Apologies for the delay in posting. Not much craft related activity to report, as it's been hot sunny weather. One of Andrew's colleagues is having a pretty tough time at the moment - she's just lost her beloved grandmother, has been in hospital and is in the process of house moving/building. So he asked me to make her a little card to say thinking of you. Photo attached. I made it from a wonderful kit I got ages ago from QVC - an enormouse K & Co box, which seems to be bottomless, with two scrapbooks, masses of papers, vellums, die cuts and greetings cards. It must be one of the best value things I have ever bought. I used one of the scrapbooks to make the recent one for my inlaws' wedding anniversary, and was lavish with my use of paper and embellishments, but it hardly seems to have dented it. The designs are really pretty too. For this card, I used a green greeting card, with a simple check on it. Above was a pretty vellum with glittered daisies. A die cut card ribbon placed across (disguising tape used to adhere vellum) with a bouquet of daisies, bee and ladybird die cut and a small panel to say Thinking of You, with daisies in the corner. It looks fresh and pretty and I hope she likes it.

The first week in July is a busy time for Andrew's sister and her family. Firstly, it's Basil's birthday (her husband). Then it's their wedding anniversary, and on the same day their third son Alex was born. This in turn means a bumper crop of cards.

Basil first. I took a dark old gold card and mounted on it a piece of K & Co paper, with an attractive green and gold foiled print, but not too loud. On top of that, I took four little squares of cream card and stamped them with Anna Griffin clear stamps, two of a beehive and two of an individual bee. The squares were outlined with green ink, then matted and layered on coloured card. These were then fixed to the front of the card and at the bottom I matted up two small pieces of card with a Happy Birthday greeting and then for the piece de resistance, used some shrink plastic to make a mini bee which was fixed to the greeting. This was my first foray into using shrink plastic for a proper card and I was quite pleased with it. Basil's father used to keep bees so I am hoping he will like it.

Alex's card is more of a testament to my ongoing love for K & Co products, and also the lovely way they can intermix. The base card is one that I bought from a set that arrived this morning, of a variety of K & Co prints. The blue I selected was from a set I recognised. On the card I then applied a mini folded pocket from a huge accessory kit I bought ages ago (another K & Co one) and the colours were perfect with lots of faded greens and blues. I picked out the name Alex using blue chipboard letters (originally purchased for holiday scrapbooks). A small 3D flower shape in blue was added to the front of the pocket. Inside the pocket, I took a coloured ATC blank and used a tag template to cut out a neat shape. A hole was punched in the top and then I brayered the card with a pretty inkpad in greens and blues. On this I immediately applied pearl embossing powder and heated it to give a smooth glassy finish. I tied the hole with a ric rac green ribbon and applied a Happy Birthday sticker to the front of the card, before replacing in the pocket. All the colours work very well together and I'm very pleased with the card, and hope Alex likes it. The pictures attached show the card and then with the tag removed from the pocket.

As I haven't yet finished the anniversary card, I'll write about that when it's complete, which should be tomorrow.