Sunday 31 March 2019

Your 'Cards For Children ' challenge


Good Morning Ladies, 

I would like to thank our Cheryl for suggesting such a fun challenge this week.
I struggled a little bit for ideas,  I just happened to come across some cute Unicorn cards on Pinterest and decided to have a go at making one, I love how it turned out .
It looks like you ladies had no problem, as you all made some fantastic cards....


 Karen 


Karen's first card is little Oscar's 3rd Birthday card, how can he be coming up to his 3rd Birthday? Where have those years gone, I can vividly remember you anxiously awaiting his arrival! 

"Here’s a cc I made for Oscar 
Not sure about this one as I don’t usually use patterned backgrounds 
I cut Oscar etc on ScanNCut by welding letters together 
The images are from a very old MCS CD-ROM I recoloured the image to get a blue “3” and fussy cut it and decoupaged it onto topper Also has a little bit of glossy accents on flame of candle "

"The paper is an old C&C download 
The other items are from SW stuffed animals and Little Treasures I trimmed off “Welcome” and cut the elephant on the reverse so that it faced outwards"

Thanks Karen for 2 amazing cards, Oscars card is brilliant and i love that Edger die you have used on the second card too. XXX

 Michele

Michele has dug back in her Archives  for her Challenge card this week, its a fantastic card though.

Michele used (in her words) a 'very very old' Crafts U Print' image  for her Challenge card.  From a distance it looks stitched like a tapestry,  the background is really bright and cheerful too, a fantastic birthday card Michele,  thank you so much for taking part XXX
Cheryl

  







Cheryl came up with our Challenge theme this week and she has really used it to her advantage, making 5 absolutely amazing cards for Children. 
Two of the cards feature really cute bears, Cheryl has used them so cleverly,  so that you can see both the back and front of the bears.
The first card in Cheryl's line up is a great football card, that any little boy would love.

The next two cards feature cute 'me to  you' type bears,  Cheryl has used matching background papers to compliment the cute bears. 
I think you must have ticked off a good few of your 'children's' birthday cards on your list this week my lovely XXX


 Margaret 


Margaret made two cute kids cards for this weeks challenge, the  first card that Margaret has made uses papers from the £1  12×12 paper pad that 'Every cards a pound' its a great pad that has something for everyone! 
Margaret's second card features the cute hedgehog from the Stampin Up 'Hedge Hugs ' stamp set.
Thank you so much for two fabulous challenge cards Margaret XXX 


Janet




Janet has shared three completely different cards for our 'cards for Children' challenge. 
There is a card  for both younger and older children,  with the cute pirate for younger and the Vampire character card that are so popular with teens these days, the Vampire theme haa been around for a good  few years. 
Janet's third card is a gorgeous baby girl card, i love this card Janet, such sweet images.
Thank you so much for 3 amazing cards my lovely XXX



 Brenda

Brenda has used an extremely gorgeous image for her Challenge card this week. 
Here is Brenda's Description...
"The image is from a Lilly of the Valley pad I bought the first time I went to Farnborough,
The backing card is Dapper Denim also the stamped edge"

Brenda I love your card, thank you so much for taking part in this weeks challenge XXX

 Val




Val has been busy making cards this week, just look at these three gorgeous cards, all completely different, all would bring a huge smile to any childs face.

The first card  features the most adorable Dinosaur, set upon a gorgeous Dinosaur background,  with that fantastic 'Hello Dude' greeting! 

Val's second card features everyones favourite bear....Winnie the pooh and the adorable Eeyore, who wouldn't smile as they pulled this card from it's envelope!!

Val's third card features one of the Lilli Of the Valley cute little girls,  such a cute little ballerina, val has added a lacy die cut to embellish the card , which works perfectly,  iove your background colour too Val.

Thank you so much for 3 gorgeous cards, I bet your cards just fly off the shelves Val XXX

Maria



Maria has also made 3 cards for Cheryl's Children's card challenge. 

