Friday 31 December 2021

Happy New Year to my Beautiful Blog Family

 



 Good Friday Morning Ladies,

I hope today finds you well, it seems unseasonably warm, although its very wet and gloomy here, not that we have been outside very much. 

Janet I loved hearing your New Year's Tradition:  

"We always make sure that bread/drink/money and a piece of wood is always left at the outside door too. The only thing we cannot make sure of is that the first person over the doorstep has dark hair these days.lol."

What is the piece of wood for?  We have done coal and a silver coin before going out of one door and in through the other. I am not sure what the thinking was behind it, it was a 'family tradition '.

Ladies I would to love to hear what traditions you all have for seeing the New Year in.

Sophie set off ok, her flight was delayed an hour, she was nervous bless her, she was excited though as Lewis's dad is frequent flyer so they got 'upgraded' they were sat in a 2 4 2 format,  so her and Lewis got to sit together on their own, although She gets on really well with Lewis's brothers too. Which is just as well as they will be spending a lot of time together as they are driving every day.  Poor Lucy is really missing her other half though bless her, they are all but joined at the hip! 

So all that is left for me to say today is Thank you all so very much for supporting me (and the blog) for the last 12 months.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have all of you in my life, with the Blog and our chat group we have so much support for each other.  We have the most amazing Blog family.  I am looking forward to setting off into 2022 with you all behind me.

I wish you all the Very Happiest New Year, some of you have some battles to fight, but I can promise you that I will be with you every step of that journey, as will the rest of our lovely group. 

Sending Love and Huge Hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 


   

Thursday 30 December 2021

A new Idea .....Art Journal

 






Good Thursday Morning Ladies,


I hope that you are all well, I am sure that like us you are sheltering inside as the rain and wind are creating a dramatic end to 2021, I can say that I won't be sad to see the back of it!! 

I had to put a brave face on yesterday as we waved our baby (Sophie) off, she is flying to San Francisco and doing a driving tour for 12 days with Lewis and his family, for some reason this time I feel really anxious, so I dread to think what our Lucy is feeling those two are together 24/7. I think the Pandemic is at the route of my anxiety,  we no longer hear update from USA but I know its way worse than here, I keep reminding myself that she is Triple jabbed and fit and healthy, I think its only natural for a Mum to worry when your baby is leaving the country with another family. Lewis's family are lovely though,  she will be well looked after.  
Talking of jabs, Matt's GP has advised him to get a 4th Covid jab, he has emailed his Arthritis Team for advice, its the drugs he takes that make him Immune compromised, so we will wait and see what they say. 

Now I have shared some Mixed Media pieces that I made this past year, the reason for sharing them is that looking ar them and some other Tracy Evans Workshops that I am signed up for I thought I might add them to an Art Journal instead of making them as cards. 
I wondered if you ladies would join me on an Art journal journey?!   It would be exactly the same as making cards but adding them into a journal instead of onto a card blank,  I was thinking of new Ideas that would mean we could still do challenges but those of you with drawers full of cards could still take part and continue to use your craft stash.  I know Our Janet started one this year, so we have one taker so far ! Lol 😆 🤣 
Let me know your thoughts in the comments Ladies x

I Hope that you are all safe and well, with the cases rising so incredibly fast I think we should all stay home. 

Love and huge hugs,

Sandra
xxxxxx.

Wednesday 29 December 2021

Some of your Craft Christmas gifts

 


Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

I added the day in case any of you were struggling to keep track too, I could be a Saturday today for all I know, the only reason I find out is when I am scheduling the Blog.  

It was a typical Bin/Recycling day for us, with almost gale force winds, luckily our Recycle box lids stayed in place, otherwise we end up having a street swap meet up,  so that everyone ends up with matching box and lid!! 🤣🤣

Now I didn't receive any craft gifts this year but some of you ladies were lucky enough to get some crafty gifts in your stocking..   

