Hello New Decade 2020

Hello all you lovely crafters! Long time no see!
Well I’m still crafting, you’ll be pleased to know and still buy craft stuff! Does that ever stop? Lol
I also have another little job now, catering on the Thames Sailing Barges which are local to me,
which I love! It has taken me to some beautiful locations and I’ve seen the most
Amazing Sunrises and Sunsets.
So, I still have my little Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/iloveumore?ref=search_shop_redirect  which ticks over quite nicely,
Along with friends and family orders.  My Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/rosesandribbons.comuk/about/ and also an Instagram
Account Roseandribbons1 instagram does anyone else have one I can check out?😊
I still love making cards and doing anything crafty or creative.  How about all you
Lovely lot? What’s been happening in blogland? What’s the latest trend? Is it still
Magnolia,  I’ve been away from the real action in crafting for so long?
I would love to hear from old and new crafters, where is the best place to get the latest
Up to date papers and craft goodies? Especially paper flowers! What’s trending right now and also where to get
Those bargains! Meanwhile I’ll have a little peek around your craft blogs and see if
Blogging is still the place to be! Lovely to be back in blogland, a very Happy and Healthy
2020 to you all and Happy Crafting xx please drop by and say Hi, old and new friends xx

Working on Mothers Day Bouquets 

Flower Hat Box Card

A very BIG "Hello"! and a very happy, healthy and creative 2018 to all you lovely people out there in blogland! Well, after some considerable time apart, I thought I would visit my old Inspiration Station Blog, and "yes"!, its still here! page 3 of Google!!! well what do you expect! after neglecting it for..........shock horror!!!!! nearly a year! March 2017 was my last post!  I thought I would log in and take a peak!  It was so lovely to see some old friends still posting, and still inspiring me https://debby4000.blogspot.co.uk/  and making me laugh Julia at Stamping Ground  still continuing with WOYWW, I love your desk, so many interesting things to look at!!! Well it seems Instagram has craftnapped me!  I do find it simple and easy to use, CRAFT, IPAD, PHOTO, PUBLISH, HASHTAG! and I also run my little Etsy Store too! so much easier than my Web page to upload new items!! You can see most of my new makes here https://www.instagram.com/roseandribbons1/  I guess it came to the fact that my craft room was getting, shall we say, a tad cramped! Cabin Feverish, so much craft stuff, that I thought, well I may as well try and sell this stuff I'm making! that way I get to buy more stuff and have a bit of space to make the stuff too! Win, Win. hee hee!! Happy Crafting lovely bloggers! xxx

Happy March!

Hello lovely bloggers, a very Happy March to you all.......



I haven't been blogging for such a long time, although I
have still been card making! I have been using Facebook
quite a lot and also Instagram and have found these to be
beneficial to my little Etsy Shop. Do any of you use other
social media sites to display your works of art? If so
which is your preference?
I've just updated my header as I thought my blog needed
a bit of a face lift, I shall have to have a wander around and see
whats new with all of my friends, old and new! I've also
given my craft room a face lift too.....oooh and its sooooo
much better, I think I'm quite organised! The header picture also
shows off my new brick wallpaper :0))) xx
Now whilst I have been completing card and wedding
orders I have also been lucky enough to be on the design
team for Katy Sue Designs and would like to
share some of my new makes using their latest release
of moulds. If you follow the link it will take you direct
to their website!  You can also see some of my designs in my
new header picture......

So these are two of the dresses I made using their beautiful new ruffle moulds

its so versatile, there is a medium and small, I also made the flowers in the

upcycled lemonade bottle (see header pic) and the little frill around the rim!

all with clay, these moulds have so many uses! The clay I used is

hearty clay, I don't know if you have used it but its so very light

and ideal for cards and crafts, its quick to dry too! Once I removed

the clay from the mould I then squashed it with my little cake tool see pics....

   Medium and Small Ruffle Moulds

                        As you can see not much clay is needed and I only used half of the mould!
The moulds are also very flexible for ease of removing clay.

                                I made a small tight ruffle to replicate a petticoat and then an
                            additional two small ruffles which I splayed out for the frill of the
                                                                               dress.

I then used the large ruffle mould for the top frill as this is longer and you have more to mould and shape the bodice into. 

