31st May 2024 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.

Splish Splosh! by Rachael Dunne

Hasnt the weather been shocking this week?! Im really hoping this isnt the end of our summer as weve just booked a family holiday in the UK! no matter what, I have no doubt our little one will still have fun. Hes had an absolute ball this week sploshing about in splashy puddles in his raincoat and wellies. So much so that nursery said he wouldnt take them off!

These are not new designs but seem quite appropriate! Thanks for looking x

cup1296259_75068 by Rachael Dunne

cup1295555_75068 by Rachael Dunne

First Skills Bout by Janice McFarlane

My grandson Alfie has been boxing for about 18 months at South Moreton Boxing Club in Oxfordshire. At the end of last year his coach Zoran was impressed with his progress and felt that Alfie could start coaching to compete. There are a few steps before he would actually box properly. First he had to be what they call carded. This involved a medical examination by a doctor, then a lot of training with regards to skills required. His has to complete 6 skills bouts of which his first took place last Saturday. This involved three 1.5 minute rounds with an opponent. His opponent was quite a bit taller but they both weighed more or less the same, also Alfie is what is known as a South Paw meaning he boxes left-handed. In the skills bouts there are no winners or losers as such but they do have to show to the adjudicator that they have certain skills and technique to progress to the next bout. I was able to watch the video my daughter recorded and I was so proud of him. He did really well and he was so thrilled to have succeeded. What was so nice, Alfie got his first trophy at the end of it.

cup1309146_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1309496_905 by Janice McFarlane

Gardens by Sue Way

Owning two lively Golden Retrievers, we have to go on many walks. Poor Sam has a skin condition at the moment, so we are trying to keep him out of the sea. If the weather is dry we can let them run in the country park or nearby field, otherwise, we give them lots of lead walks around where we live. One of our routes takes us along the seafront towards the pier, through the beautiful gardens that are maintained by volunteers. They comprise a series of interlinked public gardens, originally laid out in 1921 and refurbished in 1997. Features include a sunken garden, a Mediterranean garden and a rose garden. I took this lovely photo of Billy posing in one of them.My SALE is on right now! with 20% off of ALL my designs!

cup1308865_38 by Sue Way

cup1309111_38 by Sue Way

Creating by Helen Howell

I love creating designs for myself and others to make cards from, but I also love to paint. Ive been painting in watercolour now for over 30 years and every Friday morning I go to my Art Society for a social painting morning. Its very friends, we all paint in different mediums, and a lot of chatting goes on, sometimes more chatting than painting. Today, however I got stuck into what I was painting which was an English Blue Tit, and Im pleased with the result, which I have this afternoon turned into a card design. Thank you to Crafts U Print for providing me the platform to let my creativity fly into card designs.

cup1309820_37881 by Helen Howell

cup1309036_37881 by Helen Howell

Murder, Misdeeds and Microhistory by Helen Sunter

Ive been investigating an unsolved Edwardian murder that took place in London in 1914. Five year old William Starchfield was strangled and hidden beneath the seat of a third class North London train carriage and the police investigation that followed failed to find the murderer. The Metropolitan Police were inundated with reports from the public saying they had seen Willie on the day he went missing with both men and women in various places around London, but most of them turned out to be false leads, until one woman, Clara Wood, said shed seen the little boy with a man she recognised at the inquest. That man was Willies father, John Starchfield. He was quickly arrested and sent to trial, but Clara Woods testimony was confused and John had an alibi, backed up by several other people. The case was a shambles and he was acquitted. Poor Willie Starchfields murder has gone unsolved for over one hundred years. Ive obtained the original police files and the inquest and trial documents from the National Archives in London, and numerous newspaper reports from the era, and am working my way through the evidence to see if I can discover any missed clues. Im documenting all of my research on my newsletter, inviting anyone who wants to be part of the investigation to join me in sifting through the witness statements and other reports.When the investigation is finished, Ill be releasing the results in a book about the murder. Its a long and complex process, but totally engrossing, and every new detail might lead us to solving this almost forgotten case.If youd like to be part of the team youll find my Murder, Misdeeds and Microhistory newsletter on Substack.com where I also write articles on other historical true crimes.

cup1217381_92133 by Helen Sunter

cup1307388_92133 by Helen Sunter

It …. by Carol Clarke

… Was the half term holidays here in Nottinghamshire this week and we had our youngest grandchildren again. We were lucky with the weather as it had been raining the day before and wed had drizzle in the early morning! But luckily it cleared up and we had lovely sunshine! Crafting (of course! lol) playing board games and a trip to the local park all featured in the day as well as some baking … and eating what wed made … it was delicious! lol

cup346514_359 by Carol Clarke

cup599946_359 by Carol Clarke

Little Devil! by Tina Fitch

We purchased new fat balls to put in the bid feeders. They are going down a storm for the birds and of course this little devil, I had 4 feeders with 4 balls in each, I put them up at 11am in my garden.One hour later they were all empty, what with the starlings and their babies and no less than five squirrels all on them taking as much as they can. I went out several times to scare them off. Even got my pomapoo dog running around the garden to put them off. But no good. All was empty and in only an hour.I couldnt believe what I was seeing . Considering there is trees loaded with berries they were not interested, not sure I can afford to keep topping up ever hour

cup1309765_596 by Tina Fitch

cup1309123_596 by Tina Fitch

Bloomin Beauty by Vicki Avcin

The weather has messed up the plants around here. Tomorrow is the first day of winter and plants are sprouting new leaves and covered in flower buds. Someone didnt tell them that all that is supposed to happen in spring. There was a hibiscus here when we moved in, not doing real well and not even a foot tall. Now its nearly three feet high and covered in buds with flowers appearing on a daily basis. This gorgeous hibiscus is one of them. I was sad when we moved that I couldnt bring some of the big hibiscus bushes with us as we had some pretty colours. Red hibiscus is pretty much the norm and everyone has them but we had some oranges, yellows, peachy colours and purples back in Hervey Bay. So Im stoked to have this pretty creamy one that has the deep pink/magenta centre. I will continue to nurture it as the flowers are huge as well as pretty.

cup1296412_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup1203838_543 by Vicki Avcin