Something Floral For Friday

Good Friday Morning Ladies,

I have chosen another one of Pat's stunning Groovi cards for this week's 'Something Floral' feature, those flowers look so pretty in shades of violet/purple and yellow, like little pansies of violas.
Pat has then used her Ball tool and created an absolutely stunning frame around that central floral piece.
Pat's friend Carole designs these frames on her Silhoutte (cutting machine) and then designs the Groovi template to fit the frame, which is a really clever idea, it works beautifully too, as it really highlights every little bit of the detail of the Groovi Frame work.
Pat, thank you so much for making these cards and keeping them for me to share while I was on holiday, I am very grateful my lovely xxxx

Yesterday's adventure was to a nearby Water Park called Aqua Brava, to be honest it isn't something we have been bothered about this past few years as I would have had to pay the full price but not be able to go on any of the rides/slides but this year I emailed them explaining that our Children wanted to attend but I didn't think it was fair to have to pay 30 euros to sit and do nothing.  Surprisingly the emailed me back and said that as I was in a wheelchair they would let me in for free, so re relented,  on previous occasions we have dropped Becca and the girls off and gone and picked them up later but this time Lucy wanted a partner to go on the rides with and Paul enjoys them so we decided to give it a go.  I downloaded a couple of books onto my Kindle so that I had something to do while they were sliding and riding the waves!  We were a bit concerned about the weather but as we got closer to the park the sun came out and it was a glorious day, it was really quiet too as its the end of the season, so they didn't have to queue for more than 5 minutes for any ride.  We had a lovely lunch and I had a couple of trips around the 'Lazy River' or 'Rio Tranquil' to give it it's correct name.
Just as they were finished there were rumbles of thunder and lightning in the distance, the park is in the Bay Of Roses and is super close to the mountains, so I am guessing thunder storms are quite common.  I can honestly say that all four of them were totally wiped out by the time we got back, so it was a very quiet night.
Today will be a chill out day, we will also start to do some packing, as we are supposed to vacate the mobile home by 10am on Saturday, I do remember the chap saying that he has 17 people all leaving on the same day though, so I am hoping he will give us an extra hour.  Depending on the weather we will either spend a few hours by the pool or maybe go into a local town.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra
xxxxxx

Lynda's stunning

Good Morning Ladies,

I hope you are all well, those of you that have been in pain I am sending huge fluffy hugs to xx

Today's card is one of Lynda's amazing 'fancy background' cards, I think it is a really bright and trendy Christmas card, I love how you have die cut the poinsettia out of the same background.

The background Lynda has made is just stunning, so bright, with the Pixie Powders giving amazing splashes of vibrant colour.  The technique that Lynda used is Sue Wilson's 'Caught in Crystal' technique, including Pixie Powders, Gilding Flakes and Glitter to give that amazing effect.
The die Lynda used is one of Sue Wilson's 'Paper Cuts' dies called 'Poinsettia Edger', the cards has been finished with a matching black frame and Matching Die cut Poinsettia.

Lynda I think this Christmas card would add a splash of colour to anyone's Mantelpiece, thank you so much for allowing me to share it today. xxxx

We have had a couple of super relaxed days by the pool, it has been quite breezy and the fine sand just sandblasts your skin if it gets too windy so the pool is a much calmer option, its a lovely green space too, you aren't actually sat 'around' the pool, I will share a photo below.....

The pool is up a small hill in the distance, the area has a high wall along the back which makes it quite a sheltered spot on a breezy.  The added bonus this time of year is that when Paul and I have been in the pool we have virtually had the whole pool to ourselves, which is rather nice.

We are on the countdown to packing up and starting that journey home now, I am quite looking forward to getting in my craft room when I get back as I have new goodies that I didn't get chance to play with before we left for holiday.

Ally Pally

Can I ask which day those of you that are going to AP in a couple weeks are planning on going on?

I really enjoyed how quiet Sunday was last time as it meant that I could access all stands from the beginning, rather than waiting until after lunch to be able to get anywhere near them.  Some of the shopkeepers said that the Saturday was super busy in April too.  But having said that, if most of you are going Saturday then I will just manage as meeting up with all of you is the BIGGEST part of my day.  Our lunches have gotten longer and longer each time, which I love.  

