Good Monday Morning Ladies,  

I hope that you have all had a nice relaxing weekend, ours was definitely a weekend of two halves as far as weather goes, Saturday was bright and breezy, perfect for moving boxes etc as it wasn't too warm,  yesterday was awful it rained pretty much all day. They got a lot of the smaller stuff moved though.  Paul has a bigger van booked for next weekend, it has a tail lift to make things easier.  

Today's card is one of my favourite uses of old backgrounds.....

This is the background, when I looked at it I sea either a rough sea or a stormy sky.  I went with sea, I used a retired StampinUp stamp set for the ship, I think the sentiment was a magazine free stamp.  I stamped the topper in Uncharted Mariner Ink and Oxide.  The background was smooshed ink.              Dont you love how it looks like waves are crashing over the topper.  

I added an ⚓️ charm on some colour coordinated Bakers Twine to finish the card.  

I was quite pleased with how this one turned out.

I hope that you all have a great start to the week,

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                    xxxxxx 

Our Use up your Background cards Challenge

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies, 

Karen 

Karen's Description:

Here’s a background made of a laminating sheet with glitter and small stars trapped inside So easy to do but have decided chunky glitter would have been better 

Can’t get a photo of the shine.

I made a frame to hide the glue from the laminator sheet.

Karen I remember having a go at this technique when you shared it with us a while back, its so hard to capture how sparkly things are but I can imagine that chunky glitter just lights up when the sun or your Christmas lights hit it. The pretty poinsettias look so delcate in vellum,  the gold foliage ties in beautifully with the sentiment.  

Thank you so much for taking part Karen XXX 

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

I used an AALL and Create stamp which I stamped a few times to build up a background. I used distress oxides, and spritzed with water before stamping. Tim Holtz butterfly and The Stamp Market sentiment..

Such a lovely card Sonia, such a simple background idea but boy does it look incredible!  The butterfly and sentiment embellish the background perfectly while allowing the background to shinem

Thank you so much for getting a card made after such a busy week XXX

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

This is my card for this week, I call it faux scraps.

I used washy tape to mask of random shapes.

Then used all the tiny stamps, different I each shape.

Allowed to dry the used my Japanese water colours to fill in the background.

Tim Holtz stickers to add the messages.

Have a good day. Lilian

Wow, wow wow!  I absolutely love the technique you had used, your design is so bright and colourful and it looks like a collection of little works of art!! 

So incredibly inspirational,  thank you so much for taking part XXX 

Maria

Maria's Description:

1 I found a piece leftover from Gilding flakes. Cut the card with the die, kept it in and stamped a happy birthday with new stamp from temu.

2  is made from a piece with Glitter paste through a Stencil. Made a Heat embossed Frame in black and a little flower with some Crystals.

Oh Maria I love that die you have used on your first card,  is that a Temu one?  It looks so effective with the Gilding Flakes behind. 

That stencil you have used for your second card background is amazing,  I love the pattern and having the glitter makes it a real celebration card 

Thank you so much for takibg part in the Challenge Maria XXX

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We have all been hoarding some amazing backgrounds,  its lovely to see them being used 

Thank you all for supporting the challenge ❤️

I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday, 

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Mixed Up Saturday

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

Of course we have a weekend of rain forecast because Paul has hired a van to move some of our boxes and stuff from garage, I think it's rained every time we have moved. 

So a busy day here, well not for me, Lucy is on hand to help and Matt is coming over at some point too, so fingers crossed for great progress!! 

What are you all up to this weekend??

Creative Stamping Magazine 

Issue 124

Issue 124 is another 'Beach' themed magazine, there are some really fun stamps in the collection of Free stamps, a bonus sentiment die.

Vanessa has made some beautiful cards with the free stamps, there are some great tips too, like how to blend a sky with Distress Inks,  I love the round card with surf boards and the 'To the beach ' one which would be a perfect card for Paul's birthday. 

Teresa has made some amazing cards using different watercolour techniques,  its surprising how the different methods of watercolouring look so different.  

