More Christmas Cards

Hello... 

Well we are nearly into December.. I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely day even if it was completely different from the norm. Let's all hope that next year will be better.

The rules here will be relaxed for a few days over Christmas, there are still restrictions, but some family members will be allowed a get together. As for us, we have no plans to meet up with anyone and Christmas day will be as it always is except that this year friends and family all agreed not to buy each other presents, rather donate to charities. The Grandchildren have online wish lists so they will still get gifts.

I haven't done any crafting this week at all but I do have a couple of Christmas cards to share

 

 

This is the same deer I used in a previous card, stamped twice and watercoloured. I just used the head of one (minus the antlers) to make a mama deer and baby deer. I drew a string of fairy lights using liquid pearls for the lights to hang around mama deer's antlers

 

The little bird is from an old Lawn Fawn set

This next card was done pretty quick - I'd ordered the Versafine Clair ink in Twilight and couldn't wait to try it - It's such a lovely colour - and the little bunny stamps (£1.50) also arrived from Inklicious

This is quite sparkly...

...As I used a similar colour glitter to the ink

Unfortunately the days have been very dull here and not good for photos... In fact it was like night time all day yesterday and it's cold!

Stay safe and well my friends... Thanks so much for your visit

~ Ros ~

Shake it Up & Covid testing

 Hello there... How are you?

Well there's been a few things happening here since I last posted but first I'll get on to the cards I'm sharing today.

The weather is cold and miserable, we are in a lock down and Christmas is coming - Time to pull out the sparkle with a few simple shaker cards

Of course it helps to use up those zillions of sequins I have and the painted pieces that work for backgrounds or to make those sequins sparkle and sentiments shine

 These are both normal size cards - The die is from AliExpress and the pretty centres on the snowflakes are from a hoard of gems

The next few cards are slimline...

 Which can be stood either way

So last Friday hubby and I had our Covid tests. Thankfully we tested negative and will be going for a follow up test again this week. I have always been in two minds about the testing given that there are idiots who refuse to quarantine or wear masks and lets face it I could be negative one day but positive the next. However, a lot of time and effort has gone into the organization of the mass testing project and then again those young handsome guys in their Army uniforms were just too much for me to resist Lol!

Was it worth it? Yes. Each time I get a sniffle or a cough, my heart races with the what if? Was it uncomfortable? Only for 10 seconds and the scheme has been extended so we can go as many times as we wish but the main thing is that the R rate has come down and hundreds of asymptomatic people have been diagnosed.

We had to break the rule a little yesterday as my brother needed to come over but he took the test here so we all knew we were clear. Another distressing family issue has rocked our otherwise quiet life and I'm grateful we have each other for support. We'll get through as we always do... 

Stay safe and well and thanks so much for your visit

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Watercolour

 Hello there.. I hope you are well

The weather is miserable but I can lose myself in watercolour. Today's Christmas cards are both watercolour, and stamping with a few of my own painted branches

 

The little watering can is a stamp you've seen on my cards before.. It's not from a Christmas set but an ordinary cheap set I bought online once in a sale. I like it when I can take a non Christmas stamp and in the right setting it just works.

The pine branches I painted and the berries are all done with perfect pearls... That stuff last for years!

Then there are two red watering cans

I did add the baubles to that lovely (Inkylicious) branch along with some berries

 

I have no idea how many Christmas cards I've done but the pile is now quite big...

I'll share some more soon

 

Have a peaceful day...Be well

 

~ Ros ~
 

Snowy England

 Hello and thank you for stopping by today...

It's a dull but very mild November day so don't let the title of my post fool you... It refers to the five more Christmas cards I'm sharing today.

Snowy England

They are all made the same way, ink blending, stamping, a postbox and some little berries. The snow was done with texture paste and fine glitter and I've also used a Posca pen for splattering

I just altered the scenes

 

And though I use the same inks, The colours are never the same

There's something about a red postbox in the snow that always says Christmas... The postbox was a basic digital that I altered to look "British" by adding the crown and insignia and the little message and then colored them with Copics

 

 I really enjoy making these type of cards and I hope you enjoyed seeing them

 

Have a great day, stay safe and well... There's good news on the horizon thanks to the amazing scientists who have been working away on developing a vaccine for this virus.  Now if only they could fix stupid....

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Computer Blues...

Good morning... 

I had hoped to post yesterday but my computer got the blues, it happens. It's always a mystery why something works fine one day and the next day it doesn't... I wonder what goes on in the night?

 Hubby and I have exhausted Netflix and Amazon since this whole pandemic started. We tend to snuggle down these dark evenings and love to watch either a Scandi or French thriller series but alas, we have done them all so last night we watched a 2013 film with Brad Pitt about a pandemic would you believe, only this one caused people to become zombies... I guess there's always something to be grateful for even in the midst of Covid.