Karen 







Karen's Description:

Here’s my crafting goodies I got from Santa
Maria told me about nudinits and my sister in law bought me this 
The patterns for Barbara and Bernard dolls are not in this one I need to get another book (shame!)
The innuendos are brilliant

Glasses
We all had these glasses were instead of cracker contents Some had wine flutes Some had gin glasses and as I don’t drink alcohol I was given a tumbler.

I absolutely love that pattern book, hilarious,  I cant wait to see your creations! 🤣
The glasses are a brilliant idea, much better than any naff cracker gift, you also don't have to worry about someone else using your glass!  Thank you so much for sharing your gifts Karen XXX 

Sonia


Sonia's Description:

Here’s my crafty bits I got from Mark for Christmas, if you’d like to share on the blog…..

I also got Janes Patisserie baking book - lots of lovely cakes, biscuits and desserts 😊 Not card making related, but still creative, I guess 😉

You got some lovely crafty bits Sonia, I love those soft pastel dots, they are flat enough to pass through standard post too.  Those Stamp Market sentiment stamps will be so useful,  as will the heart border dies.  Your Man did good !  I am a bit of a cookery book hoarder so that is a fantastic gift in my mind, what could be better than naughty baked goods ?!  You got some lovely gifts, thanks so  much for sharing them with us XXX 


Lilian 








Lilian's Description:

Here are my craft presents I received for Christmas. The two pen holders are wooden and have a rotating base. Snippets are for art journaling, paints are Derwent metallics, and the little iron is for quilting. Hope you are all well. Lilian

Oh Lilian you received some lovely gifts for Christmas,  those wooden rotating pen holders are lovely and so useful. The Tim Holtz Word Snippets are perfect for journalling, they are also great for cards, especially 'Tracy' cards.  The pressed flowers are really pretty and those little Flower Fairies postcards are sweet.  Thank you so much for sharing your shopping with us XXX 

Well I still haven't found my craft desk, I have to wait for Paul to put the dining table back into the craft room, Paul humoured me and moved the table into the hallway for Christmas dinner, as there is no way 7 would have fitted around the table in my craft room, as I am sure Sue will confirm, it did work, although there wasn't much room, just enough for everyone to sit comfortably.  

I hope that you all have a good day my lovelies, 

Love and hugs to all of you 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx






Tuesday 28 December 2021

Sophie's last Assignment of the year







Good Morning Ladies,

It sounds like you were all having the same kind of day that we had yesterday, relaxing, we spent most of the afternoon doing a Jigsaw puzzle that feature a shop display of old British Brand items both food and cleaning, things like :  Reckitts Bag Blue (which I remember Mum using for her net curtains), Sunlight and Lifebuoy Soap, Pearce Duff's Gravy Salt, Robinsons 'Groats' (I have no idea what Groats are), Pears Soap, Wellingtons Knife Polish.  Some brands are still around today, like Golden Syrup, Oxo, Marmite etc, it makes it more interesting doing a puzzle that pictures things that inspire you to reminisce. 

Today's art work is Sophie's last assignment, apart from her Dissertation that is, she had to enter an actual competition, she chose to enter a Penguin Books competition, the competition asked you to design a new Cover for an old book, to make it more appealing for 9-11 year olds.  Unlike some of her fellow competitors Sophie read the book and based her cover on the stand out parts of the story.  In the book there is a spooky corridor described it has pieces of furniture that resemble people in the shadows, if you zoom in you can see Sophie has added a representation of an Latin teacher, Globe (head) Books (torso) typewriter for lower body a white cloth that looked like hair.  A sports teacher through the window with a tennis racket for head, a bucket and stack of chairs and another was a tall clock, the cover also featured the two main characters, which Soph carried over to the spine and the back cover, the credits are original features.  We have to wait until April to find out if she was successful.  I think it's a huge improvement on the original and it would be much more appealing to young readers.  (but I am biased) !

I will share your Christmas Craft Gits tomorrow, so there is still time if any of you want to send photos.

I am hoping to have a play in my Craft room today, after I fight my way through to my desk, I left it in a bit if a mess!  Oops!! 

