Welcome to What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday

Morning readers and welcome to my WOYWDW post,

Yesterday a couple of dear friends popped in on their way north, lovely to see them and catch up in person. They couldn't stay long as they were running behind schedule ... but ... we shall be seeing them again in just a week or so, so it wasn't too sad that they were only able to stop for just a short visit!

And now I have such a lovely new craft area I can hardly keep away .... so I have a make to share with you today ....

My card

A closer view to show the twinkle

And the inside and envelope

Materials used:

• 5" x 7" scallop edged, 300gsm card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippets of card: white, red and black
• Perfect layering templates and a craft knife to cut borders at 1/16" and 3/16"
• Dina Wakely triple heart and "Love Rocks" sentiment stamped using Adirondack red pepper and Memento tuxedo black inks
• Montarga sentiment (of New Zealand) stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Crystal stickles to outline the hearts

Whilst the Dina Wakely set isn't NBUS - it IS almost!!! I've obviously photographed this from a strange angle as I'm looking at the top and thinking it's not straight .... but looking at the card IRL it sure LOOKS straight!!! Hmmm - technology huh!

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Creative Fingers - challenge No. 94 - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES
2. Chocolate, Coffee and Cards - challenge No. 100 - CELEBRATION
3. Simply Papercraft - challenge No. 14 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Wags 'n Whiskers - challenge No. 162 - GLITTER and SPARKLE - which I hope it does!
5. Craft Your Passion - challenge No. 281 - ANYTHING GOES

And now, since it IS WOYWDW AND I have a new craft-y space, I have more than one photo to share with you today .....

Tidiest view in a while

Look how tidy my floor is too

Just look how everything seems to have a home ..... and wonder how long for!!!
What can I say? I'm a messy crafter!

I'm still fine tuning my new craft space ... but, I'm getting there!

Morning all .... yes, it's TUESDAY and yet there's a post from me!

Morning all,

I know, it's another Tuesday post and I don't normally post on a Tuesday but, I have crafting to share and I also want to wish three pals, who are travelling today, a very safe journey. Two of them (and their chauffeur ... aka husband and son-in-law) will be stopping by later today too, for a cuppa and catch up - looking forward to it.

Here's the batch . . . . . . for a challenge outlined below......

 

And in a little more detail ....

Card ONE - using Agatha embossing powder

Card TWO - using LuLu Purple embossing powder

Card THREE - using Purple Glitz embossing powder

Card FOUR - using Silver Dazzle embossing powder

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 300gsm, scallop edged card blank and matching sized envelopes
• 5" x 7" white, 300gsm, scallop edged card blanks and matching sized envelopes
• Snippets of white card for the image panel
• Card: black, purple and silver mirri
• Penny Black "snow capped" tree image stamped using Versamark ink and the following embossing powders used to heat emboss:- WOW! Purple Glitz and LuLu Purple, Fun Stamps Silver Dazzle and finally Sparkle 'n Sprinkle Agatha
• Perfect layering rulers (at 1/16") and a craft knife
• Inkadinkado 98412 - Christmas tag wishes stamped using Memento tuxedo black and grape jelly inks

Well this has sure revved up my 2015 quota, four in one go!

I'll be entering the above makes for the following challenges (please note that not all cars are entered for all challenges):

1. Craftbubble2½ (membership required) - September/October Rudolph Day challenge (see details below) - card #'s 1 - 4
2. Robyn's Fetish - challenge No. 283 - SQUARE or RECTANGULAR CARDS - card #1
3. Penny Black - September challenge - ANYTHING GOES - card #3
4. Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - challenge No. 248 - STICK IT DOWN (well I stuck three layers down on each card - hope that counts!)
5. Four Crafty Chicks - challenge No. 265 - SPARKLE and SHINE - card #1
6. Simply Less Is More - challenge No 243 - SOMETHING SHINY - card #4

Now these instructions might sound complicated but they basically translate as what you see above .... 
CRAFTBUBBLE RUDOLPH DAY CHALLENGE THEME:- So…………. I challenge you to make a SET of FOUR cards. Your cards must be related, but all different.

Your four cards should be the same in one of the following ways:
1. Use the same papers & colour scheme.
2. Use the same image.
3. Use the same layout.
4. Use the same technique (ie bokeh, heat embossing, shaving cream background, etc.).

Get stamping!