Maria's first card is perfect for any little girl, with those cute little ballerinas, set upon a beautiful background and framed with that delicate die cut. 

We loved the Hungry Caterpillar books when our children were small and its just as popular today,  a clever use of circle dies Maria and googly eyes make any card fun.

Maria's  3rd card has a blended ink background and an adorable decoupaged Teddy and ball. Maria your blending is brilliant and I really like how you have coloured your sentiment to match.

Thank you so much for making time to make 3 fantastic cards. XXX 

Lynda

Lynda has made a fantastic challenge card despite feeling really poorly all week, trying to be creative when you are unwell is so hard, so I really appreciate you making this card Lynda.

Lynda has created a textured background by stamping with a splatter back ground stamp, she has then stamped and coloured one of Tim Holtz 'Crazy Birds' in some vibrant colours that kids would love, there is a computer game that kids love called 'angry birds', the birds look very similar to these ones, so this card would be a hit for any 5 year old.

Thanks again my lovely XXX 

Another amazing display of cards, you ladies are the best! 

I hope you all have a lovely Mother's Day, 

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra
xxxxx













Saturday 30 March 2019

Mixed up Saturday including Michele's Magazine Review




Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all well and enjoying the weekend, we have lots going on so I think ours will go really fast.
Paul is picking up a little 'run around' car today to save the cost of fuel driving to and from work, then the girls need dropping off into work, when they come home we are taking Lucy to collect her first Car, we went last night to look at a very nice little Mini Cooper and she fell in love with it when she had a drive, so Paul asked 'all the right' questions and Lucy paid her deposit and she is collecting today after work.  
Which means that we are no longer tied to the work runs!  No guilt when we make other plans or go away and they need to organise their own lifts!! 
So Sunday Paul can have a lie in too! Rebecca is treating us to lunch for Mother's Day so no cooking either! What could be better, I think we may just do a nice late old fashioned Sunday tea, (sandwiches, cakes, trifle) although it won't be Angel cake or Battenburg as we had when I was a child as nobody really likes those in our house.  I fancy a nice Coffee and Walnut cake, or Lemon Drizzle.  
What is your favourite cake???

Our Val attended an ''Etching Class'' during the week and that amazing cutting board above is what she created, it's bloomin brilliant Val, it looks exactly like the ones in the shops, you must be delighted.  You get to try some fantastic craft activities out there, I wish we had as many around here.
Thank you so much for sharing your creation my Lovely xxx

Now we have our weekly feature..………



Michele's Magazine Review 

Hi Ladies, 

Papercraft Inspiration magazine comes with a cute Embossing Folder & set of stamps .



Inside the magazine there’s some fun themed free papers





Simply Cards & Papercraft free gift this month is an Embossing Folder, Stamp & Die set. There so many possibilities with this free gift. 









Great inspiration in this feature using buttons.



There’s some lovely Easter inspiration in this article.


Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks magazine Review .


Michele .



Thank you so much Michele for a fantastic review of two great magazines, both have some amazing features that would appeal to most of us I think, so I can see one or two of our friends putting these on their shopping lists.

I hope that you all enjoy whats left of the weekend, especially tomorrow.

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx





















Friday 29 March 2019

Your New Challenge .....








Good Morning My Lovely Friends,

Here we are at my favourite day of the week, I just love the start of the weekend, I am hoping to get some jobs done in the garden this weekend as the weather is supposed to stay nice, although Paul did say that it is supposed to be turning cold again next week! Why?! I really love the sunshine and it is so much better to be able to have the lambs spend some time in the garden.

