Monday, January 31, 2011

Colour Splash

This is my second post today ... I have a card that I made for 2 challenges ... unlike so many of you ... I can never seem to make one thing for a number of challenges ... I don't think my brain can handle it ... So I have combined the Color Splash challenge at The Play Date Cafe ... using this fabulous inspirational photo ... 

With the Sketch Challenge at WaltzingMouse ... 

         

And this is my take on both ....


actually it is a color splash because I used the same technique as I did with THIS card ... I literally splashed black acrylic paint onto white CS ....


My rose is handmade ... not sure that you can see the "dew drops" created with glossy accents .... I stamped white CS using the WaltzingMouse Text - It stamps ... then used Spellbinder dies to get my scalloped edge ...


The other stamps used are a Penny Black (foliage) for the leaf stem and a digital Hero Arts (friends) stamp from Two Peas ...
I hope you are having a great start to the week ... I'll be back tomorrow
Keep safe

~ Ros ~

EDIT.... just seen that I can also enter The Shabby Tea Room challenge too with this card
"Get Creative" is the new challenge today set by Clare ... which means NO patterned papers allowed and a handmade embellishment ... Whoopi! I got 3 challenges in ... that's a record breaker for me! 

~ Ros ~




House Guest ...

I have a guest staying with me for a few days ...  she's  a beautiful girl ... and oh so sweet ...
... meet Chucky ...




My friend had to go into hospital for a few days so I am cat sitting and it's good to have a cat in the house again ... though I confess I didn't sleep much last night ... a bit concerned about my guest who has rather taken to Mikey ... She came to stay once before and spent most of the time either under his bed or on his knee whilst he was trying to work.
I am also suffering with my neck and shoulder ... badly ...I've been to Pilates  and hope that maybe that and the Panadol will help ... it's kind of miserable and typing on my computer doesn't help.
But I wanted to thank Stella for this award ... and for thinking of me ...



"Thank you" it is so thoughtful of you ... I believe I have to tell 3 things abut myself and pass it on ...
well here we go ...
1. I sometimes have psychic experiences ... (spooky huh?)
2. My favourite seasons are Spring and Autumn 
3. One of the best things I ever did was start blogging ... I love all the friendships I have made
As for passing this on ... there are so many of you that I want to share this with so please feel free to take this ...
Back soon

~ Ros ~







Saturday, January 29, 2011

I remember when ...

Is it just a sign of getting old?? See, I remember when I was young enough to go to night clubs ... my friend and I would plan all day what we would wear ... maybe pop into town to buy something new ...  ... afternoons were spent in my bedroom painting nails ... washing and drying our hair ... laughing and having fun ...  we would apply our make up .... Yep, I was there when false eye lashes were fashionable the first time around ... All this preening was part of the fun ...  once we were "gorgeous" ... off we went ... usually on the bus (couldn't afford taxis then) ... We would buy one drink and dance the night away.
I know times change ... things move on ... but we would NEVER be seen outside of our bedroom with our hair rollers in!!! Now it seems it is the fashionable thing to do ... walk around everywhere with your hair in rollers ... the bigger the better ... and boy are they big! I am slowly becoming less shocked and can at least now walk past one of these women without my jaw dropping ... 
I was brought up in an era when guys were supposed to think you actually woke up with beautiful locks ...  your skin was always blemish free and your eye lashes long and lustrous ... and girls 'never' grew hair anywhere but on their heads. Mystery was everything ... we were 'ladies'.  
Well, this afternoon around 5pm, I was in one of our large chemist stores ... you know the kind that have lots of make up counters and staff from the various companies are waiting to serve you, even apply their brand of make up on you FREE whilst you sit in the chair ... Now, I have never done that ... sat in full view of the world being 'made up' ... I'd be too embarrassed ... not that I'm knocking anyone who does ... but this evening I was totally shocked to see just how many young women were actually queueing to get their full make up done ... wearing a full head of Rollers!!! Obviously this is the thing to do ... you get someone to apply your make up for you for free and hey presto one less thing to do before you go out ... What happened to sitting in your room with your best friend ?? 
Rant over ... 
I have a card to share made for the Jingle Belles Rock challenge  ...  this week is a sketch challenge set by the talented AmyTsuruta ... 


I struggled this week ... it seems when I had time to create ... my creative side chose to abandon me ...
So here's my card ...


