Mikey's Mom

City Crafter "Perfect Pair"

2012-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love ......

And as it's Tuesday and that means another challenge at City Crafter hosted this week by our lovely creator Kirsty ...

Kirsty has given us this lovely photo and 2 colours to work with for this challenge

The challenge is to create 2 cards ... of the same design ... the main colour has to be as shown in the circles ... but you can use accent colours from the photo ...

Great challenge don't you think? ... Here's what I came up with

I'm struggling with photos lately so I apologise if they are a bit blurred

Seeing the inspiration photo ... I just had to go with dresses

These were cut on the Silhouette as were the cards ... the papers are from my huge box of scraps and forlorn papers ... some that I've had forever and always keep "just in case" ... in this instance the colours were just perfect! And I'm not sure if you can see ... but I even painted the tulle with matching distress stains.

Our Guest Designer this week is Lilia a very talented lady who would love you to visit and say "Hi"

and our generous sponsor this week is Crop Stop ... somewhere else you need to visit ... so many fabulous goods for creating just about anything!

Full details of the challenge and the prize can be found on the City Crafter blog ... along with the creations from our DT and our GD to give you inspiration should you need it ...

Every week we are blown away by your talents and inspired by you! Thanks so much to all of you who support us each week and new visitors are always welcome ... so don't be shy ... come and join us

Enjoy your day

~ Ros ~

Sweet scented pillow ... and Thank you!

2012-02-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Hello...

I have a few people to thank this morning ...

Firstly to my sweet friend Cheryl for this lovely card and birthday gift that arrived last week

A gorgeous card and lots of beautiful things for me to play with... Thank You Cheryl!

Next is to the lovely Cindy for featuring me on her blog this week! Every week Cindy has a link up ... open to anyone for anything that they would like to share ... it's so lovely to see the talent and beautiful creations ... please hop over and take a look and why not link something up yourself?

Thank You Cindy!

And finally I would like to say Thank You to LESSology for awarding me a Top 3 for my frame ...

What a lovely week for me.....

Today I have a little scented pillow to share ...

I used an image from one of my favourite places to visit ...The Graphics Fairy

I printed it straight on to the fabric ... I sprayed a piece of cardstock with re-positional spray and adhered the fabric to it first so it would run through my printer and I was so pleased at the result ... I use a Canon printer and found that the best setting for this was to use "plain paper" ... that way the ink doesn't run or smudge ... Here's a closer look

The beautiful vintage button is from the box Lauren sent me

And just in case you are wondering ... the pillow is filled with wadding and dried lavender ... and I sprayed the wadding with scent first as well ...

I wish you all a lovely day and I'll be back tomorrow with my DT project for CCCB ...

Thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Playing with Prima

2012-02-11T05:17:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

I hope you are well and keeping warm ... My hubby is off to the football match today - rather him than me sitting in the cold!

The sweet girls over at Papercraft Star have a challenge for "Hearts"this week ... ... this is their beautiful inspiration photo

My sweet Aunt is coming to stay in March ... just for a week ... and I want everything to be nice and pretty for her ... so we have decorated a her bedroom and added some new furniture etc., and I made something for one of the walls ... I didn't realise just how difficult it was going to be to photograph so I apologise for the poor quality photos ...

I used some pretty Prima papers for the background and cut out different sized butterflies and a heart using pretty MF paper and just layered them

Really simple I know ... but pretty effective doncha think?

So I'll be linking this up to the challenge ...

And whilst I had these papers to hand I made a little pocket to tuck in some gift vouchers for my SIL who has a birthday next week

So that's it for today ... I hope you have a lovely Sunday ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Handmade vintage ...

2012-02-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

Well I'm pleased to be able to report that I finally got the results on my foot ... seems I have stress fractures in two of my toes ... hence the pain and swelling ... and I have been walking with this for 4 months whilst awaiting the correct diagnosis ... worse still I had the foot manipulated by my Chiropractor ... Yes, it was agony! ... So now I have a special shoe and crutches and all I can do is rest ... Think I can cope with that ... I know it will take up to 12 weeks but by hook or by 'crutch' I will go on my planned cruise in April ...

One of the receptionists at the hospital has been so helpful and I wanted to give her a little something ... I had This set still ... and thought it would be perfect together with a handmade pin cushion

I had this lovely material with sewing details on ...

and I just cut the heart shape free hand

The pretty pin is from sweet June ... and I stamped 'handmade vintage style' straight on to a scrap of the material with stamps from PTI

This is the reverse ... I really enjoy making these so you may see some more in the future

I wish you a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Land of Fairytales ...

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

The new challenge at Pixie Dust Paper has begun and this is the fabulous inspiration photo for you to work with

The theme is "The Land of Fairy Tales"

I toyed for a while with what I should make for this ... so many ideas ... In the end I created this card

A glittery castle with a little princess ... I know my fairy tale came true when my prince was born

But she's such a sweet baby I couldn't resist this image...

I knew that clock face would come in handy some day ... just needed to make some hands for it

The hardest part was knowing when to stop with the embellishments ... Fairy Land know no bounds

Our DT have been working hard to bring you some wonderful projects full of inspiration and I can't wait to see them all ... How about you? ... Are you ready to let your imagination run free? You're more than welcome to come and join us at Pixie Dust Paperie challenge ... We'd love to see you ... and the shop has some amazing goodies for you to work with .... Check out the details and just link up your project ...

I hope to see you there ...

Thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

City Crafter 'Colours of The Rainbow"

2012-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hi!

It's my turn to host at City Crafter this week and the challenge I have for you is all about the colours in a rainbow ... When I was a young school girl ... we were given a saying to help us remember the order of the colours in a rainbow ...

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain"

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo and Violet

The challenge this week is to create a card or project using 3 or more of these colours ...

I went with the brights ... yellow, orange, green and red

Three heart borders cut on the Silhouette and backed with different strips of paper and some liquid pearls ... I'm kind of getting the hang of using them now ... and this is also a great way to use up odd strips of paper too...

We are fortunate to have the lovely Jacira guesting for us again this week and Pixie Dust Paperie is our generous sponsor ... and I know you will love the creations done by our team this week so why not hop over to the blog and take a look ...

I hope you will be able to join us ... thanks for stopping by today

Have a wonderful day

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Spread some love

2012-02-06T04:49:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

I've not been posting much lately ... caught a virus and have not been too well ... but I've been trying to keep up with my visits to you all and delighting in your wonderful creations ..

I'm really loving all the pinks and reds this time of the year evokes ... cards made with love, for love ... So many pretty papers to choose from and so many ways to say I love you, I care about you ... I'm thinking of you ...

Valentines is not just for lovers ... I think it is the perfect time to just let someone know you care ... My card today is for a sweet blog friend who I know will appreciate the thought ... life has been a little rough around the edges lately .. so this is just to let her know that I'm thinking of her ...

Delicious My Minds Eye papers from the Love Me collection ... a little corrugated heart and another cut free hand from the paper collection

one of the best ways to take your mind of your own troubles is to share someone else's ... it instantly make you feel better ... Like Happy mail ... and I received some very Happy Mail from the lovely Lauren ... a belated birthday gift so prettily wrapped ..

With a gorgeous card

Beautiful gifts ... and look at that box!

filled to the brim with buttons!

Thank You Lauren!!

And a Thank You too ... to Jacira for this lovely blog award ...

How blessed I am to have such wonderful friends ...

Have a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

Shabby frame

2012-02-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hello ... are you well?

I am doing so much better since I got my crutches ... much less pain in the foot thank goodness ...

I have a decorated frame to share with you today ... and this actually fit three challenges ...

The lovely team at Papercrafts Star are looking for Rustic this week ... whilst those amazing ladies at CR84FN have this lovely colour palette

and not forgetting the wonderful up-cycling team at LESSology ... where the theme is floral

So here is my project ....

I replaced the little glass insert with thick card and slightly distressed the frame ... then it was ready to decorate

A handmade rose with a gorgeous image from Iralamija's Etsy shop ... how I love her images and she is also running a competition to win 12 collages from the shop ... so I will be linking this up for my chance to win

Some up-cycled corrugated cardboard painted with white acrylic ... a hand cut banner and a few other bits and pieces and this little creation is now in the hands of it's new owner ... my sweet friend Sara ... it is just her colours and style

Thank you so much for stopping by ... and for all your encouraging comments ... I truly appreciate your friendship

Have a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter "You've Got Mail"

2012-01-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey there sweet friends ...

Thanks so much for your kindness and concern ... I'm feeling in a better mood and the hospital have finally given me a pair of crutches to help... See, it's the simple things that make a gal happy!

So here we are with another new challenge at City Crafter ... hosted for us by the lovely Cheryl ...

