Hello, I'm back ....... you need to grab a cuppa for this one!

 Hi Everyone!  Yes its me! I'm so sorry I have been such a bad blogger but I have been on a trip.....

to.................................

Brisbane - Australia.!..( this is the bridge in Brisbane)...............................and........

Sydney!

Yes I eventually made it to see the family in Brisbane and spent three weeks with them and then a few days in Sydney before flying home. 

I never would have made it without the company of a crafty friend of mine (she knows who she is if she reads this) who was going out to visit her brother, so I bit the bullet and she flew with me to Brisbane and then she flew on to Melbourne. We then met up in Sydney after the three weeks, had a bit of girl time shopping and viewing the Opera house and the bridge in Sydney and then the long flight back home!

I have made some wonderful memories and the month went so quickly, too quickly from my point of view. It was so lovely to get to know my Grandchildren a bit and see where the family live, and of course to spend precious time with them all.

The weather was a bit mixed and in Sydney it was grey and rained at some point each day, but we tried not to let it spoil things...they are heading for winter after all. It was still about 28 degrees and quite humid.

Yes I went all that way and in the UK they had a heat wave!!!

I managed to spend a bit of time crafting with the children, as long as their attention span let me and I took them some mini dies and a Crafters Companion mini die cutting machine.

It was Grandad's birthday (Nicole's dad) while I was there so I set Thomas and Chloe to making cards for him......here are the results.....

Chloe ( Just 7yrs) made this one and drew the koala and trees herself

and here is Thomas's (9yrs) his is all done with die cuts and some fiddly paper piecing. 

The card bases are Craftwork cards that I took with me, amongst other things for them. They wrote lovely messages inside and did something on the back too, but I forgot to take a picture of that.

So as the proud grandma I think they did extremely well. 

That is why I have been absent so long, with the addition of life in general, medical appointments and trying to catch up with things since I came home.

Moving forward I shall still be blogging sporadically as I try desperately to find my mojo and fight my way through  too much stuff in the craft room. Time to say goodbye to Sugarcraft and other bits so if anyone decorates cakes and is interested in cutters etc let me know via email . I have quite a lot of Patchwork Cutters.

Right folks, have you finished that cuppa? I've' finished mine so time to crack on.

I hope to peep at your blogs as time permits and to see you again soon.

Thank you for sticking with me if you have read this and please leave a comment so I know you have been. 

Crafty hugs till next time.

Carole x

'For all the sad hearts'

 Hi Everyone! 

How are you doing?

I haven't had much chance to craft as the Ballroom Craft room Blitz has started and it's going to be a looooong slow process! (some of you may remember that song)

So here are two cards I made last year that never got posted and as Valentines day is looming they are for all the sad hearts out there....remembering those we love but have lost. 

If I remember rightly the above one is a Memory Box folder coloured with inks and a finger dauber...very gently.

This one is a Stamps by me folder..the lily that is, and the background is that age old swiss dots embossing folder...remember that one? I bet you all have that one in your stash. It was one of the first embossing folders I bought!

Coloured as the above one but no sentiment added till needed. (which I hope will not be for a long time)

I hope you are all safe and well..and warm..wherever you may be. The weather seems to be all to pot all over the world and my heart goes out to people who are losing everything in storms,floods etc. 

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me a comment as I know I am a sporadic blogger....but better than not at all..... and your love and support is what keeps me going, and is so much appreciated.

Till next time

Take care..keep safe and be kind to one another.

Love Carole xx

Birthday Boy ..9 !!

 

Hi Friends!

Back with Thomas's birthday card that is hopefully winging its way to the other side of the world in time for his birthday next month.

He has a current interest in dragons, so with a recently acquired stamp set I set to work. Sad to think it will probably end up in the bin as apparently the kids of today are not sentimental about these things like their grandparents!!

I hope he likes it anyway!

9 where do the years go?...they emigrated just before he was one...8 years ago at the end of this month!

