WOYWW 853

Wednesday again!  I think there is more than one in a week.

What's the week been like for you?  Hops it was a good one.  The weather up here has been quite mild with warmish days for October.  How's it been further down the country?

Well I still haven't been doing much myself as I have to keep those darned legs raised from the ground still.  Makes it rather difficult to do much crafting so unless I manage to get something stamped ready to colour in there is nothing I can do.  The DN's brought me something to use in bed to keep my heels elevated so that there is less chance of my getting bedsores on them as I have got a burning sensation in both heels.  I did finish the cards I had on my desk last week.

My latest purchase to Ann & Val

and a Get Well Card (below) to our neighbour

Sorry about the white card, I was trimming it on the scan and went a bit too far on some sides.  My hand got a twitch and there was nothing I could do about it.

Well, nothing on the table this week, quite tidy for once.  We will have to see if we can mess it up a bit for next time for you.  

Seeing the nurse dealing with my oedema on Thursday so hopefully will start to get somewhere.  She will also hopefully  give me some antibiotics for my chest, I hope, as I am wheezing like an old pair of bellows.  She is brilliant but has been on holiday for two weeks and then it took me a week. to get an appointment with her, shows how popular she is.  Oh, and I may be late commenting today as I am seeing the chiropractor as my back has gone.   Guess it's cheerio for now until later today when we meet at Sarah's Craft Shed.

WOYWW 850

It's another week gone by and I have done very little in crafting.  In other words I have done nothing new except my journal on a Thursday. If you want to see what I did you just have to scroll down a bit and you can read my story and look at my picture to illustrate it.  Each week I  plan, in my head, what I am going to do but then it never happens. 

So, this week my desk just has some blue toppers on it.  They are all old pieces of art work and I am going to make them into a set of six cards to leave somewhere for someone to find.  It's up to them whether they keep them, put them back where they picked them up from or pass them on to someone else.  I am going to try to make them more or less the same size so it will be easier for fixing them in envelopes.

Now should I make a box to keep them all in or is there some other way that will look ok?  In the past when I have left a handmade book I have either wrapped it up like a present or put it in a box.  But I don't feel cards can be treated in the same way.

I may be a bit late commenting today as I have an ultrasound appointment at cardiology late morning.  Wonder what that is going to throw up?  My chest infection seems to be on its way out too so things might be taking a turn for the better after two lots of antibiotics.  Sorry for the whinge.

Anyway, this is what is available on my desk today.  Old work but hopefully of use to someone when I get them mounted up.  Hopefully when I get to Sarah's Craft Shed I will find others who have got some brill work up.  See you there shortly.

WOYWW 848

I've decided I can feel a chill in the air now we have turned the month.  September can be a month where you get lovely sunny days and cool nights or just cool days altogether. Take this morning when I went to the District Nurse - my appointment was 09.40 and I set off in summer trousers and a t shirt with a nice thick cardigan over the top.  When I came out of the clinic the sun was shining and I had to unzip my cardigan, I was much too warm.  By the time I reached home the sun had gone in and, it felt quite chilly.  

This afternoon we popped the heating on for an hour as it had gone cold enough to warrant it.  Has anyone else had to pop there's on?

Nothing much to show you again this week.  I made two cards, one was a birthday card for a dear friend and the other an anniversary card for a special couple.  As usual I forgot to take a photo of the birthday card but I did take one of the anniversary card.

It was actually mounted on the base white card much better than it shows here.  The problem was it was a bit skewy on the photo and so it shows with a white border that is all over the place.  It was a anew Honey Doo  image, stamped in black and then with the flowers restamped on blue paper and Inktense pencil put on it.  The flowers were then stuck over the base ones and yellow gems put in the centres.  I used a blue Gel pen to colour the dots on the card and the words were computer generated.

Well, that's it for now so apart from showing you what is on my desk (this week it is a tray as I have been sitting with my legs up as much as possible and got lots of cutting out done for my journal pages) I'd better pop over to Sarah's Craft Shed and see what others have linked in with.  Hopefully see you next week.

WOYWW 846

 Thank goodness it is a bit cooler around here and we are able to sleep better at night time than we could before.  Hope it is cooler where you are too.  

Forgot to show you the photo of DH blowing his candle out on his Victoria Sandwich cake which I had made for him last week.  Then we went out for a meal afterwards to a pub up the road which held special memories for me although the landlady had long been gone. Nevertheless the food was delicious and he had a lamb shank whilst I had their famous three cheese and onion pie.

I had to have a doggy bag and ate it up next day

Back to this week - I actually got two swaps done yesterday with one of the stamps I bought at the show in Leigh a week last Sunday.  It was my Andy Skinner stamp, "New Friends" featuring three of his bots sitting on a wall.  Here is my desk so you can see the stamp

Back left is my new folder, I had seen one used by a friend and just had to have it.  It is on top of my Inktense pencils and next to that are some painting brushes plus the red rubber stamp upside down, then my inkpad, baby wipes, glue, bits of paper.  Bottom left my new papers which I adore, the colourful one looks like peeled paint on wood, then the stamp index and my ruler.  Oh I missed out my pencil with a little man on top.

I don't think Ann will come on my blog so I will show you my two swaps.  The red one is for Val and the blue one for Ann (Everton supporter, sorry Helen).

Had an awful time lining the images up despite using Perfect Rulers - maybe the cards I bought are wonky?  Spent far too long messing about with them.

Well, that is far too long making cards now I must get on with my blog post for tomorrow.  Hopefully see you next week after I've been to Sarah's Craft Shed today.

WOYWW 845

 It's WOYWW day, another WOYWW day and another hot day.  Hope you are surviving in this heat.  To join in with WOYWW pop along to Sarah's Craft Shed and follow the links to other blogs.  So what have you been up to in the past week?

Apart from some more work on my journal challenge with my friend Ann I cannot say I have done much during the week, apart from a Never Ending Card for my Niece's son.  If you have ever done one you will know they can be difficult when it comes to putting pictures on, some end up as half pictures, some upside down, as you turn it.  So it took some doing with pictures from the internet as I didn't have enough suitable football pictures.  The photos show the different turns:

This last one shows how it stands up

The weekend saw us off to Leigh Show.  It was a glorious warm Sunday when we arrived at Leigh Sports Village and as my dh got out of the car his chin almost hit the ground.  He had left my rollator at home.  Now honesty, I cannot walk without it at the moment (got a bad case of oedema in my legs plus this ulcer on my ankle).  So he offered to go home to get the rollator but for the length of time I would be there it wasn't worth it, plus I could sit with the organisers and maybe be useful to them.  (They are good friends)

We had arranged to meet up with some friends once there and they walked in straight behind us.  Everyone agreed it was a shame i could not go around the show so Graham (the organiser) went to see if the Sports Centre had any wheelchairs.  No!  But our friend, John, ever the resourceful. took himself off to Morrisons across the road and asked if he could borrow one of theirs and they agreed. 

So I spent the morning being wheeled about:

From the left at the back we have (the Knight in Shining Armour) John, my dh and my friend Ann

Not to be outdone Graham, the show organiser, who was busy taking the photo, did a selfie for me which reminded me of one of the CHA trips we had done with them years ago when he did a selfie to make me laugh when I was watching Tim Holtz.  (incidentally Graham's last name is Holt and his son Tim [Tim Holt] was at the show on Sunday along with his wife Tracey).

I didn't buy much, what I wanted from Lavinia they had sold out of but I did buy some Honey Doo stamps and I found an Andy Skinner Bot stamp which  I love.  Wish I had bought more, I love Andy's work.  Show you some images next week.

All too soon it was lunch time and we had to dash off to a cheese and wine party we had had arranged for ages with some friends,  It was up at the edge of the Lakes which was ironic as our friends John and Ann had come down from there and we had to leave them for us to travel up.  Traffic was a nightmare on the motorway and so we arrived with ten minutes to spare for me to get changed into a dress and some bling.  We had a lovely time, sorry no photos and Monday was spent travelling back down to home.