 I have been quite busy making cards this past week, inspiration paid me a visit. They're mostly Christmas cards but today I am sharing the birthday card I made for my brother Rick and just one Christmas card I made ages ago but didn't share

Here's Rick's card

 

You can probably guess that he too loves drone flying so I found a free image on the internet to add to my scene

If you look at the first image you'll see a little shiny texture to the drone... Well here's a tip that may (or may not work) for you... When I printed the drone off my computer the ink was still wet so I sprinkled clear E/P on it and heat set it and voila! Who knew?

Actually I had a Canon printer that I really loved but last year it died on me so I had to replace it... I couldn't get the same one so opted for a newer version but I hate this one and it hates me too I think.. Why do companies do updated models that are nowhere near as good as the originals?? 

My Christmas card

 

I've done more ink blending this week and even some watercolour cards that I'll share later this week

Before I go, and you probably need a cup of coffee right now - I do, I'm adding a link to another one of Ron's videos  "Red Rocks" a place on the opposite side of the river Mersey to me.  The background to this is that when we were little children and still a family, our Dad took us here to play on the beach and the rocks, a special memory. The rocks stood high then but over time they have virtually eroded unlike our memories...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKkqii8pS2U

Take care my friends

~ Ros ~

 

Bunny Celebrations

 Hello Friends... I hope you are all well

Yesterday was a friends' birthday and whilst I would normally be round at her house enjoying a chat, this year of course I could only stand at her gate. Still it was better than nothing, and I got to visit the Chiropodist... Busy week huh?

Here's the card I made for my friend

The card I made in my previous post had my own sketched bunny but this little bunny is a digital, the branch is a stamp from Inkylicious and the stencils are from Lavinia

There are a few celebrations this week - My brother Ron celebrates his Golden Wedding anniversary and my brother Rick has a birthday, so whilst I had the stencils and stamps out, I also made the Anniversary card in a similar vein

...because I know they will like this and honestly? I didn't have any other ideas Lol!

The stickles give it lots of sparkle as well as the stamped stars which are embossed with a glitter embossing powder

Ricks card was a little different...No bunny I promise. I'll share it in my next post.

The mass testing here seems to be going well, the army are doing a fabulous job, though it does not include our household. Whilst we live in Liverpool, the boundaries are a little different and we come under a different council which as yet isn't included. So far over 200 hundred people who thought they were fine, no symptoms at all, were found to have the virus. Unfortunately like lots of other places we have our fair share on non believers in both the virus and the quarantine measures so the light at the end of the tunnel keeps flickering.

Stay safe and well my friends, thanks so much for keeping me going all this time, your friendship is really appreciated

Till next time

~ Ros ~

CAS Mix Up

 Hello and welcome to a brand new week, just another one in lockdown for us.

I'm kinda getting used to lazy days, no pressure about having to be here or there or unexpected visitors turning up before my first cup of coffee...Lol!

I've had cause to make a few cards for upcoming celebrations these past few days but today's card is just for fun and the new challenge at the CAS Mix Up where the lovely Bonnie is hosting

The 'off the edge' deer is a very old stamp and the rest I sketched

I did a little bit of stenciling at the bottom of the card for the ground beneath the bunny but other than that, everything is painted with Prima watercolours

The sentiment is from an old Christmas stamp set by WPlus 9 - It was just right for the scene. I was originally going to make a Christmas card but it took another route and I'm happy with the result.

Have a lovely day and I'll catch up with you all soon

Be safe

~ Ros ~

Framed Cards

 Hello there... 

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you are all well.

Just a couple more Christmas cards to share today...

Some of you thought that I added those baubles to the pine branch when I used it on a previous card but it's all one stamp that I bought years ago at Inkylicious. After stamping it and the lower branch which is also part of the set, I painted them with prima watercolour. I find by flicking the paintbrush along the branches it gives a more realistic effect

Then with gold paint I added tiny berries, stamped and painted the little bird and baubles and added some glitter 'snow'.

For the second card I painted leaves in a circle to make a wreath, this time adding red berries. I also painted a branch but used the same little bird stamp

The frame was one I had from AliExpress in case you are wondering

Please stay well and safe my friends...

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Christmas Candles

 Hello there friends...I hope this finds you well...

I've not had much inclination craft wise lately but I forced myself to make some more Christmas cards however, getting decent photos has been a nightmare... It's been wet and dull here for days

The candle/bauble stamp I've had for years but never used until now 

 

 

I just wanted to paint something and this worked fine over the stencil so I did another

Just changed the sentiment

I don't know about you but I keep losing stamps... One minute they're there and then suddenly they are gone! I spend more time looking for things than creating. By time I've located something the idea has gone... That's not to say I do locate everything, sometimes it's just a mystery as to where things have disappeared to. I once read a book.. A Place called Here by Cecelia Ahearn... It takes you to somewhere where all those lost socks, keys, umbrellas even people end up... I always think of this when I lose something and see them sitting on a shelf in a place called Here, waiting to be returned Lol!

Have a terrific day my friends... We are back in Lockdown and apparently are going the first city to be mass tested for the virus. 

I'll keep you posted

Till soon

~ Ros ~