That Friday feeling...

Yep, I have that Friday feeling... end of a long week... just want to snuggle down and rest.


It was a busy night last night with my group... the albums were very warmly received but lots of help was needed as their co-ordination is not always good ... so I was really worked hard but it was all so worth it...Especially when one of my young men who has Downs Syndrome, looked up at me and said "I love you"... so grateful was he to be able to take yet another gift home to one of his family. He is such a sweet person, my heart melts.


A couple of cards to share this evening... I picked up the freebie at Two Peas by Kate Teague here
It is just sooo gorgeous! Anyway I had to just go ahead and use it straight away (love it!)

See what I mean? That lil' mushroom?.... I actually drew on my computer... I printed it a couple of times and paper pieced it and of course dowsed it in glitter ( well why not?) .... Stamped some of the papers with distress ink and a My Minds Eye stamp.

This also has some 'Spring Time Basics' (by Shimelle) ledger paper. The image is from my Print Shop - don't you just love that little felt butterfly too?

Off to have dinner now and then relax .... I feel my bed already calling and it isn't even 8pm yet!!

Nite Nite everyone and to those of you just starting your day, have a good one...

Till soon

Ros

Where did Spring go??

It's suddenly gone cold and rainy here today - with colder weather to come we are told...  just when I thought Spring was here with the promise of Summer to come. 
Still the garden is flourishing and the trees are laden with fresh green leaves and blossom everywhere... The birds are busily nest building and I think that my little robin has now laid her eggs - she is in and out of the ivy constantly, but I can't hear any babies chirping yet.....


I have everything ready for tonights craft class - all the albums and embellishments are ready and packed ... so I thought you might like to see one of the projects we did a while ago ... my group loved this and we have done them in various sizes ..... Envelope Wallets

These started life as ordinary brown office envelopes ... they were being thrown out but I rescued them and with some papers, embellishments, stamping etc., they became these beautiful wallets with a side pocket to store your secrets or in this case a tag.


I also had some larger envelopes and they became this...

....Wallets that hold cards and envelopes - all tied up with a satin ribbon

 I printed straight on to the envelopes and made the little cards you can see inside ... added some small envelopes and my group decorated the cards and the wallets for Valentines Day ... the side pocket was used to put their own Valentine cards in.

A great use of old envelopes don't you think? I absolutely love things like this and Yes, I am thrifty, but I adore altering things....

Enjoy your day,

Till soon

Ros

Just Cruising By.....

... To Say Hi!!

A cute little card to share with you today .....

I made this for Betsy Veldman's challenge here.... That girl sure is talented!

The set I used is a digital set called "It's A Bugs Life" and you can find it here.... The images are just beautiful and so colourful - I have made a few cards for young children from this. 

Not got much to say today ... been busy with the ironing and general chores ... (how I dislike ironing) ... and I managed to do some more work for tomorrow nights club - 

But I do want to say a very BIG Thank you for all your lovely comments .......

Till soon...

Ros

Easel Card

 Hi there...

There is a new challenge over at City Crafters here.....

I've never done an easel card before so I just had to try it out ......  the cards from the girls all look so good.....

Ooops! blue and green again...

Some K&Co beautiful papers here and embellishments with some bits from my scraps... 

.....Sweet little pearls and a blue ribbon ....... 

Yep, quite pleased with my first one...... I hope you give it a go.

Till soon,

Ros

Blue and green should ne're be seen??

Hello all you lovely people in Blog land..


A couple of things to share today...

This is a wedding card complete with box, that I made for a friend .... love the pale colours of this together with pure white card stock, ribbon and lace.


And just to show that I do stamp occasionally.....

My Mind's Eye stamps used on the card stock and that gorgeous little bee is from Basic Grey .. I adore both of these brands ... I made this for my dear friend Jeanie.

Neither of these projects are recent but I thought they were worth showing...

Lastly just wanted to say that the lady who ordered the Baby card was over the moon with it... (English expression - meaning very pleased, ha! ha!)

I am always asked to write a special verse according to their requirements and this can take me so much longer than making the card and box. Seems I am responsible for causing tears of joy again... Ah well...

