank you so much for sharing xxx

Oh yes I almost forgot, the card I made is for Paul's parents Wedding Anniversary, he reminded me at about 6pm! So I upcylcled it from an old Challenge card!  I think it turned out 

Quite nicely though. No more Anniversary cards for a while...

Please !!

Have a lovely day ladies,

Love and Hugs,

Sandra

Xxxxx

Michele's Shadow Box Tutorial

Good Morning Ladies,

I have a fantastic Tutorial for you today, it has been written by our very own 'Shadow Box' Card Genius' - Michele, this is for all of you that were wondering how Michele extended her Shadow Box die cuts to make her amazing cards.

EXTENDED SHADOW BOX DIES

I started out with a rectangle of white pearl card (see yellow finished card & extra piece).

Square of white card (14x14cm) and decided which way I wanted to "add" the extra row of boxes on. You could do two rows side by side if you prefer

This is how I "add" the extra row. You need to check on the cutting side to make sure the excess die (on the right hand side of the photo) doesn't cut into the edge of your square. See blue card for the finished die cut.

One this square I swapped the Shadow box to the New Arrivals one to make the most of the 4 mini squares. Again you could choose to cut the 4 mini squares side by side if you prefer- See pink card for the finished die cut.

I use foam pads in between the squares which can be a bit fiddly . You do need to add them everywhere otherwise the card topper starts to sag.

I decided I didn't like how big this one came out so I chopped it up! Now they're just waiting to be decorated.

This square diecut makes a great topper for a 6x6 card which I the usual size I make.

Thank you so much Michele for a fantastic tutorial, the photos make it so clear, it must have taken you ages, I am so grateful my lovely xxx

Tomorrow ladies I would like to maybe feature crafty shopping, although I might do it Saturday, (so indecisive)!  

So please send me any photos you have of recent buys, I received some dies from. China yesterday, they are fantastic, I can't wait to have a play.  Lynda bought some too, hers look beautiful, I will show you tomorrow. I look forward to your photos, we haven't had a shopping share for a while! 

I finished the box for the card I made too, Paul will take me to drop it off today, fingers crossed she likes it.

I hope all of you feeling under the weather feel much brighter today xxx

Pat, I hope Pete is doing ok too, hugs xxx

Have a lovely day ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

Finished it at last !!!

Good Morning Ladies,

Well I finally finished the Diamond Wedding Anniversary Card, I just need to create the box for it this morning and then it can be delivered, I am just so relieved to have it done.  The card looks like silver but they look like tiny little individual sparkles up close, such a lovely paper to work with, I bought it at Farnborough from Pink Frog Crafts, they had it in Rose Gold and plain gold too, it is super smooth, I think you could stamp on it too. I combined it with Centura Pearl card. 

I just have to hope the lady likes it!!! 

Sue and I had a productive day, I was working on this card, Sue was working on her Challenge project for Sunday.  Something we haven't seen before too.

That's the last of my 'commissioned' cards, so I can create for pleasure now!! 

I hope you all have a good day,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

Stampin' Up News & Margaret's First Stampin Up Card

Margaret's First Stampin' Up! Card

Sale-a-bration is ending !!

Good Morning Ladies,

I just wanted to give you a couple of updates regarding Stampin' Up!.   First of all I have 'officially' Qualified as a Demonstrator, which surprised me, this was only made possible by the orders I received so a heartfelt thank you from me for that xxx

I am also hugely excited to announce that I now have a 'Team' !!!,   Margaret and Sue chatted with a Demonstrator at Farnborough who explained the benefits of joining during Sale-a-bration and the fact that there is NO obligation to put in another order, you don't have to do anything, it maybe easier if I list it.

Step 1  Choose you £130 worth from any Stampin Up Catalogues

Step 2  Choose 2 Extra Stamp Sets for FREE from any Catalogue, only until 31/3/17                       these add Up to £93 extra value to you starter kit.

               That's up to £223 worth of goods for £99 !  

Step 3. There is absolutely no obligation for you to do anything else, no selling,

              No recruiting, nothing in fact unless you choose to.  I can promise that 

               They do not contact you at any point to pressure you in to doing anything.

                I fell in love with the products and wanted to expand, but i could stop                             tomorrow.  Some ladies order the kit, wait until sale-a-bration again the 

                 Following year, re-join and order another £223 worth of products for £99.

                 You are just classed as a 'Hobby Demo" I think most of my team members 

                  Under Amanda are 'Hobby Demos" .

