It's the last What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday of 2015 ....

Morning all,

Hope you are all feeling a little more normal today ..... it's kind of an anti climax from the 28th - 31st isn't it? However, we were out to dinner at a pal's last evening which certainly eased the situation .... not that we needed an extra meal out ... not with all the turkey, mince pies, yule log and chocolates we've stuffed lately!!! It was, however, a MOST ENJOYABLE evening, thanks mate.

After we left our friend and toddled off to bed, we were expecting another windy night as the forecast had said it would be. What we weren't expecting was to be woken almost hourly and for us to give up on sleeping before 06:00 - with people due to join us for dinner this evening, we may need a nap!!!

Following a post shortly before Christmas pondering the disappearance of six of my followers, I found that the lovely Di, of Pixie's Crafty Workshop, appears to have tracked down the cause .... and posted the following on her blog ........

Quote from a post on 'The Real Blogger Status' dated Monday December 21st:

During the past weekend, Blogger started the process of simplifying Following. This involves removing non Google accounts and profiles from Following.

As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.

If you want more details then check out this link to the blogger status post. My thanks to Di, for tracking this down, I'm sure I've not been alone in wondering where my followers went.

Well now, here's a story on another topic entirely ... you may recall a week or so ago I posed the question about paper trimmers versus guillotines and canvased opinion ... you may also remember I purchased a guillotine. Hmmmf ... if only I'd waited! Hubby went to use our laminator yesterday morning, only to discover the motor burned out! Needing to use it yesterday (don't ask!) a new one had to be purchased from a local store and, obviously, one which had them in stock ..... cue internet trawling before the discovery of the best value option appeared to be at our local Argos. Off Mr K went .... and returned a little later with what looked like an oversized box for a laminator. The reason for this? It only came with a free rotary paper trimmer!!! No matter, I'm liking my guillotine and have had the best part of two weeks use from it already! - but, ... what a coincidence? And now, at least, I have a spare paper trimmer should I ever need one!!!

Well, since I had new stash AND I've still to get fed of the fab Carabelle stamps I succumbed to in the run up to Christmas ..... presto, a masculine card, kind of grungey but CAS too!

My card

My kind of grungey panel

And the insert and envelope

Materials used:-

• 15cm square white, 250gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of white card cut to 13½cm square
• Two pieces of black card cut to 14cm square
• Snippets of white card, grey card and black card for image and matting
• On the snippet of white card I brayered the Kaeidacolour "denim" ink pad and sest aside to dry whilst I read a few more chapters of my book .. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - if you're interested!!
• Carabelle image stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• CASual Fridays sentiment and Paper Arts splatter image stamped using Memento grey flannel ink
• Crafters Companion tyre tread stamped using Memento grey flannel ink (stamped off once)

I'll be entering this for the following challenges:-

1. Crafting from the heart - challenge No. 92 - ANYTHING GOES
2. Where the HeART is - challenge No. 4 - ANYTHING GOES
3. That Craft Place - December 20th challenge - ANYTHING GOES
4. Tuesday Throwdown - December 15th challenge - ANYTHING GOES

Just because it's the last WOYWDW of 2015 doesn't mean that said work desk is going to look tidy - sorry peeps! Guess I just don't have it in me after all that turkey and those mince pies though I promise that I DID think about tidying it up for you all!!! Scouts honour

My messy desk ... I'm TOLD a cluttered desk is a sign of genius?!?!?!?

And a sneaky peek in to just one of the drawers in my work area

There will be eight of us at ours this evening, for dinner, my dear hubs is cooking THAI food - yummmm. Hope the surrogates won't leave us with too much in the way of leftovers, we're still working our way through the turkey and don't even get me started on the mince pie mountain built since the end of November!!

Since I shan't be posting again until 2016 (sounds so far away doesn't it?) may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR - all the best fellow bloggers, followers, readers and occasional visitors - I appreciate you all

Welcome to my usual Sunday morning post .....

