A Piece of the Garden

Hello...

I'm lost with the days... One just flows into another and the clocks going forward only added to the confusion Lol! 

The warm sunshine we were experiencing quickly developed in to dull and cold weather.

Someone asked me if I was bored yet... Me bored???

In truth I think I've been social isolating for years. DH was always either working or out somewhere with someone so I got used to being alone and found lots to occupy myself with... Boredom to me is doing the same things without progression... I like to learn, try new things.

 

As you know I've been trying free hand painting with watercolours lately and the one I'm sharing today has to be my very favourite and IS going to be framed

 

 

 I did do a little sketching first, just to get the pots as a starting point - I seem to have a 'thing' about plant pots

My friend Stella bought me my first set of Prima paints and once I started to use them I was sold

 

 

I do use a little bit of acrylic paint for the white dots you often see, and here, for the purple berries.

Unfortunately my garden pots are not as pretty but small shoots are starting to appear, maybe by time we are out of isolation there will be flowers too. Till then I'll create my own and continue to pop into your blogs and enjoy the beauties you share

 

 Have a good day and take care

~ Ros ~

 

For Friends

Hi! How are you doing?

Well we've had the most beautiful weather lately but don't get too jealous... It's not going to last.

It takes the gloom out of everything though - Our Prime Minister has tested positive for the virus, along with Prince Charles whilst we alas, have no testing available, so we have to just hope and enjoy the sunshine whilst we can

I've already sent some of my painted cards to friends - DH wanted me to frame them all but it seems stupid to keep them all especially now - Here are 3 more which have also been sent to friends

Honestly I don't know what I like doing best... Painting or doodling 

I know one thing... I can churn these out much quicker than ordinary cards 

You all know I lost my best friend last October... Amongst her many talents, was a brilliant artist and sculptor. Today would have been her birthday and I can't help but think how much she would have loved that I am attempting to paint albeit in my own way and my own style... 

Stay well my friends... 

~ Ros ~

 

Playing with Brushes

Hi there...

I'm so glad that you are enjoying my watercolour flowers and thank you all for your encouraging comments. 

It's a beautiful day here, the sun is shining and it's much warmer, I'm going to be joining my cats out there shortly as listening to the local news has left me quite scared and a little low.

 I have a couple more creations to share with you... I've been experimenting with different paintbrushes and trying to master some of the techniques, I have plenty of time to practice.

This one was done using a triangle type brush

 ...to create two toned fan shaped flowers

I found You Tube videos by Ceecee Creations and just love watching them - Here's a little close up 

My leaves need a lot of practice

Sometimes I get the shape right and sometimes not

Stay safe, keep crafting and even across the miles we'll help each other through this

~ Ros ~

Wildflowers

Hello...

How's quarantine going?

It was Mother's day here yesterday - Maybe not the Mother's Day we normally expect but hey.. We can celebrate all year right? 

When I had dogs, I would often walk them at a place called Pickering's Pasture... A short drive away where the river runs alongside the pastures and in the summer months, the pastures were filled with wildflowers...I tried to capture them in this painting

 Hubby and I drove down there yesterday - We are doing our utmost to stay safe but I think he's a little stir crazy so I made a flask of tea, the idea being that we could just sit in the car and chill but when we arrived the place was literally heaving with people all walking about and socializing like it was a holiday period. There were families, dog walkers, cyclists and many over 70's. I cannot believe the ignorance and selfish attitude of these morons.... 

I am scared but painting helps to keep me calm and I really, really hope that life can soon get back to normal and I'll be able to see those wildflowers once more

Thinking of you all and sending hugs 

~ Ros ~

Purple or Blue?

Hello... 

What a beautiful sunny day we have here.. It's cold but that's okay, we have much to be thankful for and I'm especially thankful for our crafting community.

One thing I love is how diverse it is in our creations, some like brights, some like muted and so on...

Today I have 2 more hand painted cards to share - I wonder which one you prefer?

DH prefers these purple flowers and I think I do too

I've discovered that whilst painting on plain cardstock it is possible to add more colour once the first layer has dried

..And though it doesn't look like much at first, using a Copic liner to add some little details makes all the difference

But you may prefer the blue... 

A more 'wishy washy' creation

Sometimes colours don't always translate on photos... The leaves etc., are much greener IRL

Either way painting is keeping me happy and I'm trying something I never thought I could do... Maybe without this pandemic I just wouldn't have had the time or the inclination.

Be safe my friends and have fun doing what makes you happy

~ Ros ~

More Watercolours

Well you said you liked them ...Thank you!

I've got some more for you haha

When I opened the curtains this morning, I was amazed at how much greener the trees have become, seems like over night they suddenly sprouted leaves and it sure made me smile, which is good because my DH is driving me insane, seriously. This self isolation for certain age groups is NOT going down well in this household, especially as there is no sport to watch on TV - I may just end up on a charge if this continues...

So anyway, on to today's share before I am arrested

A little bit of pink blossom - Sort of...

Isn't it lovely to see the blossom coming out, even though the rain continues to fall here

This also fit the challenge over at Double D Challenges

 

Then an attempt at wisteria and purple flowers

 

Am I getting better at it? Not really... Am I enjoying myself - Immensely! I just need to get a lock on the craft room door Lol!

Honestly if you have any ideas on how to restrict DH from going out 3/4 times a day (for no other reason than boredom) let me know. I've exhausted every avenue short of asking Boris to house him for the next few months.

Take care my friends... I'm trying to

~ Ros ~

Watercolouring on cardstock

Hello... 
Happy St Patrick's to those of you who celebrate!!

I hope you are all well and coping with this situation we are all in right now...

I've been able to spend a lot more time at home without the pressure from DH to go here and there, he loves being out and about but all that is changing.

So what have I been doing to keep my mind occupied and not become part of the doom and gloom? Well not stockpiling on toilet rolls that's for sure Lol!

I've been painting - Well, painting and doodling, trying to paint freestyle (flowers and greenery) and I've painted lots!

You know me and watercolour card don't really gel, so I use ordinary cardstock and of course you don't get the same results plus you have to work pretty quickly. I've done some small ones and some bigger ones but today I thought I'd share some smaller ones with you

I've used Prima Watercolour Paints... I love them and have now got 3 sets.

Everything is just kind of random and imperfect but I really enjoy doing these

I stamped a little watering can on this one but that's the only stamping I've done and some of the white dots you see are acrylic paint

Here's a couple of close ups

What do you think?
I'm pretty pleased with them and becoming addicted to doing these... They make pretty Easter cards too.

Stay safe my friends and keep crafting

~ Ros ~

Cas Mix Up Reminder

Hello!

My goodness the days are flying by and here we are halfway through the March challenge at

CAS Mix Up 

where we are celebrating our 4th Birthday and giving away prizes to 2 lucky winners

$25 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp for Challenge Winner

$25 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp for one random draw of all entries
(must follow rules to be eligible for prizes)

Have you pulled out your acrylic paints yet? There are so many fun ways to use them on your cards and my reminder card (like my first card) is a very simple way

I cut a piece of linen cardstock and using 2 shades of blue acrylic paint together with some white acrylic randomly painted an abstract design allowing some of the linen texture to show through

I did struggle trying to photograph this due to the shine of the faux enamel on the die cut yacht

But it makes a perfect 'guy' card don't you think? And lets face it, not a lot of artistic talent is required to paint this but IRL it does look effective.

Head on over to the blog to see what the team have created to inspire you and don't forget those terrific prizes!

Have a brilliant day

~ Ros ~

CAS Stencil Challenge

Hello there...

The sun is shining here right now and it's lovely, even though the March winds make it quite cool. Ginger cat is taking a chance and sitting in a sun spot Lol!

Today's card is for the CAS Stencil  Challenge

 

It's a little nod to the crazy people out there who are panic buying, clearing supermarket shelves and even stealing from the hospitals following this pandemic. God bless the frontline medical personnel.

 

 

I pounced Versamark through a TH wavy stencil and embossed with black powder

It's not as crisp as ordinary embossing  but still a fun technique to get more out of your stencils

 

 

 The colored leaves are from an old MFT (Build a Bouquet) stamp set, still one of my favourites and the sentiment is from a really old PTI set.

I hope you are having a good day... Thanks so much for popping in

Stay safe

~ Ros ~

 

CAS Watercolour Challenge

Good morning...

You'd be hard pressed to find the 'Irish' theme in today's card unless of course you count the green and gold but the challenge at CAS Watercolour this month is to be inspired by Luck of The Irish

Well the colour green is one of my favourites and it always inspires me

Using Uniko stamps that I won some time ago, I came up with this

Stamped and embossed in a gold mix embossing powder and painted it with the lovely Confection Watercolours by Prima- Okay, so I added a little aqua in there too along with various shades of green. I've been to Ireland and believe me it has more shades of green than you can count

I also painted a die cut dragonfly and added a few white dots... The sentiment was from an Aliexpress set I bought a few years ago.

I hope you are all well, thanks so much for your kind comments
Be safe 

~ Ros ~

Painted Bouquet

Hello there...

How's your week been so far? It's been manic here...The past 2 days have been spent on hospital appointments for my husband, a total of 7 hours in 2 different hospitals is very exhausting. We also got the sad news that his SIL has passed away.

 

I tell 'ya, I was happy to just sit and make a card today

I pulled out my distress oxides to paint this one

... and it relaxed me for awhile.

With so much going on right now I don't have much inspiration - I'm longing for Spring to arrive and warm days when I can sit outside with a cup of tea.... Bliss!  It's seems like winter has been going on forever...

Take care and thanks so much for your lovely comments... I really do appreciate your friendship

~ Ros ~

Cas Mix Up Challenge

Hello and welcome to March!
Happy St David's Day to those who celebrate, my thoughts are with everyone in Wales (and the rest of the UK) who have lost their homes due to the awful floods.
I just wish the rain would stop.

So of course it's the start of a new challenge at the
CAS Mix Up 

We are also celebrating our 4th Birthday!!!
And there are prizes to be won...

$25 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp for Challenge Winner

$25 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp for one random draw of all entries
(must follow rules to be eligible for prizes)
 
Jenny is hosting a fabulous challenge for us- Use Acrylic Paint
She has also provided us with some terrific video tutorial links explaining various processes and ideas.
Now I confess that I craft when inspiration takes me and like to get ahead with DT work if I can so I hadn't watched those videos when I made my cards but you know me... I just like to go with whatever is inside my head

I stamped some bare winter trees in versafine black ink onto cardstock and then using 2 shades of green acrylic paint and a fan brush, I randomly pounced the paint over the trees

I tell 'ya... Anyone can do this and you don't even need a paint brush, you could do this with a sponge. The result really pleased me and the technique means I can use a winter stamp for all seasons which is an added bonus

The acrylic paint adds texture when it's undiluted and of course you could use any colour.
So there you have it, my clean and simple acrylic paint card

I can't wait to see what you all come up with... Check out the super cards from the team and our lovely Guest Designer

Happy crafting - Happy Spring!

~ Ros ~