March and April Cards I've Made

Here are a few of my latest cards that I've made:-



I did this card for my good friends Pete & Sue for their
40th Wedding anniversary.







This was a card I did for MIke's Mum



I love these cool old fashioned men cards!



Another favorite of mine is the lace doily and rose centre topper







This is a pretty lime green teapot card that I made from
a free gift in a magazine!

 

Pretty little cupcake card from freebies!



And Last but not least, the card I did for Mike for our 7th wedding Anniversary! 

As usual we were away for our Anniversary but we've decided maybe to go later on in the year as this year was
a complete washout!  We had torrential rain and gale force winds that rocked the caravan we were in and sounded
like the roof was being pelted with stones!  I did have a lovely facial and back massage that Mike booked up for me
and had my nails manicured.  We spent some time in the spa centre which had a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi and that was really nice and relaxing.



UPDATE ON CHARITY CARDS

I'm very pleased to say that including a new dog collar and lead and the five cards I made especially for the Rescue Remedies dog Rescue Charity auction did sell!  I made £17 in total, which I was a bit disappointed in, as was hoping to raise more, but I suppose every little helps!
In total the charity made £828 so it will go help to rescue more unwanted dogs.


I was bidding on a few things on the charity too, but the last day of the auction was the day/night spent with my dad in hospital and he sadly died a few days later.  He was a wonderful father to all 7 of us and I will fondly remember all the happy memories he's left us with.

This photo of my Dad and me was taken at a Country Music night and although Dad was having difficulty breathing, he made sure he danced with me and his 4 other daughters and his 2 sister-in-laws ...... a lovely memory!


I've been busy making some cards so I'll put them up here and as of this moment they are all up for sale!!

So there they all are - hope you like what I've made! I would love to hear your comments on them, so drop a line and let me know!

Sal xx

CARDS FOR CHARITY

The Dog Rescue centre where we got our dog Chesney from, are doing another Charity Auction and bidding starts on 14th january up until 29th January.  So I thought I would do some doggy-themed cards to donate to their auction.  Last year I raised £28 for them from my cards and some other stuff.

They are called Rescue Remedies and rescue all kinds of terrier type dogs who are about to be put down, just because people don't want them anymore!  We are so happy with Chesney and he is a smashing dog, very lovable and good with my grandsons and everyone thinks he's a handsome boy - what do you think?

Anyway here are some of the cards I'm about to put on the site for the charity and I hope you can give them a look in and maybe even bid on something, they do all sorts of things to raise money! ( http://rescueremedies.myfastforum.org/forum118.php )

These cards were very simply made by using pictures from last year's calendar that had smaller pictures of the puppies on the back.  I then added a sentiment and a border to complete the card!

Fancy Dress!

Hi,  long time - no talk!  theres not been that much happening in my sedentary lifestyle but recently we went to a fancy dress party and after much debating about who/what to go as, we decided in the shop on the day!

Here is a picture of us on the night!  I was a medieval Lady and  Mike was Captain Hook and people kept saying he looked like King Charles II, so he dispersed with the hook and acted all regally! lol                

We had a good time and enjoyed seeing other peoples costumes, there was a Mr. Blobby, cowboys, queen and king, clowns, Dorothy (over the rainbow), spiderman, batman and most amazingly, was my daughter Emma and Hubby's costume which she had made herself! He was Phantom of the Opera and she was Christine and here is a pic of them both.

Here is Mr. Blobby and an Indian Squaw....

Some more 'outfits'

My grandsons were dressed as the Mario Brothers, but haven't got a suitable photo of them both together, but Emma had made their costumes again, which clearly outshone the shop-bought ones that were also there on the night!

It was a good get together though and we all enjoyed dressing up!

LATEST CARDS FOR JUNE/JULY

Here's my latest batch of cards which were made for the last couple of months:-

This was a simple black/silver card with a football theme to it.

I feel I'm still quite an amateur when it comes to stamping and colouring in!  I punched a lace edgeing onto pretty rosebud
paper.  Stamped an image of a fairy on pink card and also added a little dragonfly.

