And the Last Birthday Card of the Year goes to.....

Carla!

 My friend's daughter Carla was born late on New Years Eve 30 years ago, they waited 16 long years for her to arrive so she is kind of special...

I'm must say I was glad to finally put away the Christmas stamps for another year and get back to making a birthday card....

 

In my favourite colours of Cracked Pistachio and Broken China (what a surprise!) Lol!  Who knows, I may even find a new colour combination that I love in 2018 and shock you all

 

I did pull out my Cameo to cut out all the words then I hand cut a little holder for a gift card for her

 

Are you celebrating tonight?  It will be a quiet New years Eve for us, DH and I will no doubt watch a film cosy and warm...With the cats of course, and maybe a glass of red wine?

 I always like take time to reflect on events of the year that we are leaving behind, the good and the not so good, and whilst I'm not one for making resolutions, I'll never stop hoping for peace in this crazy world of ours.

It's been a wonderful year in our creative community, don't you agree? Lots of new ideas, new techniques and new friendships forged....

To you all - I wish you and your loved ones a lovely evening - Be safe

 And a very 

Happy New Year 

filled with love, happiness and good health... Enjoy!

Till soon

~ Ros ~

 

Birthday Boy

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was very kind to you.

Are you looking forward to the New Year?I know we are... 

2017 has been a tough year for us and today I go for a pre-op assessment for my surgery due in just over a weeks' time so I'm hoping that in a few months time hubby and I will be able to enjoy life again.

I can hardly believe that Mikey will be 35 tomorrow... Oh my, where did those years go? How I miss those little arms around my neck and smothering him in kisses that always made him giggle. Now he's over 6 foot tall, far too big for me pick up and cuddle but he'll always be my baby.

You probably know that he adores animals and especially cats, so here's the birthday card I've made for him

Of course the cats are supposed to represent Ginger Boy and Missy - The 'birthday wishes' was cut on my cameo

It's freezing cold here today but so far we are not bogged down with snow... I do hope you are keeping safe and warm and wish you all a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

It's a Date

Hello!

How are you doing? 

I've spent a bit of time watching silly Christmas movies lately and getting that "feel good factor". I've got some decorations up, pretty lights and a miniture tree that has lights already on so no great effort was needed.

 The gifts are wrapped and I'm doing a bit of baking, so all in all it feels like Christmas here and we are going to enjoy it.

Well,  I have now got a date for my operation ... January 8th, all being well. I'm hoping to be home in time for my birthday and what a gift it will be to be pain free! I'm hoping my DH will be good by then too... He's still struggling a little so a few more weeks should help - He's being well looked after and his friends have all been amazing.

I couldn't post without sharing a little card or two so here we go

 

I did a little watercolour background with distress inks 

 

This next one is the same as one I did before but a different shade of colours

I'm totally in love with my distress inks now... I was wary when I first got them but boy do I love using them...

Have a beautiful day and I hope to catch up with you before Christmas

Hugs

~ Ros ~

 

Just a few cards

Good afternoon lovely people

I expect like me you are all very busy with Christmas preparations and lots to do with little time...

Anyway I thought I'd pop in and share a bunch of cards I put together using odd bits of CS to blend and splatter on

 

I don't think I've used that stamp before

 

Why a kitty on here? Well this is for the lovely couple who adopted my Pushka and regularly send me photos and updates of how she is doing... She's become one spoilt cat I can tell you!

A little glittered foam die cut...

More stamps that I don't think ever got used before

 Thank you for all your kind wishes for my DH ... He is home and recovering after his surgey, still quite sore and very bruised. He had to stay in hospital a little longer than anticipated and because his BP was low, they wouldn't even let him come with me to see my consultant in the same hospital.

Fortunately Mikey was with me ... Sometimes it's hard to take it all in on your own. Seems whilst the spinal arthritis is not a serious concern at my age, the damage it has done to a couple of the discs is severe. So the operation will be a little more complex and I should be scheduled for surgery in January. I'm waiting till my DH is a little better....

I hope you are all well and I wish you a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

 

 

Sparkle

Hello..

There's a Sparkle challenge this week over at AAA Cards

 

I have quite a few sparkly cards still waiting to be shared but I thought I'd enter this one as it's more CAS 

It's not easy to capture sparkle in a photograph but the gold splatters, the embossing and that glittery deer do sparkle

I used up a scrap of my ink blended and embossed card too

We've had freezing weather here but today it's pouring with rain. DH is in hospital having surgery and I'm waiting patiently to hear how things go.

You know I gave up reading newspapers years ago... I would get so depressed reading all the awful things that are going on in the world. I still continued to look at the headline news on my computer, really to keep in tow with things, but lately I find it harder and harder to let things go - I cannot believe what some people are capable of doing to others.

So I thank goodness for our creative community... Where we can share the things we make and escape to a better world...

Wishing you all a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

Hello Deer

Good morning...

I hope your week is off to a good start

I've made a few more cards and today I have a couple of ink blended ones to share

I've never tired of these little deer from Memory Box and I like that you get 3 in a row but can cut them and just use them individually or in different positions on your card

Do you remember the really thick acetate sheets that had Christmas greetings on many years ago? I have a few of them still around and I find them perfect for cutting out stencils or shapes and that's what I did to get the curves for the snow line...

This one Includes some stamping and though it's hard to see I've added glitter to the white acrylic paint I used on the tree and fence and it really sparkles

I really need to start mailing these!

I have a friend coming over today and I'm excited to see her, it's been awhile 

I hope you have a wondeful day

~ Ros ~

 

Watercolour and Birthday

Good morning friends...