I have to say that children's cards come a very close 2nd to male cards in my list of worst cards to make..lol!

Apologies for the mess on my desk in the background...I had to clear a small space to make this card...and now I have to go an dtidy...no blitz...the craft room.

Time to part with stuff that may come in ! I seem to get less and less cards to make these days and I am never sure if they are appreciated or whether people would prefer a bought one.

Maybe people think making one is a cheap option...but we know differently don't we.

Right thats me for today...must dash and blitz!...well maybe tidy the desk a bit..lol!

Till next time stay safe wherever you are and keep warm and well.

Many thanks for your visits and any comments you leave me...they really do keep me going and are so very much appreciated. 

Hugs Carole x

Another fresh start!

 Hi Friends...wishing you all a very happy 2025 and a healthy one.

I hope you have all recovered from Christmas and are all well ready to face 'another fresh start'. I have to say that I am!

First off I must apologise for being awol. I didn't seem to be at all organised for Christmas this last time, so I am determined to be different this year..but its not a resolution..just a feeling of determination to get a grip on life.

A couple of cards to show you cased from Jo from lavinia stamps..thank you Jo! so not my designs but I enjoyed making them. The fist one is all inked and the second one is one of lavinia's new backgrounds recently released.

The first one was for my son and DIL here in the UK ....love that tree

...and this one was for a crafty friend of mine.

Well here in the UK there is the promise of snow this weekend. the temperatures have plummeted, but on the brighter side, the days are slowly getting longer as we are past the shortest day. It always seems to take longer for the days to become longer though, than it does when the days get shorter!

Thank you for stopping by and sticking with me despite my absence. I hope to see you all again soon spurred on with my new determination!

Take care, keep warm and stay well

Crafty hugs

Carole x

At Last !!!

 Yes....... at last! I have a card to share with you. 

Hello friends...sorry for my absence again...just call it life getting in the way again.

So here it is......a birthday card for my son in Australia. 

I really struggled to come up with the idea for his card so in the end I plumped for this , inspired by some stamps that were a freebie from a magazine. He used to go bowling but I wouldn't say it is his hobby these days but never mind, the thought and love is there just the same. The first attempt went in the bin as I knew it wasn't quite right..lol !!

                                            

Pleased to say it has arrived in time for his birthday.

This time last year he was over here for his brothers wedding...how the time flies!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Iain !

I hope you are all well and that those impacted by the recent storms in Florida are all safe. Indeed the weather all over the world is changing very quickly. here in the UK summer has been and gone with no real memories of a summer I have to say.

 We once again find ourselves hurtling towards the festivities that fill the last quarter of the year. I for one will look back and wonder what if anything I have achieved this year...will you? I always have so many plans but as I say the time goes faster and I get slower too I guess...hey ho..it is what it is.

Thank you for stopping by, its always good to have some company, and if you leave me a comment...and they are so appreciated...thank you for that too.

So till next time ...promise to not leave it as long

Crafty hugs and take care

Love Carole xx

Anniversary

 Hi Friends.....how are you all doing?

Today is the Anniversary of some friends so I made this card for them.....

I had the idea in my mind (as you do) but not quite like it eventually turned out..lol! I spent more time faffing ad pondering than I did finally finishing it, and that was after I had walked away for a couple of hours and come back to it with fresh eyes. Do you do that?

This is an old stamp from Chloe, stamped and embossed with wow platinum powder and then the tiny dots applied with liquid pears in ...???  you guessed it ..Platinum. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Clair Morning Mist.

I edged the card with a silver leaf pen . Anyone remember them? It saved a layer of card for posting. A layer of pale pink and a little butterfly with a few tiny pink pearls.  Much quicker to write about than execute..lol! Jury still a bit out on it here.

Life is busy with  various appointments and all the usual chores one can only leave so long, so apologies for my sporadic blogging..

Today is dull and breezy, the sun seems to have bunked off..again.... and I feel that the short summer we had here in the UK...last month infact...is over and we are heading for Autumn already. The shops are getting their autumn clothes in and I for one think it is far too soon!

