Fun

Good morning!

I'm back with photos for the prompt over at 

Our Beautiful World

Manuela has chosen the prompt for us ... This week it's 

Fun

I saw this on a patio near to the hotel we recently stayed at in Majorca ... It made me laugh!

And at the hotel pool it was fun to see this little guy enjoying himself

But the weather broke and the cold winds came and it even put off the little duck from dipping his toes

We don't have brilliant summers here but we try to enjoy ourselves and make the most of things ... Recently at a local shopping centre I spotted some attractions for the children to have fun

Share your Fun photos with us this week at

Our Beautiful World

And go visit the blog to see what my fellow photographers have to share

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Friends and freezer paper

Hello...

A weird title? Well I'll explain as I go ...

Yesterday was Day 4 of Mask-erade

The lesson was about using freezer paper ... readily available to my American friends so I see, but not here in the UK ... I could order it online ... the lowest price I found would have been about £10 with postage... having already ordered some masking paper and masking fluid (not cheap either) I decided I would try and improvise...

Freezer paper allows you to mask your image and be able to watercolour over it - that's the beauty of the product

So I tried ordinary transparent contact paper and I then tried a thicker patterned contact paper ... the sort you use to cover furniture etc.,

This is the result of the thicker contact paper ... It really worked the best and maybe the image is not as pronounced as the samples shown with freezer paper but it still gives a good result using the Chloe Stem by Memory Box

Now although the thin contact didn't work so well, for some reason I actually love the result I got using my 'hello' die ... It's not so clear but it has a lovely look to me

You can make out the "hello" but it's imperfection is what appeals to me

So to all my British friends out there ... If you have contact paper - give it a go or buy some as it is soooo much cheaper than freezer paper and no ironing either

A quick update about my sick friend ... I managed to get to the hospital to see her yesterday evening and though she is still in a very bad way there was a slight improvement which was brilliant news!
She can't talk but old friends don't need to talk - they just hold hands...
I held her hand for a long while and then massaged her aching back till it was time to leave.
Thank you for your well wishes and your prayers

Have a lovely weekend

~ Ros ~

Keeping busy

Hello...

I've been keeping busy which is a good thing right now ... I had some bad news regarding 2 of my friends ... Mother and daughter

The daughter is a year younger than me and we've been friend since children - right now she is in a critical condition with a lung problem and her mother who is now in her 80's has been by her side but she too has to have 2 operations on monday including a mastectomy...

All I can do is pray that they will both come through...

The 2nd day of the online class Mask-erade gave some ideas about masking off part of your card for sentiments ... I managed to create a little card using a stencil and some paste 

I mixed the paste using a Hero Arts Ombre ink pad which gives it this pretty blend

... And you can see I used a coating of glitter too

I really should have stamped my sentiment a little further over to balance it properly but hey ho.. I'll remember next time.

I didn't do a card from today's class - day 3 as I don't yet have any masking fluid but I'll definitely give it a go when I receive mine

However, I did see a card up on the Simonsaysstamp blog by Laura Bassen and it gave me an idea using an old PTI die ... The clock face

I know my blending is far from perfect but it was one of those moments when a light bulb comes on and you just grab any old scrap piece of CS to see if your idea works - 

I like how it turned out despite the blending and I love it when a die can be used for something totally different

Ok enough from me for now ...

Have yourselves a lovely day and be safe

Thanks for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Happy Birthday

Hello!

Source

Today I'm popping in to wish my dear friend 

Kirsty

A very 

Happy Birthday!!!

Kirsty is one of the sweetest, kindest and most caring people I know in Blogland as well as being a talented lady and a dear friend

Have a beautiful day my lovely... This is your card and it's winging it's way over to you 

Bright and happy just like you

With lots of love and hugs ...

... For a beautiful day

If you'd like to leave some love for Kirsty - hop on over to the City Crafter Blog - we're celebrating there too!

~ Ros ~

Smile

Good morning

I joined the Mask-erade online card class 

I had so much fun following the last class I did, so why not?

Yesterday was the first class and there are lovely samples by some of my favourite designers it was hard to decide which one to go with. My supplies decided for me and I went with sponging "a la Laura Bassen" style

I chose to use Cashmere Mist CS instead of white and I liked the result. I cut some scrap CS to use as a mask for my inks and just sponged away using Versamark and Memento inks

Why the silver leaves? I have no idea only that they looked good to me

I've been quite busy with card making lately ... Some things I can't share just yet but I hope I'll find time to keep up with the class ... 

Have a lovely day and smile.....

Till soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter 263

Hello and good morning everyone!

This week at City Crafter my dear friend Stella is hosting the challenge for us and it's all about 

Sequins

Stella wants us to create a card or project that features sequins ... Well that's an easy one for me, I love using them - I hope you do too and will join in our challenge this week

Here's my card

I just love that pretty paper by My Minds Eye and used it to make an anniversary card

...With sequins of course

Hop on over to the City Crafter Blog to check out what my fellow DT have in store to inspire you this week ... We also have our winner from week 253 Fuchsia Crafts guesting for us

The challenge over at Just Us Girls this week is a colours inspiration challenge

I'm pretty sure my card captures the colours in that gorgeous hallway so I'll be entering there 

Have a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

Celebrations

Hello!