This week Cheryl wants us to create a project that includes an envelope ... hence the title You've Got Mail

...And I am thrilled to tell you that our Guest Designer this week is my sweet friend Jacira ... Please hop over and give her a big welcome ... Also our generous sponsor this week is Pixie Dust Paperie...

So on to my card .... I made this for a friends' birthday

Those papers I have had for the longest time ... so I am not sure where they are from I think they may be K&Co .... and the lovely envelope was cut on my Silhouette Cameo ... can you tell I am loving this machine?

Flowers are from my stash and the beautiful vellum butterfly is from the set Ira sent me ... how I love these ...

Such a lovely ... easy challenge ... Take a minute to check out the rest of the creations from the team and then why not come and join us ... We love to see your creations and you are what it's all about!

Have a wonderful day

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Jingle belles week 3

2012-01-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Hi ... How are you?

I'm having a bad day today ... Just struggling with the pain in my foot ... I hate to complain .. hey there are people so much worse off than me ... I just think lack of sleep and 4 months of constant pain is getting to me today ... I will at least have some news on the 15th Feb ... but 17days seems such a long time away right now ...

I'm not even happy with my card for this weeks challenge at Jingle Belles ... Am I miserable or what?

This week's challenge is to take our inspiration from the Jingle Belles blog header ... so beautifully designed by the clever and talented Miss Lauren ... So here's my card

glittered coated

You can see I chose to go with the pretty bells ....

Now before I go off and pop some pills in the vain hope that they may help... I just want to say a big Thank You to the gals over at Papercraft Star for picking my book clock Here as the Super Nova winner ... Thanks to Jan of The House Across the Bay for the beautiful images ... and if you've never visited her Etsy store .. click on the link ... there are some lovely images here.

Have yourselves a lovely Sunday

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Altered Diary

2012-01-26T03:33:00.000-08:00

Hello...

Are you one of those people who tend to get diaries given to you for gifts? I don't know why ... but I always seem to get a few... and between you and me ... I never use them ... Unlike my Mum who would write in her diary everyday ...

I try to keep a note of all I need to do etc., on my computer and on those big wall calendars ...

Well, last year my sweet SIL gave me a lovely diary from M&S ... it is so pretty that I didn't want to throw it away ... so I altered it ... I should have photographed it first I know ...

I took the 'innards' out and cut the bottom half off ... that part had the year on ...

This is the actual cover ... all I added to this was the trim

I made a little box base to fit and put in some dividers and Voila!

Now I have a little sewing kit ...

All I needed to add was some paper, lace a pretty doily and some ribbon to hold it shut

Cute huh?

I also got some happy mail yesterday - a birthday present from my lovely friend Kirsty ...

Look how lovely this is wrapped! And inside is her beautiful card and this cute little purse

Beautiful!

And the sweetest kitty! Surrounded by tiny little butterflies ...

Thank You Kirsty!

And I can tell you that I saw a consultant last night about my swollen sore foot ... He seems to think I do have a fracture even though it does not show on the x ray ... so I am having an MRI scan next week ... Yipee! Finally something is getting done .. I wont have any results until the 15th Feb ... but I've waited 4 months now so I think I can cope for another 2 weeks ...

Now I have to get my project for Thursday club organised ... I can't let them down ... sore foot or not!

Have a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Sketch Challenge

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how quick Tuesday comes around ... But here we are with a brand new challenge at City Crafter ... chosen and hosted for us by our lovely Linda ... this week is a sketch challenge and Linda has given us a great sketch to work with ...

Once again we are fortunate to have Lizzie Droege as our Guest Designer and Pixie Dust Paperie as our wonderful sponsors ...

It's my hubby birthday in a couple of weeks so I made this card for him ... he doesn't check my blog so it won't spoil the surprise

I used the new Portobello Road papers from PaperMania ... not too girly ... and that lovely heart peg came from Stella ... My DH loves aeroplanes ... so I added this little charm ... This is the first time I managed to machine stitch around a circle without making a mess ...

... and just so you can see that I kept to the sketch ... here's the card without the 'Love You' tag on ...

Don't forget to pop over to the blog to check out the rest of the DT projects this week ... and if you have the time ... we'd love for you to play along with us ...

Till soon ... keep safe

~ Ros ~

Quick card

2012-01-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend ... and a good start to the week ...

Normally I would be at Pilates on Monday mornings but I haven't been for ages due to my foot problem ... which is no better ... But I caught up with my Pilates buddies for lunch today ... My friend Joyce has a birthday on Wednesday so that was the excuse to meet up ... I can't show you her card yet ... (it's also for one of my DT projects) ... but it suddenly dawned on me that her wedding anniversary is the very same day as her birthday so I had to make a quick card last night ... Thank goodness for my Silhouette!

This came together quite quickly

The card was cut on the Silhouette ... a burst of hearts ... all I needed to do was add some backing paper and embellish it ... Her favourite colour is blue so I used Eline's Huis paper ... one of the last pieces of a pad sent to me last year by my sweet friend Stella ... and then some ribbon and lots of liquid pearls

The stamp is from one of my favourite sets by WaltzingMouse

I know the pin looks a little dangerous ... but don't worry ... I always add an end to them ... I find those little earring backs work perfectly and the pin can then be taken off the card and used.

That's all for today ...

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments ... I'll be back tomorrow for the new challenge at CCCB ... I hope you can join me ...

Have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Just my imagination.....

2012-01-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

It's cold and windy here and the last few days we've been having our radiators replaced ... So what's a girl to do to keep warm but turn her thoughts to Spring time and let her imagination run wild ... If you have time to spare, come with me ... into my imagination and see what transpired

A Spring time clock ... made from an old book

Guess it fits the Anything Goes challenge ...

.. And Crop Stop challenge is looking for something vintage, distressed or Shabby Chic ...

I used my Spell Binders to cut those frames and distressed one with Antique linen stain

So it also fits the challenge at Papercrafts Star

But it just started out as a folded book to take along to my forthcoming talk at the WI ... and took a slight diversion ... I did half the book and adhered it to cardboard ... sprinkled it with glitter and for some reason a clock popped into my head ... So using a broken chain and some redundant Christmas ornaments as pendulums ...

It just developed from there ... adding flowers and leaves

and a gorgeous butterfly from Ira ... the clock face I found on the web and added a brad to the centre ...

I know there are lots of photos ... I thought I would have trouble taking them because this is quite big ... but I found this beautiful over the door hanger yesterday which really helped ... see how pretty it is

I hope you are having a warm and lovely weekend ...

Thanks for joining me today ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Little Album

2012-01-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

I had a call last week from a lady at the WI (Womens Institute) ... asking if I would do a talk for them and perhaps have them create a little something ... Wow! Seems one of my friends mentioned my book houses ... So the talk I will be giving in April will be about books ... creating them ... and the many ways to use unwanted books ... after which I shall get each of them to make one of these

As I sold a lot of these last year .. I need to get cracking and make some more to show together with a few other things ... so yesterday I made a little album which will be going to my sweet SIL ... using a little book I picked up for a £1 ...

One of the things I thought I'd show them, is how you can transform this sweet little book ...

into a keepsake when the children have no more use of it

I warn you now that there are quite a few photos

Of course this album is all about Sophia ... and I used Prima's Jack and Jill papers throughout .. mine was a 6x6 pad I had but the large papers are available at Pixie Dust Paperie too

There are some MF embellishments here too and bits and bobs from my stash

Some of these embellies I have had for ages ... so nice to be able to use them up

She's growing up fast ...

... and is quite a dare devil!

... even with her tongue out she's cute! And I added a little envelope for my SIL to put her own notes in

How I love to look at fat little books... Yep, this will definitely look more interesting on a coffee table ...

Before I go I just want to show you some "happy birthday mail" I got yesterday from lovely Linda Robinson

Such a beautiful card and just look at that fabric wrapping!

What gorgeous gifts! I LOVE them!

Thanks so much Linda ... You are a treasure!

Well that's all for today ... Thanks for stopping by ... Have a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Week 92

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

"Pretty Inside and Out"

That's the challenge this week at City Crafter ... hosted by our lovely Kirsty ... The challenge is to make a card - as pretty on the inside as the outside ...

Our Guest Designer this week is Lizzie Droege ... not just a talented crafter ... but her love of all things pink, pretty and pastel ... make her blog one of the prettiest around ... Well worth a visit!

Ok, so on to my card

Sweet Prima papers, a die cut frame with some distress ink on the edges ... some pretty lace, rhinestones , flower and yes black leaves ...

And that gorgeous vellum butterfly was from a set my friend Ira sent me ...

And this is the inside ...