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Monday 27 December 2021

A Beautiful Christmas Card

 



Good Monday Morning Ladies,

It really doesn't feel like a Monday Morning does it?  That's the only thing with the Christmas Break, its the same when you are on holiday or for that matter in 'Lock Down'! One day merges in to another. It is nice having no alarms set, nowhere to go or deadlines to meet.  We are supposed to be going down to Paul's parent's this week but to be honest we are really worried about taking the virus with us, we will see if Boris gives any more guidelines this week in line with the devolved governments, in my opinion we need to do something! 

What are you all up to? Have your families gone home or have you travelled home.  I think Paul will feel a little down today as its always been a tradition that his Parent's come and stay with us today until New Year's Eve, they have been coming for years, last year it wasn't so bad as it was just for one year, 12 months later we know they won't ever be able to come again.  Anyway that's enough melancholy for today, I want to make the most of every minute I have with my family, if this year has taught me one thing, it is that life is too short!! 

Today I am sharing the beautiful Christmas card I received from Our Sonia,  she has used those lovely flowers from Chloe’s Creative cards, the flowers and snowflakes (Snowflakes are stamped using emboss/resist technique) are on a beautifully blended Distress ink background.  It's a beautiful card, I love it Sonia,  thank you so much XXX

That's all for today Ladies,  

Sending my love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 


Sunday 26 December 2021

Happy Boxing day

 


Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you all had an amazing day with your families yesterday my lovelies. 

Paul and I spent most of the day in the kitchen, we work well together thankfully. I decided to cook the turkey crown in the pressure cooker,  with onion, carrot,  bayleaf, mixed herbs,  veg stock in bottom with 500ml water, it weighed about 7lbs and took 48 mins, I then used the air crisp lid to brown and crisp the skin. It was delicious and super moist, we also had delicious juices for gravy.  We'll definitely do that again. After lunch we played a few board games and and then relaxed and watched a film.

Today will be a lot more relaxed,  Paul and I have most of the day to ourselves,  we will be mostly relaxing, later in day we will prepare a buffet for however many decide to visit.  I must confess that I love a full house. 

I hope that you get to spend the day doing what you love too. 

Sending love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Saturday 25 December 2021

Wishing you all the Happiest Christmas Day.

 

Merry Christmas to you and your families 


From Me & My Family

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I would like to wish each and every one of you, my very Dear Sweet Friends, the very Happiest Christmas 🎄.   I hope that you all have a lovely day, hopefully most of you will get to spend the day with your loved ones.  

I thought I would share a photo of all of our family together, which is a very rare occurrence! 

On the left is Matt with his Girlfriend Alex in front of him,  then it's Our Sophie, Becca with my little Sister Emily behind her, the Lucy, Me and Paul. We are standing outside Becca's Italian restaurant on Burford High Street. 

You wonderful friends are the very best gift that I  could wish for at Christmas.   If there is one thing I have learnt through this Blog is that Friendship makes life so much more bearable, whether your worries are health, emotional or mental knowing that at pretty much any time of day or night I can leave a message on our Chat group and atleast one of you will respond and give advice and Heartfelt reassurance.   

So on this very special day I would just like to say .....


Have a lovely day ladies, I look forward hearing about your day .

Love and huge hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx 


Friday 24 December 2021

Happy Christmas Eve

 


Good Friday Morning Ladies, 

I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas Eve, if you are like us today is a busy day, its 'fun busy' though, we spend the day cooking and preparing food for Christmas day just so that it is more relaxed, mind you our kitchen tends to be the social hub of the house, it's rare to be in the kitchen on your own,  there is always someone huddled around the Aga.  Christmas Eve baking has always  been a bit of a tradition, my Mum did exactly the same, baking mince pies, sausage rolls, making trifles and peeling and preparing vegetables for Christmas day, I always wonder if my children will do the same.  