Paul and I haven't got our ticket yet so let me know asap please (although if tickets are same as previous years they work for both days).

I am so looking forward to catching up with all of you.  

Well I must go and get ready to make the most of the last but one day, have a lovely day ladies, however you are spending it.

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

My Birthday Card From Janet

Good Morning Ladies,

Today I am sharing the first of the Birthday cards that I have received so far, I am so excited to see the rest of the cards I have waiting at home, it makes it feel like its my birthday all over again.

This amazing birthday card is from our lovely Janet and I can tell you that the picture does not do the card enough justice, it is so beautiful, it has all of the luxury elements, Gold foiling, pretty ribbon and paper flowers. Janet actually makes her own card bases, so the whole card base is beautifully embossed with Sue Wilson's Heart Lattice Embossing Folder, Janet has then built up a three layer die cut , the back/base is a gold foil beautifully intricate flower edges base, the next layer is very fine gold glitter cars that has a vine kind of pattern, the top layer is a also gold foil but not a shiny foil, I really love this new non shiny foil! Janet has woven ribbon through this top layer and filled the centre with paper flowers and foliage.

The gorgeous finishing touches are a heart printed satin ribbon that Janet has arranged around the die cut and then more pretty flowers placed where the ribbon meets and in the opposite corner.

Thank you so much Janet for such a stunning birthday card, I absolutely love it.

I can't remember the last day I described to you but I think it was Sunday, so onto Monday, we awoke to rather a cloudy overcast day, but to be honest nobody seemed to mind as we were all ready for a lazy  day, I had four blog posts to start to schedule, Lewis and Sophie and Lewis planned a 'Movie' day, Lucy was looking at Open University courses, so everyone kept themselves busy.

I kind of needed a break from walking on the beach too, we went into the Pals old town on Sunday evening and the streets are all ancient cobbles, which makes using the wheelchair super uncomfortable, so I just used my crutches, some of the roads were quite steep and the cobbles made it very hard for me to walk on but the views were worth it, some of our favourite shops and boutiques were closed though, we weren't sure whether it was because it was Sunday or if it was just because it was so late in the season.  

We aren't sure if that's why the weather has been so changeable this year too, we were about 10 days later coming this year, mostly because this was the only time accommodation was available added to the fact that we didn't need to worry about school term times. 

I hope that you all have a lovely day however you are spending it, 

Love and hugs to all,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Graceful Glass Card Number 3

Good Morning Ladies,

Today's card is the third card I made from just one panel of the Graceful Glass Vellum from Stampin'Up! I chose to colour this one in Real Red, I used a mixture of Watercolour Pencils and Stampin'Blend! Alcohol Markers, The sentiment if from the 'Dandelion Wishes' stamp set, stamped onto real red card in versamark and then covered with White embossing powder. I then die cut this with the Layered Oval thinlits and cut a mat of white with a Scalloped Oval from the same set.  I punched a hole in the top and pushed some 1/8 Real Red Ribbon and Some Polka Dot Tulle through the hole. I coloured a tiny resin flower with Real Red Stampin Blend and added some leaves and pooped this on the bottom of my sentiment tag.  Once again I used the Tufted Embossing Folder for the background, I added a layer of both the Dotted Tulle and Real Red ribbon to the card and placed my sentiment tag on top.
I hope you like my card. xx

We had a lovely beach day on Sunday, Paul and I set off for the beach at about 9;30 as it was so sunny, the others followed us down at about half ten, as it's quieter here this time of year we got a spot on the beach quite close the camp site, literally 5 mins walk if that.  We stayed on the beach until about 4:30pm and then made our way back to get ready to pop into Pals the 'Old Town' with its Bell Tower being the last remaining piece of the 9th Century Castle.  The girls did some shopping and took some lovely photos. We finished the day off at the same restaurant that we went to on my birthday, we had a lovely meal and were all so full we got home and fell into bed!  A perfect day for all of us.

I hope you all enjoyed Michele's 'Sparkly' Challenge this week and I can't wait see all of your cards.

