True Beauty comes from within ...

... and my friends have it abundance ... Just look at all this - that arrived today ...

.. all just in time for my Thursday club tonight .... and this gorgeous card ...

... you can tell by this oh so stylish card, that it all came from Stella ... Thank you so much dear friend ...

I am so very grateful for your kindness, your huge heart of gold ... and for your friendship ....

I have also finally made a card for the new challenge at Picture Perfect Creations .. this is the colour combo ..

Gorgeous colours yet for a while they had me beat ... but then I came up with this ...

This gorgeous Lipstick stamp and the sentiment are digital from Tiffany Doodles ... the border stamp is from WaltzingMouse  ... the rest is from my stash ...

... Not sure if you can see the glossy accents on the lipstick .... So pleased that I finally got this card done!

Have a lovely evening

Ros

Pretty pearls ...

 The sun is shining here ... a crisp autumnal day ... it was on days like this that I loved to walk down by the river at Pickerings Pasture with my beautiful German Shepherd Holly and before her ... beautiful Kelly ... (my profile picture was taken here) ... At this time of year it is a meeting place for literally hundreds of Canadian geese ... We would hear them long before they swooped in .. a formation team that never failed to take my breath away ... the constant chatter amongst them echoing around the quiet stillness of this peaceful place ... How I miss it ... 

Yet somehow, without my girlies by my side I can no longer face it ... I still hear the geese flying over early in the morning and nod a silent hello ...

I  have a card to share today ... I made this for the Shabby Tea Room challenge where the very talented Clare  .. is hosting and has provided this gorgeous picture ..

... and I used the sketch from the new challenge over at Card Patterns ... 

I'm not always good with sketches ... my mind always wants to take me somewhere else ...

So this is my card ...

I covered a little wooden heart ( there's a song in there somewhere) ... with pearls and beads and glitter ..

I sprayed the card with glimmer mist too but I don't think you can see that ...

Before I go I just want to thank the gals over at The Play Date Cafe ... I got a "Cream in our Coffee" award for this card which I am thrilled about ... Thank you!

I need to get organised for my club night soon ... so have a great day everyone

Till soon

Ros

Piano Music ...

Hi ...
I've been creating this afternoon ... a little image just popped into my head and I had to go with it ... My friend really liked This  ... so I decided to make her one ... But ...a little different ... she loves her piano lessons and hearing the piano being played ... so ....

A piano box! ... Like to see some more pictures? 

All made in card and backed with chipboard to strength it ... I decorated the 'piano' lid with stickers, rubons, flowers, leaves, butterfly and mini music sheet (done on the computer). Beads and buttons serve for "legs" ... and I used my Waltzingmouse stamp to make the keys ... I also covered the 'keys' in self adhesive clear plastic to make them shine. Well, what do you think? I'd love to know ...

Don't forget to check out the new challenge at City Crafters today ...

Enjoy your evening...

Ros

Flowers and Frills ...

Good morning ...
I am hosting the challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog this week and the theme is Flower and Frills ... make a card or project using flower(s) and either some lace or a doily ...

Our current swap on City Crafter Party Blog is for lace and doilies ... so I thought it would be good to go with this theme ... 

Our Guest Designer this week is Karli ... please pop over and say hello and check out her lovely card too... along with the rest of the DT ... they have done some lovely cards to give you inspiration ...

I used some Basic Grey paper that I have had for ages ... I love this range (Scarlet's Letter) and bought lots of it at the time .... The flower is actually from a necklace and the rest is from my stash ... the little bird is made from wood and covered in material (from the Hobby Shop) which matches my ribbon ...

I hope you will join our challenge this week and look forward to seeing you ...

Have a lovely day

Ros

Be yourself ...

Hello ....
I hope you are well ... I have had a busy weekend ... last night I was at an auction at the Bridge Chapel ... it was to raise funds for the "Bungalow Appeal" ..... Briefly ... the bungalow is a place the church were able to mortgage as a home for 4 ladies who are mentally and/or physically challenged ( along with support workers).The aim is to buy this home and then mortgage another ... and so on ... Not only will these homes provide a safe environment ... but we have to remember that some of these people have never known a home life ... many are fortunate and have loving caring families ... but what happens to their children when they are no longer around?.. I think you get the picture ...
So we had an auction and it was such fun! Before, my husband retired we were fortunate to attend a few "black tie" charity auctions ... one of which had quite a few ''Wags" ... and it was so funny because my husband would say "I'll bid on that for you" (it could be anything) and when the bidding started the Wags would bid in thousands of pounds!! money no object ... so needless to say I never got anything! ... but I got a few things last night including the use of a cottage in Wales for a few days ...

I managed to make a card this evening for the Waltzingmouse challenge ... I apologise for the photo but it is night time in the UK right now and so I have no naturally light .. This is the sketch ..

.. and this is my card ...

Just some scrap papers, ribbon, lace and a pearl brad ...