Not overly decorated ... I like the cleanness of this ... again prima papers and those pretty corner pieces were also a gift from the lovely Ira

So, are you going to join the challenge this week? ... I'd love to see your creations ... I do hope you'll hop over to the blog and take a peek at the lovely creations from Lizzie and the rest of the DT

Have a wonderful day ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Jingle Belles week 2

2012-01-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

I've had a busy weekend ... how about you?

My DH doesn't do things by halves here ... when he gets it into his head to decorate ... he can't stick to one room ... we have to do at least 3 things at once ... so I have had to come up with colours, papers and paint ... and I can't tell you how many stores I've visited looking for a suite to sit on ... and it's sooo cold here.

So in between all this ... doctors appointments and trying to keep up with my DT projects ... I finally got to make my card for this weeks' challenge at Jingle Belles Rock ... My sweet friend Kirsty is guesting this week and has given us a sketch challenge ... and she is also giving away one of the lovely Pixie Dust Paperie kits! Head over to Jingle Belles blog for all the details ...

I confess I am struggling to get into Christmas cards again ... I kind of just want to leave Christmas behind and head towards Spring ...

Anyway here's my card ...

I cut an aperture using a Spell Binders die and backed it with some scrap paper from the last of my MF Christmas paper ... The branch and birdie were cut on my Silhouette and I glittered the branch and leaves

I think I need to invest in a new camera ... my photos always seem blurry ...

On another note ... my sweet Aunt rang to see if I was still happy to go on our cruise after seeing the Costa Concordia tragedy ... I've seen this ship quite a few times when I have been in Palma ... my heart goes out to everyone affected by this ... But I am still determined to go to Norway ... What will be will be...

I need to dash ... I hope you all have a lovely day ... I'll be back tomorrow

Thanks for stopping by today

~ Ros ~

Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a kind of sweet and sour day ... It was my birthday ... but also one of those days when wonder if you've landed in another dimension ... when nothing is as you planned and very quickly everything starts going downhill ... It was the one morning I didn't read my 365 day devotional ... I should have ... because when I read it I would have know it was going to be one of 'those' days

Quote from January 12

Let me prepare you for the day that stretches out before you. I know exactly what this day will contain whereas you only have a vague idea .......

.......... I will not show you the road ahead but I will equip you for the journey ....

Perhaps the cat (now legally adopted by us, I might add) howling from 6am to 7:30 should have alerted me ... then again it should have been when I walked down the stairs admiring my newly decorated walls ... only to see huge great marks on the paper ... But, No - I remained optimistic ... these things could (and would) be fixed ... It's my birthday ... All will be well ... And my friends were coming today ...

Have you ever put washing in your machine only to find someone left a tissue in a pocket and everything is covered in fibres? Well that was the next thing to happen ... except it wasn't a tissue ... is was a throw ... and all the washing was covered in a trillion fibres ... At this point I was beginning to think I'd slept a day ... surely this was Friday 13th?...

But it was seeing the only room in the house - where I had planned to sit and chat with my friends, put up my cards and display my flowers ... had been painted ... Yep, painted ... by my husband... It was then that a great big lump rose in my throat ...

But things picked up ... My so apologetic DH fixed up the room for my guests ... and everyone and I do mean everyone ... decorators included ... turned up at the same time!!??

So yes lots of things went wrong'(I'm not even going to get on the subject of my hospital appointment ... nor how a container of sugar ended up on my floor) ...

But then lots of good things happened too ... I had a visit from friends from the old neighbourhood ... and my old work friend too ... I had lovely bouquets of flowers

Fabulous cards ... including this gorgeous handmade card from Cindy all the way from New Orleans

and these beauties from Stella

together with some prettily wrapped packages

ok ... there was another one but I was impatient and opened it before I thought to take a picture ... so here are the contents

Just look at the gorgeous bracelet

And as well as all this ... CCCB put a post on especially for me and my lovely DT colleagues made me beautiful cards ...

"Thank You"

To all of you ...

To all of you who left messages on Facebook ... all of you who sent e-cards ... all of you who emailed and to all of you who left comments and birthday wishes ... you are the nicest most thoughtful people on the planet and I really appreciate your friendship

Have a Wonderful Day

~ Ros ~

Cr84FN challenge

2012-01-11T05:56:00.000-08:00

It's been positively ages since I entered a challenge at CR84FN ... due to other commitments I don't always have the time ... but these last few days we have the decorators in, which means someone has to be here and it's always me ... I think my husband was a gipsy in a former life ... he just can't stay indoors. But of course that gives me more time to play ... This is a card for a sweet friend of mine who is now in her 80's and has a birthday very soon ...

The colour combo at CR84FN this week are Blue Orange Yellow and this is the lovely vibrant photo

My card is quite a simple one ...

The little bird is a transparency from a book a bought ages ago ... trouble is everything sticks to it so if you see little marks ... it is bits of glitter from the frame

Those pretty little pearls were a gift from sweet Suzz

and the lovely pin is handmade from my lovely friend June who also sent me these

... a lovely handmade ornament

... and this adorable tiny decorated cotton reel with beautiful pins

Thank you June ...

Now I have to go make a cup of tea for the workers ... have yourselves a lovely day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter 'Back to Black"

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello

This week it's my turn to host the challenge at City Crafter ... It's not always easy to come up with a challenge and sometimes I really have to get my thinking cap on ... But having seen so many creations with silhouettes on ... I thought that would make a great challenge for this week ... So I am challenging you to make a card or project with a silhouette on ... this can be a die cut ... a stamp ... whatever you choose BUT it must be Black ... Quite simple really ...

My card was made for my friends daughter who recently celebrated her 24th birthday... the image was cut on my Silhouette Cameo ... as was the frame ... and the papers are from Basic Grey

... a handmade flower and an pretty earring (sans the back), together with some rhinestones finish this card off ...

We have a fabulous Guest Designer this week ... the lovely June Houck ... one of the sweetest people in Blog Land ... and our sponsor this week is Crop Stop ... head over to the City Crafter blog for full details of this weeks prize and to see all the lovely projects done by our Design Team and our Guest Designer ...

I hope you can join in with us this week

Till soon .. keep safe

~ Ros ~

Flashback Friday

2012-01-09T02:32:00.000-08:00

Now this is a challenge I've never entered before ... Flashback Friday ... what a fun idea ... all you have to do is share your first CAS card ... ok so we have all grown in our creative journey ... and sometimes looking back at our 'firsts' .. well that can make us groan ... excuse the pun! But nevertheless ... I am prepared to share my first CAS card from August 2010

All digital with a stamp, some buttons and some stickles

and that's still one of my favourite digital stamps ... Pink Petticoat wisps

Also ... some of you have kindly commented on my new blog header ... well I should firstly thank Vintagemadeforyou ... a great blog site that offers free backgrounds and headers ... I chose the initial header and then played around in Print Shop with some fabulous images from The Graphics Fairy to make my new header ... I am not that fluent with blogger but somehow I managed to create this new header so I am delighted that you like it ...

I'm off to meet the girls for coffee this morning ... still no Pilates for me yet ...

Have a wonderful day ... see you tomorrow

~ Ros ~

Pixie Dust Paperie News

2012-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have some wonderful news to share with you ...

I am thrilled to say that I am one of the new DT members for Pixie Dust Paperie challenges! Yay!!

Each month I will be sharing a project along side the other new DT members (yet to be announced) to hopefully inspire you ...

Pixie Dust Paperie offer fabulous kits and embellishments for scrappers and card makers alike ... you can now even purchase mini kits ... and the prices are extremely competitive ... don't be put off by postage charges either ... the rates to the to the UK are so much lower than most companies. So go take a look ...

This month's challenge is called Love Notes ... Create a project for Valentines Day, OR a project with a heart(s) ... There is a $15 gift voucher for the winner ... so hop over to the blog for full details

The Prima (Jack & Jill) from Snow Shoe was just perfect for this card ... I just came up with that sentiment and printed it straight onto the paper ...

The heart I cut in 3 sizes and just stitched them together and the box was made on my Silhouette ...

Valentine's Day will soon be upon us so get creative and join us at Pixie Dust Paperie ...

Thanks for stopping by ... Have a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Christmas Gift ...

2012-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

I don't have anything crafty to share today ... well... I spent a couple of days working on a new wintery heart wreath ... which I was going to enter at Papercrafts Star this week... But so far it has been impossible to photograph ... well not impossible ... but I am unable to get a decent shot no matter what I do ... so I have given up on that one ...

Instead I would like to share with you one of my favourite Christmas presents from a dear friend ...

Two books ... "Meditations for Women who do too much" (she knows me so well!) and "Jesus Calling .. a 365 Day Devotional"

Now I would not class myself as an overly religious person (if that be possible) ... but I do have my faith and I do study Practical Philosophy ... and yes I have fallen out with my God many times in my life and questioned my faith ... But I need faith in my life ... of that I have no doubt ... and these two books suit me down to the ground ... and I can very much recommend them.