Is it the same where you are? Do you feel that retail always pushes us too quickly into the next season?

If you are yet to have your summer break..enjoy!

Hoping this finds you all well and happy.

See you soon

Crafty hugs 

Carole x

Delightful Daisies

 Hello Everyone!

How are you ?  I do hope you are well and if in the UK I do hope you have not grown webbed feet! Whatever happened to summer this year?

Seemingly time has gone the same way this year (run away) , in fact it seems to just go faster and faster every year.....or is it that I have so much to catch up on?  

The card above is not done on my new foiling machine I am disappointed to admit, but is from some prefoiled ones from Stamps by Me. Several designs so plenty to go at. Foiling seems to have dropped out of fashion and I have yet to have a good play with my machine...life got in the way of course. 

I coloured this one with watercolour pens (Phill Martin)....... tried a bit of blending but definitely need practice at that!  An old craftwork cards sentiment from stash and mounted up and job done!

The card that this is foiled on to is a thick watercolour card so takes water well. It is creamy in colour so I may get some of my mountain of cream card used up!...no don't be silly , it won't match of course...lol

Right time to catch up on some chores, life is full of appointments this month and the cleaning and gardening fairies sem to be having a very long holiday ..lol

Take care and thank you so much for stopping by, your lovely comments always make my day, I love to read them.

Till next time

Love and crafty hugs

Carole xx 

P.S. Actually made it to Doncaster on Sunday to the Creative Craft show. I didn't need anything of course, I mean I can't move in my craft room....but it would have been pointless to go all that way and not buy something wouldn't it?................so I succumbed. Nice to be able to see and touch again which the internet deprives us of.

The Hunter!

 Hello there friends! 

Sorry for the long break but as you know I've had surgery on my shoulder which is well on the mend , but a long re-hab of physio now in play. It is surprising how much time it takes out of your day doing exercises. How does anyone find time to go to the gym I ask myself?

Crafting has been well on the back burner and still is to a point but I did manage to make a card for my eldest sons birthday last month.......

Sorry the photo is a bit dark.

The owl is a 'Crafty Individual stamp' and the rest of the stamps used are a mix from stash...some Lavinia.

The background is a Scene Scape I have had for ages and it saved me doing an inky background. I coloured the owl and tree stump with copics. My only regret is that I did not add the moon that is included with the owl stamp, or even make one of my own, but for a first attempt post op I felt it was OK.

I didn't add a sentiment on the outside as I thought I might spoil it, but there is one inside of course.

My inspiration came from watching U tube videos of Jo Rice (head design team member for Lavinia) in order to get my crafty fix..............I could watch her forever, such a talented and lovely person.  

I hope you are all well and for those of you in the UK, I am sure like me you waiting for 'summer' !! Do you think we will get any.?

Right I have an appt with a new vacuum now...well it beats a medical appt..and there are plenty of those!

Thank you so much if you have popped by to see if I am around...hopefully I have appeared in your feed if you are a follower. Lovely to see you....... Please let me know you have called in.

Love and crafty hugs

Carole xx

Magnolia Anniversary

 Hello Friends...how are you doing? I hope you are well and I am so pleased you have popped by.

Still using last years creations that never got blogged!

Today is Anniversary Day...not an actual anniversary but a day to show you a couple of cards.

First up......

Memory Box Magnolia

Not clear to see on the photo is that this was on pearlescent card with some scoring down behind the magnolia which was created from the die. Coloured with oxides and a dauber.

and secondly......

Again using Memory Box and the flower cut in pearlescent card and created from the embossing folder with the corresponding die. The background die and the heart also Memory Box.

Well it is snowing here in West Yorkshire today, but thankfully not settling....yet! The flakes are getting bigger but the ground is very wet. Yesterday was a sunny spring day!