Have a lovely day my dear friends,

Love and hugs to all

Sandra
xxxxxx

Monday Challenge

Good Morning Ladies,

Here we are at the start of another week, Michele has organised us all another Challenge, this weeks challenge is something completely different, you will love it.

Challenge No 3= Use something that Sparkles. Glitter, Gemstones or Gilding Flakes, Mirror card. 

or just about anything you consider sparkly, get out those glass beads you bought when Sue Wilson used them a few years ago or using double sided adhesive and adding glitter to a pretty background paper.  This challenge will be great for getting those Christmas cards started.

As always I can't wait to see what you decide to make, Michele has made you three amazing sample cards to get you inspired.

The first card is a printed image that Michele has added sequins and gems to to give it that super sparkly look, you couldn't fail to smile when you opened this card.

The second card has a die cut top with Gilding Flakes behind, they give such an amazing shiny effect, the photo does not do this card justice. I think you really get what you pay for with Gilding Flakes, just look how many colours are in that background, you can so many colour combinations too, I have one from Indigo with rich chocolate browns in with a lovely gold.

Michele's last card is a simple but really effective card, if my memory hasn't failed me that die was a magazine freebie, what an amazing freebie too. Michele has simply added glitter card behind the die cut front.  I love how it looks, I think it would look really good with those gilding flakes behind too, maybe die cut into Kraft card, oh I am in my 'Virtual' craft room creating it as we speak.

Michele, I am so grateful to you for taking over running the Monday Challenges while I have been away, you have done an amazing job, choosing three very different, interesting challenges.

We are in the last week of our holiday now, we leave here this coming Saturday and begin our journey home.  Sophie and Lucy made a little error, they thought that they were flying home on the day before we left, (so Friday the 7th), so we had planned to go drop them off, have a nice dinner out, enjoying our last day.  They have actually booked to fly home on the actual day we leave, so we will now pack the car, leave here, drop them off at the airport late afternoon and then travel on to our first hotel, which should work out ok, they may have to kill an extra hour or two at the airport, there are plenty of places to eat etc so I am sure they won't get bored.

Right I am off to enjoy these last few days,

Love and hugs to all of you,

Sandra

xxxxxx

Your Challenge Cards

Good Sunday Morning Ladies,

Another amazing Challenge from Michele, I think that this was a fantastic TicTacToe Challenge.
So without further ado here are your cards

Brenda

OMG, Brenda was inspired by Karen's incredible card that I featured on yesterday's blog, the card has a fairly plain front and then you open it up to find a real WOW card.  Brenda has used the Stampin Up! 'Hearts Come Home' die set to create the 'Scene' in this card.

Categories used are: Blue/Die Cut/Patterned paper.

I absolutely love this card Brenda, can I share it on the SU facebook groups please?

Thank you so much for taking part my lovely.

XXX

Janet

Janet has made 4 amazing Challenge cards this week, two everyday and two 'Seasonal', I will add Janet's description below:

1. I used BLUE/DIE CUT/PATTERNED PAPER

2. I used PEARLS/DIE CUT/RIBBON.

3. Seasonal Card I used DIE CUT/GLITTER/RIBBON

4. Seasonal Card I used DIE CUT/GLITTER/BLUE/RIBBON

Thank you so much Janet for FOUR gorgeous Challenge cards.

Karen has made two lovely challenge cards for this week's TIcTacToe  …….


"Blue-Punch or die cut-ribbon
Both backgrounds printed from Serif The snowflake is an old Martha Stewart punchThe sentiment is from Ultimate Creations
For the second I was inspired by the mag Simply Cards & Papercraft and their free die I know LYNDA and a few others have this I think this is one of the few cards I have made that uses two separate colours if you see what I mean"

Thanks so much Karen, I love both of your cards, that Merry Christmas font is stunning!

XXX

Lilian

Lilian has used the Categories Blue/Patterned Paper/Die cut for her challenge card this week, I know you made your own background which is stunning, how did you get that 'Shimmery effect' Lilian, it looks like a Mermaids Tail.

As always I love your card, thank you so much for taking part.

XXX

Lynda

Lynda has made two stunning challenge cards this week for the TicTacToe Challenge.....

" My first CC  using pattern paper/snowflake /glitter

 My Second CC Snowflake /diecut/blue.

