Your Die Background Challenge cards

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,

We had a very busy garden day yesterday, we were out at a table sale locally that were selling plants both Vegetable and flowers, the proceeds were going to the village Gardening Club.

Paul then prepared all the beds and frames for me to pot the beans, peas, sweetcorn, Kale, Brussel Sprout, Swiss Chard and more out, I think our watering routine just got a whole lot longer, I am also really conscious of the amount of water we are using, as we have used up the water in all three water butts. Being on a water meter really does make you more aware of how much water you are using.

I have this feeling that after such a dry May we will be heading for hose pipe bans again, despite the fact that we spent most of the winter under water around here.

Let's get to the best part of the day...…….

Brenda

Brenda has  used a Tim Holtz die to create the background for this lovely 'Clean & simple'  style card for this week's Die Background Challenge.

It's such a simple die but so very effective and I love the colours you have used in the background, the simple knotted ribbon is the perfect finishing touch for this gorgeous Challenge card.

Thank you so much Brenda for taking part XXX

Lilian

Lilian used a combination of Spellbinder Dies (for the background) and a Digistamp for the main image.  Such a beautiful image of a Geranium Lilian, you have coloured it perfectly too, I love the shading. The leaves look exactly like the real ones!

Thank you so much for taking part my lovely XXX

Cheryl

 

Cheryl made this absolutely stunning card for a lady in her village that has given a lot to the community and delivered some delicious Brownies to Cheryl as she is Shielding and cannot leave her home.  The card also worked perfectly for our challenge this week as the background is made using the 'K' die, I have to say that I love both the die and that lovely verse, can I ask  what make it is please Cheryl ??

Thank you so much for taking part in this weeks Challenge XXX

Maria

Maria has created a beautiful card with a Die Cut Background, perfect for this week's challenge,

I will add Maria's description below....

Maria's Description:

"I used Christina Griffiths Leaf Panel dies for the background,

attached to glitter card , light pink paper and then to card base.

Sue W. Sending hugs and a couple of small butterflies.

Hope you like it ?"

Maria I absolutely love your card that background die is lovely, I love the colour you have chosen too, it's bright and fresh looking.  Thank you so much for creating such a beautiful challenge card XXX

Janet

Three beautiful cards from our Janet for this weeks Die Cut Background Challenge.

The first card is a beautiful shaped card that Janet has die cut in white and a lovely metallic blue, such a lovely design, so different, I'm guessing that it's a Tonic Die.

Janet's second card features a Tonic die cut in the background, through which Janet has woven some  pretty pink ribbon and finished perfectly with some gorgeous hand made roses.

Janet's third and final card is a little more delicate than the previous card, although the die is similar in design, it has like the previous card, ribbon threaded through the die cut, another beautiful flower adorns the centre of the card, this one in delicate peach shades, what an absolutely stunning 90th Birthday gift this would be.

Thank you so much Janet for 3 outstandingly beautiful cards XXX

Sonia

Sonia had designed a stunning card for the die cut background challenge, I love the shape of this card, it also has so much intricate detail without being too busy.

Sonia's Description:

" I’ve used the Amazing Paper Grace ‘Cannetille Rectangle’ die set to complete my card. The flower is from Crafters Companion, and the LOTV sentiment is stamped on Sue Wilson’s ‘Pierced Flags’"

Thank you so much for designing such a stunning card for this weeks challenge Sonia XXX 

Karen

Two completely different cards from Karen for the Die cut background challenge this week, the first card has an opulent die cut background.

The second card uses the Sue Wilson Lattice Background, which is the perfect backdrop for those hanging plants. 

karen's Description:

"Here’s a new cc on an old style I have done before It’s a take on a Sue Wilson one
The background is 4 Becca Feakin Filigree Delights die cuts in gold linen card all overlapped You have to stick one half of the first one down so that after you’ve completely stuck down the other 3 you can place the piece of first one on top!
The sentiment is a freebie stamp embossed in gold"

Karen's second card uses the 'Hanging Planter' die set from Sizzix (which I really need), the plants are hanging in front of a die cut lattice background, the whole card is finished with a die cut frame and a sentiment.

Thank you so much Karen for two lovely Challenge cards XXX

Michele

I love the soft pastel colours of this lovely card that Michele has designed for this weeks challenge.

Michele's Description:

"Challenge card-I’d already started the base of this card thinking I could use it for one of the special requests but changed my mind! I used Creative Expressions Stitched square pegboard & Alphabet grid Dies for the background. The cake was from the Necessities Make a Cake Set. Some stickles glitter glue & gemstones to finish."

Such a lovely card perfect for so many different age groups, I mean who doesn't love cake?!