Have a lovely day my friends

Keep safe

Ros

Sunday crafting..

Hi there...


Well my son is settled in and working away in his room - I'm still ploughing through the laundry he brought back... 6 washes and still going!
It has been a busy day... 
Whilst hubby was at the football match, I baked some bread and put a joint of ham in the oven for tonight's dinner, then settled down to do some crafting.
Thought I'd make a start on another project for Thursday club... They loved the Raccoons by the way...
This is what I have come up with for this week...

It's a matchbook photo album with journalling envelopes.

The CS was all printed digitally - various colours (they all like different colours!) and I used clear plastic

CD/DVD sleeves (picked up a pack of 100 for £2.50). Just cut the tops off and they can insert their pictures. I pre-printed envelopes - sealed them first then turned them sideways and cut the tops off too... the envelopes are filed in between each photo sleeve.

A scrunched flower and a wood chip embellishment and they're good to go...

Did 20 of these this afternoon -  ready for assembly AND punched 150 flowers! (phew!!)

Still got some fancy borders to cut with my Sizzix but the bulk is all done and gives me some free time in the week.

My next course of Practical Philosophy starts next week and I can't wait... I've been going for a few years now and I really LOVE it ....

Hope your weekend was good ....

Thanks for stopping by

Ros

Be still my heart...

 Hello ....


I'm so excited... I heard from my son (via MSN) that he is here on English soil ( London to be exact) and I will get to see him in 3 more hours! I know he's only been gone 2 months but hey .. he's my baby .. all 6' 2'' of him!! 


Remember my birthday card in this  post? Well I thought that you may like to see the box I made for it..

Cute huh? Love that little horse - I sort of had a picture from a colouring page but I didn't like the head - so I rubbed it out and re drew it using the brush in the paintbrush program -  Did some painting and then changed the file so I could print it on patterned card stock.

I had some time left to play so thought I would join my buddies out there who are entering the Shabby Tea Room challenge here

This is my card

I wanted this pretty lady to look like she was looking out of the window of the tea room.....

Going to leave you for now - off to cook some dinner then go to collect my son from the bus station....sigh.

Enjoy your day

Ros

Thursday Club

Hello everyone....


Thursday Club starts again today after a rather extended Easter break and I am so looking forward to seeing everyone again.
To explain what Thursday club is, well, it is a weekly rendezvous for people 18 - 60+ who are mentally and physically challenged....
It was set up many years ago by the lovely Lynne Lloyd and her late husband Kenny... having a daughter with special needs (the beautiful Jenny) they recognised that there was a great need for somewhere that people like Jenny could go to in the evening and enjoy themselves in the company of their friends. It also meant that carers were given some relief too. 
All sorts of things developed from there and we have discos, outing and holiday breaks ... there are no words that can justify the love and kindness provided by all the volunteer workers here... their dedication and warmth is beyond words....
I was introduced to the club some years ago - in fact I was asked to go along and maybe provide some ideas for their handicrafts group. To say I had no idea what I was going into, would be an understatement!
But on the first night I was blown away by it all ... I knew that any progression from colouring books and scrapbooks, would be beneficial, but how would I do it? We have a limited time - maybe 1hr or 90mins max - they in turn have limited abilities.
But these people had captured my heart ... it was love at first sight for me....
So I went away and thought long and hard and decided that if I made the bulk of the project .. then my group could assemble things (with a little help) and have something nice to take home.
It started small - cards and such - then we progressed - we grew together...
Each week I would come up with another project... or my friend and colleague Lynn would bring something....
Not only have we made unlimited amounts of cards, gifts, albums, jewellery, notebooks etc., etc., but my group has grown so big that it is often standing room only!
One of the best things of all is seeing how happy everyone is, how eager, and seeing so much change in some of them. 
For me it is one of the best things I ever did .... I can never explain in words just how my heart sings when I am there... the love and joy in all its purity.


I have made a couple of cards to share today - little vintage ones made from some of my scraps...

 These images are from Print shop on my computer ... sweet aren't they.

For tonight I have prepared 20+ kits of these little guys.....

