My First Christmas card for our Challenge

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Well what do you think of the new PM ??  🤔  I'm yet to be convinced,   after all he hasn't been elected either by party or the nation.                    They never go through with their promises anyway! 

Maybe today's reminder is more apt than we think??🙄🤣

Today's card is a simple design,  I took a piece of white card and blended Salvaged Patina,  Mermaid Lagoon & uncharted Mariner Distress Oxides across it.  Next I added some pearl spray using the pipe inside the tube to flick it over the page.  It didn't give the effect I wanted,  so I watered down some white paint and flicked that over the page and the die cut snowflakes (die cut from card inked with the same colours).  I added in a snowflake die cut from Mirri card too.  I lined up the snowflakes and pierced a hole through the centre and added a Brad,  which I used to secure to the card too.   I diecut the sentiment and added that below the snowflake.  

I hope you all have a lovely day, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

 

A lovely butterfly journal page

Good Monday Morning Ladies,

Welcome to the start of a new week,  what have you all got planned?? I have my Respiratory appointment on Friday for sleep apnoea,  I think they have already decided that I need have it 😔

We had a lovely afternoon in the garden,  I popped in some French Bean plants,  after which I was done,  so just observed Paul working 🤣

This reminder is a good one, it can be a frustrating wait but you need to allow plenty of time to make sure you are fully recovered.  😘

I absolutely love how this page turned out,  Vicki P gave me the idea,  using the magnifying glass from the Stamperia 'All Around ' Focus journal,  there is also a large butterfly in there, which is an exact copy of the small one in the Junk journal,  which means that you can pop the large one under the Magnifying glass and trim the small trimmed to match up with the large on to create the illusion that the Magnifying glass is working!  I did add Acetate to the Magnifying glass to make it look a bit more realistic.   The background was created with a piece of decorative paper, I added some paint,  then cut some squares from another background paper, inked the edges,  I added some gold embossing paste through a stencil for texture and a bit of sparkle.  I then placed the fussy cut squares around the page.  I finished with some flowers and splatters! 

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

Love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandrs xxx

Let's look back at our makes this week

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

We had a lovely day in the garden yesterday,  catching up on the little jobs,  the cooler weather made it much nicer being out side. 

Ooh I'd love to have a go on that swing!! 😂.  It's a great reminder , sadly it's something I struggle with, I always have.  I hope that you all believe on yourself though 😘

Let's look at what Sonia & Maria made this week....

Sonia

Sonia's Description: 

Here’s my journal page for Sunday my lovely 

Snail Mail

I used ChatGPT to create the main image, and the little stamps, envelope and postmark. I have used a background from Stamperia ‘Quiet Days’ collection as well as the typewriter and couple of sentiments. I cut two slits into the typewriter so I could feed the little quote in, which was from Pinterest. The larger text piece is also from Pinterest, I used ChatGPT to change the original text and added the background colour, as well as the top pieces of text. I inked edges with vintage photo distress ink 😊

Sonia what an absolutely stunning Journal page,  it fits that the Snail Mail perfectly.  The verses on the page work so well too,  I love all of the little extra bits of ephemera too.  

Thank you so much for creating such a lovely journal page and sharing it with us XXX 

Maria

Maria's Description:

I had a chance to sit down for an afternoon of crafting and this is the card I made.

First I spritzed a piece of card in Green and Yellow/ Gold.

Next I used some bits by Stamperama, secret diaries. I think it was called. Bulldog clip and Keys from my stash.

Maria your journal page is amazing,  I love your little clusters, everything works together to create such a lovely page. 

Thank you so much for creating this lovely page for today's post my lovely, I really appreciate it XXX 

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I hope that you all have a lovely Sunday,  

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx

Happy Saturday...

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I'm hoping that the slighter cooler temperatures forecast are going to be right, especially at night !  

I love that quote above,  what a brilliant idea 🤣😂

You lovely ladies need to remind yourselves of this one 🥰😍😘

Our Lovely Gina is holiday in Italy, she is on a  cruise to Naples so that she can visit Pompeii.

She has shared some photos of her trip so far...

**I did research some of the images to explain to you what they are of *** 

This is Gina at a smaller Amphitheatre called the 'Odeon' I believe.   I wonder if you thats where the cinema chain got their name from?

These are they excavated remains of Herculaneum, it was buried under massive pyroclastic flow from Mount Vesuvius in 79 ad. 

This feature is called a 'Compluvium' a square opening in a tiled roof,  allowing sunlight and fresh air into the courtyard of homes.  It also let rainwater in....

The rainwater was caught in the 'Impluvium' which is directly below the Compluvium,  its a sunken basin that collects the rainwater from the roof and flows into the homes water storage cystern.  

This mosaic floor is in the womens baths of the 'Terme Centrali' (central baths) of Herculaneum.  

The pattern is called 'Meandering Maze or 'Labyrinth'. 

This photo is the view that Gina had at breakfast,  it looks out over Harbour and Marina of Ajaccio, the capital city of Corsica.  It is famously the birthplace of 'Napleon Boneparte' !! 

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Thank you so much for sharing your photos with Gina,  I really enjoyed researching your photos, (I hope I got them right )  I hope that you enjoy the rest of your cruise especially Pompeii xxx

Ladies I hope that you all have a lovely Saturday,  

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx 

Happy Friday ...

 

Good Friday Morning Ladies,  

I can't believe it's Friday again,  it doesn't seem possible we have been home over a week.   

New Challenge 

Now Ladies its 23 Weeks and 3 days until Christmas or 161 days,  so we should maybe make a start on some Christmas cards,   so I am going to set this as a Challenge for the next week or maybe two.  

Karen gave me the idea the other day,  there is also a Christmas category on the Aa&C Challenge if you want to continue that.  

I am looking forward to this one...

We have had this one a few times,  the artwork is so pretty too.   You are all amazingly strong my lovely friends 😘

I have shared a few old Christmas cards today, just to give a little inspiration . It's fun to look back at what we have made over the years x 

I hope that you all have a great end to your week, 

My love and hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx

Gina's pretty crystal art card

 

Good Thursday Morning Ladies,   

Just a quickie, although I still like to check in to make sure you are all as well as can be.  

Bladder clinic today, fingers crossed it goes smoothly as I'm a little uncomfortable after yesterday's invasive scan!   I did explain to the chap that does it that my bladder was super inflamed at the moment,   he said he'd be as gentle as possible.  He said that there was nothing to worry about which would be reassuring if he hadn't said last two times and both of those scans did show 'something to worry about'🙄🥰

Lucy took me to garden centre afterwards, we had a light breakfast and then set to work replacing my dead bedding plants,  fortunately the bedding plants were all half price or less!!! 

A lovely reminder,  it's a good one to actually sit and remind yourself of,  Karen you showed great strength yesterday,  as you do most days.  I think all of us have something that we need to summon our inner strength to help deal with.  I think mine is both constant, exhausting pain and bloody uti's,  some people would have been totally wiped it all.  You are all incredible warriors ❤️ 

Today I  sharing a Crystal Art card that Gina sent for me to share with you.  

What a wonderful gift to open,  seeing all those pretty flowers and sparkles would make anyone's day. 

Thank you so much for sharing your card with us,  I hope that you are having a lovely time in Italy xxx 

I hope that you all have a great day  

Love and hugs 

Sandra xxx 

A simple card

 

Good Wednesday Morning Ladies,  

Lucy and I had a lovely lunch date yesterday,  it's been ages since we have been out together. 

Today we are out again,   not a great start though as I have a pelvic scan,  that always ends up being internal,  which I don't need at the moment as my bladder is super inflamed and painful,  probably because I am 2 weeks overdue for bladder clinic which is tomorrow 🙄

Karen,  we are all thinking of you today ❤️ 

You are all so very 'Worthy ',  don't you forget it !! 

I made today's card yesterday afternoon while I was sat playing with some of the die cuts I created while testing out the dies I bought from Temu that arrived before I went away.  

This is a set of three dies,  quite quirky but I really like them.  I cut them in black and copper metallic card, embossing the metal with a dotty folder. 

A simple card,  the shapes are quite stylish though. 

What do you think?

I hope that you all have a good day , 

Love & hugs to all,

Sandra xxx 

Dedicate Butterflies

 

Good Morning Ladies, 

Oh we had a lovely breeze yesterday,  what a difference it made,  I had the windows open in the craft room and it was quite comfortable.  

I actually love this reminder,  although the image is a little triggering with the sun through the window and the water jug,  reminds me of the many plant losses 🤣😂

Today's I am sharing a card that I made to try out a new die that I bought, I can't remember if it was Temu or Amazon.   

I blended some Distress ink onto difference pieces of card and then die cut them with the different butterflies and arranged them over the card front,  including some hanging off the edges for a more natural look.  I added the sentiment before adding the butterflies to try and make the layout easier.  

I'm not sure about the card,  or the dies to be honest,  if any of you want to have a play with them, I'll happily send them to you x 

I hope that you all have a good day, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

Something Simple to start the week

 

Good Monday Morning Ladies, 

Welcome to the start of a new week,  let's hope it's a good one 🤞

For years we have had our holiday from mid to end of August into September,   so when we get back we pack all summer clothes away for next year,  the shops have Christmas stuff in and the cooler weather is soon upon us.                                                 So I was finishing sorting holiday clothes etc yesterday afternoon,  preparing to pack the clothes back into the boxes,  it then dawned on me (you'd think the heat would have been a clue 🤔)  that we'll need the shorts, summer dresses for the next couple of months,   so I split things into two laundry baskets , one to go upstairs and get popped into drawers or hung,   the other things like swimwear, beach cover ups,  Pauls swim shorts etc will go into box to go back into the loft.  It felt good to get all the bags etc emptied and packed away.  I had to take breaks every ten minutes as I was exhausted.  Paul got all lawns finished which made him happy.  

Today I am sharing a clean & simple card that I made using a Tim Holtz 'tuck in' die to create the lovely detailed corner aperture,  next I stamped the sentiment onto the card and embossed with gold embossing powder.  I die cut the ivy in dark green card and added touches of gold mica flakes here and there, to tie in with the gold sentiment. 

I added foam pads to raise the front of the card from the background,  so that the aperture stands out more. 

I love the simplicity of the card,  the linen texture adds some lovely texture to the card too. 

I hope that you all have a great week, 

Love and hugs to all, 

Sandra xxx 

Lets look back at this weeks makes

 

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,  

I hope that you are all managing in this extreme heat,  it was so much more bearable in Spain,  I have looked on line for an A/C unit for upstairs if nothing else but the whole country seems to have sold out of them.  Everyone is now also selling fake copies of the cool towel too, so be careful if you are thinking of getting another.  

Let's look at what you have been making.....

Karen

Karen's Description:

It was my uncle’s funeral whilst we were away She sent me a copy of the Order of Service So created a quick card using “bits”

I used Artspira for the first time and downloaded this flower and shadow So so easy to do 

I resized it and flipped it to cut The “mat” is a little too big but we learn 🤣

I absolutely love the simplicity of your card,  it's perfect for the occasion too.  I love the font of your sentiment too. 

Thank you so much for sharing your lovely card with us XXX 

Lilian 

Lilian's Description: 

Hello, here is my page for winter, done with the help of chat GPT. A little random stamping., and a lot of cutting out and changing bits around.

Ooh Lilian, I could do with being right in the centre of your scene right now.  Although we'd probably moan about the cold then !  Although I'd sooner be cold than too hot.  

Your ChatGPT background is perfect for the 'Winter' theme,   I absolutely love your composition too.  

Thank you so much for supporting the challenge my lovely XXX 

Maria 

Maria's Description:

I had planned to make another card but not even with a fan I felt comfortable sitting in my craft room so I did this one yesterday very early.

Cant remember what you call it but I have risen every second one of the strips of a piece of paper. Cut out Happy birthday and finished it off with a few blings x

Oh Maria such a pretty reverse eclipse card, I love that paper that you have used, its so summery!  Your sentiment colour works well with the pink too.

Thank you so much for enduring the heat to make a card for today my lovely,  I really appreciate it XXX 

Sonia

Sonia's Description:

Birthday card for Luke

I uploaded a photo to ChatGPT. Added his likes - football, racing cars and Xbox.

I printed the finished image. Matted on a piece of black card, and die cut edge with a Stampin Up die. I added the sentiments from a selection by Tracey Hey 😊

OH wow Luke must have loved his card Sonia, it features all his favourite things, how brilliant!  You really are getting the very best out of ChatGPT my lovely.   

Thank you so much for sharing your card with us XXX 

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I hope that you all manage to stay cool on this very hot day, 

My love & hugs to all of you  

Sandra xxx 

Its Saturday 😁

 

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I'd like to say that we have a lovely relaxing weekend ahead of us,  however the lawns are almost at knee height, well the weeds in the lawn are, Paul cut it the weekend before we went away!  I have about 12 loads of washing today,  atleast the weather is good for drying it 🤣😂  One thing that I can't understand is how weeds survive extreme heat and no water but your beloved plants die at the slightest bit of drought.   

We have already had messages from Thames water telling us to be very careful about every drop of water you use!  

I think that we all prove this time and time again,   it's a good one to remind yourself of though especially when you are feeling low 😘

A few photos from Holiday 

These are from an evening beach walk,  Soph was really enjoying my new phone camera,  she took some amazing photos.  

These amazing driftwood creations were in a little gift shop in Pals Old Town,  i think they are amazing, especially the Octopus.  

I will share some more photos next week. 

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,  

Love & hugs to all of you, 

Sandra xxx