Both books have a short page for each day ... easy to read and digest ... I look forward to taking time out to read both of them each day ... my peaceful time ... I recognise myself in the daily meditation book with every page ... For example ...

Common Sense ...

"Quote"

"Did you ever stop to think ... we women who do too much, wouldn't be able to do too much if we weren't competent, strong, intelligent, courageous and determined? We might however, be a bit lacking in common sense"

You see common sense tells us when to quit ... but do we? I know it is something I have had to teach myself...

And ... Jesus Calling ... It's easy to understand and it warms my heart ... it tells me that I shouldn't feel guilty when I quit ... That I can take off the many coats I often wear ... guilt, anger, pain, frustration ... all of which weigh me down at times ... I can take them off because God is my burden bearer (Jan 3rd)

This is just a small quote from the book (Jan 6th) ...

"Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for my glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind open to all that I am doing in your life."

Pretty profound huh? ... but it is often all too easy to see the not so good things in our lives and not appreciate the good things we have ...

For me these books compliment each other perfectly ...
A gift I shall treasure

Enjoy your day

~ Ros ~

Wild weather

2012-01-05T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hello

We've been having wild weather here these past few days ... Very high winds and rain ... my garden looks a mess this morning ... the bird table down and the trellis arch in pieces ... In the southern part of the UK I think it is much worse and some have lost their lives to the storms so I am grateful we are ok here.

A few days ago we learned that a dear friend and colleague had sadly died ... In my opinion there are very few typical English gentlemen left ... Mike was certainly one of these ... it is a sad loss ... and I needed to make a card ...

This digital stamp from Pink Petticoat is my go to stamp for these occasions ... and as I had cut a few cards on the silhouette ... this came together quite quickly and simply

It does say ... sincere condolences ... my bow kind of hides the sentiment on these photos ...

And you may be interested to know that Pink Petticoat is having a sale at the moment ... worth taking a look ...

On a lighter note ... My husband and I had a lovely anniversary dinner last night ... (braving the storms) ... Thank you so much for your kind wishes ... and Thank You to my friend Cindy Adkins who made me a blog button ... actually she did 3 for me and it was hard to choose one!

Pssst! ... it's her birthday today ... so if you get a chance go leave her some love ...

I hope you have a lovely day and keep safe!

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter "Save the Date ..."

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello ...

Happy 2012!

I hope you are all doing well ... survived the hustle and bustle and the celebrations ...

We are back in full swing here at City Crafter with a brand new challenge from our lovely Cheryl who this week is asking us to create a card or project incorporating either a month, day or year or a combination of all 3 ...

We have a digital Stamp sponsor this week Bugaboostamps which I know many of you are familiar with .... They have a huge range of stamps from the more classic (which I chose) to the more fun variety ... and they are ever growing ...

Please take a moment to visit CCCB and read all about our sponsor and the prize this week and check out all the projects ... We each got to chose a stamp to play with ...

It's my wedding anniversary tomorrow ... We were the first couple to marry in the millennium on the lovely island of Cyprus so I made this card for my hubby ...

keeping to just 2 main colours .. I used the Butterfly digital stamp ... re-coloured it and printed it in various sizes which I then cut and layered ... My card shape was cut on my Silhouette and backed with BG paper which I've had forever!

I used liquid pearls around the heart ... and that beautiful flower brad (which just happens to fit my colours perfectly) came from Pixie Dust Paperie ...

Now it's over to you ... I hope you will join us this week ... I can't wait to see what you create ...

Wishing you a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Jingle Belles week 1 and Happy New Year

2011-12-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

The year long Christmas card challenge has started again at Jingle Belles Rock ... if you stuck with it last year - like me you will have have made 48 cards by the end of December ...

It seems really weird that I still have cards hanging up from this Christmas and here we are thinking about next Christmas!

And a lesson learned ... each of my cards cost around 75pence to mail ... that's a lot of money! So this year I am hoping to keep things simple ... Well I'm hoping!

So ... This weeks prompt is "No time like the Present ..." ... use wrapping paper on your project ...or... make a holiday card with an image of present(s) on it ... There is plenty of inspiration on the blog if you dare to join in ...

I chose to use wrapping paper ... silver wrapping paper ... which of course is virtually impossible to photograph ... Duh!

I made 2 cards ... one using a shape cut from my Silhouette ...

The background is black paper which I misted with Mister Huey's calico white mist ...

This shot may be better

The second card is done the same way but I made one of those little folded trees

The sentiments I hand wrote with a white gel pen ... I promise you they look much nicer IRL ...

I'm off to prepare for a dinner dance we are attending tonight with some friends ...

May I take this opportunity to wish all my dear blog friends a

Happy New Year

May 2012 bring you and your loved ones Peace, Happiness, Good Health and Love

Thank you for your friendship ... for all your wonderful comments which continue to inspire me and cheer me

Keep safe

~ Ros ~

January Birthday

2011-12-30T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas may have come and gone for another year ... but the birthday card list is just beginning... This is one I made for a friend who has a birthday very soon

I used my Silhouette to cut this card ... the fancy cut really doesn't need much adding to it

I used a scrap of Basic grey paper on the front of the card and a sheet of paper from the Paper Cellar to the inside of the card...

... a handmade flower together with a Prima flower and lots of liquid pearls ... Love that stuff but sometimes it takes a while to master ...

It's a wet and dreary day here ... so photographing things is not easy ...

I also received more Happy Mail today .... from my friend Sylvia Nelson ... one of her lovely handmade cards

and two beautiful tags ...

Aren't they lovely?

Thanks so much Sylvia ... I love them

Wishing you all a wonderful day ... thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Happy Mail and Strange happenings

2011-12-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

A while ago I contributed a few short stories to a book written by sweet Cindy Adkins ... Angel stories... and I have many untold ones ... Things that I can't explain ... if you are reading this Cindy ... here's a new one for you...

A couple of days ago my back went into spasm again ... more than likely due to my limping ... I've been trying to get my appointment with the foot specialist for ages ... so all in all I don't sleep too well and I'm often up in the night trying to relieve my foot pain or my stiff back ...

The night before last I was in a fair bit of pain and lack of sleep was not helping ... after being awake for several hours I finally fell asleep asking God to please help me out here. The next thing I knew I felt immense pain shoot through my foot ... someone ... something ... was manipulating my foot ... I swear to you I had no control over the movements and it was agony ... I was wriggling about trying to pull away yet I couldn't ... But ... after that ... my foot pain eased and I am no longer limping ... and I can't explain it at all ...

Today I finally get the call I am waiting for ... the hospital with an appointment for me ... the earliest appointment they have? 12th January ... which just happens to be my birthday ... so ok ... I've had worse ... I actually had major surgery on my 40th ... so I accept the appointment only to find out that my foot consultant is called Doctor Toe ... "You're having a laugh ... " I say to the lady on the phone ... but no, she is serious ... Sometimes Angels have a sense of humour!

And to cheer me further ... I got not one but two Happy Mail packages today ...
I was fortunate enough to win a lovely stamp pack from the ever so talented Suzanne Czosek
This set ...

and it arrived today ... but look what came with it ...

One of her fabulous cards ... and ... all this

Look at this ribbon lace

Sue, Thank you ever so much ... You are one lovely lady ... I am thrilled to bits!

The other package came quite unexpectedly from my dear friend Ira ... I fell in love with her latest card and little did I know it was winging it's way over to me ...

I absolutely adore this and I am going to put it in a frame

along with it came 2 beautifully wrapped gifts ... for my upcoming birthday ... I just had to open them ...

Look at this ...

A gorgeous stamp set and the most stunning dimensional butterfly stickers

Thank You Ira ... I am beyond delighted at your thoughtfulness ...

Thank you to the Angels both earthly and ethereal who have shown me humour when I'm down, and kindness when I most need it ...

Have a lovely Day

~ Ros ~

Christmas Album

2011-12-28T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hi ... How are you? ...
Things are getting back to normal here ... the shops are full with people looking for a bargain in the sales ... alas I have been unable to join them ...
I just have a little time to post before my brother and SIL arrive with Ross ... It's been ages since I saw him and I am so looking forward to his visit ...
You may remember that my sweet friend Kirsty sent me some lovely Pixie Dust Paperie goodies for Christmas ... amongst them were some pretty Christmas papers and stickers ... and I used them to make a little album together with the brown paper lunch bags she sent me some months ago ... I took the idea from a lovely album made by the talented Melissa Samuels ... using 4 lunch bags which gives lots of pockets for putting things into ... lots of photos here

This is the front ... how I love the keys in this kit

all these papers and stickers are from the kit

That gorgeous yoyo was from my friend Jeanneke

How pretty is this rose trim from Pixie Dust? And Kirsty even put in a bag of pretty butterflies

Lots of my frames are cut with my Silhouette as is the reindeer .. and see that beautiful silver crocheted snowflake? Yep, from the talented Jeanneke again

Of course all the papers are double sided so picking what to use is the only problem with these kits ... but they all co-ordinate perfectly

You can just make out the pockets ... ready to stuff with pictures

And quite by chance ... I see that Kirsty has also made a Christmas album using the new kit "Christmas in Paris" ... so why don't you hop over and take a look at her beautiful work too ...

Thanks so much for stopping by today ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter ... Making the Cut

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello and a very Good Morning to you all ...

Did you have a good Christmas? Are you ready to sneak out into your craft room and join in a new challenge?

Well this week at City Crafter we have sweet Linda Robinson hosting for us and she has come up with a fabulous challenge ...

"Making the Cut"

Linda wants to see some kind of paper cutting on your project this week ... it can be paper piecing, fussy cutting etc., This is the inspirational photo for you

Beautiful huh?

So ... I went with paper piecing for this challenge and used another owl stamp ... well it's my son's birthday in a couple of days ... he'll be 29 on the 29th .. so an owl card for him

This is a Hero Arts digital stamp ... and my little owl is all paper pieced ... his wing printed twice and adhered with foam to give a little dimension

... and of course he needed a sparkly crown ... I know I added a bow but I don't think my son will mind

This week we have Sylvia Nelson guesting for us again ... and Pixie Dust Paperie are kindly sponsoring us ...Please take a moment to check out the blog Here and see all the creations from Sylvia and the DT ...

I hope you can play along with us

Have a lovely day ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

Hello ... I'm just popping in to wish you all a Wonderful Christmas ...

May the Peace and Love of this season bless you all ....

~ Ros ~

Not so wise owl ...

2011-12-21T04:09:00.000-08:00

Hello there ...

At this time of year I seem to have quite a few birthdays to remember ... and my memory is not always as good as it used to be! Suffice to say I forgot one ... the husband of one of my friends ... actually I did remember ... but only at 9pm that night ... Oh well...better late than never huh?

So a hastily made card ...

... A Hero Arts digital owl ... With a computer generated sentiment

paper-pieced using Basic grey papers and a little painting on the branch using distress stains

... and the inside

I think I'm forgiven ...

Have a lovely day

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter ... Winter White

2011-12-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

Good morning ...

Our lovely Kirsty is setting the challenge for us this week at City Crafter ... and keeping in with the winter theme, she has challenged us to make a card or project having the main colour as white

this is her lovely inspirational photo

... and the perfect time to make my little stocking for the mantle ...

This is a chipboard stocking from a pack I bought last year...

I painted it first with white acrylic and then covered it in Core'dination pure white CS which I added a generous amount of glitter too

... added some snowflakes and rhinestones ...

cut some felt ... and I'm not sure if you can see ... I used a little wire brush on the felt ... it makes it really fluffy ... all that was needed now was some ribbon, a few crystal drops and a sprig of holly

... and we're good to go!

This week we are lucky to have Sylvia Nelson Guest designing once again and sweet Stella sponsoring for us... Don't say I told you but ... I happen to know that Stella has created something really special for the winner this week too!

So I hope you will hop on over to the blog and check out the rest of the DT work and if you need a little break from all those Christmas preparations ... then why not take a little time to join us this week... we'll be so happy to see you ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Little Angel

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

When I saw this beautiful angel on the Graphics Fairy ... well it was love at first sight ... I knew it would make the perfect Christmas card for my friend and neighbour Helen ...

A slightly different pocket card and a glittered from ... both done on my Silhouette

... But I couldn't stop there ... nooo

See I have a friend who celebrates her birthday on Christmas day ... so I used the same image to make a birthday card

... maybe it's a little too Christmassy?

... what do you think?

Then I went on to make two more of my "Hug Books" ...

This time I covered them in fabric ... but still used that lovely angel

The ring clips on this one are too big really ... I have smaller ones on order

... and I'm still not tired of this little angel ...

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy ...

I'm linking this up to their Brag Monday this week

On a different note ... I went for more blood tests today followed by X rays on my poor foot ... here's hoping it will finally be sorted ...

I'll be back tomorrow with my DT project for City Crafter ... hope you'll be able to drop by ...

Have a lovely day and keep safe

~ Ros ~

Birthday wishes

2011-12-18T03:52:00.000-08:00

Today one of my nephews celebrates his birthday ... just a CAS card this time

This image actually came from Silhouette studio .. one of the print and cut range .. I just loved the bicycle and sentiment and thought it would be ideal for a masculine card

Happy Birthday Alan ...

As you know this week at City Crafter the challenge is to make or alter a book ... well a while ago my sweet aunt asked me to make some little sticky note holder books so she could give them as thank you gifts ...

These pretty papers are Eline's Huis .. Roses are Red ... and I made the little charms

Being the end of the year ... I added diaries this time too ...

You still have time to enter this weeks' challenge if you feel like a break from the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas... Can't believe we are only a week away!!

Thanks so much for visiting ... enjoy your day and stay safe

~ Ros ~

More gifts ...

2011-12-16T04:19:00.000-08:00

Hello ... are you well?

What a busy time of year it is ... and right now it has started to snow here ...

I have a few gifts to share ... some to give and some I received ...

As an alternative to the little bags on This post ... I made some boxes for my friends from Pilates ...

glittered them up and filled them with some lovely little biscuits ...

... gave them each a battery operated candle to put in later

... they were thrilled!

This week I have received some lovely goodies from you sweet blog friends ... My hubby is very taken with all the foreign stamps!

This beauty came all the way from Brazil ... from sweet Jacira ...

Her cards are always so pretty ... full detail and a joy to own ... Thank you my sweet friend

This fabulous set came from none other than the lovely Linda Robinson ... Wow! what beauties ... I adore that cute reindeer ... and I've always wondered what that Tazo tasted like and those Ghiraradelli squares ... now I can find out!

Thank you my friend!

Then this arrived from my dear friend Deb Hickman ... one day we will meet up ... we are only about 100 miles from each other...

Now I was going to save this till Christmas day ... but I couldn't resist ...

Look at these ...

Have you ever seen anything like it? ... Button Soaps!! Just about as cute as can be!

Thank you so much Deb ... they are gorgeous!

Now it's time for a coffee and then I am going to pay you all a visit ...

Have a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

More Cards

2011-12-14T04:47:00.000-08:00

Hello

Well we were told to expect severe gales last night ... but so far we have been lucky here and they missed us out ... tonight we are on another alert ...

I think I have almost finished my Christmas cards ... just need to do one for my hubby and one for my son ... funny how I always seem to leave them till last ...

This one is for my brother Bill ...

and my DH asked me to make some pocket cards for some of the ladies he used to work with

Must admit ... these are my favourite kind of cards at the moment ... but I'm sure you know that

Those pretty doilies came from my friend Stella

I'll share some little gifts with you later in the week ... right now I have to move around ... my back is really hurting and after 2 months I am still limping ... the arthritis in my foot causes me to limp which puts my back out ... so tomorrow I am seeing my Chiropractor and friday ... seeing the GP for a referral to the foot consultant ... other than that ... everything is good!

Hope you are having a good day

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Get Booked

2011-12-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Good Morning ...

It's cold here ... freezing cold ... and I'm happy to be tucked up in my creative space right now

It's my turn to host this weeks challenge at City Crafter and this week I am asking you to either make a book ... album, tag book, journal etc., or alter a book ... I adore books ... from reading them to making them ... and I have been busy making these little gifts for some of my friends ...

I can't take all the credit for these little books though - not for the first time I was inspired after reading Stef's Link loves each Thursday and came across This link .. where the idea came from and a free download of the quotes too ... so grateful thanks to Michele

I have friends from all walks of life ... some are Christians, some not ... some have children ... some don't ...So I adapted each book accordingly... adding some bible quotes for my Christian friends and adding some with children in mind for those who have children ... I decided to do my own pages using my digital files

Here are some of the quotes I printed ...

and some bible quotes

Once they are saved on my computer, I can just print them off whenever I need to

.. and what to put them in ... well I used my Silhouette to make these and lined them with acetate

I also put in a little battery candle so that when the books were taken out ... the bag could be used as a decoration ...

So there we have it ... are you going to join us this week at City Crafter?

We have the very talented Sylvia Nelson Guesting for us so please stop by her blog and say "Hi" and don't forget to visit the rest of the DT to see their fabulous creations too ...

Have a Wonderful Day

~ Ros ~

Welcome

2011-12-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hello ...

Please come on in .....

You go through ... I'll close the door

Pass the stairway along the hall ...

This little guy says "Hi"

here's the tree ... much nicer in the dark of the evening

and the mantlepiece has no stocking up yet

This little guy lights up to see you

Please sit down ... I'll make some tea

These guys are a little shy ...

But they'll happily play you a tune ...

... and these little ones are so happy to see you

Time to go?

It was so nice of you to stop by ... I hope you'll come again

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Happy Mail

2011-12-10T03:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday to you ...

We're expecting snow here but so far no sign... maybe I should get out and do some shopping before it arrives...

Yesterday I spent the day putting up my tree and decorating our home - I'll share some photos soon
For now I just want to share some happy mail

Look at this lovely box of marzipan! How I love marzipan ... and I won this from Barbara... it came all the way from her trip to Budapest ... she's a prolific traveller!

Thanks so much Barbara!

Then I received this huge package from my lovely friend Kirsty which contained a kit of goodies from her Pixie Dust Paperie ... I just kept staring at everything ... so much stuff and all so beautiful

Oh me, oh my, I'm in heaven!

And with this kit came a beautiful card ... the photo really doesn't do it justice

So very lovely ...

Thank You soooooo much Kirsty ... I really appreciate your kindness and your friendship

And last but not least ... Thank you to Lori for picking me as one of the winners on her "Visions of Sugarplums" ... I get to pick 2 collage sheets from Iralamija's Etsy shop!! That's going to be a hard choice!

I hope you are having a happy Saturday too ...

Catch you soon ... thanks so much for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Birthday Wishes

2011-12-08T06:07:00.000-08:00

Today is my friends' birthday ...

When it came to making her card ... I had no inspiration at all ... my 'mojo' had deserted me ... I was beginning to panic - knowing there were only a few days to go ... So I decided to get out my new Silhouette Cameo and try and familiarise myself with it ... that's when the mojo kicked in again ...

... and with the help of my cameo her card was done!

The only things that doesn't show up on my photos is the glitter

I used TH distress stain in weathered wood to convert my '60' and the scroll to that gorgeous blue colour ... and I even used it on my white ribbon ... as you can see the ribbon worked beautifully

Phew! I'm so glad I got that done ... I'm off to visit her now so I'll catch you later

Have wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Lessology Challenge ....

2011-12-07T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hello there ...

This week the DT of City Crafter Challenge were invited to join in the challenge at LESSology "You've Got Mail"

We were asked to create a project using anything related to mail ... and as always there has to be a recycled or up cycled item in your project ... I chose to up cycle an envelope

This is how it was ... and I made use of the 'window' in there to create a desk calendar for my husband

I cut the envelope to make 2 pockets ... one to hold the current month and one to hold the rest of the calendar cards ... the envelope had this pretty pattern on the inside which I went with

This pocket is attached to the back of the window pocket so that he can just slide out the new month as and when

Thank you to the ladies at Lessology for inviting me

This was fun to make and hubby likes it too!

If you would like to join in the challenge head over to LESSology and take in all the wonderful inspiration on offer.... and go visit the rest of the City Crafter DT to see there wonderful projects

Have a wonderful day

Keep safe

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Home for the Holidays

2011-12-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends

A new challenge at City Crafter begins today and Cheryl is hosting for us this week...

The challenge she has set for us is to either

make a card with a 'Home' on or make a Home Decor project

I chose to go with the Home Decor and took my inspiration from Here ... though mine is not a favor box just a decoration ...

I used the cardboard from a kitchen roll for the log ... used TH distress stains to paint the ends first then covered it with the paper printed from the Martha Stewart site

Decorating it was easy .. using bits of Christmas decorations and a tiny little robin with a little nest... then lots of Diamond Dust for the 'snow' ... even his nest feathers are frosted ... awww!

and for the end of the log ... I took some crepe paper ... painted that with inks and stuffed it into each end of the roll ... so simple!

So now it's your turn to "Wow" us with your creations ...

We have a wonderful Guest Designer this week ... sweet Rebekah Faries who makes the most beautiful vintage cards ... her blog is well worth a visit ...

And our generous sponsor this week is my lovely Dutch buddy ... Stella ... you won't want to miss the chance to win the gift on offer this week!

So now all you have to do is go visit the blog ... check out the projects, the fabulous prize and get crafting...

See you there!

~ Ros ~

A Cold Monday ...

2011-12-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness it is so cold here ... we have hail storms, wind, rain ... you name it!

I don't like this weather at all ... and I have so much to do before Christmas ... more presents to buy, cards to send ... etc., etc.,

Tomorrow is our last class for this year at Philosophy and as one of our group is leaving to go back home to London ... we are all going out to dinner ... I got a little book for him on Meditation and made him a card and matching envelope too

Making masculine things can often be difficult .. so I stuck with a pocket card and a lovely image from Madebyjanet

And used plain wrapping paper with some sheet music for the present and the card

I think these look ok for a guy ... what do you think?

Have yourselves a warm and happy day ... I'll be back tomorrow with my DT project for City Crafter Challenge ... hope you can stop by ...

Thanks so much for your lovely comments

Till soon

~ Ros ~

The Netherlands ...

2011-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

I love the Netherlands ....

In fact I think I would like to live there ... Not that I've ever been ...

But they have wonderful traditions ... Like welcoming Saint Nicholas on 5th December...

They have the prettiest tulips and the sweetest of people...

People like my dear friend Stella who just sent me this package

which contained this ...

...beautiful die cuts and a huge letter "R" made of chocolate ... another of their lovely traditions

And would you believe that on the very same day, this arrived?

A traditional Dutch Christmas card, a handmade tea light holder complete with tea light " ... to lighten my darkest hours ..." and the most beautiful handmade yoyo's and crocheted snowflakes ... not to mention...

yep, another one of those yummy chocolate bars

and these all came from the lovely Jeanneke ... who just happens to be one of Stella's many sisters!

But my happy mail did not stop there ... no, no ... The next day I received this absolutely STUNNING card from none other than the very talented Ira

This is even more beautiful in real life

So yep, I love the Netherlands and the kindness of these lovely ladies ...

Thank You so much Stella, Jeanneke and Ira ....

I'm so glad we're friends

Enjoy your Sunday

~ Ros ~

An angel got her wings

2011-12-02T04:07:00.000-08:00

It's Friday ... and another busy week has gone by ...
Last night at club I learned that one of our sweet young girls Louise aged just 29 passed away in her sleep...
It is always so very sad to lose someone special and to my group of special needs it is always traumatic ...
They talked about it constantly - unable to comprehend that another one of their friends won't be coming back ... won't be dancing the night away at our Christmas party next week ... something Louise was well known for ... My room was so full I had to open up an adjoining one to accommodate everyone ... I had 4 wheelchairs too ... But keeping them occupied with creating helped...
My heart goes out to Louise's family

On a good note
I am thrilled to say that my little Christmas House is being shown on the Melissa Frances blog today!!

The original post with some Christmas cards using the same papers can be found Here

(Gotta love those papers)

Thank you Melissa Frances!

Have a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Second Post

2011-11-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

A very quick second posting today ...

I'm just scraping in with my very last entry for Jingle Belles Rock - our 48th card!

Candy Kisses is the prompt ... I apologise for the poor quality photos ... it's night time here

I'm afraid this little chipboard candy canes is all I had for this pompt

A big ThankYou to Lauren and Stef who started this challenge and have worked hard all year so that those of us who joined in would have 48 Christmas cards done before 1st December!

You Gals Rock!

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Winter Wreath

2011-11-30T05:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't entered any challenges in such a while ... but seeing the new challenge over at one of my favourite challenge blogs

The Shabby Tea Room

... and this gorgeous photo

Well I had to join in ... The challenge is to use neutral colours white / cream ... glitter and silver ... and I adore neutrals ... not to mention glitter

I bought a plain white wicker heart for £3 a while ago with the intention of decorating it for Christmas and this was the perfect chance ... Sorry I forgot to photograph the heart beforehand so I'll show you a photo of the reverse which is just the same

I made a whole bunch of flowers ... from paper, fabric and card and grabbed lots of trinkets I had around and this is the finished version

It's been so difficult to photograph so there are a lot of pictures in the hope you an see the glitter and the little trinkets too

There are glittered and plain silver baubles ... pretty pieces of glass

I made lots of paper roses using sheet music and glittered every one

The snowflake and bell is a Christmas ornament covered in glitter and it sparkles beautifully

Icicles made from earrings

... hand sewn fabric flowers mixed with rolled cardstock flowers

I am really pleased with how this turned out and it looks so pretty hanging on the door

A lovely challenge ... right up my street

Have yourselves a wonderful day - Thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Santa Claus is Coming...

2011-11-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday already... my the weeks are flying by ...

Before we know it the guy in the red suit will be on his way...