We had a bit of low point yesterday, just before Sue left I went to feed them and 'little one' refused to eat and had gone really lethargic, he also had a really upset tummy, so that was me in floods of tears as I thought I was going to lose him after bringing him back from the brink of death last week, anyway we separated him, because we thought that the newer lamb that we had adopted who is already huge compared to our triplets had maybe trodden on 'little one' in its attempt to escape which it became able to do with ease, so Matt had a look at her, gave her some antibiotics and tube fed her, we then put her in her own little box to rest overnight, before I could go in to feed them at 5am this morning I had to go get Paul to check that she was still with us. Thank heavens she was stood up and shouting for some breakfast!   Matt also decided that the 'big girl' that was only couple of days old buy now super strong was well enough to go back to the barn to be with the older lambs, I bought Matt and bucket feeder (which is basically a bucket with little taps that have teats on around the bottom)  so he could fill it, hang it on the fence and make feeding a little easier.  He is exhausted, as the lambs starting arriving a couple of weeks sooner than he expected added to the fact that he has a new job so is reluctant to have time off work and that this is the first time his latest additional flock of 'Wiltshire Horns' have lambed and they do not appear to be very good at all things 'maternal', all of the lambs that we have had to adopt have come from them, Matt's original ewe's are coping fine, he has had two big strong Rams so far which is good news.  I think that we still have 15/20 Ewe's still to give birth so we aren't out of the woods yet. We could do with the weather warming up as it makes things a little easier as far as keeping the newborns warm etc.

Now onto todays cards and this week's challenge.....

I have already shared with you some of the 'Notelets' that I have made for a ''Swap' that we have running over on our Facebook group, I had originally offered to pair up with a lady that lives in New York as she wanted to take part in the challenge but I didn't have another partner for her within the USA and I didn't want to exclude her because of the cost of postage.  Plus I thought it would be nice to do an 'International swap.  But after trying to contact her for three weeks and getting no reply I thought that she had changed her mind, so I sent the original butterfly ones to another swap partner instead.  Anyway she popped back up on the group asking for my address as she was ready to send hers!! I couldn't believe it, so I had to rustle up another set today, I quite like how they turned out, so I will package them up and get the shipped.

Your Challenge for Monday

I wanted to have something that included Polka Dots for this weeks challenge but didn't want to be that specific, so I chose this TicTacToe that features Polka dots along with many other categories, it's a  pretty simple grid and I am sure we have done it before or one very similar to it, the possibilities are endless.
I hope you enjoy it my lovelies, I can't wait to see your cards.

WOW bit of a lengthy blog post today!

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,

Love and hugs to all of you

Sandra
xxxxxx




Thursday 28 March 2019

My 'Childrens Card' Challenge




Good Morning Ladies,

For once I was really stumped for ideas for this weeks challenge, mostly because I don't make many 'Children's' cards these days, no doubt in a few years I will be making lots for our Grandbabies (fingers crossed).

So I searched on Pinterest as I was inspired by Danielle's card at the weekend, I saw that a lady called Monica Gale had made some Unicorn invitations and kind of went with her theme, although she drew her eye on and I am not that good an artist, so as I don't have a die to cut the unicorn from I used  various dies that had nothing to do with unicorns.  The Eyes are made from cutting a black card with scalloped edge die and then cutting into the same piece again, giving me those tiny Crescent shapes, the lashes were made with a Impression Obsession Fern dies, that I trimmed to look like eyelashes.  The horn I just cut with my trimmer, the ears are leaf dies.
I added a little pink ink for the cheeks and a few sequins and sparkles and some ribbon for the Mane.
What do you think??

I had my Ultrasound scan yesterday, the result is that I have a very inflamed Bile Duct, apparently the piece of duct is what they leave behind when you have you Gall Bladder out, she seemed to think that there may well be a stone inside as it is so inflamed, she said that also went with the symptoms that I had been having of pain under my ribs and feeling like something was swollen inside.  She said that they will monitor it with blood tests and if it flares up again they will refer me back to the hospital.
So at least we have some answers now.

When I got back I fed the lambs and then Sue arrived and we both had a lovely crafty afternoon.