This was a fishing theme for a man's card and I just added various fish themed boards onto a green backing paper.

I made this 60th anniversary card for a lovely couple who go to the country and western club we go to.  Their names are
Basil and Maureen and it's lovely to still see them get up and have a slow dance together!

They were so pleased with this card which had a lace backing paper then I punched out a silver and a red velvet heart from my Big Shot machine.  I added a stick on lacy silver heart on the red one.  I stamped the greetings in red ink.

This card has a brown patterned backing paper to which I added a cream and gold square of embossed paper.  I then added a gold heart with a gold stick on lacey heart on it.  I also cut out two butterflies and stuck them together for a double effect with an added gold stone.

I love the dog on this card!  I added some backing paper in green half way up then put on the cardboard cutouts and placed them on.  At the bottom I stamped some little brown paw prints.

This is the first time I've done a card like this - It's stamped on two different pieces of card then put together.  this one is of a garage....

and when you open the doors, theres a little man with his car!

It took quite a while to colour all the little bits and pieces in the garage, but I was pleased with the end result!

This was a lovely bluebell backing paper to which I added a butterfly cardboard cutout with a ribbon tied to it.  Also there was a little oval 'Love' emblem that I placed on it.  Then a 'Congratulations' greeting for an anniversary theme.

I received some free 'seaside' themed cardboard cutouts that I think are gorgeous!  This is one of them I placed on a striped backing paper added the cutout of three little sailor boys looking out to sea!  I added a blue ribbon to the cutout and some blue coloured stones in the upper corner.  I think this was nice for a man's card!

This last one I made when an old friend of my late Mum wrote to tell me her husband had recently died.

Joy lives in Canada now but my Mum used to care for her mother until her death and they stayed in touch for many years and I met her a couple of times when she visited England.

Since Mum's death she writes to me and asks how my Dad is and my family, which is sweet of her.  She had been married for 55 years so it must have come as a great shock to lose her husband Jeff. 

I used red poppies on a backing paper to which I added a picture of two swallows on a cutout to which I added a black velvet ribbon and a 'Sincere Condolences' in a black fancy border.

So, that is all my creative wares for the last two months - please leave me a comment on them if you wish!

MEMORIES ..............

Around the first week of July is always a poignant time for me -  for the 7th used to be mine and John's Wedding Anniversary and the 8th was the day he suddenly died.

These two days were days I came to dread in the years when John first died - one day we were celebrating being happily married for 26 years and laughing about some of his antics he was telling us about from years ago, at a wonderful family meal.  The very next day I was staring at him cold and lifeless in the hospital mortuary and I don't think that shocking image of him will never, ever leave me!

But I do try to remember all the best bits of having been the wife of John, he was a real cockney character and was always making us laugh with his tales and could mimic a fine Irish or Scottish accent to add flavour to the story he was telling! He was a good provider and worked very hard. He was a wonderful, loving father to his 3 girls and he adored and treasured each one of them.

Although 12 years have passed by since the sad day we lost him, I always take a quiet moment to reflect and remember him.  I especially feel sad for my daughters and how they must feel about losing their dad much too early in their lives.  He's missed out on so much of their lives, their courtships and weddings where he wasn't able to walk them down the aisle, his two little grandsons who I know, he would have adored. Just seeing what wonderful women his young girls have turned into would have made him so proud, cos I know I am!

I don't know how those 12 years have gone by so quickly and I count myself one of the lucky ones to have found love again and remarry another wonderful man - I would have hated to have been on my own now at this stage of my life. I'm privilidged to have Mike by my side now and love sharing my life with a very caring, loving man who completely understands how I feel around this time and supports me when I feel sad and shed a few tears for John.

John will always be remembered as a part of my life and in my heart and I 'see' him in the things my daughters and grandsons do or say in lots of little ways!

Someone who played a huge part in your life cannot be easily forgotton or pushed aside, even if life has moved on for us. 

I've learnt that when you lose someone who is a part of who you are - that time will surely heal the wound but it won't ever erase the scar!

RIP John:  31st March 1943  -  8th July 1999