Sophie & Lucy have their own tradition on Christmas eve,  they call it 'Twismas' (twin Christmas). They have their own Christmas day, the open each others gifts, go out for lunch, they spend the whole day with each other, which is lovely 😍. 

If you are travelling to be with family I hope your journey is smooth and safe. I know for most of us the joy of spending it with family is hands down the best part of Christmas.

I bet that you are all super organised and have done all of your wrapping by now, we have done a few bits but still have the majority to do.  I chose to use Brown Paper and ribbon this year to be a bit more Eco friendly,  it isn't as easy on your hands as normal wrapping paper, Paul prefers it as he says it creases better and stays put while you tape it.  I wonder what their reaction will be. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas eve 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Thursday 23 December 2021

Another Gorgeous Christmas from Maria card

 


Good Morning Ladies,  

Have you all got your Christmas dinners sorted?  we went out and finished ours yesterday, thankfully it wasn't too busy, we only encountered one 'Anti Mask' idiot, it was in Aldi, she kept coughing too, she was with a daughter in late teens and son mid teens I would say, you just know she was trying to antagonise people by coughing, I often find people like her thrive on confrontation!  Paul did a fair amount of muttering under his breath mind!  We got all of our vegetables and there and sausagemeat and bacon, the rest of the shop came from Asda, M & S and Lidl, it was such a good feeling to have it all done.   Paul has a bit of shopping to do today and that's it all done, although I did want to pick up one of Morrisson's Quiche's for Boxing day, but I may end up making one. We always used to get a Pork pie but other than Paul and I and Paul's parents who usually would arrive on 27th and stay till New Years Eve, they love a good pork pie, so we always bought a good size one, this year they sadly won't be able to come to us so there is no point getting one, you can't beat a slice of good pork pie and piccalilli! 

So what I would like to know is .....what is each of your favourite Festive Food ???

Today's card is an absolute Mantlepiece pleaser!  As I opened it it really gave me a 'WOW' moment, even my girls who don't really notice the cards both said 'OMG that card is amazing' as they entered the lounge!  It must have taken you so many hours Maria, I think this will be one of those 'Heirlooms' that I get out every year. All of those crystals really sparkle when the lights hit them. Thank you so much Maria, I love it and will treasure it always XXX


Wednesday 22 December 2021

Another Tracy Evans Workshop card

 



Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

How are we all my lovelies? Are you all finally organised?  I am still panic buying presents, Paul is without doubt THE hardest person to buy for in the world!  His 'yorkshireman' tendencies have him not 'wanting' or 'needing' anything apparently, so frustrating, so far he has a couple of shirts and some coffee!!  Are you husbands the same, what do you all resort to?? 

We were treated to Carol Singers last night, what a delight, I don't think I have ever heard proper Carol singers before, they were raising money for a local charity, they sounded really good, a real festive treat! 

Today's card is another of my Tracy Evan's Workshop cards, I thoroughly enjoyed switching off for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and just crafting away to Tracy's instructions, I really love the warm and sunny colours in this card, they were a combination of 'Squeezed Lemonade, Ripe Persimmon, Picked Raspberry, Crackling Campfire & Mermaid Lagoon'. The butterfly is coloured using Polychromos but you could just as easily use Distress Oxides to colour or your own preferred medium.  I was really pleased with how it turned out, it wasn't until I was sat crafting that I realised how much I have missed sitting at my desk this past few days.

After chatting to his Mum Paul decided that we will go down to visit them between Christmas and New Year as all of Paul's siblings are going before and he will be both overwhelmed and exhausted, it's good to spread the visits out too. It also means I won't be stuck in the car for 7 hours in one day, which I wouldn't mind but is not ideal 2 days before Christmas. So we will watch and wait the Covid situation before we go of course.

I hope that you all have a good and productive day, please stay safe. 