It's freezing cold here, such a contrast to those of you across the pond in California... My heart goes out to all those affected by the terrible fires and I pray that you are safe...

I have a watercolour card Christmas card to share that I am entering over at 

CAS Watercolour

 

I did this one with Gansai Tambi paints and just added some splatters and a few die cuts

I also have a birthday card to share as one of my friends' is celebrating her birthday today... I always find it hard to switch from making Christmas cards to brthday cards so this one was kind of last minute

Once again I relied on my balloon dies to cut a stencil with and used various distress inks

I couldn't resisit putting that little kitty there and there's another one on the inside

My DH has finally had a date for his operation and it's next wednesday. That means he has to take things easy for 6 weeks... I'm at the same hospital the following day too, so I'm going to see if I can defer my back surgery for a while... Mikey will be taking care of us... Bless him. It's going to be a tough Christmas but at least we have each other and that's what matters...

Wishing you a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

Watercolour Christmas Cards

Hi... How are you?

I saw MIM on Papertrey Ink where Betsy painted some Christmas trees and it made me want to pick up my paintbrush...

I made a few cards and thought I'd share a couple with you today. I'm not entering at PTI but I did do this one with the same technique using a fan brush

I used distress ink to paint the sky and a distress re-inker for the trees

Having die cut the reindeer I smothered it in Versamark and used the same embossing powder on it as I did the stamped image

My next card also has a painted BG...

...But covered in glittered snowflakes

I'd forgotten just how relaxing it is to play with a paintbrush and watch those colours collide

I hope to be able to get around to visiting you all soon,

Wishing you a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

There's more...

Hello and Happy December to you all!

 

It's been very cold here lately with lots of hailstones but no snow as yet... I'm starting to panic a little as Christmas is just around the corner and the only thing I have done here is make a few cards. With sorting out affairs for my late Aunt, Hubby's hospital appointments as well as mine I can't say we've been idle... It's just the way it goes

 

Here's a couple more cards that I did with blended backgrounds...

 

 

... Using Distress Oxides and both clear and silver embossing powders

 Hubby is still awaiting a date for his hernia operation and since I last posted I've been for more X-Rays and another MRI, plus a nurse appointment and one with a consultant. Seems arthritis is the cause of the discs being pushed out and they are right in the lumbar region so the consultant wants me to undergo spine surgery and have rods and screws inserted. I'll have to wear a brace for a few months too... Going through airport security will never be the same Lol!

 It all seems quite daunting at the moment but hubby and I are looking forward to brighter days.

Thanks so much to all of you who sent messages and offered up prayers, and for all the wonderful cards I've received over the past few weeks following the passing of my aunt... You lovely people are the best!

Have a beautiful weekend

~ Ros ~

 

Oh Christmas Tree

Hello there...

Finally it's stopped raining... We've had days and days of rain and it's so good to see a blue sky and even a little sunshine. It's cold but I can deal with that.... The damp is no good for old bones I tell 'ya!

So I have another Christmas card today which I am entering at 

AAA Cards

And also at 

 

City Crafters

Of course it's done with one of my ink blended backgrounds again

Can you tell I got some new distress inks Lol!

I'm just playing with different combinations and never know what will turn out or what I'll use them for, but I love this tree die so I use it a lot - Actually there were 3 different sizes but I lost one and never found it

I hope you are enjoying your week so far, I can't believe that it's almost December again. I may have a few cards done but I haven't done any Christmas shopping at all. I've got a feeling that it may be gift cards all round this year...

Thanks so much for your visit and your kind wishes ... Have a good day

~ Ros ~

Another Christmas Card and Update

Good morning...

So first off I have another Christmas card to share

More ink blending and I even pulled out an embossing folder... I have lots of them but never really use any now but the swiss dots was always my favourite

Embossing with dies is becoming a favourite  with me lately and it's always a magic moment when using embossing powders but for me it's especially magical on vellum

Now to my MRI results, well thankfully it's not life threatening. I have 2 bulging discs in my lower back and a bulging muscle too which are all pressing on the sciatic nerve (and don't I know it) Lol! 

My GP is fast tracking me to the MCAS at one of our hospitals and with a little luck I may be able to get treatment without surgery.

Thank you so much for all your kind wishes and caring thoughts

Have a beautiful day

~ Ros ~

Christmas Heart

Hello...

I hope your week is going well... 

A couple of days ago I pulled out my distress inks - Playing around helps take my mind off the sadness I'm feeling right now... Anyway I made a few Christmas cards and here's one of them

As you can see I didn't just blend the inks, I splattered and stamped and embossed

I love that no two pieces ever look the same, thing is I can never remember what colours I use anyway

Pat came to play yesterday and it was so good to see her... She's covering the Thursday Club for me once again this evening. I had their projects ready, and though I am feeling much better after the cold and infection, the leg pain is still a problem plus the GP surgery contacted me to say that the doctor wants to talk to me later this evening, I guess they have the results of my MRI scan... I'm a little anxious but staying positive...

Wishing you a wonderful day

~ Ros ~

A few cards

Hello...

Before I was called away to Lincoln last week I had 3 cards to make and post... A birthday card, an Anniversary card and one to go to my friend who has just been told that her husband has terminal cancer... Everything seemed to come at once except my inspiration so I turned to a card I saw done by the talented Laura Bassen here and these are my versions

 The anniversary card for my brother and SIL

... Using the same colours for a birthday card

And more "Laura" colours for my friend

 

 I hope you are all having a good start to the week and I'll catch up with you soon

~ Ros ~