A Clean & Simple Challenge card

 

Good  Morning Ladies, 

I hope today finds you all as well as can be expected,  gentle hugs on route to those feeling low  🤗 .

I can confirm that the 'Cast not a clout till May is out ' is very good advice,  I certainly needed my cardigan yesterday, (why does that one garment sound like something Nana would say??)  Anyway it was a little cooler here yesterday,  no real sign of the sun, I feel for those on holiday with children as the rain makes for an expensive holiday in this country!  The girls said the park was super busy at the weekend.  They both have the day off today, we are going to get a hair cut and colour, I just need to camouflage those grey ones!  🤣

Today's card I sat and made on Friday as I was excited to have a play with those lovely magazine free stamps  (hexagons etc). I just followed the instructions for one of the cards in the magazine. I made some masks for the flowers and made a little arrangement behind the hexagon.  One thing you have to be careful of with some magazine freebiesis that you don't apply too much pressure when stamping or the stamps tend to squish and give thicker lines, I thought those problems went out years ago but evidently not.  I coloured the flowers with my Ecoline pens.  I stamped the sentiment and adhered to the hexagon and finished the flowers with some tiny diamantés, I added a couple extra too. 

I am looking forward to seeing your designs.

I hope that you all have a great day,

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Sonia's Jubilee Colour Challenge cards

 

Good Monday Morning, 

Did you all have an enjoyable weekend?  Ours was quiet and mostly spent in the garden, yesterday was very cloudy, were had a couple of light showers, it dried up enough for us to go to the Plant Sale, we said we'd go and just look because we don't really need anything!  Well we only spent £6, we bought some more french bean plants,  another Foxglove (I love them), a Bronze Fennel, we discovered a Fennel in our front garden and love it so why not have a Bronze one too!  Some coriander plants,  Brussel Sprout plants and a new Decorative Grass, it was quite a bargain haul!! Money all goes to charity too.  We spent the afternoon putting them in, Paul also got all the Tenderstem Brocoli in, which he has been working on all week.  

I spotted a stamp that I knew Lilian would love so I contacted the lady  (Anne) selling it and we ended up chatting for a couple of hours over messenger, it's funny how you can have so much in common with a complete stranger!  If you see this Anne, drop by and say hi 👋 

Today's cards are Our Sonia's Jubilee Colour Challenge cards, I thought I had added to the Blog early evening but clearly didn't press update!  So sorry Sonia 🥰

Sonia's Description:

Used an embossing folder, Sue Wilson die and Tim Holtz butterfly on first card all with mirror card.

Second card uses Becca Feeken die set and flowers. Sentiment from JustRite stamps.

Two amazing Challenge cards Sonia, thank you so much for taking part in the Challenge XXX

I hope that you all have a great day,

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Your Jubilee Colour Challenge Cards

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

How are you all enjoying this last weekend of May, it hardly seems possible that we are almost half way through the year!  

Are you all looking forward to the lovely long weekend next week,  do you a have Jubilee street parties?  We are having a village party next Saturday,  old fashioned games on the Bank of the Thames  in the pub garden,  then they are closing off half of the main street to have a huge long table for everyone to sit and have a 3 course lunch together.  

You have all made some lovely Challenge Projects,  so lets have a look.....

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Here is my page for this week,   

I used an old set of chocolate baroque stamps, platinum embossing powders. And a couple of peel offs. Used echo line pens to colour to colour the rose, 

Oh Lilian what an opulent, regal looking page, it reminds me of the Wall Hangings that feature in National Trust houses, it actually looks like you have used lace.  This would be an amazing journal cover Lilian,  what an incredible inspiration!! Thank you so much for taking part XXX 

Sue

Sue's Description:

Hi my lovely. Don’t fall over but here is my challenge card. I have had the papers for many years and think they may have been in a Docraft goodie bag? 

Very simple matt and layer bottom of the card then acetate strips on the back of the balloon (Crafters companion?) and fussy cut teddy (holding the 1 and st in his paws) to make them stand up. The backing on the happy birthday is silver (nearly the same as platinum) but looks gold on my photo for some reason. 