Morning peeps and welcome to a sunny Sunday

Morning all,

Hope your weekend is proceeding to plan ... ours is. Yesterday we re-hung the curtains and re-homed our small collection of CD's and DVD's. The ornaments were a little trickier as we had previously had a fairly large and cumbersome (to say nothing of a light thief!) teak unit upon which we displayed our ornaments and hid our CD and DVD collection but that's now GONE! It was an exercise in de-cluttering ... we'll NEVER be truly minimalist but we're way closer than we were just two weeks ago!

And, in between all this domesticity you should know that some crafting occurred!!!  . . . . . . . . . please see below peeps!

My card

And close ups of the shine and sparkle ... oh, and the polka dots too!

And the insert and envelope too

Materials used:

• 5" x 7" deep red, 300gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippets of card in white, blue and blue holographic as well as a piece of white card cut to 11½ x 16½cm
• Penny Black image stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Coloured with red and green alcohol markers
• Bo Bunny "polka dots" stamped using Distress Ink in tumbled glass
• Crystal, gold and black stickles to highlight snow and fur, the bow on the bouquet and also the boots
• Plaid dimensional gloss applied to the hat and dress area
• Hero Arts sentiment stamped on another snippet using Memento tuxedo black ink before cutting fairly close to the text. It was then mounted on to a matching snippet of blue card using dimensional foam pads before adhering to my card

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Pixie's Crafty Workshop - challenge No. 196 - SNIPPETS CHALLENGE - lots of snippets - check!
2. Sweet Stamping - September 26th - USE A NON WHITE BASE ... deep red - check!
3. CAS on Sunday - challenge No. 68 - POLKA DOTS - blue "snow" with stickles - check!
4. Simply Less Is More - challenge No. 243 - Recipe ... SOMETHING SHINY - dimensional gloss - check!

Welcome to my blog and to challenge Saturday ......

Hello readers and welcome to challenge Saturday

Not sure how this post is going to work out because, yesterday, my blimmin' antivirus software decided that every single one of my followed blogger blogs was "at risk" and denied me access .... that even included my own! Can't tell you how annoying that was but, better safe than sorry, so I didn't visit many blogs at all. If I normally follow your blog and comment on your lovely work and didn't yesterday then please accept my apologies - it was nothing you did! It was Bullguard having an epi! Strangely enough, it was fine with wordpress blogs! Go figure!

However, being kind of "offline" did mean I got to make (and post) a Christmas card yesterday and also make the card featured further down this post, as the postman brought me happy mail in the form of new stash!

Needless to say "ticked off from the South West" got on the case fairly sharpish and I imagine that a number of other unhappy bloggers will have done so too - hoping it will be fixed once I come to post this.

My card

And a close up to show the shine and twinkle

My matching card .... the insert also matches (as per usual) but ...
if I opened my card to show you then the "takes forever to dry" gloss
dimensional finish would have run!!!

Materials used:

• 5" x 7" white, 300gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• 11½ x 16½cm white card panel
• Silver mirri card for matting (also SHINY!)
• Penny Black "brush ornament" image stamped using Adirondack purple twilight ink
• Hero Arts sentiment stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Plaid dimensional gloss applied to the bauble area
• Crystal stickles used to highlight berries and leaves

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Simply Less Is More - challenge No. 243 - SOMETHING SHINY (and CAS!)
2. Aud Sentiments - challenge No. 141 - LETS GET STARTED ON CHRISTMAS
3. Wags 'n Whiskers - challenge No. 162 - GLITTER AND SPARKLE
4. 4 Crafty Chicks - challenge No. 265 - SPARKLE AND SHINE
5. Creative Knockouts - challenge No. 108 - GLITTER IT UP

I was recently selected as a winner over at The Craft Barn and was the lucky recipient of a gift coupon .... now, I don't know about you but I always feel that unexpected things like this should be used on something you love but perhaps wouldn't buy for yourself. I've been so short of space that my credo before purchase these days is .... "can you think of five uses for this stamp/set?" If the answer (whilst in-store not like "over a weekend"!!!!) is no then I try not to buy ..... it has to be said that sometimes this theory works better than others!!!, but it's been useful to me otherwise my recent de-clutter would have been SO MUCH WORSE!

My card

My insert and envelope
I know I normally do a close up but, there was little colouring and no twinkle!

And the set I "treated" myself to ... simply because I'm WORTH IT!