Morning all .... even if it IS only just!

It's a bit late .... my apologies but ... you know how it is - time gets away from you when you least expect it to .... Actually, I PROMISED myself a couple of hours at the ToC (Table of Craftiness) yesterday especially since I got some lovely craft goodies for Christmas ... I EVEN started to tidy up but .. it proved messier than anticipated and I simply ran out of time before having to go out and, since I was out for the rest of the day ... that was definitely a NO THEN!!!

There, that was by way of an explanation for the lateness of this post and absolutely NOTHING to do with alcohol!!!

My tag

My image panel

Glass bead glitter gel, goes on white

Dries clear and astonishingly twinkly and tactile ... go on! You KNOW you want some!

Materials used:

• Luggage tag - 60 x 120mm
• Distress Paint:- spiced marmalade, mustard seed and picked raspberry applied to tag with a brayer and bronze applied with randomly with a brush
• Crafty Individuals rabbit/hare (can never tell the difference!) stamped on to a snippet of white card using Ranger Archival jet black ink
• Distress Inks: salty ocean, tumbled glass, tea dye, hickory smoke, victorian velvet - used water colour style to colour
• Quickie glue pen used to colour crown, allowed to dry tacky and then gold gilding flakes applied
• Watercolour snippet previously coloured with brushos and mica powder, cut to mat
• Edges distressed with a Tim Holtz distressing tool
• Tsukineko shimmer spray applied over image panel
• Signo Uniball white gel pen used to highlight the design on the critter!
• Faber Castell glass bead glitter gel applied liberally to those areas of the tag which weren't going to be covered by my image panel and set aside to dry

I'll be entering this for the following challenges:-

1. Pixie's Crafty Workshop - challenge No. 208/209 - SNIPPETS challenge
2. Allsorts - challenge 342/343 - ANYTHING BUT CHRISTMAS
3. Inkspirational - challenge No. 98 - Bah Humbug - ANYTHING BUT CHRISTMAS
4. Simply Papercrafts for all occasions - challenge No. 20 - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES
5. Creative Artiste - challenge No. 9 - ANYTHING (mixed media) GOES

Now, where was I yesterday? I hear you ask .. well, I'll tell you - we were spending the day with our extended family known collectively as "the surrogates" .. we do this annually and usually (but not always) on Boxing Day, we exchange a Secret Santa gift to a value agreed beforehand and there's usually hot and cold nibbles, drinkies and party games!!! It's usually a complete blast and yesterday was no different .... there was great food, great chat, silly games and .... more presents too!!! Thanks, surrogates, for a lovely day and for our presents too.

Oops. I think I've been well sat upon!

Happy Boxing Day ... or is it just plain old Saturday????

Hi there,

Here's hoping you are not just lying there feeling sorry for yourself and thinking you should NOT have eaten that last mince pie! Seriously, here's hoping you all had a lovely day yesterday and that Santa was kind to you all too.

Santa was VERY kind to me and I'd like to thank everyone that was kind enough to send me a card or present, text, or message of Christmas cheer - all have been hugely appreciated - THANK YOU. My dear hubby bought me some rubber!!! Not THAT kind of rubber, silly!, rubber as in stamps!!

These have all been on my wish list for a while - YAY!

And my Secret Santa gift was also craft-y

Didn't I do well?

As my regular readers will know, I participate in an ATC materials swap and (just before Christmas) I received my latest batch of swap materials .... now these were tricky because the materials consisted of a single playing card and a square of vellum .. hmm. I sometimes find it even more difficult when I receive just one or two items, especially if they can't easily be reproduced (if I mess up!) but, I'm no quitter!!!

My ATC

And a closer view

Method:

Materials provided originally

Masking fluid applied over the "spade" and corner elements

Alcohol inks applied .... OK, it's a fair cop - a little
heavy handedly! What can I say? It's been a while since I used them!

