Mixed up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

It's very cold here today, I kept looking out of the window to see if we are blessed with more snowfor Friday but there wasn't a flake, I was very chilly though, it took me a while to warm up each time I got up, that is one part of this whole bladder thing I wish they could solve, some nights I may get lucky and only get up twice after my last visit at 1 am, but more often I am up four times, each time causes my AF to kick off so it's back to bed to try and calm breathing so I can atleast try and get some sleep, I don't have anything to drink after 9pm apart from a swallow of water to take my tablets.   So it's hardly surprising I am so exhausted,  for some reason this time the Nitrofurantoin has given me a really upset stomach just to add to the joys!  I am counting the days to my urology appointment!! 

Janet I do hope that you got your Tesco delivery made it through so that Jim doesn't need to go out.  It doesn't take much for our country to grind to a halt. Stay safe my lovely XXX 

Sue has done us a great magazine review.....

Simply Cards & Papercraft 

Issue 241

Simply cards and papercraft  March issue 241 review
This month there are a selection of both stamps and stencils with pretty florals and bottles.

This article has some really pretty cards which are lovely and fresh, perfect for spring cards. There is a technique step by step of making perfect backgrounds for vases and bottles. It is something I will be trying as it looks so good.

The tried and tested this month is the Sizzix electric die cutting machine. It cuts A4 size and has all the plates needed. It also comes with a nice selection of dies and an embossing folder so you can start crafting as soon as you open the box.

More pretty makes using the freebies here. There are several off the page makes which would be perfect for ladies or Mother’s Day gift.

 This article shows how to make some lovely cut out shaped cards. This is a lot easier than it looks, and something very different to the usual card shapes we all use so often. This is another one that I will definitely will be trying.

Julie Hickey tells us a bit about herself and her crafting journey. She creates beautiful cards, these shown are lovely pops of bright colour to cheer us along.

The final article using the free stamps, stencils and free downloads and again there are some lovely makes. More techniques to try, especially that gorgeous red poppy make.

This article is all about using the free digital stamps and papers. The Mandala type digi stamps are pretty and would be great to colour if you want to sit down and relax before using them to make into cards.

As always let me know if more information is needed.
Take care
Sue xx

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Thank you Sue for a fantastic review, there are some great techniques in this issue, I love the faux bleaching technique it looks so effective.   I really appreciate the time you took to write the review my lovely XXX 

Wasp Nest

This is the Wasp nest that Paul & Sophie managed to remove from the loft, its hard to get an idea of the size, it was a huge. 

The first photo above is the outside of the nest, it is a real work of art, there were little flecks of blue  throughout the whole outside which must have been something they ate/collected.  The little holes are the entrance holes. 

This photo shows the layers of the nest, they create little posts to hold the layers apart.  

This was one of the layers that had come away from main stack, I wanted to show how perfect each of those hexagons are, it is so fascinating.  Some still has lava in but the whole nest died in the colder weather.  

This is the underside of the layer above, you can see the texture, it looks like carpet underlay! 

This was a top piece, I wanted to show how they start a new layer, that bit looks like a tiny toadstool! 

 

This last piece is the bottom,  I have zoomed it, what I wanted was to highlight how they scale down the size of the hexagons, they look the same size in photo but they were a lot smaller. 

Nature is absolutely incredible,  it blows my mind that those tiny creatures can create such a precise and perfect work of art.  I spent ages just thinking HOW they can make and repeat those perfect hexagons. 

I hope you are as fascinated as we were, we gave the nest to Sue to take home to show the Grandchildren as its not often you get to see one up close. 

We are having a quiet day today to make sure I save as much energy for tomorrow.

Have a lovely Saturday Ladies, 

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra 

xxxxxx