Nicky focuses on the 'Girl in the sea' stamp for het cards, using different backgrounds and even using the girl in silhouette which gives a totally different look.

Ruth has used the stripe and brush stroke stamps to create some amazing designs, really bright and fun and perfect for both male and female recipients.

This feature is a Guide to making Recess cards,  I really like these cards and I might use one of these with one of my backgrounds for this weeks challenge.

Tracy has incorporated textures and tones into her cards, clear texture paste has been used for texture without taking anything away from thecdesigns. 

Finally, some more simplified designs using the free stamps, I do love that paint brush mark stamp. 

All in all some fun designs throughout the magazine, lots of different techniques and inspiration.  

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I had some fun making some more backgrounds with the shaving foam technique,  this time I used acrylic paints as the colour medium, it was a bit messy as the paint sticks to everything!  

The effects are worth the mess though...

Some fun backgrounds,  using a variety of colours, I started out with light neutral tones and then added in darker shades the paint stuck to the card better than the re-inkers I used last week.  

Maria's Temu Haul

Wow Maria you have bought some amazing things, I love those mixed media stamps, please let me know how they stamp as I haven’t tried their stamps before.  Those snowmen are really cute too, you found more Sentiment dies than I did, I love the difference styles and fonts.  I must go and finish my order, I have had things sat in my basket for weeks!  

Thank you so much for sharing your Temu Haul my lovely,  I look forward to seeing what you create with them XXX 

I hope you all have a great Saturday,  

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra

xxxxxx

A few cards with handmade backgrounds

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

This week has flown by so fast, when Paul said to me yesterday morning that it was shopping night tonight I thought he'd lost the plot, but then Sue arrived which absolutely confirmed it was Thursday!  I think that we have so much going on at the moment that I don't know whether I am coming or going!  My fun day out with the girls was definitely taking its toll yesterday,  I could feel every muscle!  I wouldn't have missed it for the world though x

Today I am sharing some cards made with inky backgrounds to hopefully give you a little inspiration, the backgrounds are all made using different techniques, pink one is alcohol pen on acetate,  lilac one is dragging ink with a store card type thing.  Orange one was smooshing I think. 

I hope that you all have a Fantastic Friday,  Janet, I hope you and Jim pick up so deliscious cakes xx

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra                                                                    xxxxxx 

Brusho Background Card

 

Good Thursday Morning Ladies,

We had a lovely start to the day yesterday but at around 4.30pm the rain arrived and continued for rest of the evening.  

I ended up having another busy day, it was fun though, shopping with Becca & Lucy, Becca was looking for little finishing touches for the rooms that they have finished, I think we all want a new washing up bowl etc, tea coffee, sugar etc, it felt like we went everywhere,  in fact it was only The Range, Wilco (cleaning products), Home Sense and the  Dunelm, she didn't find the new bedding she was looking for, they didn't have the right shade of green, it made me laugh listening to her gushing about green, her kitchen is green and her bedroom & bathroom have green panelling, you all know that green is my favourite colour and I had to remind her that she used to say I was boring always choosing green!  🤣😂  She just said "well now its on trend mum!! 

Today's card I made yesterday using a Brusho backgroundI made a few months ago....

I simply stamped the beautiful flourish in sticky ink and added gold embossing powder and heat set,  I then trimmed it down and cut a black mat to go behind it, I added a sentiment stamped in gold and mounted it on a black card base. Simple but effective,  I wanted that beautiful background to be the star of the show. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Sandra                                                                    xxxxxx 

Pretty Flower card, Rock & Roll technique

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you got to enjoy the lovely sunshine yesterday,  it was lovely here for most of the day. 

How's your weather Janet, I hope you aren't experiencing the awful high temperatures that some countries are having, hopefully your weather is perfect and you are getting to relax xxx

Today's card is one that I made last week, during one of my fun crafting afternoons. It was inspired by a lady called Terry Gaines, using a technique I haven’t tried before.