Once dried I removed the masking fluid, sadly a little
had bled under the masking fluid but at least I could
still clearly make out it was the Ace of Spades!

Materials used

Materials used - in addition to the materials provided

• I masked the "picture" elements on the playing card and set aside to dry
• ATC blank edged first with the skull border from Inkadinkado "Rock Star" set, stamped using Ranger Archival jet black ink and then again with a border from the Kaisercraft "Edges" set, stamped using Brilliance lightning black ink
• I applied alcohol inks to the masked laying card: plum, butterscotch, latte, ginger and silver + blending solution and moved the colour around using a straw
• Once dried I removed the masking fluid from the playing card
• Inkadinkado sentiment (from the same set mentioned previously) stamped using Versamark ink and then Cosmic Shimmer Viola black aurora embossing powder sprinkles, excess removed and then heat set (this was where it ALMOST went horribly wrong as the playing card started to delaminate at this point, but I JUST got away with it!)
• I stamped the drum kit from the rockstar set on to the vellum using stazon purple ink and then die cut in to a circle ..... I added glue behind all the solid areas of the image and attached to the card, cutting off the excess
• Using a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen I "twinkled" up the drum kit!
• Using a Signo Uniball white gel pen I highlighted the text and drew round the corner elements

And my inspiration? Well, after thinking about this challenge for a comparatively short while ..... I found that I was humming "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead and it just went from there!!!

I'll be entering my little ATC for the following challenges:

1. Love2Create (pan pastels) - challenge No. 26 - ANYTHING (mixed media) GOES ... alcohol inks, stamping (regular + heat embossing), gel pen doodling, vellum, card,playing card
2. Crafty Creation challenges - challenge No. 305 - ANYTHING GOES
3. MOD Squad - December 23rd challenge - ANYTHING GOES
4. CraftyGalsCorner - challenge No. 51 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Use Your Stuff - challenge No. 204 - METALLICS - I used silver mixatives alcohol inks

Now, for your New Year Resolution and after all the Christmas excesses .... you might want to consider some form of workout regime and I THINK this one might just work for me, perhaps it will work for you too .....

It's Friday and it's CHRISTMAS ................. hope it's a good one!

Morning all

 

I guess that, by now, most of you have found out whether you've been bad or good! It would appear that I MAY have (accidentally, you understand!) been good as one of my cards was picked as a winner over at the Mod Squad challenge blog, for their ANYTHING BUT (Christmas) challenge, my thanks to the Design Team for selecting my card, which I've also shown below .. so you can see which card it was.

 

Not that I'm expecting many people to stop by today but ... just in case

If I run out of things to do today I can always make an ATC ..... many of you will recall that I swap ATC materials with a buddy on the Isle of Skye, took delivery just before Christmas and this is what I received .... any ideas? I hope you will stop by again tomorrow and see what I made ....

A playing card and a square of vellum

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of my followers, along with my regular and occasional readers ..... And for the Christmas Friday Funny .... it's courtesy of Marsha ..... ENJOY

Twas the night before Christmas at Rock-Away Rest,
And all of us seniors were looking our best. 

Our glasses, how sparkly, our wrinkles, how merry;
Our punchbowl held prune juice plus three drops of sherry.

A bed sock was taped to each walker, in hope
That Santa would bring us soft candy and soap.
          
We surely were lucky to be there with friends,
Secure in this residence and in our Depends.

Our grandkids had sent us some Christmas-y crafts,
Like angels in snowsuits and penguins on rafts. 

The dental assistant had borrowed our teeth,
And from them she'd crafted a holiday wreath. 

The bed pans, so shiny, all stood in a row,
Reflecting our candle's magnificent glow. 

Our supper so festive -- the joy wouldn't stop --
Was creamy warm oatmeal with sprinkles on top.

Our salad was Jell-O, so jiggly and great,
Then puree of fruitcake was spooned on each plate.
          
The social director then had us play games,
Like "Where Are You Living?" and "What Are Your Names?"

Old Grandfather Cooper was feeling his oats,
Proclaiming that reindeer were nothing but goats. 

Our resident wand'rer was tied to her chair,
In hopes that at bedtime she still would be there.

Security lights on the new fallen snow
Made outdoors seem noon to the old folks below. 

Then out on the porch there arose quite a clatter
(But we are so deaf that it just didn't matter).
          
A strange little fellow flew in through the door,
Then tripped on the sill and fell flat on the floor. 

Twas just our director, all togged out in red.
He jiggled and chuckled and patted each head.           

We knew from the way that he strutted and jived
Our social- security checks had arrived. 

We sang -- how we sang -- in our monotone croak,     
Till the clock tinkled out its soft eight-p.m. Stroke.

And soon we were snuggling deep in our beds.
While nurses distributed nocturnal meds.

And so ends our Christmas at Rock-Away Rest.
Before long you'll be with us, We wish you the best!

   

And, since that was the last Friday Funny of 2015 .... it was time to deploy the old Random number generator - to pick the winner of the 2015 Friday Funny prize 

Week 43 was October 23rd and the provider of that F.F. and the winner of the prize is ......

LILIAN B - Congratulations Lilian

Your prize will be on it's way just as soon as the post returns to normal mate

Enjoy your Christmas and ..... I hope Santa was kind to you all

Welcome to the last What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday before Christmas!

Morning readers,

Now THAT's what I call a suitable message for the time of year!

Yesterday saw me heading out to lunch with two girl friends who date back to my days at primary school .... oh yes, they will always be my friends - they know where the metaphorical "bodies are buried"!!!! Since I was the person who lived furthest from the lunchtime venue and I also had to pass close by the homes of both of my pals on my, it made sense that I should pick them up and make it in to a mini ROAD TRIP! Traffic was pretty horrible on the way out (sheer volume) so I decided to come back a different way and got snarled up by last minute shoppers for whom finding a parking space appears much more important than road safety - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Still, made it AND had a lovely time though one pal was returning home to wait for a doctor to call on her mum so ... fingers crossed that all turns out OK, mate.

Once back home I had some time (since I didn't need dinner!) for a little light crafting ..... and it's NOT a Christmas card - starting on the 2016 anniversary cards! - how organised does that make me sound?!?!!?

My card

And a closer view to show off the twinkle, on the sentiment AND the hearts

And the insert and envelope

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 250gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of red card cut to 14cm square
• Two pieces of white card cut to 13½cm square
• Inkadinkado sentiment stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Inkadinkado heart images stamped using Adirondack watermelon ink
• Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen applied over both the hearts and sentiment to make it super twinkly

I'll be entering this for the following challenges:-

1. Through The Craft Room Door - December 22nd challenge - ANYTHING GOES
2. Tuesday Morning Sketches - challenge No. 332 - ANYTHING GOES
3. Tuesday Throwdown - challenge No. 274 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Creative Card Crew - challenge No. 103 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Where the heART is - challenge No. 4 - ANYTHING GOES

The sentiment set I used is called Every day Expressions and is sooooo useful

Here's the fab Christmas card my dear hubs bought me this year, if I'm honest, my inner child LOVED it!

And not a Christmas card in sight on my desk! I'm well on my way to my 2016 quota so I've made a decision ... I'm not making another Christmas card before 2016 kicks off!

Festive? Yes ... Tidy? That'll be a NOOOOOOOOOOO then!

Welcome to the start of Christmas week! WOO HOO!

