Good Morning Ladies,

I have another lovely new home card to share with you all today, this pretty card is from Margaret,
I love the colour and the little cat reminds me of our Milo, he is always at the window, mainly to make you feel bad when you leave the house. Hahahaha.
I really love the card Margaret thank you so much for making it for us. xxx

Now I have to apologise to all of you as I wrote and email on mobile phone, notifying you of our new address, frustratingly it never sent, our service is so poor, we seem to be in a internet and mobile black spot. I will attempt to send it again from the bungalow as we are still connected to the 'proper' internet over there!

Did any of you watch the 'Back in time for Tea' last night? what fantastic entertainment, really informative too, especially for our children.  Have any of you ever tried Tripe ? or any of the other recipes that they showed. The family holiday to Blackpool looked so much fun too, it must have been amazing to try things like Candy Floss for the first time. 
 The one thing that I loved the most about it was how the family spent so much time together, most of it spent around the kitchen table. Not like today where children disappear to their bedrooms to do their own thing. 
That's one thing with having rubbish internet, everyone gravitates to the lounge where the signal is strongest!  I do think its strange that these days you can live somewhere that is so poorly connected to the internet etc, the speed is too low for any of the big companies, so now 'Bigger, Better, Faster' service.  It doesn't bother me so much, I would prefer to sit and play board games all night, Sophie and Lucy are dependant on the internet for the A Level studies though.

I had a forced day of rest yesterday as I had a little accident, I spent Monday at the bungalow cleaning out cupboards, its getting a little tedious now but it becomes routine, not only cleaning the shelves but taking drawers out to clean the runners and underneath and back of the drawer, also in and around the hinges, its made worse because the cupboards are decades old. I just don't want any charges so don't want to cut any corners, this is why it takes so long.  Having the steam cleaner has helped loads I have to say.  Now onto my accident.....I felt so guilty that Paul is having to do so much so to save him some time I thought I would take down some curtains and blinds ready for the builders to start early yesterday morning.  So I pulled up the step ladder to the window and only went up two steps, what I didn't realise was that these new steps have a safety lock mechanism that I didn't know about, I hadn't locked it in place, so as i moved on the steps the whole thing slipped forward and collapsed sending me flying backwards, a work top broke my fall, I landed so that my tailbone area caught the edge of the work top.  I felt my body ceasing up as the day went on, it must have jolted the metal reconstruction in my pelvis and hip as that was where I was really feeling it later on in the day.
Paul was not best pleased and explained that he hadn't told me how to use the ladders as he didn't think it would cross my mind to even think about using them.  I wanted to get done so that we could have a night off together.  A day later i am struggling to sit anywhere and moving from place to place is a struggle, it feels like sciatica pain as I move.  I have learnt a valuable lesson though.  No more helping! Only low level light work from now on, roll on next week when it will all be over!

I hope that you all have a lovely day, it's trying to snow here, I bet it looks lovely out here in the countryside when its covered in a blanket of snow.

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

A Pretty Janet card

Good Morning Ladies,

A beautiful, feminine card from Janet to inspire you today.

Janet has used a really pretty background paper, upon which she has layed a piece of beautiful lace. Janet has then built her focal point upon this pretty background using a die cut butterfly, I'm not too sure if Janet has cut two butterflies in different colours or if the white butterfly is a lace one.  The sweet little roses embellish the butterfly beautifully. The blue flourish that Janet has used looks almost like the butterfly's antennae! 

A gorgeous card Janet, thank you so much for allowing me to share your card.   

The workmen called in yesterday to confirm that they will be starting work on our windows and doors early this morning, so we are in for a very noisy, messy day!  It will be nice to get them done though as we can then vacuum, clean carpets and then close the rooms up ready for next week's inspection!

                  

We can hopefully relax a little then but I need Paul to start sorting out at the new house, there are boxes literally everywhere!  But I think he has earned a day off! 

I need him to clear the dining room ready for my craft unit early next week. Mind you it's all boxes of craft stuff so they will be emptied as soon as it arrives. I wonder how much of it will fit in?!.

I hope that you all stay 'snow free' this next couple of days, I have my fingers crossed as I don't want to be in a house with no front of back on if it's snowing, particularly as they drain the hearing to remove radiators. 

Sending love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Monday Challenge

Karen

 Michele

 Lynda

 Maria

Good Monday Morning Ladies,

I hope that you are all wrapped up and ready for what is supposed to be a Chilly week, I believe that they have forecast snow for some areas too.

Today's Challenge is to make a card for any occasion using any thing you like as long as you use it in '3's', so it could be 3 flowers, snowflakes (like maria's card above), three letters (like Michele and Lynda have used).  or 3 of any shape (like Karen used for her background).  

I hope you ladies don't mind me using older challenge cards to try and explain this weeks challenge, it's fun to look back at them too.

I hope you all enjoy the challenge and I look forward to seeing your cards.

Yesterday was a busy day, we got up and waited for the girls to come so that we could wish them happy birthday and have breakfast together before Paul and I went back to the bungalow to get some more work done.  I spent most of the day bleaching out cupboards and drawers, it takes so long as you have to clean every part, on previous move outs they have taken the draws out to check underneath, so i was sat with a scalpel getting every last piece of dust out.

I am going back tomorrow to give the windows a quick wipe over, I know that they are coming on tuesday to remove them but its a pride thing, I can't have them taking dirty windows out!! I won't be cleaning them deeply, just a wipe over.   It's a bit like having a clean round before your cleaner comes, which a lot of people do, including my Nan, she hated to think that the cleaner would think that she was untidy.  I used to laugh but I really do see her point these days.  Are any of you the same?  

I hope you have a lovely day my lovelies however you are spending it.

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

Your Challenge Cards

Happy 18th Birthday

Sophie and Lucy

Good Morning Ladies,

First of all today I would like to wish my Beautiful Daughters Sophie & Lucy a very Happy 18th Birthday, I hope you have a fantastic day, you both make us very proud. XXXX

Michele set your challenge this week, the challenge was to make any card that features something 'floral'. 
Well it's safe to say you loved this challenge, I have some absolutely gorgeous cards to share with you today......

Margaret

Margaret used Stampin'Up! Petal Palette' stamp set to create this beautiful Challenge card. It makes such a difference adding some matting and layering to draw your ete into the image. Your Card making goes from strength to strength Margaret, you must be so pleased when you can create an ''all stamped " card.                                                Thank you so much for taking part Margaret.

XXX

Lilian

Lilian made two stunning Challenge Cards this week, both totally different.  The first card is amazing Lilian, please let me know how you acheived that effect, is it embossed in white and then coloured?                                                                                 The second card has a Basket Weave embossed background, Brick wall mask for background effect and a pretty sunflower with a micro beaded centre.  Such a fun and tactile card.

Thank you so much for taking part Lilian.

XXX

 Maria

Maria also made two beautiful Challenge Cards, the first uses a pretty floral image in pinks and purples and has a tiny butterfly resting on the flower and for extra cuteness a tiny hedgehog in a hammock in the top corner.                                              Maria's second card has a pretty floral background paper behind a frame of cream linen card, Maria has embellished this pretty card with some pretty sparkles and a Happy Birthday die cut that has been die cut twice in two complementary colours to make the greeting stand out.  Thank you so much Maria for taking part this week, I hope you have a lovely weekend in Colchester. 

XXX

 Lynda

Lynda has made a Stunning Floral Challenge Card this week, it's so bright and cheerful, just what we need right now......

I used Tim Holtz corner die's that cut into the card I backed it with my favourite northern lights backing. Papers.then I cut 4 sue Wilson sweetheart flowers.in same colour ways. I added some little yellow beads in the centre. Stamped a sentiment cut out with Sue's stitched flags.                                                                                                     Thank you so much for taking part, I hope you are feeling less battered and bruised today .

XXX

 Michele

Michele made another two Cards for this week's challenge, the first is a STUNNING floral wreath style card, here is Michele'' description......

'Second challenge card-made using the free gift from this months Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine. I used colour core card for the embossed circle & some scraps of card fo the other embellishments.'

Michele's second card is a beautiful monochrome card, made using an amazing Free die, here is Michele's description...

'Challenge card-made using free die from this months Diecutting Essentials magazine plus some Gemstones.'

Thank you so much Michele for both setting this week's Challenge and creating three fantastic cards.

XXX

 Janet

Oh Janet, such a beautiful card, I love the pretty butterflies and that delicate background paper. I will add Janet's description below...

'

Thank you so much for taking part this week Janet.

XXX

Karen 

Karen made 3 fantastic and very different cards for this week's Challenge, Karen you are so amazingly talented, your cards are incredible.  Here are Karen's descriptions......

Card 1:

Another challenge card for you It’s an SW design It means It’s 2 rectangles cut diagonally which means I have another 2 pieces to make another card The flowers are the complete and open daisies by SW and good old Topsy Turvy card again Simple but effective.

Card 2:

Here’s my cc It’s a mixture of Serif card ScanNCut cut circles SW embossing folder and Marissa Bouquet flowers and leaves die 

Card 3: 

This is my first attempt at using the Pop usb for ScanNCut But not too sure about this as as the older USB’s don’t have the nice instruction booklet they seem to be doing with the newer ones.

Thank you so much Karen for 3 fantastic cards. 

XXX

Thank you ladies, you are all amazing and very kind for supporting my challenge.

Today will mostly be helping my Girls celebrate their 18th Birthday!!

Have a lovely day ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

Mixed up Saturday

Good Morning Ladies,

Here we are at Saturday once again, the day that we get to see something other than cards, this week we have a 'Junk Journal' and Crochet Book Mark, a Get well card and a Stunning Decoupage kit!

So without further delay here we go........

Danielle

Danielle just recently did a 1000 Subscriber Give Away on YouTube as a celebration of being a Stampin'Up! Demonstrator for a year and for reaching 1000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, for the prize for this give away Dannii made this stunning 'Junk Journal', using the new Stampin'Up! 'Petal Palette' suite. 

She made a matching box to keep the journal in too, it is so beautiful Danielle you have put so much detail into every page, Kay won the the journal (lucky lady)! 

If you want to go have a closer look go and check out 'Danielle Rose' on YouTube.

Thanks Dannii for allowing me to share you Journal with everyone today.

XXX

Angela

Angela sent me this card to share today, she was explaining how her 'Get Well Soon' 

Cards have been really depleted over this past few weeks, so she had to get busy making some more. The above card is one of her new batch, let's hope these bugs past quickly and your card box is back up to full capacity! 

I love your design Angela, that background paper is fantastic, perfect for the theme of the card you made and also a great match for that die cut. 

Thank you so much for sharing your 'Get Well' card Angela, I look forward to seeing more of your makes.

XXX

Karen

Karen goes to a fantastic little place for breakfast some mornings, where she will sit quietly in the corner doing some knitting or crocheting, one of the lovely waitresses approached Karen and was explaining about a 'Book cover' that a friend of hers had.

Karen did a little research and found out what the waitress was talking about and then made her one, Karen you have such a kind heart.  I bet the waitress was absolutely over the moon! 

I will include Karen's explanation below:

"Some mornings I go to a cafe for breakfast run by the most wonderful Turkish people - hence the following story!

They all know I sit in the corner and do some knitting One of the waitresses came over saying that a friend had sent her a photo of a book cover made with two needles like I do She meant a bookmark and it was crochet So I made her one This is it"

I can't wait to see what other Characters you come up with Karen, thank you so much for sharing. 

XXX

Michele

Michele has shared this absolutely gorgeous Decoupage kit with us today, here is what she said.......

 "I thought the Decoupage kit looked so lovely that I just had to buy this magazine! It’s the previous issue of Crafts Beautiful-New one out today I think."

I totally agree with you Michele the pretty Decoupage kit is well worth tracking down the magazine for, the fact that you can make 6 cards with the kit makes it worth the cost of the magazine in my opinion.  There looks like there is a lot of paper craft related features in the magazine, that magazine is not one that I have bothered with before because it covers many different crafts and not always paper crafting. 
But now I will have a closer look, thank you so much for bringing this gorgeous kit to our attention Michele.

XXX

I hope you all have a lovely Saturday ladies, 

Love and hugs,

Sandra 

xxxxxx

Something Floral For Friday

Good Morning Ladies,

Today's Floral Friday card was designed by Our Karen, it's such a delicate and very pretty design.  I will share Karen's description below...

"The die is Sw Petite Petals Striplet I used Topsy Turvy card for the background and paper piecing together with a bit of Lidl green I typed the sentiment with a free font called Jennifer Lynne I hope this helps" 

I love the font you have used, it looks almost hand written, I think this card shows the lovely Sue Wilson Striplet die at its very best, the paper piecing really highlights the detail of the die, your perfect matting and those delicate pearls really finish your card beautifully Karen, thank you so much for sharing it with us. XXX

We have Sophie and Lucy's 18th birthday on Sunday, I can hardly believe my babies will be adults!  They have a weekend of partying planned, while we will be scrubbing and Paul will be gardening, we will have a Celebratory Dinner on Sunday evening.

I had the call today to say that my craft unit will arrive on 13th February, I am so excited, I just can't wait to get it all organised, although I am sure deciding what should go where will be as tricky as organising the kitchen. 

This is the unit that I decided on after many hours of deliberation, it seemed to be the best choice for papercrafting, the two desks all give more work space to accommodate my Gemini etc. I particularly love the ribbon holder and the magnetic wall for those dies we use all the time.  I first unit I looked at had Velcro covered doors which i first thought would be useful but after thinking about it, I would have to add velcro to all of my tools too which I don't think would work.  I also had visions of coming down in the morning to find a Cat attached to each door!! 

Wrap up warm my lovelies it's going to get quite chilly over the next few days, both Paul and Matt came home with a bag of coal last night, both after hearing the weather forecast, I wonder if Paul will let me light the Aga ??! 

Have a lovely Friday Ladies, 

Huge hugs,

Sandra

xxxxxx

The First Of Our New Home cards

Good Morning Ladies ,

Another cold day here. Hoping  the shines today like it did yesterday afternoon because it really brightened the day up.

Seeing Pat brightened my day up too, we went out to lunch which was lovely.

Todays card is the first of our lovely 'New Home' cards, this one is from Sue, i absolutely love this design, it's so different and so personal, i love the little touches like our village and the date we moved in, the 'faux scrabble tiles' are brilliant. The key is also a fun touch too.  Thank you Sue for such a lovely card. XXX

I am hoping that my new craft unit will arrive any day as my craft room currently looks like this.......

My whole craft room is now just a corridor of boxes, its driving me crazy, i just want to craft! Hopefully we will get this room sorted next, I should hear when the new unit will be delivered any day.

Well I must go now to see if this will publish, the internet in the new house is shocking to say the least!  Too slow speed for any other company than BT to supply internet service as the lowest speed any of them entertain is 5mb, we have 4.5 ! 

A company called Gigaclear have laid cables into the village but I think it's quite expensive to have it connected to the property, we'll have to see.

I hope you have a lovely Thursday, 

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx