City Crafters Challenge Stamp it Out ...

Hi there ... I hope you all enjoyed your celebrations and are looking forward to the New Year ... today of course is week 37 of City Crafter Challenge ... Linda is hosting for us and has challenged us to use stamps ... rubber or clear ... on our card or project. I don't know about you, but faced with a challenge to use something we use regularly without thinking about ... suddenly draws a blank ... for a while I stared at my box of rubber stamps, fumbled through my box of clear stamps ... and finally decided on one of each ...

Our sponsor this week is our dear friend June and she kindly sent us all 

some of her beautiful handmade pins to use on our projects

I stamped the swallowtail butterfly (an Inca rubber stamp) twice, layered it and added blue sparkly stickles to various places and used this lovely pin as the body for the butterfly

I used a lovely border stamp (a gift from Stella) and brown pigment ink to stamp directly  on the Jack and Jill Prima paper ... 

We also have a fantastic Guest Designer this week ... Betik  ... please take a moment to check out her fabulous creations ... you won't be disappointed I can tell you ... I can't wait to see what you all come up with this week ... 

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Boxing Day

Hello my lovely creative blog friends ... Did you enjoy your Christmas Day? My husband, my son and I had a lovely day together ... We woke up to thick freezing fog and Hubby and I attempted to get to church but the fog was so bad and the car was skidding on the icy roads ... we didn't get far and had to turn around and come back. It was disappointing but the roads here even got closed by the Police because of the ice ... so it was the wise thing to do. Dinner was lovely and then a lazy day followed with phone calls and skyping with family ... 
The lovely Clare  kindly passed on a blog award to me today ... 

Part of accepting this award is to:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. Thanks Clare
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pass it on to 8 bloggers
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

So 8 things about me ....

1. I love to create ... whether it be with papers, materials, plants, food ... I just love to see something come together.

2. I adore animals ... at one time I had 12 cats and kittens ... some sick - all homeless - that I nurtured back to health, had neutered and either kept or re - homed ...and because my son when he was little was of the same ilk ... I have even 'healed' half dead mice, frogs and once a baby blackbird that didn't even have it's feathers yet! (Yep, hourly feeding day and night!)

3. Every week I hold a craft class at the Bridge Chapel (Thursday Club) teaching mentally and physically challenged adults ... I simply adore them!

4. I am the only one of my siblings to have been born here in Liverpool and stayed here in Liverpool ... my brothers are londoners as were my parents ... 

5. I appear on the Peerage.com .... Yep, had famous family connections (well it's a long story!)

6. I once won a scholarship to a drama school here in Liverpool and attended for a few years ... I always wanted to be an actress ...

7. I love Practical Philosophy ... and I'm on a journey of knowledge ... 

8. I adore blogging and being part of a DT and having made so many wonderful blog friends

Now I am going to pass this on to the following people .....

Sylvia 

Keren

Tatanky

Ira

Terrie

Steph

Amy

Joanna

 Enjoy your day ....

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Merry Christmas!!!

Just popping in to wish you all a very Happy Christmas

may the spirit of Christmas grant you peace,

 happiness and love ....

Thank you to everyone who has supported me with their lovely comments ... thank you for the beautiful friendships I've forged

... Sending love and hugs to each and everyone of you...

May your God be with you

~ Ros ~

xxxxx

Scandinavian Christmas

... That's the challenge this week over at The Shabby Tea Room .. and due to commitments it's been sooo long since I got to enter one of their challenges ... so with some time on my hands I finally got to enter this one ... This is the inspirational photo ...

... Love this red and white ...

I have lots of pictures to share so I hope you don't get bored ...

I made a house gift box and a card ... this is the house

I made up the template and then stitched this pretty red and white fabric all around it 

... a cute fabric covered robin sits on a sparkly snowflake ...

Vellum patterned paper and lace on a corrugated roof ... 

more vellum and a wooden heart with a wooden covered flower on the side

This is the other side ... another heart with a covered butterfly 

and I strung heart shaped buttons with beads to each corner

then finished with a ribbon and a sparkly embellishment ...

 On to my card ... using the same theme ...  

I cut a heart shape out of thick felt and one out of the same fabric I used on the house 

and stitched them together ... added some lace ... 

a fabric flower with pearls and a gem and a sprig of berries

But see the heart comes off to use as a decoration ...

I had fun making this ... what do you think?

Whilst crafting today there have been two serious accidents at the back of my house ... just beyond our garden is some woodland and then a main road which is so very icy and drivers are still going too fast .. no sooner had the Fire brigade, police and ambulance cleared one accident when another car landed in exactly the same place ... scary!

Till soon ... keep safe

~ Ros ~

   

Christmas and Happy Mail

Are you fed up of Christmas cards yet? I have couple to share ... and then need to make a start on birthday cards ... so many coming up ... my son has a birthday on the 29th ... So he's next on the list ...

I bought this whole pad of MME glitter papers last year and there is still loads left ...  I love it ... it is the kind of paper that doesn't just restrict itself to Christmas ... the patterns are subtle and it is so thick too

... And I don't think I will ever tire of these felt snowflakes either ...

I adore this red flocked paper which came with a kit from "Cupcards to Go" also last year ... but I'm not sure I can get this again ... maybe you sweet bloggers can let me know

I got more "Happy Mail" ... from the lovely Stella ... a dear friend who is not feeling too well at the moment ... maybe you can stop by and leave her some love?

A stunning card and Scandinavian wrapped presents ...

Don't they look absolutely beautiful?? 

They are tucked under my tree ready for Christmas morning ... 

I can't wait to see what is inside them ..

"Thank You" dear Stella ... get well soon

And one last thing before I go ... 2 weeks ago our Thursday club finished for the Christmas break and I was presented with a beautiful box with 4 hyacinth bulbs ... as a thank you for all I have done throughout the year ... so lovely ... and I couldn't resist photographing them this morning in all their glory ... a promise of Spring to come ... Their scent fills the house ...

Enjoy your day my friends ... Till soon

~ Ros ~

Kirsty ....

Dear Kirsty ....
A few minutes ago I received your package ... all the way from Las Vegas ... 

The most beautiful embellishments ... brads, amazing trimmings, alphabets, crochet flowers and chipboard crowns ... ribbons in pink and brown ... Maya Road journal tags ...

Scrapbook papers ... All my favourites .. Melissa Frances ... 

and beautiful Websters pages image and phrase stickers ...

... And the most beautiful handmade tag ...

with handwritten words that mean so much ...

How do I thank you? Not just for the most beautiful, delightful gifts that I absolutely adore ... 

but for being a friend? 

 In my wildest dreams I could never have imagined that a little lady I have never met and lives thousands of miles away ... would be the catalyst that changed my life ... 

Today as I sit here I am a totally different person from the one I was this time last year ... 

I have confidence ... I have purpose ... I have the most amazing blog friends all over the world.

Joining the DT of City Crafters was the best thing I ever did and I am so grateful to you and the DT past and present for believing in me and making me believe in myself

"Thank You" ...

... the words somehow seem inadequate ... but they comes from my heart ...

~ Ros ~