September Garden

I can't believe we have reached September already ... And we still have sunshine!!

The prompt this week at Our Beautiful World is of course 

September ...

This is the photo I posted on the blog 

Do you know what those pretty pinwheels are? Well, they are the seeds left from my clematis after flowering ..

I just think they are so delicate and pretty

and look at the lavender now it is going to seed

How beautiful and fluffy are these lavender seeds?

Nature is so amazing ... a constant change from one glorious moment to another ...

Summer came late to my part of the UK ... But it came - and it's still lingering with us awhile ...

I still have fruit on my tree

and there are still flowers blooming

relishing the sunlight and warmth ... like this spider

Geraniums and chrysanthemums still put on a show 

... Whilst some border plants are preparing to don their ruby red winter coats 

Like this sedum

 Because Summer came late and lingered ... some plants have even been fooled into thinking it's Spring again and have decided to put in a second appearance

Including the Fox and Cubs

This is my September ... what's yours?

We'd love to see how it is in your part of the world ...Link up to 

Our Beautiful World

And go visit the blog ... We have a new member on the team - an awesome photographer 

Bonita Rose  from Florida ... Be inspired!

Till soon

~ Ros ~

Paddling ......

Hi there ...

Thanks so much for your well wishes ... my shoulder is still troubling me but creating helps to take my mind away from it.... until I try to reach for something Lol!
 I'm amazed at how many of you suffer the same thing ... getting older can be painful!

My brother is a wonderful photographer - he takes lots of shots of his grandchildren ... Sophia and Ross ... Cousins who adore each other even though they don't get to see each other that much ...

I loved this shot and made a wall hanging for this weeks 

A Mixed Media Colour Challenge

You know I never throw anything away ... and I keep boxes - lots of them!  I had a card box which was 20 x 27cms and I thought the lid would be great to use as the base for my wall hanging because it has a lip on so it could be hung easily ...  I sprayed it in silver and then reinforced the inside with another piece of card

I had fun making this piece ... playing with lots of different things - starting by printing a grey digital paper onto canvas paper

I tore pieces from left over piece of DP and adhered them with Gesso and used white acrylic paint randomly over the papers before mixing it with some red to get the right shade of bright pink ...

I found a stencil in one of my cupboards that I must have bought years ago for something? A rose ... so using Molding paste I stencilled it onto the paper and when dry I added some of the mixed acrylic paint ... I also used Molding paste on the left hand side and pressed my brick embossing folder into it ... Ok it isn't very clear but it did give some texture ...

I also used bubble wrap with the pink paint and dabbed white paint over that and sprayed glimmer mist randomly

The photo was mounted on a piece of cardstock that I stamped first with white ink and then used my fingers to rub some of the ink around the edge of the card and tucked some muslin behind after stamping a verse onto the paper

Tattered Rose glimmer mist was also sprayed over my large flower which I made using 2 different flowers and distress inks were used on the shells  - I sprayed the chipboard wings and the word 'Family' with silver spray paint before adhering them and finally added some rhinestones and 2 pearls for the 2 little angels in the photo

The whole page was then glued to a piece of silver CS and that was glued in turn to the box lid!

I'm really enjoying experimenting in mixed media ... and Mona and Sue's creations are always so inspiring ... hop over to the blog and take a look!

Till soon ... stay safe

~ Ros ~

Papercraft Star Challenge

Hello!

It's wednesday already ... the weeks are flying by aren't they

Today is another photo inspiration challenge at 

Papercraft Star

Such an interesting photo ... woodgrain, velvet, bling, crown, colours, tassels

What will you go with?

Here's what I came I did

This is a card and notebook for a lady who is in the same local history class as my husband - she was kind enough to send me a lovely scarf that she made herself - It's beautiful! But quite big so I need to find a way of photographing it to show you sometime

I've used some pretty digital paper with the crown on - a freebie from the talented Astrid ... and some paper from a pad sent to me by Jan ... which has that deep pinky red colour from the photo

The cover for the notebook is printed onto canvas paper which gives it a totally different look ... Like fabric in a way but with a tougher wipe clean coating

Our team at Papercraft Star always try to give you different ways of interpreting the inspiration photos because like us - you all have very different styles ... Head on over to the blog and check out what my lovely team mates have created this week and hopefully you will be inspired to share your interpretation ...

Have a beautiful day 

~ Ros ~

Cottage Roses and Gingham

Good morning!

I hope you're having a good start to your week ... I'm struggling with what I think is a trapped nerve in my shoulder ... I've had it off and on for over a month - It's painful and difficult to sleep and I have restricted movement in my arm ... Unfortunately it's my right arm too and I'm right handed ... 

Still I'm sure it will ease ... 

Today at City Crafter we have a new challenge - set for us by the lovely Charlene ...