These are little plastic 'take out' boxes which are meant to hold your crafting bits ... I filled them with sweets and the Raccoon is from the very talented Lauren Meader here ... 

Off to prepare some cards for my group now ... phew!

Thanks for stopping by

Ros

I've got Core'dination...

Yes I have ..really!
Core'dination cardstock that is....
I just loved the white, so clean, so fresh, so I went ahead and bought a pad of the Whitewash cardstock, but couldn't bring myself to break into it... that was until today... when I saw the challenge over at Caardvarks
Then I couldn't stop at just one card - I had to make two..


First a monochromatic (per the challenge) and then on to a sweet little vintage card  - see how versatile this lovely stuff is?


Here's my first card........

It was quite a decision which colour to go for, but I love this aqua and yup! one of my handmade vellum roses again. Leaves - courtesy of Mel . Of course I was thinking of my son when I made this hence the 'Miss You' ... hopefully he will be able to fly home soon.

And here's my little vintage card...

Just before I go I have to say a big "Thank You" to those lovely girls over at City Crafter Challenge -

They each left a lovely comment on my blog and I can't tell you how good that made me feel after my not so good day.... To think that complete strangers took the trouble to care, well, it touched my heart ...

I hope you all have a great day 

Ros 

Cup cake challenge.....

Hello everyone..


How's your day been so far? I spent the morning in hospital having some blood tests and feel quite tired right now. However, I see there is a new challenge at the City Crafter Challenge blogspot here ...

Well, I did a cupcake card for a friends birthday and so I thought I might enter it.

The papers are mostly digital - appropriately named "Sweet Sprinkles" from the brilliant Shabby Princess 
- If you haven't visited this site you don't know what you are missing - they have some fabulous digi kits and so many freebies .... I think I have used every one of them.


The cupcake was a digital image bought on Etsy I think - sorry I can't remember from whom - and I have paper pieced this with glossy accents on the strawberry and glitter on the 'cream'. The buttons were clear buttons but I adhered paper to them with glossy accents and they look just like sweeties.
A few bits from my stash, a rubon, and an embossed card background and we're done!


Have a lovely day everyone


Ros

First Birthday...

Hello and thank you for stopping by - 

I've been asked to make a card for a little girl's first birthday by a colleague of my husband - The requirements were - 'pink'..  her name on and Granddaughter on.....'

I decided to go with a dress card - seeing as how I got such nice comments from people - but this time I was going a little bit special.... tulle skirt and 2 layers of card to give it a two tone effect.

Then I thought.."What if she doesn't like it?" "What if it is too young... too baby..ish?"

Oooh ... I get so nervous when it is for someone else to give....

What do you think?

I went on and made a tiny coat hanger for it too ... 

Cute huh?

I need to make a box for it yet, and I'll let you know if she liked it... fingers crossed.

Have a lovely day and keep safe

Ros

Here, my Soul Soars.......

Creating in my little room is where I am at my happiest....... It feeds my soul and lifts my heart.


I created this for my little room sometime ago....

See that pretty little lady there? Well, she is my Great Aunt...... she was a well known and very accomplished actress in the early 1900's ..... A Gaiety Girl. My Grandmother had 4 sisters and they were all on the stage at one time or another and very beautiful they were too... and I thought this picture of my Great Aunt fitted in so well with my theme and colours.


I notice that the brilliant Melissa Phillips..... how I love her work..... has done a vintage frame for Emma's Paperie - it is stunning!
You can check it out here ........ 


I have been asked for a tutorial on my Little Box here so never having done this before - I have tried to put something together.... I hope you can follow it.

That's all for now.....

Have a lovely day and thanks for popping by

Ros

Do you see what I see......?

Hello and welcome ....


You know what I love about challenges? They allow your creative juices to flow..... pictures and possibilities come into your mind ... sometimes dreamy, other times quirky and fun.


One thing about a picture challenges that always delights me, is the way that everyone sees something different.... I love to see all the variety and the different interpretations you talented people out there share with the rest of us.


Todays challenge for me was Becky's - found here

Some lovely colours here and lots to play with .....