Till soon my friends - keep safe

Ros

Sympathy Card

It's a cold and dull day here ... but I'm glad it's Friday ... 
I had a very busy night last night but still loved every minute of it .. it teaches me patience, humbleness and where true happiness lies ... 
My group did a wonderful job making their wall hangings ... and they were so excited by all the goods we were sent ... they can't wait to make 'Thank You" cards ... which will be next weeks' event ... seeing as how I will be short on the ground with helpers, cards make for a simpler night.
I had to make a sympathy card to send to my friend who lost her husband and decided to go with the colours of the Play Date Cafe challenge this week ....
This is the inspirational picture ...

Some kitchen huh? ... and perhaps not the colours I would usually pick for a sympathy card but it seemed to work .... Anyway, this is my card ....

I really had a rough time doing that rosette I have to confess ... it is a Tim Holtz die and I love his stuff but this being quite long and the Sizzix plates and platform being shorter ... well I managed to cut through the paper in places instead of crease it ... I think I need some practice ...

... See? it's not really perfect is it? ... but I'm hoping that the pretty flower will detract from the imperfection ... and I'm sure my friend will have much more on her mind than perfection.


Have a lovely Friday ...


Till soon


Ros

Crazy days ...

Hi there ...

just popping in with a couple of things ...
It's been a bit of a crazy day ... I heard last night that a friend from way back just lost her husband ... I think it has been on my mind all day and I just couldn't seem to connect today though I have had a lot to do ... everything seemed 'difficult' ...
 Anyway, I have a little card ... one of my fairies again ... which I made last night ... I'm not that happy with it ... I did it for the Play Date Cafe challenge ... really just to challenge myself to use those colours all together - and I missed the deadline anyway. This is the inspirational picture with the colours ...

Sometimes I over-think things and sometimes I plough ahead instead of ... stepping back ... so this is my card ...

The background paper is turquoise ... but it looks blue here ...

I like the little fairy though ... 
I have been working away getting my things together for Club tomorrow ... thanks to the kindness of you blog friends I have a lot of things to take in ... I have decided this week to give them all a piece of card (5x7) and let them decorate it any which way using papers, stickers, ribbons, buttons etc., Then I will mount their art work onto canvas so they have a picture to hang when they get home.
This is my effort - to give them an example ... just made with scraps and bits I had around ... and very hastily ..

I know that their creations will just be fabulous ... and mostly that they will have a lot of fun ...

Finally before I go ... I have just read about Lauren Meader and her beautiful daughter Alexa both being so ill ... you can read about it Here ... my heart goes out to them and my prayers are with them ... please remember them in your prayers too ...

Till soon

Ros

Clean and Simple ..

Hi there ... hope your day is going good ...
This is my second post today ... My City Crafter Challenge post is below ...
I'm just popping in with my entry for the new Caardvark challenge ... "Clean  and Simple" ... would hate to miss out on a chance to win some Hero Arts stamps .... I made a card using a Hero Arts rubber stamp that I really love as you can use it for so many occasions ...

The background DP with the dots on is from a scrap bundle Lucy Abrams sent me ... if anyone knows who makes this please let me know as I really love it ... it goes well with some paper I had in my stash don't you think?

I stamped this twice ... once in red and once in black and just paper pieced the part that said "Friends" to make it stand out ... The flower is a little wooden one covered in material ... 

Clean and simple enough? 

Before I go I just want to say a Big Thank you to Sandy Ang ... This sweet little lady sent me some really cute stickers for my group .. all the way from Singapore! I am very taken with the beautiful stamps on the envelope!! Thanks Sandy ...

Till soon my friends

Ros

City Crafter Challenge Week 23

My goodness ... I can hardly believe we are on week 23 of City Crafter Challenge ... 
This week sweet Linda Robinson is hosting and she has challenged us to make a card/project based on this sketch ...

Our GD this week is the very talented Karola Witczak  ... her creations are just beautiful ...  romantic, shabby chic perfection. Her attention to detail is just incredible ... If you like girlie, pretty, shabby chic ... take a look at her blog Here ... I promise you will not be disappointed.

A big "Thank you" too ... to Sylvia Nelson for sponsoring us this week ... if you like Stampin Up (and who doesn't) you will love this weeks' prize ...

On to my card ...

The papers here are all from Papermania ... Persimmon Collection ... they come with die cuts as well. I printed my card stock in vintage cream first ... not very clear I know ... I'm struggling with our crazy weather conditions to get good photos lately ... I stamped the inside of the frame with my new WM stamps ... Musical Backgrounds.... the seam binding is from Bluebird Lane... and the rest from my stash.


I hope you will join us this week ... everyone likes a sketch challenge ... right? And you get the chance to win all the goodies from Sylvia too! 


Till soon


Ros

WaltzingMouse Challenge

Ok so this is my first challenge with WaltzingMouse ... I adore their stamps ... and this is the sketch ...

Kind of got me thinking, this one ... and I toyed around with a few ideas but as usual ... what I ended up with was something completely different from what I had planned ....

I counted 7 little rectangles on the sketch ... so I have 4 leaves and 3 flowers ... and of course the obligatory shake of glitter ...