Once I was happy with the shape (any loose bits on the sides I cut off with the craft knife)

I then used this beautiful heart shape mould for the bodice, You can make yours up with cards stock or fabric, felt etc; and the fun part is then adding, diamante, beads, pearls and making the dress to your very own style!

 I've added some gorgeous Roses to this dress just for impact (very Rock n Roll Bride) and then made                                                     a matching bouquet to add to the card.

Again the mirror was made using this beautiful Cameo mould, I just used the frame part and placed mirri card behind it!

                                        I thought I would make this dress an Halter neck design.

The possibilities would be endless with these gorgeous moulds, you can make Prom Dresses to match your own and put it in a box frame with the date and a picture of you wearing it! or maybe your bridesmaid dresses, onto a card as a keepsake Thank you card!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, any questions I will be willing to answer them, please just message me.  Happy Crafting, Sue xx

My Little Mermaid

Hello lovely bloggers, a very happy Wednesday to you all, well here she is
the finished Mermaid that I made.  I'm so pleased too with the way she has
turned out!

Here are some pics and a short description of how she evolved......

So you can see this in my previous post, the head and the arms are from those brilliant

creative people over a Katy Sue Designs, they have some amazing moulds over there 

right now, both for using with cakes and clay.  They are so easy to use, if you are in 

doubt there are some great  You Tube videos which the talented Noreen has made

and you can also visit their Facebook page here

.

I was thinking what can I put her on????? Blue card for the sea? make a Rock from

the clay, but as I had this MDF Star shape immediately thought a star fish would be a nice

thing to make!  So by adding some red clay to the white I created this pink colour

I then moulded it over the star for the base shape and then made the ends

curled slightly and poked the holes with a Bar B Q skewer! tools of the trade! ha ha

Once I was happy with the shape I then laid my mermaid onto it and moulded her

in the sleeping position.

You can see I used a frayed ribbons for the base of her hair for the rest I used Satin Embroidery Threads.

I added glitter to a few of the strands and also added some whites and purple strands too just to add shade and texture.  For her tail I used glue and different shades of glitter and I also had a green nail varnish that I thought would add interest.and colour.  

I forgot to mention that whilst the clay is soft it can be manipulated to any shape, even the moulded

arms and hands I pulled and twisted to arrange them in the positon I wanted, the fish tail was just

sqeezed between my thumb and finger to get the flat finn effect!  You can also see her ear which

I created with a small roll of clay bent it and flattened it then used my skewer to shape.

I added a yellow and orange tinge of watercolour paint to the starfish too as I wanted to tone

down the pink.

I hand painted her Finn with blues and greens in watercolour paint and drew some veins with

a fine point marker pen.  For her eyes I used blue watercolour paint with a fine black line

along the bottom of the eye.  A light brown watercolour for the eyebrows and a lovely red

for her lips and a lighter shade for her cheeks.

I used some very fine beads of matching colours and glued these to her waist and 

as an arm band.

Here's a little back view

The finished Mermaid, I did add some irredescent glitter to the star fish to
to give the effect of the sand from the sea.
Phew, think that's everything, if you want to know anything that I have forgot
to mention, please just message me.  I hope you are inspired, Happy Crafting, Sue xx

Ooooooooh a Mermaid in the Making.....

Hello lovely Bloggers, a very happy Thursday to you all!

What's been happening on your desks lately? May I ask, I must have a peek around your

lovely blogs later xx. Well, I have just started to attempt an Air drying clay Mermaid! 

Eeeeek!  (I have really got into clay making now I have found the fabulous Hearty clay,

It's so light) There's a first time for everything I suppose.  Here she is in all her bareness!  I

I have been having a look around pinterest and saw this gorgeous beautiful green Mermaid

and that's what has inspired me.  So watch this space and I will show her when she's finished!

Have a great day everyone and Happy Crafting! Xx

Here's my one I've just started, you can see the two moulds that have helped

enourmously, which are the head and shoulders mould available here from Katy Sue Designs.

Little Baby Thank You Cards with Buttons

Hello lovely bloggers, a very happy and sunny Wednesday to you all.  I hope you are all fine and dandy and enjoying the sunshine now without that bitter chill in the air! I think spring has finally sprung! Happy Days xx

I thought I would post my latest makes, these beautiful little "Thank You" cards for a new Baby Boy!
I just love all these different gorgeous buttons,  I have set each one onto a lace strip with a punched heart behind it.
The cards are all three fold with the little square aperture cut out and are left blank inside for people to write their own little personal Thank you message, you can order them here at my Etsy shop and you can also visit my Roses and Ribbons Facebook page here, where you can see more of my makes.