So this week at City Crafter our hostess Linda is asking that we create a card or project with a Santa on ...
Well I got that covered ...

... Twice!

together with this little guy ...

and his frosty friend

And I am thrilled to tell you that we have the very talented Jacira Guest Designing for us this week!

Plus we have a fabulous sponsor Crop Stop who are offering a $15 gift certificate to the winner...

So I hope you will join us ... we love to see your amazing creations

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Shabby Wings

2011-11-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

Sharing a little gift that will soon be heading across the ocean ...

To a sweet blog friend ... she'll understand the significance of these ...

... a little something I've been wanting to try ... do they look like the tattered wings of an angel?

I hope so ...

... Cut from a tiny piece of a book and sealed into the box ... You can just see the seam ...

... all boxed up and ready to go...

"May Angels watch over you today..."

~Ros ~

Tree n' tags

2011-11-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

Hello ... I'm sorry I have not been around much ...

Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving day?

It's a very windy day here ... in fact a cargo ship has gone down somewhere in the Irish sea due to the weather ... so far 6 people are missing ... Please God they are found well

I have just a little folded tree to share today ... you know those little magazines that the supermarkets and shops are always pushing on us this time of year ... well I kinda up-cycled one

So easy to do whilst watching TV or listening to the radio

Are you seeing the glitter?

And what about a few little snowy tags to go with it ...

Yes I've been playing around with my new Silhouette Cameo to make these tags ...

I have to confess that at first there was a lot of CS in the bin ... and I was getting very frustrated with it all ... No matter what I did it just wasn't cutting properly .. or I couldn't get anything off the mat without destroying everything completely!

It is a simple machine to use and the tutorials are very good and I've no doubt that with practice I will come to love it as much as I do my Big Shot ...

I think the problem is that never having had one of these electronic machines .. I was a bit wary and a great deal of the result has to do with the mat or rather the stickiness of it .. brand new it is extremely sticky and none of the tutorials show you what to do when CS gets chewed. Ok they want to sell their machines so all the good points are covered ... but just sometimes it would be helpful to reveal some of the problems that can occur so someone like me doesn't feel a complete idiot!

Would I recommend it? Yes I would ... it suits my needs ... the freedom to be able to order exactly what I want without buying a full cartridge ... and I love that I can design everything on my computer screen ... so much easier for me to see ... so I'll keep practicing and be a little more confident

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday ... thanks so much for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T02:08:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to wish all my sweet American friends a

Very Happy and Blessed

Thanksgiving Day

~ Ros ~

Jingle Belles card 47 ... and Thank You!

2011-11-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

Hello there ...

First of all ... Thank You to all of you lovely people who gave me feedback on cutting machines ... and those of you didn't own one but were so kind as to leave me a comment or pass on info from your friends

I really appreciate it ... You guys are the Best!

The vote went to the Silhouette Cameo and it has been ordered and should arrive today!

I will let you know how it goes ....

I am just in time to link my 47th card for Jingle Belles Rock ...

This week we are asked to make a card for friends and family who do not necessarily celebrate Christmas

So here is my card ...

Papers from Websters Pages ... flower from Pixie Dust Paperie ... holly and ribbon are from my supplies

The sentiment is computer generated ...

You may have noticed that my CS also has a subtle flourish pattern to it .. well here in the UK I find it difficult to buy kraft CS ... I have sourced it from SU in the past and PaperMania are now doing pre-cut cards and envelopes in Kraft ... but I bought the Organic Range of digital Papers from Pink Petticoat ... a fabulous set of kraft coloured papers which I can print as and when onto my white card stock, like here ... then I ran it back through the printer using Pink Petticoat Flourishes digital paper in Willow...

These papers are very versatile ... worth taking a look

Ok ... so I have more work to do so I'll bid you good day and hope you find your peace today

Thanks so much for stopping by

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter ... Pink Christmas

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Good morning sweet friends ...

Today's challenge at City Crafter is hosted by our creator Kirsty and she has set us the challenge of a Pink Christmas Card ... this is the lovely inspiration photo ...

I chose to make another pocket card ... I know you're probably bored of them ... But I just love them and they are so easy and economical

This is kind of girlie and cute

I found these papers in one of my cupboards ... must have had them for a long time and forgotten about them

This week we have Lynette Jacob Guest Designing for us and Pixie Dust Paperie is kindly sponsoring us again ... So if you haven't made a start on your Christmas cards why not come and join us this week ... and if you have ... well you can never have too many huh? Here are the links to the DT if you are looking for inspiration

Kirsty

Linda

Cheryl

Wishing you a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Electronic cutters ... Help!!

2011-11-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

I really need your help and advice here ...

I had for the longest time been contemplating buying an electronic cutting machine ... not least of all because of the stunning projects I see you guys sharing ... but preparing a project each week for a large group of special needs adults - men and women ... it is very time consuming cutting out 30 of this 30 of that etc., after seeing my friend's Cricut Expression in action ... I relented. These machines are not cheap here in the UK ... and the model I finally decided on was £440 ... about $695 ... Sure it came with a couple of cartridges as they are about £40 each ... that was a bonus ... But one of these did not work .. no worries ... a phone call confirmed that I could return it for a replacement ...

Now, over the years I have bought many PDF files and digitals images ... from many of you ... So I thought I now could buy (very inexpensively) SVG files instead ... after all when I want 60 pieces of holly for example ... I'm not going to buy a £40 cartridge for one item ... so reading up till late last night ... watching your brilliant tutorials and tuition ... I then realised I needed SCAL ... no problem I could buy that too ...

Imagine my disappointment when I learnt after several hours of searching ... that Provo Craft in their "wisdom??" have put an end to SCAL for Cricut machines ... I guess they want us to buy just their cartridges ...

Well that decided me ... and now my Cricut Expressions is all packed up and ready to be collected for a full refund ... But it still leaves me with with a dilemma of what I should now go for ...

That's where I need your help ... I have watched videos, tutorials read up on articles and reviews till my head aches! Silhoutte, Eclips, ECraft ... what do I do?

Please ... if you own a die cutting machine that is supported by SCAL ... that allows me to use SVG flies from my Imac ... that you find efficient and easy (ish) to use ... can you let me know?

In the meantime I have a lot of cutting to do ...

Thanks so much

~ Ros ~

First Christmas card!

2011-11-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

Hello ... I hope you are well

The sun is shining here and the temperature is expected to be 14deg C ... so not bad for November in the UK ...

I got my first Christmas card yesterday ... from my lovely friend Terrie Bailey ... if you haven't seen her unique style .. where have you been? ...

Thanks so much Terrie ... I love it!

I have made lots of cards ... but when it comes to writing in them and organising the posting ... oooh ... that's where I fall down ... I dither about which one to send to who etc ... I really should make them all the same ...

I also got a sweet little tag ornament this week all the way from New Orleans from my lovely friend Cindy Adkins ...

It's so delicate ... many thanks Cindy

I'm getting into the Christmas mood now and this year I have seen some lovely little ornaments in the stores ... here are some I picked out

I couldn't resist this ...

Nor this ...

... it's so shabby and gorgeous ... and what about this ...

... How's that for a chandelier! But in miniature ...

I'm in the midst of preparing 30 Christmas pocket cards for my group ... next week is our last week for crafting ... so they are going to 'make' these cards plus I have a large candle for each of them to decorate ... hopefully we will have time to decorate a lunch bag to put their goodies into ... then I can relax until the New Year where the club is concerned ... boy they are soooo excited about Christmas

Well I must get on ... thanks so much for taking the time to visit

have a lovely weekend

~ Ros ~

Deck the halls Christmas House

2011-11-17T03:34:00.000-08:00

Hello ...

I hope you are well ...

For the first time this week the sun is shining but it is cold and wintery here in the UK ... Christmas is definitely coming ... and today I have a few Christmas creations to share with you ...

I love the new Deck the Halls range from Melissa Frances - you've seen some of the papers on my Christmas cards over the weeks ... and I made this little frosty house gift box using the same papers

I used Mica flakes ... glitter and diamond twinklets on this and some white acrylic paint too

The template is from PTI created by Lauren Meader so I have had it for years ... I just love it!

That big glittered wooden snowflake is a Christmas ornament ... and to just show you that it is a box

here are a couple more pocket cards using the same papers and some of the lovely stickers ... can't stop making these!

I'll be back tomorrow to share a couple more Christmas things with you ...

Have a wonderful day

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Papercraft Star

2011-11-16T00:49:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Tracy from Papercraft Star contacted me and asked if I would like to Guest Design for them ... Would I!!!

I am thrilled and honoured to join this team of wonderfully talented ladies this week ...

Take a look at this inspirational photo ...

Isn't that something?

The challenge is to make a Thank You card ... Well, this picture so inspired me I made a card and a little something to go with it ...