Not sure if I will get by again before 'life' renders crafting off the 'to do' list for a few weeks due to my shoulder op on Monday..eek......lots to do before then!.....things I know won't get done for a while again!

Thank you all for stopping by, your good wishes and comments are so very much appreciated and I do hope when I get back to the creating and blogging you will still be around and pop by again.

Funny how mojo returns when you know you cannot use it!..lol.....

Take care everyone......wherever you are, and enjoy whatever you are doing.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Silhouette - Birthday

 Hi Folks

Whizzing in...just like the month of February has done..or perhaps I should say sneaking in?...either way this year promises so far to go even faster than the last one!..along with my life!!...and yours! (sorry if you didn't want to think that).

I thought I would share the birthday card I made for my DIL  and never blogged. She is mad keen on horses..hence the image, and teaches riding. She loved this card...me? not so sure about this one....see what you think.

It was the first card I have made her that I have been able to put DIL on!

Have a good weekend everyone! and 'Thank You' for your lovely comments on my last post and for stopping by to read this one. Blogging friends are the best!

Crafty hugs till next time

Carole xx

Late as usual!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well January is whizzing past as no doubt the rest of the year will do so I thought I had better wish all my lovely blogging friends the above before it got too late....so Happy 2024 everyone!

I hope this finds you all safe,well, warm and that you had a good festive season...seems ages ago now doesn't it!

Apologies for my lack of blogging yet again...life happens and shoulder surgery due a couple of weeks ago was cancelled and is now next month. 

As I haven't much new to blog I have delved into the folder with some cards I did last year that never made it here.

I had cause for a couple of 90th Birthday cards last year (wonder if I will make another two decades?)

Here they are just different colours. I think I like the lemon one best, which is your favourite?

I think the embossing is a Lisa Horton folder that comes with the die to cut it out and I coloured with oxides, very gently applying with a sponge finger dauber. and then placed in the aperture cut with a  circle die

The sentiment and numbers are old from my ever growing, never decreasing stash.

Sorry the photos are not the best for showing detail. The lemon one is bazzill card..remember that? and the pink one the same but already bobbled in effect.

So there we have my first post of 2024 and if you have not given up on me, and kindly stopped by to peek, then please let me know. It's good to have friends and know that I am not talking to myself ( I seem to spend a bit of time doing that anyway!)

Thank you for popping in...see you again soon I hope with some more 'left overs'.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

 Hello friends...and huge apologies for my bad blogging but here I am now.

Life took over amidst the wedding and my significant birthday and time ran away for me resulting a very few handmade cards this year. Yes I know my New year Resolution for 2023 went completely out of the window didn't it.! (a card a week)..Maybe next year? I'm not promising this time round as shoulder surgery could be looming which will put paid to quite a bit.

One special card I have managed to make for Andrew and Becky, based on a similar one by 'John Next Door' and his dies. I can share now as they wont peek at my blog...yes you are right last minute so will be giving tomorrow (head hung in shame again!)

Apologies ( I seem to be doing a lot of that) for the photo, the light has been terrible here the past couple of days.

Behind the Happy and the Christmas is gold mirri card...not so obvious against the wood. Word dies and the mistletoe are 'John next Door' and the berries are tiny pearls with a black dot from a sharpie pen. The tiny gold bow is from a Lisa Horton freebie on similar lines.

The card is bright white though it looks cream on the photo.

So that's it for this year folks...another year beckons and I hope it doesn't whizz past as fast as this one seems to have.

Thank you to each and everyone of you who have visited my blog and left me encouraging comments this year. They are all so much appreciated .

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year and for those of you who for whatever reason are finding it hard, I wish you the peace and strength to see it through.

Here's to a crafty 2024! everyone! Cheers! 

Love Carole xx

Wedding!

 Hello everyone!

Life has been busy and time just keeps getting away from me, so big apologies for my bad blogging and I hope you are all still with me.

Crafting has taken place sporadically but sad to say not a Christmas card in sight yet!

Let's start my catch up with the wedding which seems ages ago now.