Morning all

Well, the pre Christmas bits and bobs are coming together ... last night friends joined us for dinner despite the rather nasty accident on the M32 which held them up - hope everyone involved is OK. Dinner was, as usual, an over the top production by my hubby with home made pea and ham soup followed by salmon en croute ... we had profiteroles in reserve but no-one had room!!! Today I'm having my hair cut today, I'm out to lunch, tomorrow, with two girl friends, leaving Mr Purple Princess at home to deal with some last minute preparations - things he's so good at! I am DEFINITELY getting the best part of that deal! Boy, once Christmas is over it's going to be a real culture shock getting back to ordinary food at home!

Still trying to get a jump on the thank you cards I feel I shall be needing come next weekend  ... here's another, using the same set of stamps I've used a few times recently, I just love the multitude of thanks .... but coloured it in this time, and I've picked up this colour on the matting layer of this otherwise monochrome card ... see for yourself

My card

And a closer view of the twinkle

And the insert and envelope

Materials used:-

• 15cm square white, 250gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Two pieces of 13½cm square white card panels + snippet 
• Two pieces of 14cm square black card panels + snippet
• Snippet of red card, for matting
• Black and white ribbon tied around my image panel and knotted, off centre
• Inkadinkado sentiment stamped on to a snippet of white card, the insert and envelope using Memento grey flannel ink
• Alcohol marker to colour and then Clear glitter brush Wink of Stella to add twinkle
• Paper Artsy splatter image stamped around the edge of the sentiment panel using Versacolour gold ink

I'll be entering this for the following challenges:

1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - challenge No. 208/9 - SNIPPETS CHALLENGE
2. That Craft Place - 20th December challenge - ANYTHING GOES
3. Penny Black - December challenge - ANYTHING GOES (with a stamp)
4. Stamping Sensations - December challenge - ANYTHING GOES with a stamp and ribbon

Of course, it's NEVER too late (till the 25th) to make Christmas decorations .... all you need is some wool (or twine) and some PVA glue, maybe some glitter and spray paint .. ENJOY!

Hope this helps you and your littleys in the Christmas preparations ..... Have a good one and (with reference to the graphic below) NO PEAKING!

Morning and welcome to the last Sunday before Christmas!

Morning all

Out to another Christmas meal with friends last evening, this time meeting pals from Thatcham half way, in Swindon! It's always nice to catch up with friends and I'm pleased to say that Christmas continues to provide a motive to organise such events. We had a nice catch up and a pleasant meal to boot - re-SULT!

On another topic, I know it's a own personal choice whether you follow a blog or whether you don't - I follow a fair few myself but go through (every now and again) and stop following those blogs who's authors don't post often or who's creative journeys have taken a different turn to the original reason I started following in the first place. I bring this topic to the fore as, since Saturday morning, I've lost six followers! ... I'm used to losing one here and there and gaining some too but this is the first time I've lost so many in such a short space of time so I'd like to say, sorry you've chosen to go but maybe (just maybe) you will continue to stop by and comment occasionally and thanks for following in the first place. To my remaining followers - THANK YOU.

UPDATED after publishing:- It appears that I am far from alone in losing followers, I have two pals who have reported losing 7 or 8 and rumours of one person losing SIXTY! Conclusion? Blogger may be having a clear out of inactive blogs. If anyone KNOWS the reason then I'd love to know

My own creative journey is continuing apace in a CAS (and occasionally grungey) vein and I have a super CAS make to share with you today ....

My card

And a close up, to better display the twinkle!

And the insert and envelope

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 250gsm card blank and matching sized envelope
• Two 13½cm square white card panels
• Two 14cm square black card panels
• Papermania "thank you" sentiment stamped using Ranger Archival jet black ink
• Pro Markers in RED and GOLD used to colour sentiment
• Wink of Stella clear glitter brush applied to sentiment to add major twinkle!

I'll be entering this card for the following challenges:

1. C.R.A.F.T. - challenge No. 342- THANK YOU
2. Allsorts - challenge No. 342/3 - ANYTHING BUT CHRISTMAS
3. Brown Sugar - challenge No. 177 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Left of Centre - challenge No. 109/10 - ANYTHING GOES