I used my Artistically Inked stamp set to ink a border down the side of a piece of card, then I ran it a paint effect embossing folder and adhered it to my base card. I used to circle dies to create the gold ring to arrange my flower around.

Rock & Roll technique.... 

 I stamped the flowers, to give a bit more interest in colour I inked all over with a lighter shade of ink and then took a darker shade and tapped around the outer edge of the flower, you then take a blending brush and blended the darker colour in a little to remove any lines, it worked really well. I die cut the flower and  give more texture I spritzed it with water and scrunched it up, I opened it up, added a centre stamped in the darker colour, I added some gold embossed dots to finish.  To complete the arrangement I stamped the leaves and die cut them and added some gold foliage too. A simple stamped sentiment finished the card.

I hope that you all have a lovely day 

Love and hugs,

Sandra xxx

My first Background Challenge card

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Fingers crossed fot better weather today, mostly because the girls have tidied their rooms and that means to overflowing baskets of laundry!!  Literally there are 10 bath sheets !!  So I need some sunshine and a breeze please! 

I am planning a more sedated day today as I popped into kitchen to start electic oven progress after applying Bicarbonate of Soda and water paste, I ended up cleaning top and bottom ovens, and cleaning Aga doors, it was after 5pm when I sat down to make todays card !! 

Todays card was inspired by Christine Stokes.

The background I used for today's card was this one ..  

This was made a couple months back by glueing tissue paper to card and added colour sprays and then smooshing with another piece of card to get ink to cover.

I took a piece of that background and placed it behind an aperture on a 5x5 square card.   I then user my Gummiapan Dragonfly and cut another piece of the same background and some brushed silver card to echo the silver gilding wax I used on the background.  I  added two dragonflies and die cut the sentiment from the came card. 

I hope you all have a great day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                    xxxxxx

Maria's Beautiful Crystal Art

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that the sun is shining on you wherever you are and I hope that you week sets off on the right foot.

We had mixed bag of weather yesterday,  bright & sunny one minute then dark and gloomy the next, quite a strong wind too.  We spent the day doing an assortment of things, I have removed the shelves from the over and placed them in a solution of Soda Crystals and boiling water, now I will say that I had my doubts but I was so wrong, I lifted them out after a couple of hours and just wiped them over with a scourer/sponge, the baked on brown residue just wiped off !!!😲 I was amazed!!   We also have a deep fat fryer, a rectangular stainless steel one, we bought it a few years ago and it has been lurking in the back of the cupboard,  I could never get it clean, the congealed oil just wouldn't budge, so I declared it was going to the tip, Paul & the girls faces resembled a child that had had its favourite teddy taken away!  What about churros and doughnuts 🍩!!  So I reached out to Nancy Birtwistle and asked her how would I clean an old deep fat fryer that had congealed oil etc all over, she responded and said to fill it with Soda Crystals and boiling water, I was sceptical but did as suggested,  after getting back from Becca's on Saturday,  I had a look st the fryer and every bit of oil and grease had disdolved away, it was like new!!  Of course Paul had kept the box so 🙄 so it was packed upready to be moved!!  The best part is that the Soda Crystals,  Bicarbonate of soda etc are not harmful to the environment, for the oven I would have normally used that Oven Pride box kit, that has the bags in for your shelves, you have to wear a mask amd gloves!  

Today I delighted to be able to share with you Our Maria's biggest Crystal Ary painting so far!!              Maria, what a gorgeous scene,  I love the reflection in the water too, the clouds and trees give the whole thing an almost 3D look, it's definitely one of those paintings that the more you look at it the more detail you see.  I totally understand how you can get addicted to doing these.                                     Thank you so much Maria for sharing your Crystal Art masterpiece with all of us XXX 😍

Ladies, I hope you have an amazing day,

Love & hugs to all of you,

Sandra                                                                    xxxxxx 

Your Bright & Cheerful cards

 

Good Sunday Morning,  

It now seems to be a pattern that every time we move house it rains, not a light sprinkle of rain, we had torrential rain all day!  We had a tip run to start the day, I wasn't intending going but paul is a technophobe,  he refuses to have Internet activated on his phone, so I had to go because to get into the tip you need to scan the QR code they send you, I tried to explain to him how to use my phone but....no, he wasn't buying it, so I had to tag along!  The rain started on the way back home, we were filling the car with small boxes of fragile things to clear some room in this house and we were meeting becca for lunch and take her to new house,  paul got soaked filling the car,  once packed we set off, Becca had changed her mind though as work had been too busy.  She is also moving and hands their current house over on Tuesday, so I think she was getting a bit stressed,  hopefully we can reschedule for next week.