I was so thankful for the sketch ... it got me through
and though my background looks like black card ... it is actually dark blue


 you can't really see but each of the snowflakes on my DP have sparkly centres .. done with stickles
Well that's it for now ... I'm off to put my rollers in

Till soon

~ Ros ~






Friday, January 28, 2011

Sparkly Winter Time ...

Hello ... I'm struggling with time today ... so much to do ... I swear this house is like the Forth Bridge ... you start to paint (and decorate)  ... and just as you get to the end .. the beginning needs doing again! 
Anyway I wanted to pop in with a card I did for the challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room this week ... 
"Winter Wonderland" here's the photo inspiration ...



It's such a lovely theme picked by Cathy who is hosting this week ... and the DT cards are lovely ... I think maybe I should have done a snowy scene but this speaks to me of sparkle and icicles ...
 my card has been a nightmare to photograph due to weather conditions ... so I have a lot of pictures to share just so you can see the brightness and sparkle perhaps a little better


I glittered a doily and stitched my paper onto it ... this paper is actually a free Basic Grey January desktop from The Digichick ... which I love and thought so appropriate


My flower is made from glittery Christmas tissue paper ... which I then attached to satin ribbon and some tulle ... can you see the crystal icicle?


My snowflake is cut from white felt and also glittered ... and has a pretty crystal centre ... I also added those pretty pearl sprigs ...


A little clear sentiment backed with white card finishes the card ...


Now I really need to dash ... But before I do ... Thank you Stella for my blog award ... 
I will post it as soon as I get a chance ...
Till soon

~ Ros ~







Tuesday, January 25, 2011

2nd Post ... CR84FN Challenge




Hello ... this is my second posting today so if you are looking for my City Crafter Challenge post ... please scroll down ...


This post is for my entry to this weeks challenge at CR84FN Color challenge ... such a beautiful colour palette ... soft, warm and serene ...


... and what beautiful photographs ...




I used my distressing tool on this ... first time I have done so 
the flower I made from sequinned fabric and the gorgeous centre and pink ribbon is from the October kit at Pixie Dust Paperie




The hessian 'lace' I got in a sale at a craft shop ... along with a pad of the lilac/lavender papers ... those glittered little dragon flies I've had for a while just waiting to be set free ... 


Till soon

~ Ros ~


City Crafter - Sew Fun!

Hello and Good Morning to you all ... 
Can you believe we are now at week 41 of City Crafter Challenge? Where does the time go? ... Lovely Linda Robinson is our host this week and she has come up with a brilliant challenge ... "Sew Fun" ... to include either stitching or something to do with sewing in our projects ... We also have Amelia Khalik as our Guest Designer this week ... I took a trip to her blog and was  blown away by her creativity ... I'm sure you will be too ... 
Now you all know I love sewing on my cards and have been known to make a few sewing plaques ... and this challenge gives endless possibilities so I hope you will join us ... we LOVE seeing your projects and every week we are stunned by your amazing talents ... makes picking a winner sooo hard ... Believe me ... I LOVE being on the DT but the hardest part is picking the winner ... I'm sure all my colleagues agree ... Anyway on to my card ...



Another image from Crafty Secrets ... I love these ... I stamped the background paper with Crafty Secrets clear stamps too ... another of my favourites ... the pretty brown tape is a sticker from Websters Pages which was included in the October kit from Pixie Dust Paperie ...


The flowers are made from old sewing patterns and you can just see the pretty pearl brads peeking out from the centre ... 
This little girl reminds me of my dear Aunt who does the most amazing embroidery work ... not something I have ever attempted ... I used to make all my clothes many years ago ... and I was a fairly good knitter ... but never did embroidery ....
Thanks for stopping by ... keep safe 

~ Ros ~

Monday, January 24, 2011

Birdsong ...

Hi there ...
Whilst visiting some of my favourite blogs ... I followed a link that Kirsty put on her blog to a scrap challenge at Scrap - It - Lah ... where the challenge is to make a scrapbook page based on your hobby ... and include something on the page to do with this hobby ... Well, I have wanted to scrap this picture for ages ... just because it is special to me ... I love wildlife and love to watch the birds everyday ... First thing even before I get dressed I am out to feed them ... and having had cats ... I have saved many birds and creatures in my time ... This particular bird a Coal Tit ... I came across one morning when we were staying in a log cabin in Derbyshire ... it was lying on the decking and I thought it was dead ... probably hit the glass window ... But not not one to give up I cradle it for a long time and it sparked back to life ... and then seemed very reluctant to go ... just kept clinging to my finger looking at me ... it was a privileged moment ... 