Source

Char is asking that we create a project using Roses and Gingham

If I'm being honest ... I really don't like my card this week  ... Maybe I should have gone with different colours ... 

I loved the inspiration photo too ... 

So I'm sure you guys can do a lot better than I did ... 

... And I made a mistake last week when I said it was sweet Sue Lelli's last week with us ... My lovely friend is still with us this week as Guest Designer ... 

"So sorry Sue" ... Put it all down to what we call a Senior Moment!

Please hop over to the blog and check out Sue's wonderful work this week along with the fabulous examples from the rest of the team - I hope you'll be inspired to join us

I'll be back tomorrow - Till than have a beautiful day 

and thanks so much for stopping by

~ Ros ~

Strong ...

Happy Sunday to you ...

It's a new photo prompt at

 Our Beautiful World

Today our lovely Kirsty has chosen the prompt which is 

Strong

I thought this was a terrific prompt ... It conjures up so many things and at first I was going to go with some photos I took this week of little black ants burrowing out of the mortar between the flags ... Boy those insects are really strong! They can carry up to 20 times their own weight

But then along came my "little man" a stray cat we've opened our hearts to ... He was looking a little battered and bruised this day - and tired from sleeping rough I guess and the fights that ensue when other tom cats pick on him ... Of course we feed him and offer him a place to sleep which he occasionally accepts ... as he did in this shot

Looking at him"Strong" came into my mind ... I've nursed many sick and ailing cats, dogs, birds - even mice and frogs - thanks to my son - not with any special lotions or potions but with food, shelter and lots of love - It never ceases to amaze me how strong and enduring they are ...

It always distresses me when people think it's ok not to neuter a cat - one un-spayed female cat will be responsible for 20,000 offspring in 5 years given that an average litter is 4 kittens and within 6 months each kitten can go on to have their own litter ... As for the tom cat ... he will always be in combat ... battered and bruised - not a good life ... even if you are not a cat person.

Ok ... enough preaching ... here are some shots of those amazing pesky ants!

I don't mind these so much ... It's the flying ones I really don't like

I'm off to take a look at the blog to see what my fellow team mates have in store for us this week ... why don't you join me and link up your photos this week ... I'd love to see what your interpretations are for Strong ...

Have a lovely day

~ Ros ~

Three French Hens And A Table

Hello there!

Well I don't know about you but my friday very hectic .... But before I get into that ... Would you like to see a couple of things I've been working on?

As far as card making goes ... my mojo has run off somewhere so I've been turning my hand back to home decor - Ever since my sweet friend Anitra mention Water Slide paper to me (hadn't a clue what it was) I've been desperate to try it ... Getting stuff like that is not easy here in the UK but fortunately I found some on the internet along with the necessary Krylon lacquer ...

I saw a cute little table at the flea market and the guy let me have it for £2 Perfect!! Ok, it needed a good clean and I forgot to take a photo before hand ... so eager was I to get going ... But several coats of paint and a good few hours later ... this is the result

... And I'm thrilled with it - even though I did botch a little of the decal

This little table folds each side so it is only about 3" wide .. so cute!

Well I couldn't stop there ... I have just finished another table which I will post another time but I also wanted to show you how I transformed my little hen house egg holder ... Again I'm sorry I forgot to photograph it before ... Just trust me that I've had this about 14 years and it was looking shabby 

Ta da!! The digital images are from Etsy (the hens) and The Graphics Fairy (postmarks)

The thing I love is the roof ... ever since the lovely and uber talented Mona Pendleton posted her gorgeous creations using a Tim Holtz embossing folder and some Ranger foil sheets I fell hook line and sinker and ordered them

I love the effect!

If you're thinking of giving water slide paper a go ... head on over to The Polka Dot Closet and take look at some of the wonderful things Carol makes ... This lady is amazing!

So my day - I was expecting a friend around lunch time which was fine as we were expecting people to come and clean the gutters in the morning (when DH would be here).

The gutter people didn't arrive so DH took himself out for the day ... then my friend arrived whilst I was painting and so did the guys to do the gutters!

My friend and 6 other people are each making a fabric letter to spell out a pretty WELCOME banner for the cancer clinic at our city hospital ... my friend (an artist in her own right) does not sew and needed my help ...

In the course of trying to adorn her letter "L" the phone rang countless times, the doorbell rang countless times ... and the workmen kept interrupting for something ... Then my Aunt got into difficulty with her online shopping orders ... my SIL wanted to chat ... and so it went until about 8pm. I was so glad to get to bed last night - my head was spinning!

I'm hoping for a more peaceful weekend ... the football season has started and DH will be off to the match later this morning ...

Have yourselves a lovely weekend ...

Thanks for looking in on me 

Till soon

~ Ros ~