... a little "Pumpkin" pin cushion ...

I love working with neutral earthy colours and the pumpkin just evolved ... using burlap glued to CS which I hand cut to shape and added twine to give it more 'shape' ... I'm not sure if you can see but it is all glittery too ...

For the pumpkin I used a styrofoam ball ... I cut the bottom off so it would stand ... then covered it in the same burlap, twine and glitter and a stem made from corrugated cardboard

I loved doing this ... Thank you so much ladies from Papercraft Star ...

I hope you will pay a visit to the blog and check out the fabulous DT work and why not join in this week's challenge?

There is always a prize on offer and every week you can get a freebie on the blog from a fabulous digital shop The House across The Bay

Thanks ever so much for visiting and leaving your lovely comments

Have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter ... Four Legged Friends

2011-11-15T00:40:00.000-08:00

Hello ...

I'm hosting this weeks' challenge at City Crafter and I am challenging you to incorporate an animal in your projects this week ... So pull out your stamps, stickers or maybe even chipboard that you have lurking around ... it can be anything from a mouse to a moose ... just as long as it has four legs

Our sponsor this week is Stretch N' Bubbles and the DT got to work with one of their digital stamps ... I chose Stripes the cat and made a really simple card as I wanted this cutie to be my focal point ...

so I printed him straight onto DP ... painted his stripes ... his nose and his ears and glued him to CS then just cut him out ...

All I added was the paper rose ... and just for some dimension I adhered him with foam pads

The winner this week will get 5 digital stamps from Stretch N' Bubbles

So if you are looking for more inspiration ... check out the DT projects and that of our Guest Designer

Tesa B...

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with ...

Thanks for stopping by ... have a good day

~ Ros ~

Happy Anniversary

2011-11-14T02:01:00.000-08:00

Hi there ...

Yesterday was my brother Rick's birthday ... today another of my brothers celebrates their wedding Anniversary ...

Happy Anniversary Ron and Pauline

This is the card I made for them

Actually it's more for my SIL ... she loves soft pretty colours and guys don't really bother that much do they?

Prima papers and flower... a stamp from WaltzingMouse and some trims from my stash

That's all for today ... I'm off to see my Chiropractor but I'll be back tomorrow with a new challenge at City Crafter ... hope you'll join me

Have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Happy Birthday and Jingle belles Card 46

2011-11-13T04:27:00.001-08:00

Good morning ....

It's Remembrance Sunday here in the UK and it also happens to be my brother's 60th Birthday

Happy Birthday Rick ...

This is the card I made for him

Kind of a nautical theme because he was once in the Royal Navy ... followed his fathers footsteps as did my brother Bill who is still in the RN

That lovely image is from Made By Janet at Etsy

I also have my 46th card for Jingle Belles Rock to share ... This week we are asked to use stickers on our card ... easy one ... Don't we all have stickers around? ... and Jingle Belles this week are being joined by E.A.D. Designs who are offering a prize this week ... so hop over to the blog for all the details and feast on the lovely DT creations ...

One of the blogs I follow is that of Beate who gives wonderful tutorials and when I saw her pocket card I was smitten ... So that's what I did this week

Using papers from Melissa Frances and some stickers from my stash ...

The sweet little stocking is a 3D sticker that I stuck to a piece card first ... then punched a hole in and tied it to the holly together with a little bell

This is the inside tag stamped with a sentiment from WaltzingMouse "Compliments of the Season" ... one of my all time favourites ... and again a couple more 3D stickers ... I love this pocket card so much that I'm going to make a lot more ... Well, there are only a few weeks left you know ...

Thanks so much for visiting today ...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Happy Birthday Friend

2011-11-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hello there ...

Today 11/11/11 is of course Armistice Day ...

My thoughts are with all those people who have lost loved ones ... be them military or civilian

Today is also my friend's birthday and paid her a visit ...

This is the card I made for her

It's a very dark and dull day here so I am struggling with photographs ...

Those lovely images are from the Graphic Fairy

and of course I had to give her a little handmade something with her gift so I made her a little sticky note holder

... and a little mini album made from one piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper ... for her to decorate and add pictures of her grandchildren ...

as you can see there are 3 pockets with tags in too ...

If you click to enlarge you can see the little charm on the notebook ... a sweet little bird and birdcage ... Can you believe this was an earring?

My friend was thrilled with her gifts and it was good to catch up ...

I would also like to say a big Thank You to sweet generous Cindy Adkins not only for this lovely Blog Award

But for picking me as a winner in her give away ... I can hardly wait to receive the beautiful book she created ... Many Thanks Cindy

I hope you are having a lovely day ...

Till soon keep safe

~ Ros ~

Papercraft Star Winner

2011-11-09T04:18:00.000-08:00

Hello how are you?

I went to see a chiropractor yesterday ... my body is a train wreck lol! But hopefully with about 8 more sessions and gentle exercise ... I will improve ... no full on Pilates for me for a while though!

I want to thank the lovely girls over at Papercrafts Star for picking my card as a winner this week ... I am delighted! ... Thank you!

And I have a card to share that I made for my husband brother using the lovely TH embossing folder again ... love this folder

Now I'm off to prepare for Thursday club ... this week they are going to make Christmas ornaments and make a start on their Christmas cards too ...

Have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

City Crafter Thanks giving

2011-11-07T23:51:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends ...

Our hostess this week at City Crafter is sweet Cheryl and she has asked that we make a Thank you card or a handmade gift ... I kinda chose to go with both

... and made a set ... a card, notebook and a decorated lunch bag to put them in ...

This is the card

Very girlie don't you think?

... and the notebook

... and the bag (thanks to Kirsty for sending me a whole lot of these)

Now how would you like a chance to be a Guest Designer at City Crafter?

Well you can ... that's the prize up for grabs this week ... and it's an easy peasy challenge

Hop on over to the blog and be inspired by the rest of the DT's projects and this weeks' fabulous Guest Designer Laurie Schmidlin ... I'm sure many of you are familiar with Laurie's work ... if not you really need to pay her a visit ... she is incredibly talented!

Have I convinced you to play along? I hope so ...

Thanks ever so much for visiting me this morning ... have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Jingle Belles card 45 ...

2011-11-07T02:02:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Thanks ever so much for your sweet comments on my mixed media in the previous post ... I really appreciate and welcome your comments ...

It's a cold and frosty morning here in Liverpool ... people have been scrapping the ice from their cars and in the bright sunlight ... the white ground looked quite pretty ... I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures but I know there will be plenty more mornings like this... Brrrrrr!

I have my 45th card for the Jingle Belles Rock challenge to share ... This week the theme is "Clear" ... use at least one see through element ... I chose to use a beautiful scene from the Graphics Fairy ... added some flower soft for snow and some acetate ...

MME paper again, a little sentiment from Melissa Frances Deck the Halls everything else is from my stash

I have to show that image again ... just love it ... are you seeing the 'snow'?

I'll be back tomorrow with the new challenge at CCCB ... have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Mikey's Mom

City Crafter "Perfect Pair"

Sweet scented pillow ... and Thank you!

Playing with Prima

Handmade vintage ...

Land of Fairytales ...

City Crafter 'Colours of The Rainbow"

Spread some love

Shabby frame

City Crafter "You've Got Mail"

Jingle belles week 3

Altered Diary

City Crafter Sketch Challenge

Quick card

Just my imagination.....

Little Album

City Crafter Week 92

Jingle Belles week 2

Friday the 13th

Cr84FN challenge

City Crafter 'Back to Black"

Flashback Friday

Pixie Dust Paperie News

Christmas Gift ...

Wild weather

City Crafter "Save the Date ..."

Jingle Belles week 1 and Happy New Year

January Birthday

Happy Mail and Strange happenings

Christmas Album

City Crafter ... Making the Cut

Merry Christmas

Not so wise owl ...

City Crafter ... Winter White

Little Angel

Birthday wishes

More gifts ...

More Cards

City Crafter Get Booked

Welcome

Happy Mail

Birthday Wishes

Lessology Challenge ....

City Crafter Home for the Holidays

A Cold Monday ...

The Netherlands ...

An angel got her wings

Second Post

Winter Wreath

City Crafter Santa Claus is Coming...

Shabby Wings

Tree n' tags

Happy Thanksgiving

Jingle Belles card 47 ... and Thank You!

City Crafter ... Pink Christmas

Electronic cutters ... Help!!

First Christmas card!

Deck the halls Christmas House

Papercraft Star

City Crafter ... Four Legged Friends

Happy Anniversary

Happy Birthday and Jingle belles Card 46

Happy Birthday Friend

Papercraft Star Winner

City Crafter **Thanks** giving

Jingle Belles card 45 ...

City Crafter Thanks giving