... But no DP ... no ribbon ... just simple stamping ... with WaltzingMouse stamps ... 

So that's me done .... (for now).

Keep safe

Ros

Faith ...

I went to the Open day at the Bridge Chapel this morning ... where I hold my Thursday Club crafting class ... The place was so busy and there was much to see and do ... everyone seemed so happy ... lots of youngsters and tiny babies too ... you could feel the warm comfort of Faith ...
 I spent the afternoon tucked up in my little craft room ... catching up on some things that needed to be done ... and then I made a wall hanging ...

... to remind me of the feeling ... and that Happiness dwells in the soul ...

Till soon

Ros

Deb ...

Thank you so much for your kindness, your generosity and for caring ....
This is what arrived at my door this morning ...

2 Very large boxes ... filled to bursting ....

With every crafting thing you can imagine ....

... from paper and card ... to stickers and stamps ...  peel offs, ribbons ... flowers and tags ... and much more .... 

All these from Deb Hickman ... a brilliant crafter with a heart of gold ... for me to take to Thursday Club 

for my group to use. Thank you sounds so inadequate ... but it's all I can say ... I am pretty much speechless ...

We had a very full house last night at the club and the kindness of all of you who have sent things is a stark contrast to the mindless idiots who threw several rocks at our windows ... fortunately not breaking them and hurting no one ... but still very scary.

Bless you Deb ...

Ros

Birthday Wishes

I'll be off to club in a couple of hours and will be taking this little card with me ... It's for one of my group who has a birthday today ... he is just the sweetest young man .... 

I made this ever so quickly .. couldn't believe it myself ... Well, with a digital image and some nice DP .. all that was needed was a bit of glitter  .... Happy Birthday Michael .... 

Ros

Gifts Galore

Good morning ...
I have something to show you ... The Postman came and delivered some packages for me ... (love getting post) ... some of the things were orders I had placed .. in anticipation of the up coming Lace and Doily swap at City Crafter Party Blog ... (hope you are going to join in the swap)... 
But there was also a package from Lucy Abrams  ... of papers and crafting bit that I won on her blog ...

There are tags and butterflies and shapes as well as some lovely papers ... Thank you Lucy! If you haven't seen Lucy's blog you should pop over ... she does digital brilliantly ... her cards are awesome!

Then there was another rather large package ... just take a peek at all this ...

and this beautiful card ... Can you believe it!! I am totally blown away ...

All this came from the lovely Stella ... for me to take to Thursday Club ... so that we can continue to make beautiful things ... My heart is full of emotion for your kindness Stella ... and to all you other blog friends ( you know who you are ) for offering goods that we can use ... Thank you ever so much ... 

I am still going through everything and ooh..ing and ahh..ing .... I've never seen some of this stuff ... so pretty...

I'm looking forward to club tonight and showing all these things ...

From my heart ... thank you...

Ros

Pretty Hydrangea ...

I made this simple little card for the new challenge at Picture Perfect Creations ... this is the colour combination ...

I love the blue and green together .... brown, I find is often hard to work with when using such soft colours but the DT as always seemed to find it a doddle and did some lovely samples ...

Here's mine ...

I printed the CS first with large dots for the card itself and then with small dots which I cut using my spellbinders and adhered a pretty sticker ... I added blue glitter to the flowers (hope you can pick that up) 

and added some acetate backed silver stars which I had in my stash. Some brown satin ribbon held by a button brad and that's it! 

It's been a wild and wet day here ... blew the covering right off my garden shed! I did try to put it back ... got out the ladder, the hammer and tacks ... managed to throw the cover back on (boy it was heavy) and then it blew off again! which was just as well as I couldn't reach to put the tacks in anyway ... about a foot too short ... at least! So my roof is now soaking wet and the cover nice and dry ...  in the garage ... waiting for my husband to come home from his trip ... Ah well ...

Have a lovely day wherever you are ...

Ros

More books ...

Hello again ...
I've had a lovely afternoon crafting away ... even the sun popped his head out this afternoon after the downpour we had this morning. I have a little something to share that I made for this weeks challenge over at the Shabby Tea Room .... Your card/project must include the colour green and be inspired by nature ...
I love to make projects ... love card making, but sometimes I just want to make something a little different..
There are lots of pictures so you may want to settle back ...

A book ... that is actually a box ....

I made this from scratch ... making a box first and used my Scor-pal to make ridges that resembled pages ... distressed them .... Then made a cover to form a book which is completely covered with gorgeous paper from a dear friend ...

The the inside is quite big and both the box and cover are quite strong as I lined everything with chipboard too ... Then it was on to the decorating ...

... all sorts of gardening paraphernalia ... including a handmade flower ... some lace, seed packets done on the computer .. twigs, beads, scissors, ladybird, butterfly ... 

... and a side view ... and that's it ....

What do you think? 

The funny things was ... I used a glue gun for the first time ... how on earth do you use these things without ending up looking like some giant spider came and spun his web around you?? Still I'll enjoy picking it off whilst watching some TV tonight ...

Till soon

Ros