 Background I made using yupo paper & Blue Distress inks"


Two stunning cards Lynda, I love them both but that background you have created for the second card is stunning, I must try some Yupo Paper.
Thank you so much for taking part my lovely,

XXX

Margaret

Margaret has also made two beautiful cards, the firs one I love everything about, Margaret has used some of  a 12 x 12 Laser Cut decorative Sheet that Stampin Up supply, its do delicate and beautiful against a plain background.

Margaret's second card was made using the Daisy Delight SU papers and matching Daisy Punch, which Margaret used to cut that amazing flower.

Thank you so much for sharing your cards with all of us.

XXX

Val

Val has designed a stunning card for this weeks Challenge, using categories :  Dry Embossing/Patterned paper/ribbon,

Val I absolutely love that 'pop' of bright green, it absolutely lift that card, so beautiful Val, thank you so much for taking part .

XXX

Michele I hope you are as thrilled as I was with an amazing response once again to your challenge, thank you so much for setting the challenge and inspiring the ladies with your cards.

One more to go!! 

Ladies thank you once again for supporting the weekly challenges, I hope that you are building up a nice stash of 'Seasonal Cards'.  It's September now so no doubt selection boxes will be appearing on the Supermarket shelves very soon, then it will be listening to the Christmas carols as we shop!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, we had a lovely sunny afternoon yesterday, it has been overcast for a couple of days so we were all excited when it came out, we layed by the pool until about 4pm then decided to go onto the beach, they all got in the water then the three of them went back to the Mobile home while Paul and I stayed on the beach and watched the sun go down, it was lovely.  We rounded the night off by going to the Live Music Show, they had a fantastic band that sand everything from Van Morrison to Robbie Williams, so many people were up dancing, such a lovely atmosphere.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday ladies,

Love and hugs

Sandra

xxxxxx

Michele's Magazine Review.

Good Saturday Morning Ladies, 

I hope that you are all well and enjoying your weekend, Michele has prepared us another one of her amazing magazine Reviews so I will feature that today and the remaining Mixed Crafts next Saturday, I hope thats ok with all of you xxx

Hi Ladies,

Here we go with August’s write up....

Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine has a beautiful set of Peacock themed stamps & a feather die plus a bumper pack of Christmas papers this month.

Love Cardmaking magazine has a really cute set of stamps, Dies & a coordinating embossing folder- all sewing themed. There’s lots of ideas & inspiration inside the magazine using the free gifts.

Creative Stamping magazine has the cutest set of wildlife stamps this month-how could I resist it when we have Hedgehogs & Red Squirrels visiting our garden?!

Papercraft Essentials has a pretty Embossing Folder, Bumblebee Die & stamp set free this month. There’s lots of inspiration inside the magazine & I think this gift will coordinate really well with some of the previous gifts(butterflies & dragonflies) plus the dandelion set from last months Papercraft Inspirations that Sue used on her beautiful card).

Making Cards magazine has some lovely Mermaid & Under the Sea papers this month.

Papercraft Inspirations has a massive Stamp set free this month which is perfect for so many occasions. There’s also some cute Tea & Biscuits papers inside the magazine plus ideas using these papers.

 
Diecutting Essentials has a fantastic free set of Dies this month-A Tree for all Seasons. There’s loads of ideas inside the magazine using the free gift. I was so inspired that I’ve made a card straight away using this set! There’s a great article showing you how to make the most of your Border Dies too.

 
Simply Cards & Papercraft comes with a bumper paper pack plus a Festive Die, Stamp & Embossing Folder set. I can see the Truck Die being useful for those difficult to make Men’s Cards!! Lots of ideas for Christmas cards inside this magazine.

That’s all for this month so until next time-Happy Crafting.

Michele Thank you so much Michele for another amazing magazine review, I have my eye on a couple, fingers crossed they will still be on the shelves when I get home. The Die Cutting Essentials is one of them and I like the Papercraft Inspirations and the Stamping one with the Squirrel stamps. I love your reviews Michele, they are so informative, as most mags come in plastic bags these days so you can't see whats inside. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this feature my lovely xxxx Hope you all have a lovely day ladies, Love and hugs to all, Sandra xxxxxxx