We have another tip run today too, more packing I guess, I have the cooker in bits too giving it a deep clean!  Too many jobs, too little time!!!

Your Challenge Cards 

Karen

Karen's Description:

Here’s a card for Sunday 

Blended DO 

Squeezed Lemonade 

Spiced Marmalade

Abandoned Coral

Miss P Loves dies

Julie Hickey sentiment

Oh Karen your blend is beautiful,  those colours are beautiful, it's always the colours you don't expect to work that surprise you!!  I am definitely going to play with those colours 😍 

That Miss P die works so well as a silhouette die, I have never thought of using them without the Miss P Album! 

Thank you so much for the Inspiration Karen XXX

Lilian 

Lilian's Description:

Here is my card for tomorrow, 

The stamps I used were Tim Holtz, large botanicals and tiny prints.

Back grounds is various shades of Oxide ink, stamped and then sprayed with water. The greeting is an old Kay Karley one.

Hope your weekend is going well . Lilian

Oh Lilian,  your card looks like you have mounted a photo or a negative of a photo, I love it, those stamps are so versatile.  I can't wait to see what else you do with them.  Your background works perfectly too.  

I know you will have loved having the house full this passed week but that silence and calmness returns you can sit and exhale and unwind is bliss XXX.

Maria

Maria's Description:    

Cards for tomorrow:  

From your stamps that you let me try out in Watford. Speckled Egg and a bit of green. 

My next card started off at a craft tutorial at the NEC.  

Quilling flowers in a Iris folded vase. Made a few leaves to hide the mess from the glue 🤭😊

Enjoyed doing the Irish folding so will see if I can find any other pattern.

Two really lovely cards Maria, I love what you did with the stamping you did at Watford,  I love the colours you used too. Your pearl is the perfect match to your stamping too.  

Your second card is beautiful,  I love the combination of Quilling and Iris Folding, I would never have thought of combining the two!  Your vase is so textured and colourful.  The flowers are so pretty and the leaves look like they were meant to be there.

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

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

Card 1:  First card is a Crafters Companion background die over a smooshed distress oxide ink background and Tim Holtz butterfly.

Card 2:  Second card 2 inked butterflies on smooshed background.

Card 3:  Third card Tracey Hey papers and sentiments with Spellbinders die cut flowers.

Three amazing, beautifully coloured cards Sonia, thank you so much for sharing them with us and inspiring us XXX 

Sue

Sue's Description:

I almost didn’t send this card as I really don’t like the way it turned out. I used one of the alcohol ink backgrounds we made the other day as the pinks are very bright! The die cuts are freebies from a magazine xx

Sue I have no idea why you don't like how it turned out, it's awesome, I love how you have paired the alcohol ink background with the peachy/ orange card, it works perfectly 🥰  thanks for the Inspiration,  I will keep your card photo as a screenshot so I can refer to it when I am out of ideas XXX

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Ladies,  you sure brightened my dreary Sunday with your bright and very beautiful cards.  

Thank you all so very much, I am so incredibly grateful to all of you. 🥰😍🤩

Janet, I hope you got to Calais at a reasonable time, I was checking the traffic through the port throughout the day, they were blaming the delays on French Border control for delays, as since Brexit every passport has to be signed abd dated.  Oddly though that doesn't cause delays on the Eurotunnel.  I hope today's journey is smooth and that you arrive in good time xxx

I hope that you all have a lovely day,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx