12th June 2020 Mailer

Spend just £10 and you will be awarded 24hrs unrestricted VIP access to the latest 20 Freebies offered by our fantastic Designers! Don't delay order today. Please note, the vault is subject to change as and when new submissions are added.

Dont Panic Mr Mainwearing by Lesley Earing

This pic is from last Summer. All of us as a family went to Dover Castle. The photo was taken in the shop/museum. I love this picture it makes me giggle. Unfortunately I was not allowed in as I had my dog with me, so I had to spend ages in the sun outside the coffee shop. lol The boys really enjoyed the day out. As did the rest of the family.

I have added these 2 great designs as they also make me smile and I think we all need something to smile about at this present time.

cup646386_1763 by Anne Lever

cup915724_67282 by Mandy Kirby

Fire in the Sky by Vicki Avcin

One of lifes little pleasures is sitting back at the end of the day and watching the sunset. Weve often have the most spectacular sunsets but I never have a camera or phone handy to capture them, even when I do I just dont seem to be able to do the colours justice. However one day at the end of May the whole sky was ablaze no matter which direction we looked. The photo with the silhouette magpie was to the south of us and it was such a vivid purple and pinks.I went round to the front yard, looked to the west and my first reaction was oh geez, where is the fire (I may or may not have not used the word geez, but Ill keep it clean for the newsletter!). Then realised that the only fire was in the sky. It truly did look like many of the fires Ive been to with the glow and the colours but thankfully this time it was just this brilliant sunset. I think the last few months the sunsets have been more spectacular due to there being so much less pollution/dust in the skies because we are treated to these night after night lately. Just so relaxing sitting watching the sky change in the afternoons.

Featuring this week two more of my Sentimental Floral collection.

cup1046130_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup1046126_543 by Vicki Avcin

Backyard Isolation - Hummingbird feeder

by Judith Henry

Now that the weather is better and it has stopped raining so much we can enjoy our backyard, the garden and the birds and animals that frequent there. No longer are we isolated to the house sitting in front of the window looking out at the bird feeder and counting how many different birds are eating there. Now I have to be conscious that the front porch door is always shut so the humming bird does not get trapped. Poor little guy was famished when I discovered him there. But the hummingbird feeder is portable and setting it in front of the open door gave him the will to fly out. Back to the grotto in the back yard went the feeder.

Love watching these little helicopter birds. The sound like a frantic bumble bee when they buzz over your flowers.

cup900535_2228 by Judith Henry

cup886713_2228 by Judith Henry

Its My Birthday! by Sue Way

On Tuesday I had my 60th Birthday. Even though we are living in strange times at the moment, my family made it a very special few days. On Sunday my daughter, son in law and 2 granddaughters came to our garden for a socially distanced celebration. Luckily they put up a gazebo as it poured with rain, hubby & me sat in the conservatory with the doors open. I got some lovely gifts and Kelly made me this beautiful cake, which was a lovely surprise. On my actual birthday, my son & daughter in law had arranged to have lots of gifts sent to me and they arrived throughout the day, included a Cornish cream tea! We also had a Zoom chat, so I got to see my newest granddaughter on my birthday too.

cup766957_38 by Sue Way

cup987588_38 by Sue Way

This ... by Carol Clarke

is Annesley Hall which is just a short walk away from our house and I walk past it a couple of times a week. It dates from the mid-13th century but sadly its a ruin now. It was the home of the Annesley family but via marriage passed to the Chaworth & then eventually to the Chaworth-Musters who were one of the most powerful families in Nottinghamshire! Mary Chaworth, who lived at the Hall, was the boyhood lover of the poet Lord Byron, who lived at nearby Newstead Abbey. Below are 2 of my 3D Shadow Box Card Mini Kits ... These would be just great for Fathers Day!

cup888522_359 by Carol Clarke

cup886346_359 by Carol Clarke

No Covid here by Janet Morley

New Zealand is now officially covid free and apart from international travel we are now back to normal. I have enjoyed being able to produce more designs than usual without feeling guilty that I should be doing other things,after being in lock down and having restrictions since March 28 it feels so good to be able to get back to normal. Many thanks to everyone for purchasing my designs, I hope that wherever you are that things will soon be safe and back to normal.

cup1046738_72114 by Janet Morley

cup1047507_72114 by Janet Morley

A New Plant Species by Janice McFarlane

Well, what strange weather we are having, I suppose given how things have been for 2020 strange is the new norm. Weve had a week of warm summer weather, but at the minute it seems like we are having winter in June. So much for people being able to meet up outside. The gardens of course are enjoying all the rain, and flowers are blooming in one way or another, On one of the finer days, I had a brief wander out and certainly discovered a new plant species growing in one of the planters - Baileyus Caticus seemed to have developed within hours, very unusual colouring, and somewhat fuzzy in appearance, with good ground cover, lovely to touch but no fragrance. Goodness knows what Alan Titchmarsh would have made of it. Perhaps I should enter it in the Chelsea Flower Show. I did extract it and brought it into the house to feed and water it well.

cup1049684_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1050563_905 by Janice McFarlane

Squirrel watch by Tina Fitch

We started to feed the birds again recently, we had actually stopped for a while due to living just off the railway banks and rats getting through a hole in the fence. We got new fences so the bird tables could go back up. And now the baby birds are about they need the food. However now we have a squirrel problem they seem to like the bird food and often empty the lot so there is nothing left. We got Dolly on the case. She doesnt like them and as you can see shes squirrel watching to make sure they dont return and when they do shes at the back door scratching to get out and chase them off. I did find it funny her jumping up the window sills to see out of the window. It did make me smile. Now in the morning we open the doors onto conservatory and up she gets to check.

cup1050008_596 by Tina Fitch

cup1049327_596 by Tina Fitch