Sending my love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                                                                                          xxxxxx


Tuesday 21 December 2021

A lovely Christmas Card from Michele



 

Good Morning Ladies, 

How are we all this chilly Tuesday Morning??  We had  a quiet start to the week, Paul worked from home and the girls were both at work yesterday, I got on with some 'online' Christmas shopping, got a few more bits sorted thankfully.  
Sophie went to the Christmas light event at Blenheim Palace, she said they were amazing,  a lovely experience.  We thoroughly enjoyed our Carol concert, the Nativity was lovely although Mary was clearly not a 'keen Mother', Baby Jesus was stripped of his swaddling and spent half the service face down on a hay bale!  It is nice to see some of the big burly farmers taking part, dressed up as Wise Men, why is it always Tea Towels that create the head gear?!  Sadly they didn't sing 'Ding Dong Merrily on High', it was one of Mum's favourites, there were plenty of others though. After the Nativity and Santa appearing on his 4 x 4 Quad Bike they had Mince Pies, Mulled Wine and Hot roasted Chestnuts, the Mulled wine was very welcome, purely to warm my hands on mainly.  I was so cold that my Fingers and Toes felt like they were burning at the tips, I was well wrapped up, lots of layers and a blanket round my legs.  We kept our distance just to be safe, it was sad to see not so many faces but the majority of the village are elderly and far too vulnerable, especially with this Variant.


We had a lovely walk around the village posting Christmas cards yesterday,  It was bitterly cold but the fresh air was lovely.  I think we will try and get out for a walk (well roll in my case) while Paul is working from home, it just feels so good to breathe in fresh air without a mask, lovely clean country air too! 

Today's card is one of Michele's Christmas cards, it is lovely, the paper is really versatile and could be used for any occasion, it looks incredibly festive with the addition of a Christmas sentiment and some pretty poinsettias, what gives this card the 'Luxury Touch' is the piece of acetate that Michele has added, it gives the card a lovely festive shine, which catches the light beautifully.  Thank you so much Michele for such a lovely card XXX

I hope that you all remain Covid free and this pesky virus doesn't cause any of your Christmas plans to change, I think we all need and deserve a decent family Christmas after the last two years.

Love and warm hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Monday 20 December 2021

A fun Heirloom

 



Good Monday Morning Ladies,

How was your weekend?? I must apologise for the delay in posting yesterday's blog post, I didn't mean to worry you all, thank you so much for your sweet messages.  I left publishing the blog until we got back from dinner, as I wanted to write about it, by the time we got home I was exhausted,  I think that having very little to no face to face interactions o er the last year or so has taken it's toll, I was mentally exhausted about an hour after my sister and her partner arrived, we had so much to catch up on that we were probably talking at 100 miles an hour. We had our table booked for 6 and were still talking at almost 9pm! It was so lovely though, I could see that Emily was so touched that everyone had made the effort to come and spend the evening with her too.  Anyway it was about 9.45p. When we got home, I just wanted my bed, I finished the blog and set it to publish at 6am on the 19th, but I hadn't noticed that my fumbly fingers had put January in stead of December!! 

Today I am sharing with you my 'Heirloom' Christmas decoration, my Mum and Dad had this on display every year on top of their record player,I vividly remember all of the details, Mrs Claus making sweets,  Santa's Workshop has all his tools displayed, there is a Reindeer Barn with a Reindeer inside. Here are some more photos....






There is so much detail,  everything is double sided so it looks lovely from both sides, the attention to detail for something so old is incredible.  Did anyof you have one?? 

This is a Ronco product, do you all remember the Ronco adverts, Paul remembered the Record selector,  we both remembered the 'Bottoneer' !! 

Paul and I went to the Village Carols and Nativity last night  its usually the night we would be singing Carol's on the Quay with Mum, so I hope she was looking down and smiling last night x

Anyway that's all For today, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Sunday 19 December 2021

Lilian's Adorable Christmas Cards






Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

How are we all today?  I for one am exhausted, we had a very busy day Friday and yesterday was busy too, it was so lovely seeing my sister,  We all went for Dinner  at the Italian that Becca manages, it was so lovely having my whole family together ❤. The food was amazing too.  But I think we had gotten out of the habit of socialising with people,  don't get me wrong conversation flowed constantly but my head was buzzing!  We were going to cancel in case it was busy but we had a room to ourselves so it was OK. I think it will be our last venture out though,  it's getting too risky for me. 