Thank you so much my lovely,  I saw you starting this card while we chatted on Wednesday but had no idea it was going to be a Fancy Fold card, I love how you have created the 'Pop Ups', a real wow card. Thank you so much once again XXX 

Karen

Karen's Description:

Here’s my challenge card for Jubilee 

Inspired by Tracy Evans and coloured in with Ecoline pens

Such a lovely card Karen,  I love the colour, I do think the Ecolines are brilliant for watercolouring, they blend so smoothly. A stunning card, thank you so much for taking part my lovely XXX 

Maria

Maria's Description: 

Here is my CC, Blue birds, Red flowers and white background with little

bit of Purple on beak and feet.All coloured with Distress Inks.

Maria this is absolutely stunning,  it would make a stunning journal page or cover, the image is gorgeous and you have coloured it beautifully. 

Thank you so much for taking part XXX 

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

What are you all up to today?  We haven’t decided yet but if I was a betting girl I would put money on it involving gardening!!!  There is actually a village plant & Bake sale today so we will probably go and have a look.

Whatever you decide I hope you have a lovely day, 

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra 

xxxxxxx

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I hope today finds you bathed in glorious sunshine and feeling great.  

Nothing much planned here, other than pottering in the garden,  what do you all have planned for the weekend?  

Maria shared 2 photos of her gorgeous Crystal Art , the  Poppy one is so incredibly beautiful,  I love the design of the poppies,  they look so realistic! 

The second piece looks like a walk down a river bank in Paris, I love it but I bet it was tricky with a those dark colours.  Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful pieces with us,  I hope you had the best birthday ever XXX

Cheryl

Cheryl was asked to make a Wedding card for a lady's Husband and she kindly sent me photo of it to share with you.  I just know the lady will be over the moon with it, no doubt the verse you write will go down well too.

Thank you so much for sharing my lovely XXX 

Creative Stamping Magazine 

Issue 109

I would 100% recommend this issue of Creative Stamping,  I think the free stamps with this are great, so many uses, all in shapes that we would have a die to match. The sentiments are  a good selection too.

This first feature shares some really great inspiration, using pattern building technique to create some lovely cards.

Some great gift ideas in this piece, the notebook cover would work well as the cover for a journal.  

This page shares techniques and ideas for using Alcohol 'Pearl ' inks.  We have probably seen them before but it's good to have a reminder to use them!  ( well I do)  

The tile stamps have been used as the starting point for these projects, there are some lovely backgrounds. 

Now I fancy setting this 'Tea Bag Folding' technique as a challenge, what do you think???  

Some Geometric Masculine cards ideas in this feature.

Some lovely ideas using the stamps in this feature, I love the fresh clean designs.

Some great features and lovely gifts make this magazine a good buy in my opinion, let me know what you think. 

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  the weather doesn't look too bad. 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Our Next Challenge

 

Happy Birthday 

Maria

Good Friday Morning Ladies, 

Firstly I would like to wish our lovely friend Maria a Very Happy Birthday,  I hope you have a lovely day and Rik spoils you my lovely XXX 

We had a sunny but very blustery day yesterday,  it turned out to be a long day too, Lucy was invited to Flynn's Sisters Wedding, which was last night, to say that my little angel let her anxiety get the better of her was an understatement,  we were out at 9am getting last minute bits, we grabbed a McDonald's coffee and I suggested a trip through the car wash as a distraction technique,  we got home she got busy tanning and and showering and then Becca came over to help her with hair and did her make-up, she looked absolutely stunning, I had a proper lump in my throat as I waved her off,  I know how awful anxiety can make you feel, she will be meeting Flynn's whole family for the first time, I felt the anxiety for her.  Flynn knows how she feels so he will look after her.  By the time she left it was 6pm and the day was gone.  

Our Next Challenge 

This week I thought we could make some Clean & Simple cards or journal pages. You can choose whatever techniques or products that you like. 

I hope this is something you will all enjoy,  I look forward to seeing what you create. 