Now as i explained to you before I am not explaining any of this to try and get you to sign up for my benefit, I saw first hand how excited Margaret was choosing her kit and extra stamp sets and it was amazing, then on Friday last week her order was 

Delivered, I wished i could drive because I would have loved to have been there to see her unpack that box, we did message each other, I know that she couldn't wait to play, the only dilemma being which set to play with first!  

So Margaret automatically​ becomes my 'Team', our team name is ...............

'The Cotswold Crafters'  thank you Margaret for letting me be part of your excitement this past 2 weeks. xx

The other part of Sale-a-bration that will cease on 31/3 is the free product that you get with every £45 spend, so if any of you were thinking of placing an order now is a good time if you want the benefit of a freebie. 

If any of you are interested in anything just let me know and I will get it ordered for you and you can pay me via PayPal or bank transfer etc. 

I only wanted to let you know my lovelies so that you didn't miss out on the benefits, thank you for your patience!! 

I have featured Margaret's first stamped card with her new products, isn't it fab, i love how you have created your own decorative paper, all you needed was the sentiment and you have created a fantastic card, I am looking forward to the next one already, thank you Margaret xxx.

Pat, sending love, hugs and good wishes for you both today, I am sure it will be much more organised than they were last week. The overnight stay will hopefully give you both a chance to get some rest as i am sure you haven't relaxed since this was diagnosed.  As always I am only a phone call away, I will miss you today my love xxx

Janet, please slow down, i got a sweat on just reading your comments yesterday!  Will you be able to shoe-horn me into your car next weekend, i could do with a relaxing break!  I'm quite low maintenance, you will just need to feed my craft habit, well and the occasional French Patisserie of course !!  Please take it easy, hugs xxx

Val, I hope these antibiotics start to work quickly before it develops into something worse. I hope that they don't make you feel unwell too, I always take the 'Pre/pro biotic' of 'Live' yoghurt when taking Antibiotics as they do tend to take away the good bacteria too, particularly if you have more than course, Sending huge hugs for a speedy recovery xxx

Karen, great news regarding​ your tests being all clear, fingers crossed this new medication gives you some relief from the coughing, Pat is still suffering too, mind you I would have thought it was acid reflux you would have had the 'heartburn' symptoms too, I guess they are trying everything, hugs xxx

Maria, Hope your​ MRI gives you the answers you need and ends your pain, it gets so frustrating when it drags on, hugs xxx

Lynda, oh my goodness you are the bravest lady I know, your dentist visit sounded like hell, bless you!  You are so bloody amazing, you have suffered so much recently but you still keep your sense of humour, despite having so much going on with you and poor Terry you still make time to ask after and care about others. I want to send you the biggest hugs, you are such an amazing friend, sending lots of love too, plus extras for Our dear Terry xxXxx 🤗🤗

I'm hoping to see Sue today, I must finish a Diamond wedding Anniversary card I started about 2 weeks ago, I just can't make up my mind what to do, I made a start last night though, that is my goal for today, plus plenty of Chatting of course, if any of you want to join in you could Skype us ! xxx

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra 

xxxxxxx

Monday Challenge

Good Monday morning Ladies,

My Challenge for you this week is to make something other than
a card with your card making stash.
It could be absolutely anything (apart from a card)!
I have decided to not use the term 'Home Decor' as it can be confusing, you could make anything from A Book Mark, to a Box (following the tutorial I did for boxes).  Karen's Chocolate Bar Wrapper, that would be perfect or the Easter Cups that Janet shared with us on Saturday.

My example to give you a little inspiration is the 21st Birthday Shadow Box I made  for Becca's friend Georgia last weekend.
I managed to find a few frames in 'The Factory Outlet shop' that were reduced from £3 down to £1 !!!! BARGAIN, so bought 5.
I peeled off the little house and i sanded the surface to make it smooth. I then cut a piece of pretty paper to fit the frame, then i made a frame using two sheets of white card stuck together. I used a square dye to cut an aperture in the centre of the card. Then added foam tape to raise the frame from the base. I dye cut a 21 three times, using my Scan and Cut machine, then layered them together. I placed them in the centre of the square, added some wink of Stella to give some sparkle. To decorate the rest of the frame, I ran some narrow lace around the edge of the frame using some my hot glue gun to adhere it. Next I added some pearl string to complete the look, I placed a few flowers in opposite corners and added her name to personalise. It was quite quick and easy to make, but is very effective. It is a great alternative to a basic card for special occasions.

 My Altered Frame 

Original frame

Some other alternatives are.....