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 250gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• 13½cm square white card panels for image and insert panels
• Black card and grey card for matting
• Snippet of white card (for image) and black card (for matting)
• Stampers Anonymous "London" image from the Cityscapes set, stamped using Memento tuxed black ink
• Distress Ink in hickory smoke and stormy sky smooshed on to a craft mat and water added before water colouring the sky around my image ... I wasn't too fussy about the colouring as I felt the uneven blending of the colouring added to the watercolour brush marks simply added to the sky "texture".
• Stampers Anonymous "thank you" sentiment stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink

I'll be entering this card (Antivirus software permitting) for the following challenges:-

1. Crafting With Attitude - challenge No. 7 - ANYTHING GOES
2. Create and Inspire - challenge No. 30 - LAYER IT UP ... there are 5 layers to this
3. Creative Fingers - challenge No. 94 - ANYTHING GOES

Have a stupendous weekend peeps ...... update: PC/anti-virus/blogger issues seem to be all sorted - thank heavens!

Welcome to another weekend .. and the Friday Funny!

Morning,

Today SHOULD see an end to the upheaval and chaos that has been our life since my last trip to Hobbycraft!!!! Honestly, who knew a trip to Hobbycraft could do that? No, actually .... a chance remark by my hubby resulted in the purchase of furniture and carpet and the result also included decorating. The decorating, which neither of likes doing, went off really rather well but the carpet caused more of an issue ...... however, this week it was all starting to come together with carpet cleaning, carpet fitting and today, a new bed is being delivered - to finally restore order to the Purple Palace, I can't wait!

My dear hubby, knowing my love of craft, set up a temporary craft area for me in our dining room even though this meant eating at my craft table (me) and scrunched up on a footstool (him) - I think that goes above and beyond so ... a big shout out to hubs! CHEERS MATE!

Most of you who stop by regularly will have known about the upheaval and will also have noticed that (limited stash or not) you can't stop me crafting! I have added to my stash with the on-line ordering of a couple of things so, thanks to the Craft Barn, Stampotique and Stamplorations too, for keeping me sane when I've not been able to find THE perfect image recently!

I spent much of yesterday moving stuff from the dining room to the lounge and trying to shoe horn it in to my new space .... who knew I had so much stuff?! Honestly, I've gotten rid of LOADS of stash and still it keeps coming out of the dining room! HOWEVER, at least it's good and tidy, and my walkway is clear - no more limbo for me!!

And now ..... for some VERY frustrating news ...... sat at my computer this morning and went to visit some of the blogs I follow ONLY to find that the anti virus we run would not let me visit ANY of them ..... and that included my own!! Can't tell you how irritating it is and will be contacting them shortly to see what settings they've recently changed! In the meantime - if yours is one I regularly comment upon then please accept my apologies for not visiting today - heaven knows I've probably TRIED!

My card

And a close up to show the twinkle

And my co-ordinating insert and envelope

Materials used:

• 5" x 7" white, 300gsm, scallop edged card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippets of white card and green card
• Crafty Individuals image/sentiment stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink
• Alcohol markers in pear, poppy and forest green to colour
• Crystal stickles to highlight
• I used Distress Ink in pine needles to darken the green matting layer and also over stamped using the Kaisercraft mini triangles, also inked using pine needles

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

1. Happy Little Stampers - Christmas Challenge - HOLLY 
2. Scraps of Life - Rudolph Day - CHRISTMAS PROJECT
3. Creative Knockouts - challenge No. 108 - GLITTER IT UP
4. Aud Sentiments - challenge No. 141 - LETS GET STARTED ON CHRISTMAS

And now for today's Friday Funny which comes to you courtesy of Lilian this week - ENJOY.

It's entitled:- Kids say the darndest things!

Ocean – ALL you Need to Know!! Children Writing About the Ocean….

1) - This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Mike, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers. (Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't  go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean. what he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

If you didn't smile at one of these, you need to find a better sense of humour.

Have a great weekend peeps! I'm celebrating the completion of the refurbishment works by going out to dinner with a pal this evening too, not that I'll be late home tonight as I shall be wanting to see how comfy that new bed is!!!

Welcome to What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday .....

Morning all

Well it's hump day Wednesday again but this one's a little different for me .... as today the chaos draws to a close with the fitting of our (long awaited) lounge carpet - HUZZAH!! I have to say that I have been looking forward to this day (albeit apprehensively when worrying out what would happen to my stash) for a little over NINE YEARS! How time flies? And, whilst on the topic of time flying ... here's one of today's crafty makes ....