Yesterday was District Nurse time for a Doppler test and to have my ankle re-dressed.  Don't think the nurse is happy about it.  

So here is my desk in full glory doing some more pages in my challenge book which I started before I went down to the clinic.

So that's it for this week, it's Jackson's birthday today so "Happy Birthday to you Jackson" and to the rest of you "have a lovely week and a fabulous weekend, especially if you are working."

WOYWW 844

Nothing special hals been happening this week but next week promises to be a bit brighter as it is Leigh Show on Sunday and we are meeting friends, Ann and John, who are coming down from Ulverston.  Guess what?  We are heading up to their neck of the woods afterwards, not quite as high as Ulverston but just below, as we are going to a cheese and wine party in the afternoon with some other friends.

I am also looking forwards to the show as it is run by Graham who I used to work for, well demonstrate for his wife's company at shows, and one of his sons will be there who I have known since he was a youngster - he is now dad to two young boys.  Two other friends Izzy and Pete will be there, they help with the shows and I've always had a soft spot for Izzy.

Then there is Jo.  Jo Rice will be dem'ing Lavinia stamps for Stampers Grove so it will be nice to see Jo as I haven't seen her in a while.  She will be with her friend Lisa who also helps out on thE is so is great at helping find a particular stamp you want.

Well, you came to see my desk so here it is

It looks staged but it isn't. I had my bits laid out trying to decide what went where in my challenge book I am doing with Ann, and what needed doing yet to make a pair up.  Not sure what you have seen in the past.

Last week my Acorn House, started with Jo, was on my desk and now it is layered up ready to go on a card.  My acorns are a bit more brown than Jo's were so next time I will remember and do them a bit more yellowy.  Here it is  with a brown mount on.  I really do like it and wish you could see the sparkle.

Now to visit Sarah and everyone else.

The ankle is pretty much the same.  Th surgery have been going all out to get me to take these really strong antibiotics as recommended by the microbiologist they consulted.  I was not happy, however talking to one of the partner doctors he said that although it was a risk there is nothing else will help with the recovery of the ankle and he recommended I take them.  So I have and fingers crossed seem to be ok except a bit of an upset tummy and a rash on my arms and mouth.  Just two left to take today and it's the end of the antibiotics and just left to the District Nurses who I see for treatment every four days.

WOYWW 843

 Yet another flying week, I swear days have wings on them these days, at this rate it will be 'C' time before I know it.  Perhaps it is not going as fast at Sarahs Craft Shed, maybe I should take a peek.

I never seem to have done as much as I expected to do.  This past week saw me trying to catch up on two online workshops I had signed up for but neither are fully finished.  One I didn't have a fairy facing left, that was large enough for the card, apart from one I had used previously.  Now if I had been making a card I would have been fine using her but as it was for my journal I already had one very similar on another page so it wouldn't do.  In the end I just made a card.  But I still have one to make.  Again I did not have the correct stuff but I am going to manage with what I have, long gone are my days of buying just because.

I've not had a good week, a lot on my mind regarding this ankle injury and visits to the District Nurse every four days with doctor trips in between has taken its toll on my week.  Enough about that.

Today I decided to do a quick card that my friend  Jo Rice had just put up on her You Tube and so I set to using one of the new stamps from Lavinia which I forgot to photograph for you all.  This is Acorn House and I just love it with the stones in front of the doorway.

At the moment it is just a topper and it needs mounting on a card so you might be seeing it again another week.

On my desk from left to right are my moon masks, some post it notes in the flowery pack, my stamps below with the acorn sets to the right and the green thing on the far right is my waste bin made by Jo Pritchard years ago, most of you will, remember Jo and her quilting/sewing etc.  She was a good friend and I have missed her cheerful disposition.  I never had 'down' days when Jo was around.  The blue thing is my pencil case full of Inktense pencils on top of some waste paper/card, then the acorn topper and finally over on the right my eraser, baby wipe, Wink of Stella and a piece of kitchen roll.

Not having unpacked my bag from when I was last at the caravan until this afternoon here is my counter top full of stuff.

I won't go through everything that is on here, it's pretty boring but the brown bag at the end is from Amazon, a bit of a surprise gift for my dh who has a birthday coming up.  He doesn't want/need anything but his Calvados is a bit down so he has asked for a bottle of that and I read that with grapefruit syrup it makes a lovely cocktail.  Now he isn't a cocktail type of man and doesn't like his Calvados messed about with but I am hoping that a bottle of grapefruit syrup might change his mind.  He's got one anyway!  Well I can have the odd cocktail with it can't I?  Or was it rhubarb?

WOYWW 836

Morning everyone, is the weather taking up or not where you are.  Yesterday was lovely, especially in the afternoon but I was stuck doing medical things in the morning.  Had an echo in the morning, with a man!  Never had a male do it before.  He was lovely, obviously foreign and he introduced himself as Pedro.  I asked where he came from and he said Portugal so I had a smile inside for Pedro from Portugal.  Dashed home and off to podiatry but then was not in a good way with hip pain so didn't feel like going out, hopefully this afternoon as I have yet to christen my scooter.

Hubby was going to pay for me to go private for the new hip operation so now he has no need to.  The hip was going to make a big difference to his life as much as mine,  We don't walk as much as we used to as I cannot manage the same so he decided he would buy me a scooter.  Woop Woop!!  Spend some money that way instead of the op and cheer me up too.  [The hat last week was in readiness for my scooting down the Prom.  The ear rings (?) so I look "the part".]  My scooter is just a little one that goes at 4 mph so he can walk alongside and we can resume our walks.  That's the reason for being in Warrington last week.

I tried a few scooters, it was obvious straight away to me which I liked and didn't like.  Being so tall was a factor I had examined in my research over the last week or so on the internet.  He wanted good suspension so my body would not be jolted about and eventually we decided on one.  Oh, and it has blue trims - sorry Helen, for Everton (my son's and friend Ann's team) not Liverpool or United.  Any ideas for a name for it?  Here it is - charging in the kitchen:

Not done much crafting but I do like the needle-felting (should I call it dumfing Jo/Annie?) and I bought two books on mushrooms, both second hand, one in immaculate condition and the other just a bit stained on the edge of the cover.

The Thomas Laessore one cost me £3.34 and the Roger Phillips one £3.44 (both used but in good condition)- my felt pad (inc surprise of three needles and wooden holder) £4.21 - a bit cheaper than paper crafting tools and books.  I've been practising my Fly Agaric's as you can see at the side of my new pad.

My little table looks like this

I'm making a card  and so once again turned to my Lavinia stamps

Here it is, not quite finished as yet

I had to put 'Happy Birthday' on and one or two more bits but I forgot to take a photo when it was finished, as per usual.  Then it had to be mounted and put on a card base - then it went in an envelope and was sent off.  Another birthday card I made got sent off without even being photographed in its almost finished stage - I really am hopeless at remembering.   Ah well, maybe better next week, in the meantime I'll just pop over to see what is happening at Sarah's Craft Shed and its links..

WOYWW 834

Well, I haven't done much crafting but I have done a change of direction thanks to Angela (Felix) and today, on my desk is a little mushroom.  I've wanted to do some needle-felting and make a figure for such a long time but gave up as I never followed the instructions properly and ended up with a MESS!

Then I saw a Fly Agaric mushroom that Angela had made and I loved it.  Bless her, she offered to show me how to make one at the Crop this year.  Unfortunately the Crop didn't happen and so my mushroom session didn't  either.  Then I saw an online workshop and guess what they were making - Fly Agaric's.  Turned out it was the same workshop Angela had done and I joined and on Monday we made this little mushroom, or shroom as I like to call them.

Today we are going to make a picture of the same shroom so I will show you that next week and maybe, just maybe, a more perfect little Fly Agaric - I want to make a tiny one.  Can you see the kind of line just below the cap?  This is called the volva (I think) and is the veil that the mushroom has over it as it is growing and as it grows the veil leaves behind the white spots.  Did I get that right Angela?  (I never knew that before and I have never ever seen one in real life.)

Last week I showed you what I had made at a workshop in Cumbria, here are the first couple of pages finished off and now in the book followed by another two pages.

That's me for this week, now to my workshop - well, get ready for it and have a nice hot shower first.  Then later today I'll be over to see Sarah's Craft Shed and see what everyone has been up to.

WOYWW 828

Well, didn't we have some lovely weather - I hope that is not the start and end of our summer, surely not!  It was lovely to have some sunshine on your bones and be able to sit outside in the fresh air.  It was nice and sunny here again at the beginning of this week but there was a cool wind blowing that meant you had to wrap up again.  Not to worry, hopefully we will have some warm days ahead.

I had a nice time on Monday stamping up my order from Lavinia so that my cataloguing could be up to date.  It was lovely to ink, stamp and clean the new stamps because they do look good on a white background.  Here they are as they arrived spread out on my table to show you.

I just adore the two little mice (top right) with the light bulbs and the various book spines will be so useful for lots of things (including DH's birthday card as he loves reading).  I think this was my favourite collection to date along with the Halloween one last year (I adored the witches).

Saturday morning saw me doing an online workshop with Jo Rice in which we made four cards.  We used quite a bit of low tack tape so I've just taken it from my table and put it on one of those plastic pockets so I can use them again.  As Jo said, it is expensive so we should try to get more than one use out of it.  Here are my cards, more or less the same as Jo's apart from the last one (hers was floral but I decided to do a scene and I love those Herbalums [pixie gardeners] ).  Mine still want a word added to them but as I am undecided what to use them for I left them blank.

Off to see the Muskoskeletal Guy on Saturday, yes, Easter Saturday, for the results of my X Ray on my hip.  I've been in a lot of pain with it for quite some time now but it is going worse and something the radiographer said made me wonder just what he saw.  Did I damage my hip when I fell last year (remember the nasty fall and cut knee, broken ribs)?  All will be revealed when I see Kurt, the young man whom I taught at school many years ago.  Good to see he has made something of himself career wise but then he always was a well behaved student at school.  Hopefully good news next week when I share my desk with you all at Sarahs Craft Shed.

WOYWW 826

Busy week - had something every day starting Sunday, ending with Dentist on Friday.  Today is more luxurious - getting my hair cut - at home.  Had to go 6 weeks this time (her mum was in hospital)  without a trim so it has got a bit out of hand and I am looking forward to Rachel coming.

Had to make a birthday card for my nieces youngest and it ended up being made in a bit of a rush.  The first card I made did not turn out acceptable for him so it's been kept to one side for a more suitable recipient.  So this is my desk/table.

It's not as elaborate as usual but I was pushed for time, just hope the wee man is not disappointed but I am sure the money inside will help hide any disappointment.  There is a bird and a butterfly holding up the banner saying 'happy birthday' and the birthday boy is wearing a crown and the other one is his older brother wearing claret and blue for the football team he supports.  The background was not made by me, about time I got rid of some of the endless paper packs I have bought over the years.

Not been any time for more on the cull this week and hopefully it will continue starting with the coming weekend, actually there's not that much to do but I want to find somewhere to put my diecutting trolley - or at least the things on it.  Here's hoping that another week I can show you that they have a new home - but what do I do with the trolley?

So that's it for this week folks, must get on with the cleaning ready for the hairdresser to come and give me a much needed trim.  Off to see Sarah's Craft Shed and meet up with the other WOYWW'ers so see what they have all been up to now and then see you all again next week all being well.

WOYWW 825

Another week has gone by so quickly and we paid a visit to the coast at weekend which was nice.  The forecast was warm and sunny but it went off a bit when we got there but nothing to keep us indoors.  In fact we sat outside on the patio reading on both Friday and Saturday afternoons for a bit but Sunday saw us down on the seafront.  The sun still shone and that was brilliant.

We had a brilliant sunset on Saturday evening, this huge band of red sky peeking through the trees but unfortunately when I tried to take a photograph it came out a pale washed out pink!  Guess that's the penalty of a phone camera.  Sunday evening we stopped off at a favourite place of ours, a grassy area but with the beach just below us.  Again I tried to take a photo of the sun but it didn't come out as expected.  I will show you, so here, especially for Jan is my photo (where do I go wrong?)

So we came back to carry on with the cull but nothing has happened as yet as it was a visit to the chiropractor yesterday and today is the doctor (his request not mine following a blood test) and another blood test just afterwards.  Dentist Thursday so not much room for crafting.

This is where we are at now - the bottom three shelves are complete from what you saw last week, all boxes sorted and labelled.

My little table that I craft at and the counter that has all kinds of things on it that are waiting for me to put them away

Yes, I found two more coasters to decorate, that's a full set now of six

But, I did make two cards for a swap I am in.  It was Spring Flowers and I hope these are ok.  Also hope that the recipients have got the cards.

That's it for this week folks, see you at Sarah's.

WOYWW 824

 Isn't it lovely to see sunshine?  It's still a bit cold up north but at least the sun shining makes you feel a lot better and it is due to warm up throughout the week.

You may be forgiven if you think this is the same photo as last week but if you look closely it  no longer has the towel on the top shelf which I was using to dust my shelves with.  Well, this week sees the "cull" getting nearer to the end and another cupboard is tidy at last.  (We don't mention the spare room that has become a dumping ground.). I've even begun tidying some of my metal drawers that stand on the ground - a bit haphazard in my thinking as to which ones but I can tell as I proceed to go around them.  You can see the metal drawers in the bottom left of the photo - I have quite a few more around the room (4 grey, this one cream and 3 of this dark colour) as well.  If only that Swedish Store had kept to one colour instead of changing them now and then.

Top shelf left silver tin has Journals in it, then there is a striped box with inks in (think Newton & Winsor).  Followed by three empty boxes and then at far right my Dinkles (reconstituted) with Pan Pastels behind.

Second shelf Zig Pens with a paint chart behind, Ranger bags (one for pencil work, one for paint brushes),  pastel pencils, gel pens, Posca pens (all in spotted bag that normally resides on my work top), Blue container with my Inktense pencils in (again normally on worktop), Promarkers, Caran D'Ache (large set), Prismacolours in pink case Completed Journals at back with silver tin in front containing lots of pens (Arteza etc) coloured pencils etc and finally my spray booth.

Third shelf - two silver tins and black case containing my spray inks (these are to be culled yet as I have far too many), plastic boxes replacing the Cornish Cream Tea boxes that contain a) toppers, b) card I have coloured using various techniques, c) small offcuts of white card to be used as toppers.  Underneath is a case of books I have made with Abs from All & Create.  Next are my Janet Klein images I have cut out and packaged in small envelopes, on top are the actual stamps.

Now that is about as far as I have got.  And what is exciting is that I have gaps on my shelves!!!

Not much to do with the final two but the next shelf has various boxes with things like Technique sheets, Alice in Wonderland stuff, Ideas and Images for cards, things made in America, New Zealand Techniques (mainly from my friend Maxine), Mizuhiki cords etc.  Then at far right an assortment of Christmas boxes containing images, stamps, ephemera etc.  These are my next job.

Bottom shelf - large box of ephemera, clay moulds, Tando bits and then a black case full of Ranger stuff like the crazy cats, crazy dogs, crazy birds etc. and their accessories.

Got to dash as I have to get ready for my cardiology appointment with my favourite doctor.  But I did say I would show you the cards I made at the work shop on Saturday morning (online) as usual with Jo Rice.

These are awaiting mounting - all cut from one piece of A4 cardstock and revisiting some old techniques.  Sorry about the gap  at the top but it is how they scanned.