Thanks so much Michele for such a lovely challenge card XXX

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

Ladies, thank you all so much, I know that it's a big ask for you to sit in your craft rooms when the weather outside is so glorious!  I really do appreciate the time and effort you put in though. XXX

Have a lovely Sunday,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxxx

Mixed up Saturday featuring Michele's Magazine Review

Good Morning Ladies,

I thought it would be nice to share some of the beautiful things that we all appreciate in our gardens every day, it's easy to take that beauty for granted I think.

I have shared some of the gorgeous roses that we are lucky enough to have so many of at the front of the house, the stunning Red Rose is at the side of the house and has only started flowering this past two years, we kind of discovered it totally overwhelmed with a horrendous Ivy that seems to want to take over everything, we were afraid to be too harsh with the pruning but we have got to know our neighbours a lot more during the Thursday evening Clapping sessions and it turns out that they hate the Ivy as much as we do, so we will be getting the loppers out this weekend!  

The most impressive rose is the one that is attached to the front of the house, it has so many lovely roses on it, we have tried to tie it in several times so that it doesn't get caught by the wind, but it keeps breaking free.  The pretty peach colour rose is in one of the beds in the front  garden, it smells like a proper old fashioned rose, the bright pink rose is just so beautiful, in fact it's beauty makes up for it's lack of scent.

The last two photos are of the Geraniums that were tiny when we potted them last year, we didn't think that they would last the winter but they have and are even more beautiful than last year!

I asked you to share some of your favourite spots in your gardens.....

Lilian

Lilian shared a photo of her stunning Wisteria, sadly the wind has blown a lot of the petals off but we can still appreciate how beautiful it is.

Sonia

Sonia shared a photo of her beautiful Lilac bush, we have a white one and I can totally understand why its a favourite as the scent is divine, as you say though, they don't last long enough.

Michele

Michele has shared a photo of a very special visitor, her adorable Red Squirrel, the second photo is of her incredible garden, look at those impressive lawn lines!! If you zoom in you can see Michele's lovely Oasis Chairs .

Michele's Magazine Review

H Ladies,

Diecutting Essentials has a great set of Dies with this months magazine.

Here’s some ideas of what’s inside the magazine.

First feature using the free gift.

Card ideas using the free gift.

Part two.

Some lovely cards in this feature-great inspiration for men’s card.

More ideas.

This article really shows how to make the most of the Dies you already have. Some stunning cards featured here.

This article shows how versatile a background Die can be.

This feature shows how to use your Dies to create stamps from craft foam so you have a matching set of stamps plus Dies. Simple idea but very effective.

That’s all for this week,
Happy Crafting.

Love Michele

Thank you so much Michele for another amazing magazine review XXX

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend in the sunshine,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Your Next Challenge

Good Morning  Ladies,

I am so glad that it is Friday, this week has been a funny one for me, I don't mean 'funny ha ha' either. 

Hopefully the weekend we be relaxing and it will reset my mood, which in turn will bring my craft inspiration flooding back! 

Do you all have plans for the weekend?? I think that the weather is supposed to be good, they speak of May being a record breaking month weather wise, not sure whether it's the driest May or if it's more to do with Temperature. Either way I believe that it has made the lockdown a whole lot more bearable. I think being able to get out in the garden really does relax your mind, listening to the birds singing is so relaxing itself, this past couple of days when I have been feeling low just sitting on the swing in the garden listening to the birds has really lifted my mood, we are lucky that their song is amplified as we really have very little traffic and being in the middle of nowhere means that there is very little background noise, apart from the very infrequent sound of a plane taking off from Fairford. 

Your Next Challenge  

So if you haven't guessed by the cards above, the theme for this weeks Challenge is 'Things With Wings' 

Which means you can use pretty much anything with 'Wings'  I can't help but chuckle to myself as both my girls and Sue had the same idea the last time we did this challenge, Sue even drew me a card to demonstrate, which I have kept and it makes me smile every time I get it out. 

Aircraft

Bees, Bats,

Butterflies,

Dragonflies, 

Fairies, Angels

Birds, 

Owls

I'm sure there are more but my mind has gone blank! 

I hope you enjoy the challenge and I can't wait to see your cards.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,

Love and HUGE hugs to all

Sandra

xxxxxx

A Cheerful Thank you

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all well and have been enjoying the Sunshine 🌞 !! We did have a bit of cloud late morning but it turned out to be a lovely afternoon.

Today's card didn't really turn out like I had planned in my mind but to be honest with you (as we are all friends here) I just wasn't 'feeling it' yesterday, I think that we all have days like that, I don't tend to have many as crafting is usually my therapy!
I took a pre-inked background, made using Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon and Broken China Distress Oxide inks.  I stamped a die cut some Daisies using a variety of Orange and yellow Distress oxides, I arranged these around the blue background, and cut off any overhanging pieces and then added some tiny white daisies this time die cut in white, I mounted the piece onto a white base card, the sentiment was stamped in the same orange ink and die cut.
To be honest this card was destined for the bin, but I just didn't have the mojo to create another one.
So here it is!