My card

And a close up of the detail, including the banner

And the co-ordinating insert and envelope

Materials used:

• 15cm square white, 250gsm card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippets of  card in both white and black + 14cm square of white card for the insert
• Stamps by Finnabair (neon background), Inkadinkado (sentiment), Visible Image circles and some splats), Kaisercraft (banner) and Paper Artsy (splatter)
• Inks: Hero Arts Neon pink, Memento rosebud and angel pink, Versafine onyx black

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

1. Fashionable Stamping - challenge No. 103 - WORDS
2. Speedy Fox and Friends - challenge No. 280 - BANNERS
3. Eureka Stamps - challenge No. 158 - MONOCHROME - I went with PINKS - black and skin tones are normally also allowed so I'm hoping this will be OK
4. CASology - challenge No. - CIRCLES
5. CASe This Sketch - challenge No. 141 - see below

And then ..... I made another card, well, with no TV it's not like there's a lot else to do once it gets dark around here ...

I've left the sentiment off as I think it might fit more than one occasion
I'm intending that my sentiment will fit across the top, hence my image panel
not being exactly centrally placed on my card

Here it was as a WIP with his neon waistcoat!

Materials used:

• 5" x 7" white, 300gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippet of white card for my image panel
• Snippets of black card and neon pink card, for matting
• Stampers Anonymous "Time Traveller" image stamped twice using Memento tuxedo black ink - once on to my card snippet and once on to a post it - I then cut out the waistcoat and used the rest as a mask for my Hero Art neon pink applied DTP method ....
• Paper Artsy splatter image stamped using Hero Arts neon blue ink, before I removed the mask
• Promarkers in ice grey and cool grey, to colour my image
• Visible Image mini flourish (Craft Stamper freebie) stamped around the outside using Memento inks: London fog, rhubarb stalk, sweet plum and Hero Arts neon pink

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

1. The Male Room - challenge No. 19 - use neon colours
2. Gem of a challenge - challenge No. 153 - BOYS, BOYS, BOYS
3. Simply Papercraft - challenge No. 13 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Through The Craft Room Door - Sept 22nd challenge - ANYTHING GOES
5. Without Words - September challenge - FOR THE BOYS

And another big Woo Hoo today, for TWO reasons .... 
1) we FINALLY get our carpet fitted in the lounge and 
2) I found out that I was a lucky gift voucher winner over at the Craft Barn, for my entry for their Stencils and Masks challenge, thanks Jane.

Since it IS What's On Your Work Desk Wednesday - here's a peek at my desk today ....

This is the space NORMALLY occupied by my craft stash .... just
waiting on the carpet fitters today ...

And here it is in all its temporary glory!

Morning and welcome to another week

Morning all,

It's the start of a pretty busy week for me this week ..... regular readers will know we are decorating and it's all coming to a close but .... you know what it's like (think dominoes and I don't mean the pizza!!). What started as the simple purchase of a bed turned in to a carpet for a different room (don't ask). Well, if we're having a new carpet we'd better decorate and if we're having a new bed we'd best have the carpet cleaned .. you getting the picture? All in all choas reigns in our house right now, I'm sure we'll both be glad when this week is OVER!

So, all my stash moved in to another room - and not all in the SAME other room! I was thinking I was doing pretty well with the challenges I've managed in the last chaotic ten days and then the ladies over at Simply Less Is More threw a bit of a curve ball with their latest challenge theme of technology - HMMM! I thought long and hard about this and searched and re-searched my "reachable" stash before coming up with this .....

My card

And a close up of the image panel

And the co-ordinating insert and envelope

Materials used:

• Deep Red (from Craft Creations - I've had this batch of cards for ages and am using them as part of my de-stashing programme!) 5" x 7", 300gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• White card and black card for my card front and insert
• Snippets of card in: white, kraft and black for my image panel
• Finnabair background image stamped using Memento London fog ink - thanks Loll!
• Paper Artsy splatter image stamped using Ranger archival watering can ink (stamped off once first so the splatters weren't so dark)
• Stampers Anonymous telephone image stamped using Memento tuxedo black ink .... which I also used to edge the white image panel
• WOW! sentiment stamped using Versafine onyx black ink
• Visible Image (Craft Stamper freebie) mini flourish stamped around the outer edge using Distress Ink in aged mahogany
• I used the Finnabair and Paper Artsy images on the Kraft layer and Memento rich cocoa and tuxedo black inks

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

1. Simply Less Is More - challenge No. - TECHNOLOGY .. of course my technology is old but spectacular at the time! I HOPE that my fellow LIM-ettes will take pity on my inaccessible stash and forgive the liberty! 
2. Pink Gem challenges - challenge No. 153 - BOYS, BOYS, BOYS
3. Lil Patch of Crafting Friends - challenge No. 18 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Fashionable Stamping - challenge No. 103 - WORDS

Want to see the choices I had?