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend, 

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                                xxxxxx 

Red, White & Blue Card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

How are you all today?  This week is along one, I thought that yesterday was Thursday,  I'm not sure why, maybs because Paul has been in the Office all week.  Yesterday was a lovely day as Sue came over and we got to craft together, well in between a lot of chatting,  Soph came down and joined us Sue had bought the most delicious selection of cheesecakes so she sat and had some with us, she was touched that Sue bought her some flowers to congratulate her for her results. All in all it was a lovely afternoon.  Thank you so much for a coming over XXX. 

Today's card is the last of my Jubilee colour cards, I had seen three or four iseas on Pinterest but after starting a couple of them I gave up though as they just didn't go to plan!  I then remembered that Michele had kindly sent me a star frame die a couple of months ago, so I thought it would work for this Challenge,  I die cut the frame in  white and then cut around the die on a piece of red card to back the white, I then paper pieced all of the little swirls in to the white frame, I stamped the sentiment in Navy blue and layered the die cut piece onto Navy card.  It's a completely different style of card for me, I think it's a great man card.  

I hope that you all have a good day today, are you doing anything exciting? 

Sending my love & hugs to you all, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Jubilee card

 

Good Morning Ladies 

Firstly Sophie has asked me to thank all of you for your lovely comments on her amazing news, she is delighted at her result to say the least 😀    

Janet it's so lovely to have you home, we all missed you very much,  I hope you had an amazing time at your little place in paradise, it feels like you have been away for ages but I'm sure it's flown by for you.  Are you going again in the summer? 

I decided to go full  'Jubilee' for this card, partly because after I gad made the background and decided on the label I wasn't sure what event to make the card for,  I have to say that little 'Congratulations' die is so intricate that I didnt think it was going to cut (I have had it for ages and never used it) It's a Tattered Lace die and it cuts like a dream, the pieces just fell out!  I made the background with the same stamps from the Creative Stamping Magazine as I used on my Journal page yesterday, I used Villainous Potion Distress Oxide to stamp with and blend the background colour.  I really like how the background turned out. 

Sophie and I upgraded our coffee to a lunch out, we went to a place called Giraffe in the Swindon Designer Outlet,  the good was deliscious.  I am sure we will be having one or two more celebratory meals with the rest of the family  at some point.

I hope you all have a great day,

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

My first Jubilee Colour Journal page

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all well, we had an overcast day yesterday,  which is was welcomed,  the vegetable plants would welcome the damp weather, it also meant no watering necessary!   

The weather didn't dampen our Spirits though!!! We had the BEST news!!  Sophie had an Email to say that she had been Awarded a.....

❤🎉Bachelor of Arts with Honours First Class🎉❤

We were all on cloud nine all night,  she worked so hard bless her, she went nowhere,  didn't even see Lewis since Christmas as she goes into 'Study Mode',  she can relax now, we have her graduation to look forward to next!! 

Todays Journal page is my first 'Jubilee colour' themed project.  I used Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink, for the blending and Spray Oxide ink for background using free stencil that came with my latest Stamping Magazine, I stamped over the stencilling, with some of the free stamps in the same set, I embellished the page with some die cut and layered butterflies from my SU Butterfly Gala stamp and die sets.  The sentiments are from a Honkeydory sentiment pad, coloured with the blending brush that I used for the background,  the residual ink was just enough to add a hint of course to the stark white sentiments. A few purple pearls top and bottom to finish the page.  A very simple layout with layered stamping to remind me of the jubilee. 

I think that Soph and I will pop out for celebratory coffee this morning! 

I hope that you all have a lovely day too,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Cheryl's Beautiful Wedding card

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you have all had a lovely weekend,  we were once again blessed with beautiful weather on both days, so we spent most of the weekend in the garden, with it being so hot in the sun yesterday I mafe Paul stop every half hour for a break and a cold drink. We managed to get both Kale and Rocket planted out, so it's just the Tenderstem Brocoli that needs planting out now.  It's nice to physically see what you have acheived at the end of the day, just seeing a stripey lawn makes a difference!! 

Janet I hope you had a safe and trouble free journey home, does anyone else hate the unpacking when you get home?? 