I hope that you all had a good day too,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Wednesday 27 March 2019

Michele's Doctor Leaving Card





Good Morning Lovely Friends,

We were treated to another lovely sunny day yesterday here in Wiltshire, I do hope that you were too, it was still very chilly in the shade though, we did manage to get the lambs out in the garden twice, finding big patches of sunshine for them to enjoy, they are still very nervous though so tend just to stand around my legs. Hopefully it won't be long before they are bouncing around.

I was so pleased that you all loved Pat's card yesterday, it was beautiful, I have a few more that Pat has shared to show over the coming weeks.

Today's fantastic card is one of Our Michele's incredible creations, now initially I thought that this was a 'Get Well Soon' card but Michele has very cleverly used the 'White Coated' Bear to represent one of her Colleague's who like Michele is a Pharmacist.
Michele has used this style of card as a 'Good Luck' card, I will add Michele's description below...

"Leaving card for my lovely friend (she’s a Pharmacist) who is going back to Greece to run the family business -her Dad is a Pharmacist & wants to reduce his hours/retire."

I know it will be sad for you as she is your friend and she is leaving but it's quite a nice story, she is going back home to help run the family business.
I think that your card is Brilliant Michele, it's such a fantastic idea, your friend will love it.!

I am going for my Ultrasound of my abdomen  today, my appointment is at 9.45am , so not too long to wait hopefully, I have to fast for 4 hours before, so it will be a late breakfast for me. 

Lynda, I am sorry that you have been in so much pain, maybe it's because you have been slowly coming off one of your tablets, I do hope that you can get the larger dose of this other drug so maybe you can get some relief.  I sincerely hope that you are well enough for Ally Pally my lovely xxxx

Lilian, I am hoping that you are starting to feel better too my lovely, we all really miss seeing you in the café xxx

Sending huge hugs to all of you,

Lots of love too,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Tuesday 26 March 2019

Another of Pat's Gorgeous Groovi Cards



Good Morning Dear Friends,

I hope that you are all well and have been enjoying the lovely sunshine, I had a super busy day yesterday, we had our hairdresser coming in the morning and the rest of the morning and half the afternoon was spent on the telephone.
I was waiting for a telephone consultation with my GP first of all, he explained my blood results and he seemed to think that I have a Viral Infection that exactly coincided with me starting the Bisoprolol, he came to this conclusion because the level of Antibodies was raised quite a bit and so was the inflammatory markers.  The levels are all going in the right direction,  So he has told me to start the anticoagulant immediately to reduce the risk of stroke and I have to go and have bloods again in two weeks to make sure everything has returned to normal and then start a half dose of Bisoprolol, take bloods again a week after to check levels and see how things go, fingers crossed, it will go well this time.  It looks like I will also have to be referred back to the cardiologist as my AF has gotten a lot worse.

The next call I was waiting for was from our Bank and a company called 'The Divorce Manager', this was because we had had a Direct Debit set up on our account and Paul noticed that the payment was taken from the account at the end of last week.  I saw who the account was payable to and panicked but Paul soon reassured me that I had nothing to worry about.
Anyway it turns out that all you need to set up a Direct Debit on somebody's account is the Sort Code and Account number, NO NAME/ADDRESS, just sort code and account number!
I was shocked that the bank had allowed this Direct Debit to be processed and paid out, it was for a considerable amount too.
What frustrated me was the fact that when I was trying to buy a blender with my card earlier this year the bank kept declining the transaction and I needed to verify and prove and lord only knows what, but its fine for a total stranger to set up a Direct Debit !!
The Divorce management place were very apologetic and confirmed that the person who's account it should have come out of had a completely different name and address as us, she was shocked that the bank had allowed it to go through.  So ladies my advice to you is to check your account very closely and very often, as we can't rely on the bank!

Now to the highlight of the blog post...….. Pat's gorgeous card !