Hopefully today we have me feeling a bit brighter and more inspired to craft, I sat trying to think of what it was that was making me feel like I did, it maybe that Paul had gone back to work after having that lovely long weekend off. It could have been that my craft room is messy once again after my two day card making marathon last week.  I also have a lot of 'PHD's' piling up that I want to finish, three of them are the projects that I have started for Tracy's Workshops, so there are a few reasons. Hopefully it's just an 'off day'.
I wanted to write about it though, because it's important to know that we all have these kind of days, I remember a time not too long ago that all of my days were like that.

Lilian your comment yesterday made me smile, I can tell you that if had a frog jump out of the watering can I WOULD have had a heart attack, oh my goodness, how funny but terrifying at the same time! I bet he double checks the watering can every time he picks it up! One side of our garden is like woodland and there are lots of frogs, needless to say I steer clear! hahaha xx

Have a lovely day friends,

Love and hugs to all of you

Sandra
xxxxxxx

Another Die Background card

💜💛💙Happy Birthday 💙💛💜

Maria

Good Morning Ladies,

Firstly today I would like you all to join me in wishing our Lovely Maria a Very Happy Birthday xxxxx

I hope you all enjoyed another beautiful day yesterday, I spent a bit of time in the garden after Paul went to work, the girls work making the most of the sunshine while I was potting up some bedding plants.
Sophie wanted to do some baking so that was next on the agenda, after that I went into my craft room.

Today's card used a combination of dies to create the background, the first step was to use the Honey Doo Encircled die to make a mask, I used this with Distress Oxides...Seedless Preserves,  Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade and Spun Sugar, which I blended through the mask.
I then used SU Large Letter Dies to cut the word 'Hello' from the background.
I cut the letters 4 more times and stacked them up placing the patterned die cuts that I cut from the background on top. I attached the background to a piece of black card leaving a 1/4 inch edge. I placed those two layers on a white base card.
To finish the card I replaced the stacked letters back into the background and added the word 'Friend' to the card.
A completely different card to yesterday's, but I think I like it!

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Samdra
xxxxxxx

Die Background Challenge Card

Good Morning Ladies,

I have to say that we were reslly blessed with the weather this weekend,  we managed to get loads done in the garden, Paul managed to prepare a large plot ready for planting out some vegetables. It sounds like a quick job but it took hours of rotavating as it hasn't been used as a vegetable patch for many years, so a huge achievement, we went and bought some fertiliser to add as well to give the vegetable plants the best chance.

The girls were glad to be home, looking after a very bouncy puppy for 3 days has exhausted them I think, Becca also lives on a farm beside the Wildlife Park so you get the constant noise fron the many different animals, which probably sounds quite scary at night. Lucy was asleep by around 10pm which is just not heard of, they ssid said they were looking forward to not waking up before 6am to take Benji out for a loo break! A peaceful day alround tomorrow I think.

Today's card is my first Challenge card using a Die to create the background, the background die that I used is from 'Card Making Magic'  it's called 'Floral Trellis', it's a beautiful die that Michele kindly gave me. I die some lilac card with it and placed it onto a 5 1/2 inch square card base. The flowers are Honey Doo Spring flowers and I stamped them onto Lilac patterned paper and die cut with matching die, I shaped the flowers and added a touch of darker purple ink around the edges, I die cut some foliage too. I stamped the sentiment onto the same lilac card and die cut with a pierced flag die  adding a white mat to lift it from the background.
To finish the card I added some matching pearls onto the flowers and a few more around the background.
I hope you like the card and that it gives you a little inspiration.

I hope that you all have a lovely day today,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxxx

More Die Background Cards

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope that you all enjoyed the warmer, less windy weather yesterday, it was lovely here, still quite breezy but nice enough to sit out inbetween garden chores, well to be honest after watering I pretty much sat on the swing watching Paul work.

I feel a bit guilty about not making a new card for todays blog post, however I just wanted to make the most of having Paul to myself for a couple of days, so the opportunity didn't arise for me to go into the craftroom, sorry ladies.x
I did spend almost as long as it would have taken me to make a card to find the older card photos but I did that while sitting on the swing listening to the birds sing.
All three cards were made using dies to create the background, the first two are Stampin Up dies, the first card is a Wedding/Anniversary,  the second card is the Engagement card that I made for Paul's Niece Emma and her partner Oliver, sadly their wedding was planned for this weekend just gone but obviously had to be postponed, I think they had a lot of problems rebooking too as a lot of weekends had already been booked for next May and June.
The final card uses Sue Wilson Netted Star Background,  over a glittered piece of card.
I hope that they give you a little inspiration my lovelies.

I hope you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxxxx