WOYWW 827

Another week has gone by and it is almost Easter, it will be with us before too long and we can then eat our Easter Eggs, that is if you are better than I am and have not eaten any sweet stuff during Lent.  I just had to try one of those Cadbury's Creme Eggs with White Chocolate and I really did enjoy it.  Maybe not as much as the Hot Cross Bun with crumbly Lancashire Cheese though.  Now is that a northern thing like eating Christmas Cake with Lancashire Cheese?

Hasn't the weather been gorgeous?  We decided to make the most of it and spend a few days, like a long weekend at, well close to, Morecambe Bay.   I've often heard them marvelling over the view of The Bay but never really appreciated it as much as I did on Tuesday.  We had gone into Morecambe to do some shopping, and keep out of the sun a bit as it was so hot.  On the way back I just had to have Chas stop the car and take in the view.  I would say this was about 4 - 4.30 pm and you could see right across to Grange and the hills of the Lake District.

Well, despite taking crafting stuff with me and having things to do in my Journals I have done absolutely nothing.  And so my desk is. the dressing table in the bedroom which had my craft caddy emptied on it when I arrived and is now all packed up ready for home later today.

You can just see my craft caddy underneath next to the pouffe.  You may recognise some things like my spotted CC bag that has my gel pens etc in it, my blue pencil case that holds my Inktense pencils and then my Lavinia boxes with my Journal on top.  For the keen eyed there are some Black Sharpie pens, these are new and I am hoping they will get forgotten about as they were bought along with household stuff.  The boxes with the blue lids held ink pads, stencil brushes, paint brushes, scissors, glue, etc.  I remembered everything I could possibly need but didn't use anything.  Typical!

Hope others have got more interesting desks for you to see at Sarahs Craft Shed, so until another week, toodle pip!

WOYWW 736

These Wednesdays come around awfully quickly at the moment.  It seems not long ago we were rejoicing that Spring was with us, then that Summer had begun and now we are on the other side of this lovely warm season.  I say that tongue in cheek as it has been raining steadily most of the afternoon and early evening.  So glad we are not having temperatures like Arizona though (111 - 113 apparently).  Phew!

Well, Saturday saw me teaching a class at our local Stamp Club.  The tutor pulled out at the last minute, quite by chance I saw her comment under a message saying she would not be able to come.  Panic!  So as Chair this year I had to think on my feet and luckily I had my class for next month partially ready so was able to step in.  More photos next week as I have not got around to taking them as yet, but here are two that I took along as finished samples.  We were decorating these tiny 3" tins.

I can show you the birthday card I made for my friend as it is her birthday today "Happy Birthday Ann".

Now, having shown you my 'makes' I think it is about time I showed you my desk.  The aftermath of my teaching session (ie nothing put away) but a picture of three of my latest stamps, done whilst stamping the ones I had bought from Lavinia's new collection.  I just love these owls but I do wish they were a wee bit smaller.

Most things are self explanatory to most of you.  The tin with thme clear top contains lots of little bits and pieces for the ladies to include on their work for next month.  The punches have been lined up for ages - again for next month but the corner rounder was for this month so can be put away now.

That's it for this week, It is late Tuesday evening when I am typing this as we have been running late all day.  Should have had new patio doors fitted yesterday morning so we were up, breakfasted, showered and things moved (mainly down to Chas), before 9 am which is when they should have called.  By lunchtime we rang up to be told the fitter had rung in sick but nobody had told the woman to ring us.  Was I cross!!!  Unfortunately she had a strong Scottish accent and I found it difficult to understand her.  

Anyway, finally tonight after waiting all day for someone to come it was just after 7 pm two guys arrived and put the new doors in.  So I cannot see me getting up early in the morning and writing my blog.  Thank goodness these two were conscientious and wanted to do a good job - they had started at 6 am.  And one was celebrating his birthday!  How I wish I had made a cake!

WOYWW 697

 We are creeping nearer and nearer to that 700th edition of WOYWW.  We may have shrunk a little in numbers but it is one of the best ways I know of making friends who really do care about one another.  Why don't you join us and show us your desk - no need to be embarrassed if it is a mess, the messier the better.

My little table today shows what I have been up to.  A workshop with Jo Rice and Lavinia stamps was enjoyed by me and others via the internet on Sunday.  I was not 100% happy with my finished product and so I am in the throes of doing another one.  It will be an MDF piece which will stand on a radiator shelf when completed.  At the moment it is in my new Black Journal (which I have had for years and not used - this is now my first page).

This is my desk

and my counter behind me

This last photo shows how I work when I am doing a workshop.  I have all the things I need (or think I need) set out on the counter behind me and a clear(ish) table to work on in front of me.  Here you can see the MDF board, bottom left, that the card is going to be stuck on when completed.  I just hope my next one is good enough to go on the board - I will show you another time.

It shows how much I enjoyed this workshop as I want to do it again but at my own pace.  Not that Jo went too fast or anything but I can spend more time practising the little things that I want, like getting the blending right.  I am fairly new to Lavinia type stamping and love to see what others can do and I want to do "everything" so with a teacher like Jo it is possible.  I just cannot get enough of the Lavinia workshops at the moment and I watch them on You Tube whenever possible.

We were at the caravan last week and it was a complete wash out.  Talk about rain - and one night the winds were a bit scary, especially as we are surrounded on two sides by woodland.  So I got my calendar finished that was a class at Vicky Stampers with Jo Rice - but more of that another week, there's 12 pages.  In the meantime here are a couple of photos from Sizergh Castle the time before when we were there - see it can be sunny.

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WOYWW

Well, Saturday draws near and it's almost that time of the year for a lot of WOYWW members to meet up.  What a lovely way to meet one another it is too.  There will be some old faces and hopefully some new ones too.  Sadly LLJ will not be with us as she is off celebrating her Ruby Wedding Anniversary - have a lovely time J & G.   Luckily we will have our glorious leader, Julia, and the two sisters, Annie & Jo, who are responsible for booking us in at the lovely hall.  Thanks ladies for all the work you do behind the scenes.

Here I am, back home and missing being on the edge of The Lakes.  Had to come home for our Covid jabs, his on Sunday and mine on Monday.  I did say he was a softy for complaining that his arms ached on Sunday, but now I have had mine done I daren't moan and mine both hurt (flu and covid) and he is fine.  Typical!

Last week saw me away and having a sulk at myself for leaving my stencil brushes on the worktop - yes, that's where they were when I got home.  However, I did manage to finish a workshop I started at Victoria Stampers last month.  It was a folio that Carol, our Programme Officer, did for us - such a lot of die cutting for her so big thanks went to her for all the work she had put into the class.

Here are some photos of it, I still need some words to put on some of the pockets and haven't finalised what all the pockets will hold - but saying that I cannot wait to make another one.  Hence my desk - full of cutting out.  Found out that my friend had this die and she has loaned it to me.

and today's desk

At the back my Lavinia stamps and the brushes followed by my folio.  Back to the left we have some white card waiting for colouring and a couple of rulers and some pens.  Behind that the glue and the cut out folio.  In front of that my trusty scalpel and the bits of card off cuts.  The labels on my stamp pad are for my Distress Oxides, just need colouring and sticking on - a job I keep putting off - must get on with it.  Must order another of those stands for the DO's too as all my browns are sat on a shelf and I am bound to buy more.  The usual stuff is at the back, rarely changes.

Better go and get cracking.  See some of you soon.

WOYWW 687

 Another week has flown by, why do the days pass so quickly now that I am getting old - I am sure there were more hours in the days when I was younger and went out to work?  Perhaps I have little moments of 'nodding off' that I am unaware of and that is where some of the time goes, or perhaps it is just that doing anything takes twice as long as it used to.  Result - only half the jobs done these days, it's always time to get in my PJ's and climb into bed.

It's been an end to the Thrinchies challenge.  I have done all of them so that is one thing I can put to bed.  Now to the Journal pages I keep doing along with my Thursday Journal (Jeudi Journal) and then I have an exciting workshop to attend, but before that I have to plan a birthday treat for my other half.  Here's catch up with the thrinchies:

17 Love

18 Critters

19 Colour

20 Containers

21 Leaf

And that is where I will leave it for this week.  (Or should I say 'leaf' it - sorry).  Here's my desk

I think you can more or less name everything - the jar to the left of my brushes (make up type for those not papercrafters) contains watered down Gesso, the stamps are some new ones I just bought after seeing them on TV.  Oh my, did I really spend so much money on these stamps?  OUCH!  A new designer for Aall & Create and I thought they would go well with the fairies in my journals.  Not that I have really got the hang of using the fairy stamps yet.  Far right is the birthday card for my other half.  He loves pens, not the dip type granted but it was the best I could come up with for his birthday card this year.

This is a photograph of the huge stamps I bought, apologies for the shine, hadn't realised until just now.  Such a lot of detail in them.  I've turned one over so you can see the size of the image - the brown bit is a three inch square (thrinchie that never got used) to give you an idea of the size of the stamps..

Can't wait to get using them but it will be a while yet as I am too busy at the moment.  So I'll leave it there for this week and go for my "fix" snooping at desks with my WOYWW friends.  See you over there.

Apologies to anyone who visited me but did not get a return visit.  We were away and the internet connection was non existent since they put a new system in.  Have complained and complained  in the past about it but this last week it was worse than ever - we had nothing!  So sorry, if you were latish in getting to me I didn't get chance to visit you in return.  Hopefully I can make it up to you this week.

WOYWW 604

Christmas is over and done with for another year, I do hope you all had a nice one despite the restrictions that we have had to abide by.  Now it is time to reflect on the year we have had and look forward to the next one.  I suppose we are all hoping that it will be a much better one than 2020 has been and with the starting of the vaccine programme it looks to be heading in the right direction.

Anyway, you came here to see my desk, along with others on the WOYWW blog hop and not for me to woffle on so here it is

As you can see, there is not much for you to look at.  The plastic box on the left contains some pens and card, some stamped, some stamped and coloured - my start for next year's Christmas Cards.  Told you I was going to start.  Next there is my latest workshop with Tracy Evans but the front cover is not complete yet, those sticks in front are part of the next bit - and I am still looking for the mica sheets!

Because I have nothing much to show you I thought I would show you my Advent House, made some years ago.  The house was purchased and then I foraged all over the German Christmas Markets for things to put inside each window.  The top has a piece of acetate behind it that I coloured with Alcohol Inks to replicate a stained glass window.  A tiny wooden angel on top of the metallic borders I made, as cladding, and a Father Christmas in the chimney finishes it off.  The back of each window features different techniques as back cloths.  I probably have featured it before but it is quite a few years ago so most of you will not have seen it.

All that remains is for me to wish you a Happier and Healthy New Year - please let us get rid of Covid for once and for all.

WOYWW 557

Another Wednesday, another visit to Julia and her Merry Band here on WOYWW.

My desk - well for once, it has been a hive of industry.  I have actually made something in the last few days.  Yonks ago I saw a book that Miranda (Miranda van den Bosch - on Pinterest and Facebook - see her work, fabulous - and check her drawing out too) had made and I fell in love with it.  I bought the stamps I thought necessary for it (PaperArtsy) and then on one of our trips to Nijerk in The Netherlands bought the die to cut the pages.  Everything was done ready for it to be decorated but could I work out how to do the book, how to put it together, could I heck!  So I messaged Miranda and bless her, she answered me and told me how to do it and even said if mine was a copy of hers she would not mind.

Well it isn't, the first page more or less is but it still needs words adding to it before I video the whole thing to show you.  In the meantime here are a couple of pages showing the little flaps that happen between each full page.

As well as that I have been slowly but surely starting to sort my room out on my better days.  Some have turned to bad days because of sorting but I am very slowly getting things done.  Yesterday and Monday was spent looking at all the 12 x 12 papers I have and whilst I still put them back, well most of them, I have put a couple out for the bin.  I had to leave it last night as my back was hurting with all the moving about so this is my desk as it stands.

As the Chinese New Year celebrations end this coming Saturday here is my Chinese Unicorn, bought in LA a couple of years ago.  Gong Hei Fat Choi!

WOYWW 548

Another week closer to Christmas and some cards finished - well quite a few actually.  

So it is also another week gone by since the last WOYWW posting - here goes with the next one.  If you don't know what I am on about you must be new to this blogging lark so you had better call over here and read all about it - and please join in.  I can't wait to see what my friends have been buying and making so I am off there right away.

Here's one of my Christmas Cards - already sent and received so it's ok to show it now

It was for a Mingle on one of my card groups.  And many thanks to Margaret in Wales for her lovely Christmas card - it was our first one!

And here is my desk shot - it's a different part of my desk as the one I normally show has some gifts on that I don't want to show on my blog as yet - someone might see what I got him for Christmas.

Just a tin full of my current stamps (ones I intend to use in readiness for next year - yes, you heard right), a Moleskin journal (new), a half finished card (the other six are complete but I was one holly short so this one is bare), my old towel for dirty hands and my Laurel Burch images left over from goodness knows when.

Well, that is it from me, a bit shorter than normal and no health update as it is more or less the same although the last two days have seen a lot of back pain.  Ugh!  See you next week I hope.