Today I am so excited to share Lilian's gorgeous Christmas cards that she made for her Grandchildren, how cute are those Gnome/ Santa's???  Their hats are so quirky, It looks as though you have added some sparkle to them too.  I have to say that those Trees create the perfect background for the Gnome Santas'! I know these cards will bring smiles to your Grandchildrens faces Lilian,  thank you so much for allowing me to share them today. XXX 

I hope that you all have a lovely day, we are having  relaxed day and then going to the village Carol service & Nativity.  It was lovely last year.

Sending love and hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Saturday 18 December 2021

Mixed Up Saturday

 


Good Saturday Morning Ladies,

I hope that today finds you all well.  Apart from an achy arm Paul is ok so far, the Steam Museum was very organised, Paul was a big hit with the Ladies giving the injection and the administration lady, the were both from up North and recognised his accent.  They persuaded him to get both his Covid Booster and the Flu jab, we are hoping that he doesn't get any side effects as we have a busy weekend.   

Cheryl's Beautiful Keepsake Box 







Today I get to share with you the beautiful Gift/ Keepsake Box that our Cheryl  made for her  Brothers and his wife. The wedding Colours were Yellow and white and Cheryl has used Yellow and white to coordinate. I absolutely love those lovely Letters that Cheryl had used to represent their Initials, Cheryl found them in Hobbycraft along with those lovely little heart boxes and voile bags. 

Cheryl's Description:

"Their wedding colours were bright yellow and ivory so I painted the hearts with an  ivory sheen acrylic paint and the cult outs on top I filled with  gold chunky flakes then added a yellow and white lace around the box tops. Found the initials in Hobbycraft along with the Little heart  boxes and voile bsgs."

Cheryl I bet your brother and his wife will treasure this beautiful gift forever, thank you so much for sharing it with us XXX


Sonia's Shopping 


These all came from Dies to Die For. A couple of Christmas bits in there which I’m hoping to make an early start on next years cards with 😂


These are from Chloe’s. I realised I got rid of most of my embossing powders ages ago so treated myself to some new ones 😊 The Pearl paper and mirror card should work perfectly with my Christmas Roses set 😊 xx


Sonia did a little bit of Craft Shopping this week and has kindly shared her shopping with us.  I have put Sonia's Descriptions above. 
The Trees are one of Sonia's latest buys,  after listening me going on about Gilding flakes the last couple of days Sonia was inspired to add some to her new tree die cuts, they look amazing Sonia  so much texture and I love the colours.

Thank you so much Sonia for sharing your shopping with us, I am looking forward to seeing what you create XXX 

That's all for today my lovelies, 

I hope that you all have a good weekend, 

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra
xxxxxx



Friday 17 December 2021

A Special very detailed Tracy Evans inspired card

 



The inside


Press to see a short clip showing 

The Sparkle


Good Friday Morning Ladies, 

A week today it will be Christmas Eve, 🎄, we haven't even got all our decorations up yet!! Paul and Lucy put the outside lights up yesterday and I placed the new Wreath on the front door, I have almost finished the tree just need a couple more baubles, I decided to just use the glass ones and a few green ones this year. Paul is having his Booster today at the Steam Museum in Swindon so we will pop into The Range on the way home. Then we will have to get the boxes put away before my Sister Emily arrives on Saturday.  She is coming for the day with her partner Mat, we are going to The Italian restaurant that Becca is now manager of in Burford, it's lovely that I don't have to cook 😀 which is a relief with my knee being so painful.

Paul is working from home from today, which is a huge relief, I was concerned everyday he was going into the office, there are a large number of single men that live in houses with others that work for Airbus around the base, because a high percentage are Spanish over here working temporarily, all living in rented accommodation,  a good few of them have had Covid last year after a big BBQ earlier this year, a huge number of the team tested positive!  They had stopped the regular cleaning in office and shifts to minimise contact, so it seems only a matter of time before they get an outbreak!  