It's bank holiday here and the city is buzzing with the 175th Celebration of the Cunard Shipping Line

We have the 3 Queens - Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria all docking in the river and doing a 'river dance' as they all manoeuvre into a sideways position in front of our 3 Graces.

At home I have been struggling to find some creative inspiration as I have a few birthdays to accommodate this time of year 2 of which are for men ...

I did finally come up with a card yesterday whilst DH was at the match

I did some more star stencilling in bright colours and cut some balloons from water coloured CS

I don't know about where you live but here all the men's cards in the shops here are either football, golf or fishing themed and occasionally there are some scenic ones so I decided to do something more celebratory

I can't believe how long this took me and then I went straight on to make another card which I can't share just yet - I guess it's just making that first one 

The challenge at AAA Cards this week is to make a masculine card so I'll be entering this there 

... Did I tell you that last week my card was picked by AAA Cards as one of their Top Three?

I'm delighted and honoured

Have yourselves a wonderful day and thanks so much for your visit

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Broken

Hi there!

I'm back from my short break which was really enjoyable despite the fact that we only had a couple of hot days ... The rains came and the wind was so cold which was not good but we still managed to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

It was one lovely hotel and the food was wonderful which means I really need to lose a few pounds now!

So... Today I've picked the prompt for 

Our Beautiful World

and it's simply "Broken"

Some years ago whilst on a train in Majorca I spotted this beautiful horse just standing there beside all those Broken windows ... He didn't seem to mind as he basked in the sunshine

Now look at the sad face on my wind chime 

That's because all the rain and wind we've had took it's toll on a lot of things including Mr Sun's chimes

All rusted and Broken ... but not beyond repair

I'm sure like me you all have things that you can share for this week's prompt - I hope you'll link up with us

We also have a fabulous new DT member Mandysea from Australia who will be replacing Robyn, sadly she has decided to step down...

If you are interested in joining our team Kirsty has put out a DT call on the Blog - You don't have to be a professional photographer or have any fancy equipment I promise ... Go take a look

Have a beautiful day and I hope to be back soon

~ Ros ~

City Crafter 262

Hello!

My post has been scheduled as hopefully whilst you are reading this I will be abroad enjoying some much needed sun and rest

I am hosting the challenge this week at City Crafter and have come up with

Inky-nes"S"

Source

The challenge is to create a project that features One (or more) of the following

Smooching

Stencilling

Splattering

Sponging

The card I made was for my great nephew Ross's birthday last week

I took my star stencil and used 3 different inks to create the background for a shaker card

I wanted it to be bright and cheerful just like Ross

Our Guest Designer this week is the talented Agnieszka Kuszaj - click on her name to go visit her lovely blog...

If you'd like a chance to Guest Design with us at City Crafter all you have to do is to enter the challenge

So go on ... get out your inks and come join us!

We're looking forward to seeing your creations

Have fun ...

~ Ros ~

For You

Hello there...

It's so cold today ... Take no notice of that temperature thing on my side bar ... The wind here is freezing!

I'm off in a few days to spend a little time in Majorca hoping to catch some sun and relax on the beach so I won't be able to visit you for a while ... Till then I've made a card for you all

I've been playing with my new Hero Arts Hibiscus stamps and trying different colours ... I confess it took me a while to fathom out where each layer went...

I've printed my CS in Cashmere Mist (Pink Petticoat) again ... I'm really loving that colour right now. I also added some black sequins to my flowers centres - a gift from my friend Stella - IRL they are so sparkly

Before I go I'd like to thank the team at CAS(E) this Sketch for picking my card as a winner last week

I'm absolutely delighted!

I shall miss you next week - Stay safe and enjoy your week

Hugs

~ Ros ~

City Crafter 261

Hello and Good morning!

Today it's Kirsty's turn to host the challenge over at

City Crafter

This week Kirsty is asking us to Focus on Flowers (create a card or project that focuses on a flower or flowers) An 'easy peasy' challenge for you

Here's my card

I did some heat embossing and painted the roses (An old Hero Arts Stamp) after stencilling and paint spraying my background

After fussy cutting the roses I cut some leaves and painted them too - The little tag was also stamped and embossed with a HA stamp from the same set

Our Guest Designer this week is the winner of challenge week 252 the very talented Janelle

Click on her name to go visit her blog and check out her beautiful creations - Don't forget to hop over to the City Crafter Blog and see what the rest of the team have come up with this week.

I hope you'll come and join in our challenge

Have a fabulous day!

~ Ros ~

Our Beautiful World

Hello again...

It's time for a new prompt at

Our Beautiful World

This week Robyn picked the prompt

"Life is like a box of chocolates ... You never know what you gonna get"

After much thought I came up with this

My husband is a big fan of Everton FC (the Blues) whilst I support the opposing team Liverpool FC (the Reds) However, I have been with him to see his team play a few times as a corporate guest

Well, football is so unpredictable you never know what you are going to get

Kind of like our weather ... One day its starts so sunny and encouraging then within minutes the skies go grey ... 

See what I mean ... The rain has flattened all the pretty flowers

But see what is hiding in the background?

Lily of The Valley ... At least that has survived and a few Forget me Nots

I never know what I'm going to get after each winter ... Last year my Lilac tree was covered in beautiful blooms ... This year ... Not a single one ... sigh

Go visit the Blog and see what my friends have come up with this week and link up your photos with us at 

Our Beautiful World

Enjoy your day

~ Ros ~