3rd April 2020 Mailer

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Keeping Safe and Well. by Kathleen Francis

I hope everyone, is keeping safe and well, out there and enjoying more time to craft. xxxxxxxI have been busy designing and these Steam punk designs seem to be popular cards to make, and something for most occasions. I will be submitting a new lot of designs this week, Even though my staying in doors seems to be taken up in so many different ways, Baking, Cleaning, sorting, ( Not shopping) cos I cant go out. But I am at the moment concentrating on Designing and card making yeah, xxxxxx Love to you all and keep your chins up. x

Go home to die ... by Sue Rice

Go home to die, thats what the Surgeon said, just before he said, Because I dont operate on people for this condition at your age. For many years we told ourselves we were going on an extended summer vacation. So finally in 2017 we planned to be out for 3 months or longer. Around June 3rd we left and planned to make it all the way across the U.S. That would be about 3,000 miles one-way. We can see the sunset on the Pacific and wanted to see sunrise on the Atlantic. Anyway, we were delayed getting very far because I had forgotten my laptop power cord so we spent time searching to buy one. Good thing that happened because we were only 300 miles from home when my husband collapsed. He was flown by Life Flight to a Boise, Idaho hospital and I followed 60 miles via the freeway pulling our trailer. When I arrived we were told that he would not survive this because he had an aorta dissection. This was the upper aorta coming out of the top of the heart. An aorta dissection is when the aorta is split in places so it leaks blood into the heart cavity and when the cavity fills up with blood your heart can no longer beat and there is no treatment for it. Anyway, the surgeon changed his mind and gave him a 40% chance of making it. Well that was a no brainer; going from zero to 40% was an easy choice. We spent 5 days in Boise and returned home. We resumed our trip in August, but now it was only going to be 2 months and we made it as far as Iowa, thats a little more than half way across the U.S. Unfortunately we never asked the surgeon why he changed his mind, but thank God he did. There are many things to be thankful for, including he is in good health today and has no heart damage. But we were incredibly grateful that we bought Life Flight insurance that year for $65. Especially when we found out the 13-minute helicopter ride cost $33,000. Since then when his doctors ask about this, they always make the statement that it is rare for anybody to survive that surgery. I made this shirt for him.

I have several exploding boxes to choose from, but I want to quote a quote I have on a topper I made: God can restore what is broken and change it into something amazing - All you need is faith.

cup1035511_48460 by Sue Rice

cup1034241_48460 by Sue Rice

The. Strange world we are living in.

by Helen Gomm

A Poem for 2020 I wrote at 4 am when I couldnt sleep When The World Stood StillI looked out, the sun shone, the birds sung, The blades of grass moved in the gentle breezeSlow clouds floated Its all as normal.But looking further, there were no peopleNo shops, empty streets Is this right? Got to be all a dreamBut in all the strangeness.People cared, they offered help Food, medicine, kindnessNot been noticed for a while It was out there, but not seen.People smiled and clappedfor the many heros that are out there every day.I tried not to look at the ones with selfish hearts Hoping for the time when the world comes back to normalAnd the new found kindness stays foreverAnd is not forgotten.

cup946016_76873 by David Cooke

cup668644_359 by Carol Clarke

Another Year Older by Janice McFarlane

Well amidst all this madness at the moment my grandson Alfie had his 8th birthday. Now it wasnt the birthday that was planned, his mum had and dad had booked to go to Legoland, Windsor for the weekend and stay in a hotel which Alfie had asked to do. Because of all the social distancing and lockdown measures, of course that had to be cancelled. So my daughter had a rush on then trying to find him presents that would arrive on time and to make the best of his birthday given the situation. They decorated the living room as best they could and made Alfie a donut tower for a cake and he got most of his presents, some are still to arrive but at least that is something to look forward to. Harry of course enjoyed helping Alfie to open his cards and presents. All in all despite everything Alfie had a really good day.

cup1036214_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1035721_905 by Janice McFarlane

An Unexpected Treasure Trove...

by Clare Walker

No, sadly, we haven`t (yet) flipped back into an alternate universe in which a visit to the National Trust house at Tyntesfield (the site of the garden in the picture above) would be entirely normal. But...this picture (from 2014) *is* part of the unexpected treasure trove of photos I`d been sorting through in a what do I paint now we can`t go out? phase this week. People, it turns out that I have around 5000 of these reference photos...And therefore no excuse not to be painting. Which I began again, pronto, on realising the abundance of pics I`d been stashing away. Watch this space for the results...

In the meantime, to cheer us all up, 12 of my brightest florals (including these two) are on 20% discount this week...

cup897408_79993 by Clare Walker

cup809008_79993 by Clare Walker

Wedding by Tina Fitch

My youngest gave us the news shes getting married!And to top it all it will be in Florida Disney World wedding. Im so excited the Wedding Pavilion in The Floridian just outside Magic Kingdom is just beautiful.Our eldest got married there in 2008 and now in 2022 my youngest will do the same thingHere we have the twins after they said YES to being bridesmaids. They too are very excited. Disney is our special place we visit every year so what a magical place to get marriedStay safe everyone

cup953380_596 by Tina Fitch

cup850147_596 by Tina Fitch

its ... by Carol Clarke

... looking lovely outside with the sunshine & daffodils but as we are all aware, we need to stay home and stay safe during all these unprecedented times. I hope you are all well and keeping safe. Luckily we arent having to self isolate at present and so are allowed out for a walk once a day or to shop for vital supplies etc just so long as we keep to the social distancing rules. Not that I see anyone when Im traipsing across fields and through woods .... its mostly sheep, cows, horses and ponies that I meet! lol We all took part in the Clap for NHS mass round of applause to NHS workers for their help during the coronavirus outbreak last week. It was a very moving tribute and with this in mind I have uploaded some On the Shelf Cards, 2 of which are below, to thank our wonderful NHS for all theyre doing for us during this time. Take care and Stay safe!!