Pat, in my opinion this is one of your most beautiful Groovi cards so far, the daisies are so pretty and I love the delicate stems and leaves, you have managed to get such lovely colour into the daisies the white work is beautiful and the yellow centres really make the daisies 'pop' !
The part of the card that makes it so special is the beautiful is that stunning parchment work at the bottom, Pat you have made it look like the most delicate lace work.
It must have taken you ages to complete, what a lovely gift to give someone.
Thank you so very much for allowing me to share it with our friends. XXX

Just as I am finishing writing this blog post, Orphan Lamb number 4 has been bought home, another busy night ahead !!!

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and Hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Monday 25 March 2019

Karen's beautiful Birthday card



Good Monday Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all well and ready for another week, not sure what the weather has in store for us, as long as it isn't too cold.

Today's card is one of Our Karen's commissioned cards from one of her colleagues, the card was for a chap that doesn't 'do' ''slushy romantic' cards.  Aa usual Karen made a perfect card for the occasion, using one of those new 'Paper Cuts' Edger Dies from the lovely Sue Wilson, there are a few different ones in the range, Karen is waiting for the 'Happy Birthday' one to come back into stock as that would be perfect for quick and easy birthday cards.
For this card Karen has matted a pretty background paper onto a white card base, it's a pretty pink paper with the tiniest hearts all over it, a perfect design for a card that needs a little bit of romance without being too over the top!  Karen has printed the Greeting onto the top layer of white card and then die cut it with the Paper Cuts die, Karen then simply adhered it to that pretty background card.
Such a perfect card Karen, I love that Font you have used too.
Thank you so much for sharing your card with us Karen, I just know that both your colleague and his Girlfriend will absolutely love your card. xxx

We had our first day out since I started to feel unwell yesterday, we travelled to meet Paul's family in Birmingham, we met for lunch and then went back to Pauls sisters for a cup of tea and cake as it was an early celebration of Paul's mums birthday. It was lovely to see everyone but boy was I flagging after a couple of hours, I was glad to see my bed when we got home and it was only 7pm! Having said that I was up at 2 and 4am feeding lambs which didn't help.
It seemed odd not celebrating mum in laws birthday with Mothers Day this year, I think its the first time that they have been a full week apart, unless I am going mad, Mother's Day isnt usually on the 31st of March.

I hope that whatever you are all up to today you have a lovely one,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Sunday 24 March 2019

Your 'No Die' Cards


Good Morning Ladies,

Now I will be honest, I did think that you might not find this Challenge as easy as some of our others but Oh My Goodness, have you proved me wrong!!  20 cards is just incredible, I cannot thank you enough, it's so lovely seeing all the different techniques that you have used on your cards and to see you going back and using some of your older products...Janet I have that same 'Steampunk' Kanban Kit, I can even vividly remember the shows that they did to launch it, where they shared some amazing sample projects for inspiration (that I totally forgot about by the time I got my kit), I think I have used about 2 or 3 pieces out of the whole kit!  Thankfully though Steampunk just hasn't lost it's appeal, so the cards made with the kit look as fresh today as they did way back when (it has to be a good 7 years ago at least)!

Anyway I have waffled enough,  I would like to draw your attention to Karen's Challenge card and just bare in mind that Karen isn't an 'experienced stamper!! it's incredible..!!!!


Janet





Even though Janet made no die cards for last week's challenge she still managed another three for this weeks!! You are amazing Janet..


My first card - I used Steam Punk images by Kan Ban which I have had for years.The base card/edgings/birthday wishes are from my stash.The card is a gatefold in shape.
My second card is made from images by 'Acid Drops & Whatnots2014'. Again these images I have had for a few years in my stash drawer.
My last card is from 'Craft U Print' again this image I have had for years.

3 fantastic cards again this week Janet, thank you so much for taking part xxx

Karen

Karen, I am lost for words!! I cannot believe that you can go from "not really being a stamper" to creating a card this Stunning! I love everything about your card Karen, the stamped image is amazing, your background is blended to perfection!! Then we come to the colouring of the stamped images...again perfect!!  I am blown away my lovely, you must be buzzing after producing such a incredible card!!


