CD Sunday Plus - Challenge #34 - Anything Goes - hosted by moi

Good morning.   I hope that wherever you are it is a glorious and sunny morning, such as the last few have been.  Some have been a  mite chilly but it is still good to feel the sun.

We have been having a goodly few entries into our challenges about which the team and I are delighted.  I certainly enjoy my visits to your blogs.  There is so much to admire and learn along the way.

As always it is an anything goes challenge as long as a CD, USB or 'digital image' has been used either on its own or in combination.

This is my card for this challenge:

It is a La Pashe die-cut decoupage.  So that I conform to the CD Sunday Plus criteria I have created a simple greeting inside using my Docraft Digital Designer programme.

There are quite a few layers of decoupage in places but it was nice to get back to a first love in crafting.

I look forward to more visits and discoveries and to that end  I hope you will join in with our challenges.

Please take care and stay safe.
Carol
xx

Card stitching with a difference

A study in mauve.

For this, I used No: 4 of Tina's Flower Embroidery plates from Groovi.  I didn't stitch in all the places marked for stitching.  Instead,  I embossed the outer swirls and leaves and then just chose the places that I wanted to decorate with stitching.  I used a mauve Mirri card for my background stitching plate.

It did take quite a while to complete.  I used a Gutermann Sulky Holoshimmer thread which broke very easily if you got bit enthusiastic with it.  More haste - less thread.

I did buy all four of the set of plates and fully intend to complete the other three.

I had started this project some time ago but - as you do - I had put it away whilst getting on with something else.  I was reminded that I had started it when a gorgeous birthday card arrived from a friend that was one of these four plates.  I was inspired to find mine and finish it.

Here is the card I received:

Isn't it fabulous?  Marion had also adapted her pattern. The centre is a little different and that border is to die for. Marion designs the most fantastic borders.

I will see you later. It is CD Sunday tomorrow.
Carol
xx

Birthday cards

I just wanted to sympathize with those - like me - who are celebrating birthdays during the lockdown.   My birthday was on the 21st - the same day as the Queen and........this year we didn't have the gun salute in Hyde Park.  The first time this has happened in my 77 years.

Apart from not seeing my family, what I am missing most is the evening out with the group of us ( ex golfers) who have been celebrating each others birthdays (with an extra for Christmas) for more years than I care to remember.   There are 7 of us with birthdays fairly well spread over the year and each chooses where they would like to go for their birthday dinner.

I also belong to a Facebook birthday group and I have received so many lovely cards from them, and from my family and friends, that I took a photo of them all affixed to my dining room doors

to show you and to have them all somewhere where I can see them for quite a while.

I have already been in my own lockdown now since 21st February and I received an NHS letter this morning dated 15th April in which it tells me that they want me to do another 12 weeks.   At this rate, I could be sharing another lockdown birthday with you all next year.

So just thank you to everyone who has sent me a card, email or phone call to wish this lockdown lady a Happy Birthday.

Please all keep safe.
Carol
xx

CD Sunday Plus - Challenge #33 - hosted by Jocelyn

Happy Easter to one and all.  I really hope that everyone is well and has managed to find some chocolate.  At the moment I am into KitKat bars.  They have always been a favourite and as the cross between sweeties and biscuit, they are perfectly filling a hole.

As I said on the CD Sunday Plus blog this is not the way we all planned to spend Easter but at least we crafters can find plenty to do.

For my team card this time I have made an Easter card.   I don't normally make cards specifically for Easter.  Likewise neither for Valentine's day or Halloween. But I remembered that I made a stitched card way back in 2016 (here)  and really liked the pattern so I went back to Stitching Cards and found another pattern to download.   Stitching Cards, by the way,  have a Facebook Group and I have joined up.

The oval frame - which I think is gorgeous and perfect,  is from  Joanna Sheen's 'Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady'  CD1.
The colour of the backing card is, what I would call eau de nil, and gives the effect of having been enamelled.   Especially put together with the gold frame, peel-offs and thread.   It all reminds me of a piece of jewellery - perhaps a locket or brooch.

Don't forget please to visit CD Sunday Plus - link in the sidebar.  There you will find our few rules and also links to my fellow teamies so that you can visit them too.
Happy Easter
Carol
xx

Another for our NUB challenges on Facebook

I found a small jigsaw die that I haven't used before and made some ATCs.  I made 7 in all and here is just one of them photographed in three stages to show the mechanics.

The brickwork backing card I had already and the image is from the internet from many moons ago.
It was all a bit fiddly but it kept me busy and quiet.

A friend on the UKSN site suggested that I add some graffiti - so I did.

Still keeping busy

We are in our second month of NUB (never used before)  at UKSN on Facebook.

This is my entry:

Here is the description I added to my posting on UKSN.


NUB for April. Quite a mixture for this card. The image - if memory serves me well - was given to me by someone ages and ages ago.   I printed it out on parchment to use and didn't until now. The border - my own design - was the same - I started it years ago and didn't finish. The backing velum comes from a pad purchased from Clarity Stamps which I shared with someone and promptly forgot I had it. The card itself is a scan of one of the papers from the pad. The sentiment and the gems I have used before.

I did enjoy the making even though it took a couple of days.  Once I had found the image with a partially done border I knew I had to finish it. The flower - which I think is a Magnolia - is too pretty to throw away.

Carol
xx

Keeping busy

during our enforced craft time!  Aren't we lucky to be crafters - we have so much stuff to play with.

I have two Facebook projects to show you.  Firstly a member of the UKSN that I belong to suggested we make something using something from our stash that we have never used before - a NUB.  We crafters have oodles of those.
I have a die of a Ferris Wheel that I have never used and in fact, cannot remember from whence it came.  I used an image from a CD by Pamela West as the base for my card.   I have used the CD many times before but not this particular picture.

Here it is.

My second Facebook project is my April offering for our ATC swap.  The theme this time - Fairies.

Here they are:

Now our organiser Sue's husband helps Sue out with all the organising and is affectionately known as the Slave.  He is, like me, a Minion fan.   I have - in the past - made some special Minion Atcs for him and this time I have made him a Fairy Minion because I saw this wonderful minion on the web and couldn't resist.
Here is the one for the Slave.

Isn't she a hoot?