Here is the invite.........

.......and here is the wedding card I made for them........

Love this Memory Box heart, and I was able to carry the theme through.

So..... to the Bride and Groom who were blessed with the weather on the day and it was quite warm too. The day after we were marooned in the hotel in Chester by the floods caused by the storm.

 Not a traditional dress for the bride, but she looked stunning nonetheless, and also where the green theme came from. It shimmered blue too in different lights.

No posing ! just happy snapshots from guests.

......and after all that stress...me and my outfit...yes I ended up with green after trying really hard to avoid it. 

 My younger son (Iain) that flew in from Australia for the occasion and to be a witness (on the left in the picture)...the rose between two thorns in the middle! and Andrew on the right.. It was so lovely to see my two sons together and to see Iain again after four years, but very hard to say goodbye again the day after the wedding. Fortunately for him he left early for Heathrow before the hotel was cut off by flooded roads. 

I will be back again soon I hope with a few more makes...but still not Christmas. If I get to make any maybe I should save them all for next year..I would be ahead of the game then wouldn't I?  I seem to remember my New Year Resolution was one a week...hmmm..say no more on that one..lol!

On that note I will wish you a good weekend as we are nearly there. I hope you are all well and here in the UK I hope you have not grown webbed feet...so much rain!!

Take care now

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

70!..embossing folder & cautionary tale

 Hello Friends

Sorry it has been so long since I posted...but ...like most people I am finding this year is hurtling by at a rate of knots and time slips away from me. Thank you for joining me though..your love and time is so very much appreciated.

So first of all..a card.......

A Creative Expressions 6" x 6" embossing folder coloured with oxide inks and a finger dauber. The 70 was cut several times in white and layered...the top layer was cut from a piece of card that I had coloured with the same colours used on the folder, Finally the addition of some matching enamel dots.

Now for the cautionary tale......

I recently used, or should I say tried to use, a 3D embossing folder from Memory Box in my Gemini machine....now I know that these folders are thick...and plates have to be adjusted which was what I did ..right? The machine started to take the combination and then stopped...it wouldn't reverse...and was well and truly ..you guessed it Stuck! 

I rang Crafters Companion...quite upset by this time...where was Alan when I needed him (late husband)...he used to be the official repair guy in the UK for Spellbinders and rescued many a stuck plate from a Grand Calibur. I know you would think I would know better...but it did start to accept the sandwich until it got to the really thick part.

Anyway Crafters Companion were brilliant and for £35 they collected my machine, rescued the contents and returned my machine and embossing folder. I had only one tiny piece of card in the folder  just covering one flower.

SO......my cautionary tale is not to put 3D folders (other than Crafters Companion) in your Gemini...or if you do then double check  the thickness of your sandwich. (not the one you ate for lunch!)......you probably are more sensible than me and already aware of this!

I have resorted to my old Big Shot with card shims and now am very wary...in fact quite scared to use my Gemini for anything other than cutting. 

Crafters Companion also advised that Sizzix 3D folders would not go through the Gemini.

ON a last note a question for my blogging friends in America who MUST have these Magnolia 3D folders (so pretty)  with dies from Memory Box...what machine do you use? and what is your sandwich?

My sons wedding is now less than 3 weeks away...outfit almost sorted! (It's been a nightmare) and I am looking forward to seeing my other son as he flies in from Australia soon. A shame the rest of his family will not be here, it would have been lovely to see the children too.

Thank you for staying with me, I hope you are all safe and well and hopefully I will be back soon.

October tomorrow!......not started Christmas yet!!

Love and crafty hugs

 Carole xx

'Just for the record '

Hi everyone.......at last I have something to share!  A male card for a friends husband cased from one I saw on pinterest. ....thanks to the designer whoever they may be.

Male cards are not my favourite cards to make and I seem to have exhausted the ideas relevant to the person in question...mini cars (green ones) and canal boats on past birthdays............so this was what he got this time round!