See you later over at Sarah's Craft Shed hopefully.

WOYWW 818

 Here we are, in February, the days are slipping by too quickly again.  I wonder, do they go quicker as you get older?

Well, this week I have two more 'blue' cards to show you and a desk that may look as if it is set out but it really isn't.  I am looking for things I have done in the past with 'homes' on them.  My friend's daughter has just moved into her own first home with her partner and I must get a card off to her.  I was rather surprised when I went in my box and saw so many cards with houses on them.  Some need a little bit more stamping on them and some are too large for cards so will be chopped down a smidgin for putting into my Lavinia Journal.  Here's my desk

You can just see my coasters on the right hand side - they are drying as they have been coated in varnish at last.  That's my Lavinia Journal in the centre, various 'house' cards scattered about, some glues at the back left and my Metallic Gilding Polish to the top right corner of the journal.  I thought of doing the edges of some pages with the Gilding Polish before I stick my journal page down - a kind of border.  You can see my ink pads are all behind and I am going to get rid of some of them that I haven't used in ages and move the ones I use all the time into a better order.  Mind you the ones I am moving are above what you can see.  Hopefully I will get my craft room sorted (decluttered) this year.  I've been intending doing it for simply ages but my back keeps stopping me doing much.  It's a visit to the Chiro this morning so hopefully .....

Last week I showed you two of my January Blue cards, here are some more:

A bit of resist technique

Blue Hues

Well, that's it for this week, just two more cards to show you next time and hopefully some more after yet another online workshop with Jo.  Off to Sarahs Craft Shed now to catch up with other WOYWW'ers.

ps Friday is a new release day of some more stamps from Lavinia.  These seem to be on a gardening theme and there are some other lovely goodies as well as stamps.  You can enter a competition to win a bundle - doesn't cost you anything but a bit of your time to watch and link etc,

WOYWW 817

 Last post for January this year, that's a month that has flown by.  So many plans looming closer yet again, where is time going I ask myself?

Last Saturday we got up to find the alarm system dead!  We thought we could not get out of the house or into the lounge, the latter not being too much of a problem but what if someone came to the door?  Rang the guy who fixes it for us, left messages as he wasn't in or replying.  To cut a long story short he did get back to us and said the battery must be flat so we could move about and go out.  Anyway, he came Sunday and fixed it but he is retiring shortly so we need to be looking at a new alarm system.  Having done a workshop on Saturday morning I hurriedly made him a card to thank him for all the years he has been sorting our alarm out.

In the class we had revisited old techniques as a reminder and one had been 'blending' where we used three different blues, light, mid, dark which you can see I did above for the alarm guy.

We made four cards in all, although Speedy Gonzales here (for a change) made six.  Here are the two blended ones I made:

I didn't put a sentiment on as I will do it when I know what occasion I am using the card for.  I'll save the other cards for weeks I have nothing to show.  So now it's over to Sarah's Craft Shed to see all the WOYWW'ers are doing.  Toodle Pip!

WOYWW 816

 These weeks are going by too fast for my liking.  I'm not getting things done that I ought to be doing and things that I wish I could put off are looming too closely.  For instance I keep forgetting to get the varnish for my coasters and so they sit here stark naked yet again,

My desk is showing promise of some crafting to come as I have an online workshop on Saturday morning.  Oops, those are not the inks I want - those are the inks I used the other day to try to get Mr Mojo working when I did one of Jo's online cards.  So I do have something to show you, just have to go and get it and give it a scan - give me a minute or two please.

This was one of Jo's cards that she put up on Facebook and I quite liked it, had the stamps and so I just used a different stencil for the background.  I wasn't sure about the red and the wing colours but when I used them I did like the pop of colour it gave.  I usually do very pastel shades for wings - maybe not always now.

This is my desk which is what you really came to look at until I became side tracked.  Here it is and then I urge you to go to Sarah's Craft Shed for more WOYWW desks.  Have a good week, January is almost over and it will soon be time to get thinking about those Valentine cards.  Oh heck!