Yes, aside from my trusty Kaisers and Christmas stamps ..... this was IT!

Aside from crafting I'm still cracking on with the de-stashing (or at least, my version of it) and dropped some off with pal, Lilian yesterday morning, timing it just right a cup of coffee and a natter too - cunning huh? Very sociable day all round as I was coffee-ing and nattering with another pal yesterday afternoon too!

Morning and welcome to Sunday

Morning readers,

Apologies for my absence yesterday and lack of visits to my regular blog haunts ... I was away at a Crafting Retreat in Cirencester and there are photos further down this post .... in the meantime, I'm not sure that I would really share with you that I have made 72 cards for my 2015 quota and am now just 8 away from my goal! Woo Hoo! It doesn't seem like long ago I was MILES behind but I seem to have put on a bit of a spurt - not unlike a long distance runner except (OBVIOUSLY) without the running!

Anyhoo .....

My card

And a close up which, I hope, will show a bit more twinkle

And the co-ordinating insert and envelope

Materials used:

• Red 5" x 7", 300gsm, card blank and matching sized envelope
• Snippets of white card, trimmer using a deckle edged blade
• Snippet of gold pearlescent card
• Penny Black image stamped using Adirondack watermelon ink
• Stamplorations sentiment stamped using Ranger Archival jet black ink
• Crystal stickles to highlight and generally add some twinkle

Now, I quite like this card but, let me tell you, I had originally planned to add a little satin ribbon .... having glued it together AND photographed (I might add) I then realised I hadn't used the ribbon ... so out of the habit am I of adding embellishments!!! On reflection, I'm quite glad ... on a subconscious level I must have known this before I assembled my card!

I'll be entering the above card for the following challenges:-

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - challenge NO. 195 - SNIPPETS CHALLENGE

And now for some pix of what we got up to yesterday ...

The usual suspect

It's a pretty impressive University

We were in the hall straight ahead, the far side of the tree
Boutflour Hall

And even a Church on campus

Half of the crafters at work

And the other half, Jacky was getting coffee and I took the photo, we would
otherwise have been on the left of this photo

My first layout in over three years!

This close up shows more of the doodling!

Materials used:

• 12" x 12" papers
• White card, black card and kraft card - for journalling and matting
• Photos from a crafters meet in July of 2015
• Sakura clear glitter, Black and white gel pens to journal and doodle

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

1. Brown Sugar - challenge No. 164 - ANYTHING BUT A CARD
2. Crafts 4 Eternity - challenge No. 244 - HANDWRITING
3. Creative Fingers - challenge No. 93 - ANYTHING GOES

We all had to take enough of an item for everyone to have one then
the challenge was to use ALL OF THEM on your layout ....
I went with a double page (which I HOPE wasn't cheating) but I made it!

Materials used:

• Some 12" x 12" papers that I took with no intention of bringing home - they're really pretty but I just never seem to use patterned paper these days. 
• White card, black card and Kraft card for journaling, matting and layering
• Black and white gel pens to highlight 
• My items: Numbers, Kraft flag, bird on a stick, parcel/tag (counted as one), Glittered peg, blue bead, Question mark clip, butterfly, animal clip (there was some doubt as to whether it was a dog/cat or fox!), coloured ribbon, satin ribbon, paper clip, doily and gemstone frame and a small pink heart (which you should see at the base of the exclamation mark on SURPRISE!)

And, as if that wasn't enough excitement in one post .... I just found out I won over at the fabulous Darnell's blog ... she recently had a superbly sponsored NBUS (Never Before Used Stuff) challenge and I was one of the lucky winners - my thanks to Darnell and the sponsor of my prize - Stamplorations - lucky me! Already spent my prize .. and more! ........ in my head!

Enjoy your Sunday all