I guess it speaks for itself really but the base card was cut from an 8 inch square card base and the rest from varying sizes of the same circular nesting dies. 

The 70 was cut from dies in my stash that I use quite regularly as they are not too big...and I didn't want to rub it in!..lol The writing was hand written.

So life continues to be very busy here, organising workmen for varying maintenance and repair jobs in the house and garden...and costly too. I can never settle when I have people here whether they're inside or out. Are you the same?...or is it because normally my hubby would have been keeping an eye on these people? and doing all the organising of them to come in the first place too! 

Anyway enough of that..what happened to our summer? I know we wanted rain for the gardens but now it doesn't know when to stop! No drying washing outside here..!

If you are struggling in the heat out in Europe I do hope you are staying safe from it and keeping well. Seems we have to have extremes of weather now and no happy mediums.

I've also been making wedding invites for my eldest son who is getting married in October. A small affair due to costs of course, but I hope it will be a memorable day for them both. All being well my other son in Australia is flying over for the occasion, so it will be good to see him as it is 4 years since I last saw him and the family.... a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then so to speak. sadly though Nicole and the children can't make it as the children are in school now...so disappointing that I will not get to see my grandchildren.

I am also waiting for shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff and so hoping it will now not take place before then. I have still to find an outfit for the wedding........no back zips please!  Birthday suit and arm in a sling would be different!..lol ......but maybe not in October!

So my friends I hope you are keeping as well as you can and as happy as you can and I Thank You for stopping by my blog and taking some of your precious time to read this.

If you are still with me...here is the card I made for the Birthday Boys wife to give to him....

Apologies for the photos not cropped...taken on my phone and then the files are too big to load! Why does technology change daily?

Crafty hugs to you all

Carole xx

Cosmos embossing

 Hi friends

Sorry for not being around for a bit. As usual life has got in the way and thus not much time for crafting.........at least nothing I can share until today when I have a birthday card made with a new Creative Expressions embossing folder....

The flowers were coloured with  Distress Oxides....Saltwater Taffy and Squeezed Lemonade using a sponge dauber  and a spot of glitter added in the centres for that sparkle which you cannot see on the picture...sorry.

The sentiments and banners are Julie Hickey.

I am really liking these 3D embossing folders. They give real impact ad a bit like heat embossing it never ceases to amaze me.

I hope life is treating you all well wherever you are and you are keeping well. 

If I can link up ok I am entering this card in the challenges below......I am well out of practice in  linking.

NBUS #51

http://seizethebirthday.blogspot.com/

Crafty hugs 

Carole xx

'The simple things in life.'

 Hi friends..far and wide, and closer to home. how are you all? I hope you are well and enjoying life.

Well what a weekend here in the UK...a new King and Queen crowned yesterday and an extra Bank Holiday tomorrow...not that it makes much difference to me, every day seems to be the same!

I did watch history unfold though yesterday and watched it all on the telly. It was sadly a wet day but it didn't seem to dampen peoples spirits, and I found it quite emotional at times. The organisation that must have gone onto it all was phenomenal!

OK .....crafting...well not had a lot of time for that due to some eye issues and an ongoing shoulder issue...the joys of getting older no doubt, so forgive me for not being a good blogger of late. I did however manage to make a card for my eldest son's birthday last week. A CASE of a card that Brenda (Floral Fantasies) did a while back with a few slight differences. (not good on the linking bit sorry). She did enable me to buy the silhouette stamp though :)

In the end I was pleased with how it turned out, though if I did another there may be a couple of tweaks to do.

Oxide inked background and stamping in Versafine Clair. You might just pick up a bit of stencilling in the corner with a new stencil, just to take abit of the stark white away.

My son regularly walks his dog...a black labrador (I masked off the ears on this dog...totally pain free I hasten to add...lol)) for a good long walk so it all seemed very apt, and he seemed pleased with his card. 

OK I hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend if you are in the UK and hopefully I will be back before too long. I do keep popping in to see your wonderful creations and I thank you all for stopping by my blog...... I know how precious time is.