I love these collage apps too, aren't they great? they really allow you to highlight certain aspects of your card designs.  This one is called Live Collage and is on my ipad, it's free too! :0) Happy Crafting everyone, enjoy your day, Sue xx

A Very Hoppy Easter to you All xxxxx

Ooooh it's been an egg-citing time in my craft room, do you remember that little sign I saw in Cornwall,
(Caution! uneven surfaces and Rabbit holes)..........

...... well look what it has inspired.....it has now made it's appearance in my little Easter Frame I have made, working with the new Nursery Sugar Button Mould sets from http://www.katysuedesignsltd.blogspot.co.uk/ ,, which they will be launching today on the CreateandCraft Channel at 1pm and 6 pm - Sky Channel 674 Freeview 36 Freesat 813 and Virgin 748. make sure you tune in to see the other gorgeous moulds in this set! Here's a sneaky peak at one of my Creations, obviously in keeping with this weekends Easter Holidays, I have used the fabulous Rabbit mould, which comes complete with Carrots and a bottom half  Rabbit to glue him into those
awkward places he gets himself stuck into hee hee!

The other moulds I have used in this project are as follows:
Wood Panel Design Mat
Miniature Frames
Fashion Embellishments (Design a Hat Mould) for those beautiful little blossom flowers.
all available here

I have also used some of their flower soft in Meadow in between the grass.
The Easter basket and eggs were made freehand with the Hearty clay, just by rolling two strands thinly
and twisting together for the handle and the weave is just rolled strands placed in S shaped on top of each
other..et voila!
I used White Hearty Clay which I must say, after using other types this has to be the easiest to use! its so maliable, its like working with marshmallows, and dries as light as a feather.  Its so easy to paint too, I used
my water colour paints on the carrots and look how lush and orange they have come out! really pleased with
those, (did you see the little sign on the hessian sack? "Fresh Carrot Juice")! hee hee.
I used Tim Holtz Distress inks on my wood panel.
The bunting and backing papers are from their Flower Soft papercraft collection!
I think thats everything, any questions just send me an email xx I hope you are inspired.

Heres a little close up...

Have a very Happy Easter everyone and may your chocolate eggs be filled with goodies! Happy Crafting Sue Xx

Hats off! To the Mother of the Bride!

Hello lovely Crafters, a very happy Tuesday to you all.  Just thought I would pop on a little card I made, whilst you're waiting in anticipation for the new Katy Sue Design Moulds to be showcased! Hee hee.  I hope you are inspired.........

Happy Crafting xxxx

Watch this Space.......

Hello lovely Crafters, I'm sooooo excited, firstly I'm in Cornwall, and the weather has been very kind to us this week which makes it all the more beautiful.......

Secondly I've been sent some incredibly gorgeous new moulds from the lovely Katy Sue Designs!! Eeeeeeeek sooooooo gorgeous! the bad news is I'm not allowed to show you anything yet, but I couldn't wait to play with them so brought them with me to Cornwall, this next picture is a clue....

I spotted it right here in Marazion where we are staying...........it's inspiration for my next card...

Hee hee......as I said, watch this space....happy crafting xx

Mother's Day Makes

Hello lovely crafters, a very happy Friday to you all!

Well, we've had, Sun, Rain, Hailstones and I think snow is forecast for the Weekend! Can't wait!!

What else is there to do but to stay at home in the warm and craft! :0)))

Thought I would share some of my Mothers Day makes with you.

What are you up to this weekend? Anything exciting?......... 

I hope you are inspired.
Happy Crafting xx

All You Need is Love!.....and some crafting goodies hee hee

Hello lovely bloggers, Happy Thursday to you all, thought I would share some of my Valentine makes with you!  I did a card stand at hubby's workplace so had to prepare quite a few different makes, so there a few pics of that too!  What are you all doing for Valentines Day?  Me and hubby normally just stay in and cook a nice meal and our budget for gifts is £5.00 so we see who can get the best gift for a fiver, it's a bit of fun too! Here's the pics...........

Hope you find some inspiration!Wishing you all a very Happy Valentines Day!Happy Crafting xx