Here’s a cc No laptop at all!
Background = blended DO Fossilised Amber, Carved Pumpkin, Abandoned Coral
2x Woodware stamps
Coloured with Chameleon pens and a white marker I found As image is quite stylised/whimsical no shading needed
Quite pleased with a “proper” attempt at stamping and colouring.

Thank you so much Karen for a stumning card. XXX 

Lilian

Lilian you keep tempting me with  these amazing Stamperia papers, the image you have used is such a lovely one, I love the decoupaged Hot Air Balloons, the complete view is just breath taking, I really want some of these papers, I have seen them on a few websites.

" My card was made from a sheet of paper from one of my Stamperia pads. Fussy cut the hot air balloons and the rope."

Thank you so much for taking part Lilian,  I hope that you start to feel better soon my lovely XXX 
Lynda









4Gorgeous cards from Our Lynda again this week, the first two using masks and gorgeous shades of Sparkle medium and the third is the most amazing image that Lynda has added sequins too, the fourth card is  stamped and embossed and coloured beautifully...

Card Number 1:  A clarity mask with texture bronze paste

Card Number 2:  A clarity mask with texture Aqua paste

Card Number 3:  Picture from Internet, Just added sequins

 Card Number 4:  Daisy B stamp floral dreams lady added sequins

Thank you so much Lynda for four incredible cards, you are so inspirational XXX

Margaret 



Two lovely cards from Margaret for this weeks challenge, using just pretty papers  and some matting and layering. The main image on the second card has been fussy cut (which is so time consuming and requires a steady hand and lots of patience).
The paper on the first card was from 'Every cards A pound', so pretty for a £1 paper pad.
I can tell you how fantastic that first card is as it is sat in my craft room, thank you Margaret for taking part and sending me a lovely card. XXX 

Maria


Maria has used two completely new techniques for her Challenge cards this week, now I don't usually 'do fairies'  but these ones are quite different, I love the amount of detail including the long wavy hair and those super delicate wings.
Maria made her first card  'topper' at Ally Pally at a Make & Take stand, Maria used that topper to make her lovely card.

Maria's second card was made by using the 'Shaving Foam' technique to create the background, which is fantastic, she then used a Mask with some 'Grit paste'  to create the flowers, stamping the sentiment after.

So inspirational Maria, thank you so much for sharing two fantastic techniques, I love that so many of you are stamping now!  XXX



Michele 








Michele's 5 cards are all made using CD Rom's or Digital Downloads from Ella's Deigns Downloads, the thing I love the most is how amazingly everything matches, the floral design cards we saw when we launched the challenge last Friday, I think that you all loved them as much as I did, agreeing that they don't look like they are printed images.
The other three cards are all just perfect, the papers are STUNNING, such pretty florals mixed with gingham and stripes, or polka dots that match perfectly with the main image come together to create such incredibly professional looking cards, I just know that these will fly off your sale table Michele.
Thank you so much for taking part in the challenge and for helping by sharing cards to inspire our friends. XXX




Val

Val has used a sweet 'Happy Birthday' Topper that features the most amazing cake, she has then designed a background that suits any Nine year old girl perfectly, with some pretty background papers in beautiful pink tones and then that amazing touch of sparkle coming from that punched border that has been embellished with little pearl flowers.
Some little girl is going to have a huge smile when she opens that on her birthday Val, thank you so much for taking part in our challenge this week. XXX

Thank you all my Dear Friends, for taking part in this weeks 'No Die' Challenge, I would also like to thank you for your patience while I have been unwell, I am hoping to resume 'normal service' next week.  Although the lambs are taking up quite a lot of my time, not that I am complaining, I can't for a sunny day so that I can watch them frolicking around the back garden.

Have a lovely Sunday Ladies,

Love and Hugs

Sandra
xxxxxxx