cup1035221_359 by Carol Clarke

cup1035212_359 by Carol Clarke

Keep Smiling we will get through this together

by Tina Fallon

Its a hard time for everyone right now with the current COVID-19 situation, but I have to say thank goodness for crafting. I am now thinking of finishing cross stitch projects started over 10 years ago, getting time to make my Christmas cards well in advance (which is a 1st lol its normally a mad rush to the shops a few days before the last posting date as I run out of crafting time I am going to be able to be in my garden more and potentially am planning on growing some of my own vegetables, wether that actually happens may be debateable, but the idea is now planted if nothing else. With warmer weather on the way we will be making more more use of our garden than we have in the past. For those bored crafters I have created a set of 6 quick to make cards which could be made in bulk and donated to Nursing homes , care homes, hospital shops etc . The set includes, keep smiling, just saying hi, sending a hug, Get Well and Thank you. We owe so many thank yous to so many people now all doing their bit to get through this, postal workers, bin men, shop staff, delivery drivers, milkmen, and so many more, lets make them all a Thank you card, I am sure it would mean so much to them. For the kids now home schooling, I have a few great 3d makes that will keep them busy for a while and be used as an art & craft lesson and precious creative time with you, so do check them out in my CUP store. Keep safe, stay home and follow government advice, crafty hugs to each and everyone of you , Tina xx

cup1035773_1929 by Tina Fallon

cup986541_1929 by Tina Fallon

Daily exercise by Carol Dunne

In these times where we have to socially isolate and are allowed one form of outside exercise each day we are very fortunate that we live near Bramall Hall, Cheshire UK. It is surrounded by woodland walks, gardens and lakes to walk around which we do each morning. Bramall as an area was first mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086. The original part of house that you can see in the photo was built in early Tudor times. You can still see the wooden pegs used to hold it together before they had nails to do the job. Various members of the families who have owned it have added on their own parts of the building. As you can see some of it is a bit wonky but other parts are newer.

cup1036266_173 by Carol Dunne

cup1036267_173 by Carol Dunne

Beeing Quarantined in the Campground

by Silvia Griffin

As so many of you I go to warmer pastures during the winter month and come back to Canada in the spring. With the world as it is now I was ordered by the government to self Quarantine for 14days. Got my self a lot of food and washed all the cloths I could before we crossed the Border into Canada from the USA.We had some trouble to find a Campground that was open this early. No water turned on yet but we need to fill our tank every 4 days. No showers - just washing in the think with baby wipes :), Paper plates so we do not need to wash dishes.Cannot use the Laundry at the camping place....Pharmacy brought our Medications thank God. One thing we forgot to get was Copy Paper. Taking advantage of this time we prepare our tax papers for our Accountant so we run out of printer paper! Found a office supply store that delivers.The picture is a blanked I made. Crochet and Knitting is my other passion besides making cards and Patterns. As many of you can Identify people like me have ALWAYS a stack of Yarn .....So this helps me keeps my sanity in this time of Isolation. We are done on Monday. Keep save and Healthy Silvia

cup351979_262 by Silvia Griffin

cup314920_262 by Silvia Griffin

Vintage Fastenings! by Sue Way

I work for a small mail-order company which produces reproduction 1940s and 1950s clothing and jeans. My boss designs everything using vintage patterns, old movies, advertising and posters for inspiration. She loves finding authentic buttons to use on the new clothing and spends hours choosing the right one for each piece. As we are on lockdown at the moment I am not at work, so my boss & her husband are keeping the place running as long as they can. I was looking through my sewing box the other day and came across some press studs and hook & eye fastening, still on their original advertising card. They had belonged to my mother-in-law. I took this picture and sent it to my boss as I knew she would appreciate it. www.craftsuprint.com/sue-way/?r=968387

cup610349_38 by Sue Way

cup425708_38 by Sue Way

Butterfly Migration by Vicki Avcin

For the past month we have had an influx of butterflies in our region. It is not only occurring here but all over south east Queensland. Butterflies of all kinds and colours and if you are wearing a bright colour they will come and land on you or if you put a hand/arm out they will come and land too. One of the butterflies is the Blue Tiger Butterfly. Very pretty and not as common as the orange Tiger Butterfly, they are a delight to see. They come from up north where they are more common.Recent heavy rain has caused them to migrate down the east coast. During times like the recent drought, females stop breeding and adults congregate in large numbers along the north-east coast of Australia. Normally it is after rainfall events that the adults disperse and migrate and head down the coast. The Blue Tiger Butterfly will be migrating for approximately another week down the coast. As they have a long life-span for a butterfly, of up to six months, when the cooler months of April and May arrive, they can be seen migrating north again where they congregate in central and northern Queensland.Their preferred food is the corky milk vine (it contains chemicals which are poisonous) but they lay their eggs and feed off the sap. Birds have been known to die after eating these butterflies because of this.

Looking for Anniversary cards, then todays promoted items are perfect for Silver and Golden Wedding Anniversaries. Other designs suitable are also available in Ruby and Sapphire. Check them out.

cup1028773_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup1028768_543 by Vicki Avcin