Karen's Chocolate Wrapper

Paper Bags from Envelopes

Mugs for Easter

Altered Clothes Peg

Decorated Box

Janet's Wreath

Cheryl Keepsake Rings

If you need anymore inspiration​ please tell me and i'll gladly help you. Pinterest is another great source of inspiration, just type in something like 'Papercraft​ projects'.

I can't wait to see what you all create.  I hope you have fun with it ladies xxx

Have a lovely day ladies, 

Love and hugs

Sandra 

xxxxxx

Your Challenge Cards

My Challenge Card

The Sketch

Good Morning Ladies,

Welcome to another Sunday blog post packed with the most amazing

Display of cards, all made by you amazingly talented Ladies!!

Cheryl's Challenge Card

Cheryl has used the pretty 'Gorjuss Girl's for her Challenge card,

I love the layout of your card, the pretty lace down the sides really 

Softens the edges, the three matching 'Gorjuss' embellishments finish

The card beautifully, thank you Cheryl

Xxx

Michele's Challenge Card

Michele has made a lovely Easter card using this weeks Sketch, it has

Worked perfectly Michele, I absolutely love your card,  that

Narrow strip of coloured paper adds a pop of Spring colour to your card,

The three Easter die cuts work perfectly to balance your card.

Thank you so much Michele

xxx

Maria's Challenge Card

Maria, I really  love these Cat images, they look like very 'posh' cats,

That leafy ribbon trim is so lovely and works perfectly with that 

Pretty background paper, the glitter around the lid of the box and 

The slipper give the perfect touch of sparkle!

Thank you so much Maria

Xxx

Janet's Challenge Card (1)

Janet's Challenge card (2)

Janet, these cards are absolutely hilarious, each one of those toppers brings a smile

To your face, I believe the company is called 'Acid Drops and Whatnots', I spent 

Over half an hour just reading all the different quotes at a craft show, a lot

Of thought has gone into them, I love what you have done with them Janet.

Thank you so much 

XXX

Karen's Challenge Card

Karen has used Spellbinders 'Le Papillon' butterflies with Pixie Powder backgrounds, to give real shimmery wings.  That stunning background is a sheet from

A Lidl paper pack, it is so pretty and matches perfectly.

Is it a recent buy Karen?? 

Thank you so much for your Fantastic card.

Xxx

Sonia's Challenge Card

I believe Sonia may have used the new Anne Marie Paper pads for her Challenge 

Card this week, (i could be wrong though)!! 

I have to say i have resisted them up until now as i thought they were so

Much more expensive than her other card packs.  But you may just have

Swayed me Sonia, this card us stunning!! I love those die cut images too.

Can I ask how you created your Watermark please Sonia?

Thank you so much for your card

xxx

Lilian's Challenge Card

Lilian, you have the art of making 'peel offs' look 'classy', 

It looks like you have created your own background paper and

Toppers, Lilian those stamped and coloured flowers are so very

Beautiful, little works of art! 

A stunning card, thank you so much!

Xxx

Brenda's Challenge card

Such a pretty card Brenda, I love that Green Glitter background,

Those pretty stamped square toppers are so pretty and work really

With the green background, those little roses are the perfect shade of

Pink, the little butterfly is the perfect finishing touch.

Thank you so much 

Xxx

Margaret's Challenge Card

Margaret has used a beautiful floral background paper for her Challenge

Card, with three pretty die cut floral circles and a matching ribbon to

Embellish the card, a hand stamped sentiment compliments the card 

Perfectly, thank you so much 

Margaret

Xxx

Lynda's Challenge Card (1)

Lynda's Challenge Card (2)

Lynda has made two fantastic challenge cards, one with a beautiful piece of 

Black Lace as a pretty border, then 3 black butterflies to match, the squares that

The butterflies are sitting on look like they could be coloured with Pixie Powder.

The second card has been made with the incredibly funny Crazy Birds by Tim Holtz,

I love these little Characters, Brenda sent me some the other day so i can have a 

Play, but may have to treat myself! 

Lynda you have coloured them perfectly and bought them to life,

Two fabulous cards Lynda, 

Thank you so very much

xxx

A little extra treat for you Ladies 

(As it Mother's Day)

Maria's Yummy 'Vegan' Cake

Maria this cakes looks so delicious, my mouth is watering just

looking at it, what did you use to make it a 'Vegan' cake?

It looks like a Victoria Sponge cake to me, can you bring me

A slice please, I'll pop kettle on !

Thanks for sharing xxx

Thank you all so very much for taking part in 

This weeks Challenge.

I hope you all enjoy Mother's Day,

Love and Hugs

Sandra

xxx