Now I have to confess that after searching through my papers for over 2 hours to find just the right thing ... I came across this from Memory Keepers ... which already had the title and mat for the picture ... But it was just so right that I had to use it ... I added some more border, doily, flower, button and both the little birds ... I glittered some chipboard letters too and matted my photos onto card that the prima flowers come on ... 
you may be wondering what I was looking at on this photo ... well we also had a squirrel come to see what the fuss was ... 





I hope you are having a great day ...
Till soon

~ Ros ~



Saturday, January 22, 2011

Pixie Dust Paperie Challenge

Hi there ... invigorated by my previous challenge ... I created a Layout for the Pixie Dust Paperie challenge .... set by Chief Pixie ... Kirsty ... who did this  amazing sketch ...


I have to say that this is a first for me ... I've never done a LO for a challenge ... nor ever followed a sketch for a LO  ... and actually I found it easier than I first thought ... 


This is one of my favourite pictures ... taken in Cornwall when Mikey was about 12 or 13 ...
The three of us were inseparable ...


How I wish I could re-live days like that ...


How we miss our beautiful Kelly ...
But just making this took me right back to that moment ... How time flies

Till soon

~ Ros ~





Pink Christmas?

Ok ... so Jingle Belles Rock challenge this week is a colour challenge ... Pink ... "PINK" and green ... here 'ya go ...


Bet you thought you had me on this one girls! Heck I thought you had me on this one!!! 
Me? do a 'double' pink Christmas card ... huh??**!!**
But not one to quit (yet) ... I rummaged through my enormous stash that is somehow filed in a wardrobe of my brain and knew I had the supplies to make something ... just needed to find the earthly wardrobe ...  
and here it is ... my attempt


Now you ... like me ... may be asking where on earth I got that florescent pink reindeer from ... blowed if I know ... I can but assume that I saved it in the hope that 2 ladies would come along and create a blog called Jingle Belles Rock and set a challenge to make a Christmas card using green, light pink and dark pink ... (us Capricorns are very organised didn't you know ...)


... and prone to jumping out of the box every now and then ... 


AND I know exactly who to send this too ... I got the cutest prettiest card from a friend last Christmas ... apart from the pretty snowflake charm ... it didn't really say "Christmas"


See? ... so I reckon she's up for pink ... don't you?

Have a lovely day 

~ Ros ~




Thursday, January 20, 2011

One Challenge ... Two Thank You's

Well it's a cold and foggy day here ... and I've been busy sorting a project for tonights' Thursday Club ... my group love to make notebooks with diaries in ... well I make them ... they assemble ... so there are 20 ready to go ... with embellishments (phew!) ... But I still had time to do a card for this weeks' challenge at CR84FN ... this is the lovely photo ...



Beautiful ... and yes it makes me think of Valentines ... and love ... and trying to get ahead I chose to make a card for my Husband's birthday which is in a couple of weeks ...


Ok ... so no hearts and flowers ... but 2 days later is Valentine's ... maybe then ... 
and would you believe he walked in when I was making this and said "Wow! That's nice" ... he never notices what I am making!!??** 


and in case you don't know ... the little calendar is a freebie from Crafty Secrets ... love these!

 I want to say a big Thank You to my colleagues Kirsty and Linda .. for my "happy mail" ... The girls all made cards for my birthday and posted them ... then mailed them to me with gifts! Aren't I a lucky girl? Take a peek ...

From Kirsty 
Gorgeous card ... journal, pretty little note pads and a matching adorable pen ...
Thank you Kirsty

From Linda
Another stunning card and some candy ... oooh I can't wait to try this!
Thank you Linda
These cards are so precious IRL ...
Now I'm off to pack up my things for tonight ... have yourselves a wonderful day/evening
Till soon

~ Ros ~



Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Jingle Belles Rock wk 3

Hi there ... 
This weeks' challenge at Jingle Belles Rock is to use acrylics paints ... naturally the ingenious Lauren and the very talented Stef ... have no problem with coming up with incredible examples for us ... and whilst I love to try new things and learn from others ... I am not one to really use acrylics on cards ... save for the odd touch here and there ... with great trepidation! I love to use acrylics on projects ... it's just so easy ... but I guess we all have a certain 'style' that we adhere to and if I am not happy with a card ... it gets taken apart or shelved ... I won't add something just because ... BUT ... I did want to continue with this challenge and not betray my 'style' ... then I came up with the perfect compromise ...