Happy Crafting

Love Carole xx

Turtles

 Hi friends..good to see you all.

I'm here as promised with the card I made for Chloe who is 5 today! Where does the time go?

Back in February my son a family went to Mon Repos up the east coast of Australia and went to see the baby turtles being released to the ocean....126 of them. I hope they all made it! Apparently an awesome experience so I am told by Thoma and Chloe.

On that basis I made the turtle the basis for my card................

The turtle is a Woodware stamp (fussy cut) and I inked my card with Distress Oxides...Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean and then embossed in a new folder to me...Gentle Waves from Crafters Companion. I used glossy accents for the bubbles. the rest speaks for itself.

I hope Chloe likes it when she opens it today. It arrived in good time. I posted mid March to give plenty of time and it only took just less than 3 weeks!

 Time seems to be whizzing away again and I have no idea where it goes, so I am grateful for you giving of yours to stop by and read my blog...THANK YOU!

I hope to catch up with you all again soon. Till then I hope this finds you well. Take care.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Sad occasions

 Hi friends!

Today the sun is shining for a change and it makes one feel so much better doesn't it.

Sadly I have had to make some 'Sympathy' cards, or 'Thinking of You' cards recently so I thought I would share them with you...

The first one uses Uniko stamps on an inky background of Oxides.I cut a circle from card and used it as a stencil to do the inking.The black leaves are 'winked' and I edged them with white gel pen just to lift them a bit.

The other two cards are the same (just a slight difference ). The colour behind the panel of embossing which is from a new 3D embossing folder 'Lily' by Creative Expressions (Sue Wilson I think) and the panels are slightly different as they are cut from a 6x6 inch panel which I cut it in half to make the two strips. Then came the decision as to whether to add any colour or not...I left it white as you can see. The sentiment is from stash.

So peach......

and pale pink....

I put the Sympathy messages inside.

These could be used for any 'Thinking of You' occasion really and not just Sympathy.

Thank you all so much for all the wonderful comments that you left me on my last post...they really spur me on to continue blogging and I appreciate each and every one as I know time is precious to everyone. ...so THANK YOU  again, and also for stopping by today.

I hope you are all safe and well and ready for the Easter break.

I will be back soon with more to share as Chloe's birthday card has arrived already in Australia and it's not her birthday till the end of the month. It seems it only took just over 2 weeks to get there (I posted mid March). I guess if I had left it till now it wouldn't have arrived in time, so better to be organised!

Ok ..off to peg out the washing for the first time this year!

Catch you again soon.

Happy Easter and take care

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Big Birthday Box card

 Hi Friends

Here at last! 

There seems to be an abundance of big Birthdays on my list this year...and this is the first one for a friend of mine.

No prizes for guessing the age!

All products used are from Crafters Companion. The butterflies were cut from a pad of acetate ones and then stuck to paper I had coloured with water pens, then a liberal dusting of glamour dust. I did try to colour the acetate, but that didn't work.

It's a while since I made one of these cards but they pack the wow factor, especially to a non crafter.

Speaking of Crafters Companion...I find it disappointing after all this time that they have introduced £3.95 postage charges for members of their scheme unless you spend a minimum of £20 for Gold and Platinum and £30 for Bronze and Silver members. It literally takes away any discount and means it becomes very expensive to buy a bargain, as the postage costs as much again! Does anyone else feel the same? I am definitely cutting back this year, due to this and also wanting to reduce my over flowing craft room somewhat. Unless you are buying big there is little to be gained I feel.

I hope you are all keeping well and warm here in the UK as we have had a return to winter, freezing temperatures and that white stuff we thought we had got away without. Roll on Spring which has supposed to have started!

Good that we alter the clocks soon and have lighter nights to look forward to.

Catch you again soon my friends

Crafty hugs and thank you for stopping by, your visits and comments are always very much appreciated.

Take care.

Carole