          

This is my take

A little bit of fun............

On another note - my Beautiful Boy emailed to say he is coming home next week from the USA... (be still my beating heart) .... Alas his plans are on hold due to the Icelandic Volcano popping it's cork....

But hopefully only a few days delay before he is back in my little family nest...... and I can gaze once more in wonderment at this lovely young man I am so blessed to call my son.....

Have a wonderful day, thanks for popping in.....

Ros

Girlie Day....

Hello lovely people...


I'm posting late today as I've had a lovely "girlie day" with my dear sister in law Pauline - well actually I could drop the 'in law' bit because we are more like sisters and have been there for one another through some rough times, but hey we've laughed a lot too .......


Anyway we had a shopping day in town and I even got my nails manicured ( not like me) but the manicurist was puzzled about the glitter glued to my fingers - "crafting" I told her... LOL! 
I haven't been feeling too well these last few days and today really perked me up ... do you find a girlie day helps you too?


I have a card to share this evening...

I did this for Lucy's challenge - if you haven't checked out her site, you really need to ... she does such pretty work.
This challenge called for sewing - hand or machine - and I did both .... see all those little beads? Well each one was hand sewn on .. honestly!
 Not such a big deal you may think but I'm a girl who like to work quickly once an idea pops into my head, so this was more of a challenge of patience because as we all know - put the needle in the wrong place and your card is marked... as they say.


I hope your day was good .... and for those of you who are just starting the day... enjoy and keep safe.


Ros

Blessed....

Good morning to you lovely people out there......

Thank you so much for all your comments they are so encouraging to me.... And my Aunt will be delighted to hear that you appreciate her work.


I have had a couple of enquiries about my Little Dress card and try as I may I cannot fathom out how to reply to your comments ... Told you I was new to the world of blogging!! If you leave your URL on your comments I can get back to you - 
So Patricia this is for you -  if this helps - I got the template for the dress  Here (I think)..
I used to use Windows but have now made the transition to Apple and have been getting to grips with the new programs on this computer as I do a lot of digital work and like to alter template sizes to fit my cards. If you are using Windows you can probably use something like 'Publisher' to do this and make the dress according to your requirements.


Today I have a card and note book to share with you - my way of saying that I feel blessed that there are such nice people out there taking the time to look in and comment on my blog .....

I love these papers - they are Springtime Basics (digital) by Shimelle Laine - from Two Peas.


Have a wonderful day and stay safe.......


Ros

Caardvarks Challenge

Hello and welcome to my world...


Caardvarks are doing a blog hop challenge with Clear and Simple Stamps ... The challenge is to make a baby card...
Now being in the UK I don't always get to buy the stamp sets from the USA so I am overjoyed when I see a free download ... and you can get the free Rocking Horse template Here ...


As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted to make this using material, so I adhered my material to my cardstock and printed it on the reverse side, then just cut it out .... a few little extras from my stash and this is my card...

 I hope you have a lovely day...
Thanks for popping by


Ros

A Little Shabby......

Good morning ...

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day ... 

I just have a little something to share today which is a shabby little album made from envelopes, card and embellishments (Websters Pages). I made this to tell the story of my beloved German Shepherd, Holly, who I lost some 18months ago. Anyone who loves animals will understand how it feels to lose a pet and I lost my 2 lovely cats and my dog all within 3 years... sigh

The idea for the album came from the talented Betsy Veldman Here

http://scrapbookgirl.typepad.com/paper_scissors_and_superh/2010/03/trendy-tabs.html

As you can see - the journalling fits into the spine of the album.

I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for your comments - they are so appreciated.

Ros

Enjoy the little things......

The lovely talented Melissa Phillips has set a new creative challenge using another beautiful photograph by Miss Leslie from "A Creative Mint'"...........


This is such a beautiful picture don't you think? Fresh linen white and soft pastel shades - it spoke of vellum and glitter and oh so many possibilities ....... 


This is my Take on it

 My handmade vellum roses, basic grey paper, stamping done in shell pink ink and a little distressing plus embellishments and glitter 


What do you think?


Have a lovely day ........


Ros