Becca was supposed to be home from Santorini yesterday but her flight got cancelled,  so she spent the morning on the phone trying to organise a flight for today and to make sure work was ok as they would be without a Manager and Head Chef, luckily they just swapped days off, then she had to find a dog sitter for Benji as the girls are working.  Today they have to fly to Athens and then get another flight to Gatwick, fortunately the Villa they have been in doesn't have another arrival until Tuesday so the lady said its fine for them to stay another night. 

Today's card is a Wedding card that Cheryl was asked to make, the card is for children to give to the Bride & Groom, Cheryl also has been asked to make one for the Bride to give to the Groom.  The request was for the card to include red, I think you have fulfilled their wishes perfectly, your card is beautiful, the perfect Keepsake,  keeping the box simple was a great idea, it frames the card perfectly,  Thank you so much for sharing your amazing Wedding card with us Cheryl XXX

I am hoping to get to play with my IndigoBlu Magazine freebies today, what are you all up to?

Sending love and hugs to you all, 

Sandra                                                                                  xxxxxx 

Your Cards for Maria's Shades of One Colour challenge

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

I hope you are enjoying a lovely relaxing Sunday, fingers crossed for some good weather today!  We did our trip to the tip yesterday and got rid of loads of garden  waste and a load of bags of clothes that the girls sorted out a couple of weeks ago, I love the feeling of decluttering!   Stopped at the garden centre on the way home and picked up 9 large terracotta pots for £15, I'm not sure why they were that price as they were supposed to be £3 each pot so should have been £27 !! But we weren't complaining,  we did have to evict a very large 8 legged stowaway from one of the pots though, I noticed him just as Paul picked the pot up to put it in the car, he nearly dropped the pot when i told him!  

We just pottered in the garden for the rest of the afternoon,  ticking those jobs off the list!  What did you all get up to ???

Let's see what you have all been designing for Maria's  challenge......

Michele 

Michele made a lovely card perfect for this weeks 'Shades of One Colour " challenge,  she used a lovely 'Little Claire ' topper featuring two lovely cats and then used shades of purple that work beautifully with the topper.

Absolutely lovely card Michele, thank you so much for taking part in Maria's challenge XXX 

Karen 

Karen's Description:

Had a play yesterday afternoon and today and did this I have definitely “copied” a Tracy card but can’t find it now!

Shades of pink (with a little bit of Antique Linen too)

Oh Karen I have this stamp so I will definitely be having  go at this card, its so lovely and the colours you have used enhance the beauty of the tulip!  Thank you so much for taking part my lovely particularly as you have been feeling rougb with Covid.  XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

"My first card today is in Lilac. I found a piece of paper with pretty flowers

so used that and also cut out a couple to make the flower on top.

The second card is made with a die from Christina Griffiths and an old Get well

soon sentence in my stash, all made in pinks."

Two beautiful cards from Maria for our Challenge this week, that purple paper is so pretty, I am glad you left the design simple so that the paper is the star of the show.

Your second card is stunning that Christina die is lovely,  enhanced by your colouring,  with that beautiful die cut panel the card looks perfect with a simple sentiment. Thank you so much for suggesting this weeks challenge XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Hi, here is my card for this week, as you can see my magazine came today, haven’t had chance to really look at it yet, but love the flower stamps. Used two of them on this card. Also used the new mica powders, can’t see they are much different from other I have.

Wow Lilian you have made me excited for having a play with my magazine freebies now, your card is awesome, I love those flowers and the beautiful wreath you have created with them too. Did you buy the extra dies?  Thank you so much for supporting Maria's challenge XXX 

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

I’ve used Speckled Egg with the Tim Holtz snowflake die. The sentiment is from a Woodware stamp.

On the second card I’ve used Tattered Rose with a Tim Holtz stencil and the butterfly.

Two absolutely stunning cards Sonia, that snowflake die is gorgeous and looks amazing inked up with Speckled Egg, I do love that colour.  How gorgeous does Tattered Rose look on your second card, it's a very under rated colour I think, it blends out to such a lovely soft peach colour.

Thank you so much Sonia for sharing two amazing cards for Maria's Challenge. XXX

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

Some beautiful cards once again ladies, our Sunday displays are The Best !! 

Thank you so much for being so supportive 🥰

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xx❤xx