See, I kept this cute robin from an old card ( yep, more recycling) and seeing the 'snow' ... I decided to add a background to match ... Black card splattered with white acrylic paint!! and it works! and I am happy with it too, cos' I still have all my trade mark 'bits' ...


And you know what? I really enjoyed making this and will do it again ... there is something liberating about splattering paint and getting messy ...

Till soon 

~ Ros ~



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Pretty flowers ....



Hello and Good morning to you ...City Crafter Challenge this week is hosted by the lovely Kirsty  and this week she is taking us to the city of New Jersey for the flower show ... so the challenge is to include handmade flowers in our card / project ... How brilliant is that? My oldest and closest friend lives in New Jersey and I miss her every day ...
Anyway ... back to the challenge ... Our Guest Designer this week is Ira Huberts... a beautiful, talented and warm hearted lady who I am honoured to call a friend ... please go visit her blog and see for yourself her lovely creations  ... she will warm your heart ... And how would you fancy being a Guest Designer for City Crafter Challenge? Yes??Well, that's the prize on offer this week! Are you tempted?? 



I love to include flowers on my projects and cards ... if you follow me you already know that! And I like to try different techniques ... so on this plaque of my precious great niece Sophia ... I have included 3 different handmade flowers ...


... A rose, sprayed with glimmer mist and glittered ... and 2 "rolled" flowers ... one with sprigs of beads coming out from the centre and one with a pretty glass button ...


This purple and cream flower is made from organza ... the organza is a couple of different shades ... cut into circles ... Each circle (bar one) is folded twice and glued at the pointed end to the flat circle ... I just keep going until I'm happy with it ... then I either put a pearl, button or some other embellishment in the centre ... this cream tulle with the pearl centre was an earring ...


This photo gives you an idea of the fullness of that purple organza flower using just a few circles
There are so many tutorials available for lots of different flowers ... so I do hope you will join us this week and show us your creations ... if you're looking for inspiration ... why not hop over to the City Crafter Blog and take a look at the lovely cards done by the rest of the DT and our Guest Designer ...

On a final note I'd like to that those lovely ladies at CR84FN Challenge ... I was thrilled beyond belief to discover that my card was picked as one of the Terrific Top Three ... "Thank You" so much!
And that's it for now my lovely friends ... thanks for visiting me today ... 
keep safe

~ Ros ~



Friday, January 14, 2011

Cupcake Creations Color Challenge

This is my second post today ... I have had a pretty free day today to spend crafting so I have a card to share that I've done for Cupcake Creations Color Challenge ... this is the inspiration photo



Soft and oh so pretty .... and like Clare ... I too am using one of the images for the Help Katie campaign which you can find on Jak Heath's blog ... a worthy cause and one that makes you say ... "but for the grace of God ... "  if you have a moment please pop over and take a look
So, my card ...


Those pretty flowers are one of the many digital stamps which you receive following your donation ... I printed them twice and fussy cut them .. layering one on top of the other ... with a couple of little lilac sticker flowers placed here and there ... The green paper is from a pad my friend Stella sent me and everything else is from my stash ...


Oh, yes... and I used glitter!!

Till soon

~ Ros ~



Another day another challenge ...

Hello my friends ... how are you all? I know a couple of my blogging buddies are not too well ... so Steph and Keren .. get well soon ...
The Play Date Cafe colour challenge this week has been set by Julie Ranae it is soooo nice ... I love these colours ... this is the  colour combination and photo ...



... in fact the card I made Here for Moxie Fab World would have been just the ticket ... but another day another challenge 


I did use some more of that silver grey fabric ... and believe it or not my background paper is turquoise ... it's  Tim Holtz 'Vintage Shabby' paper ... but it looks more blue here ... maybe that's because my flower is so vibrant ...


... maybe it's the light ... it's so overcast here ... 
Anyway it did challenge me making a completely different card in the same colours ...
I hope you are all having a nice day ... hope to be back with you soon ...

~ Ros ~