The girls have their Boosters booked for next Wednesday which is a relief, they only had their second vaccination on 31st August!!

Today's card is one of my Tracy Evans Workshops cards, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed making it,  there is so much detail and so many layers, so much to look at, Tracy puts so much work into her workshops, they are well worth the money. I used my Aall&Create Blackbird Stamp for this card, two colours of Distress Oxide Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch,  the finishing touches are what makes the difference, lots of dots with a Quickie Glue pen and some Anne Marie Crushed Ice for the sparkle. I have added a a little video that shows the sparkle in all its glory.  This card will be Paul's Christmas card,  ge was sat at his desk and heard Tracy say a few times "This card has a lot of elements so it's a very special card for a special person,  so when he opens it, he will know 😍

Janet : I was so frustrated for you yesterday to read that Macron has decided to close the borders to us, you must be so annoyed, I swear its more about Politics than disease prevention, they are way behind us as far as vaccination goes and Europe had this variant before we did. Becca was cross as she was going Skiing after Christmas! Hopefully he will see sense soon and you can return to your Happy Place XXX

I hope you Ladies have a lovely weekend,  

My love and hugs go out to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 


Thursday 16 December 2021

Card-io Wreath 2

 




Good Morning Ladies, 

You all sound like you are getting organised for Christmas,  my cards for post are all done, just need a few for neighbours etc, some of the Christmas shopping has started to arrive, Becca and Adam ate all done, just need Matt to decide what he wants and same for girls, I have a few bits for each of them, what I would call 'stocking fillers, although when I was adding up the cost of these little bits for Stocking fillers I was shocked by the price, it seems like the little bits that were £5 ish a few years ago are now £15 -£20 each, its getting silly.  The thing is the girls don't like asking for things, which is nice but when they are picky 21 year olds you need a few pointers for clothes etc!  I'm sure they will be happy with what Santa brings them either way!!

Today's card is a variation on yesterdays Card-io Wreath card, this time I used SU inks, so the base was a little darker,  Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler areva match made in heaven in my eyes so this colour way looks much better to me, I had added yesterday's for comparison. I also added the bow under the sentiment this time for a change (plus it was hiding a little 'oopsie' !! 

I had a lovely day yesterday,  Sue and I went out for lunch, we opted for the Toby Carvery as we usually have a nightmare wherever we go. The Toby didn't disappoint, it was lovely just to sit and chat, as usual the time flew by, thanks for coming over my lovely   XXX 

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Wednesday 15 December 2021

Card-io Wreath Card 1




Good Morning Ladies, 

Well ladies I think we must all be jabbed by now, my flu jab was fine, it was our favourite nurse on Duty today, Sophie & Lucy call her 'Cynthia', they love her, which I like as it gives me confidence that they would go to her for anything, she is just a real fun lady, I think it was the giggles when Lucy and I went to see her at the same time, Lucy had her ears syringed and I had my smear test, anyone outside would have wondered what we were doing there was so much laughing,  hopefully it would have taken any worry out of smear tests for the girls.  As she was giving me my Flu jab she asked Paul if he had had his yet, he said that he had his covid booster in 4 days so was waiting till after, I think she would have him jabbed too. She looked exhausted though, she said she was doing her shifts at the surgery and then volunteering at the local hospital giving Covid Boosters!  I asked her for her dates as if the girls no she is there it might help their nerves!!

Today's card is another Card-io card, this time I started with a Wreath stencil, the stamped lots of foliage and 'Tattered Poinsettia's over the top then finished with the 'Warm Christmas Wishes' sentiment and a simple bow and some diamante crystals in the centre's of the poinsettia's.   Tomorrow's card is a different version of this one, using SU colours!

Brenda & Lynda sending you both love and gentle hugs.

Love and hugs to the rest of you too of course,

Sandra                                                                                                                                                          xxxxxx