WOYWW 216

Here is a photo of my desk, as is, for all you WOYWW'ers out there. Morning' Julia!

I now have some workspace to the left of where I sit in front of the window.  Yes, I got rid of a tower of stamps.  Some I am selling and some I am giving away.  Some of my mounted stamps have been ripped off the wooden blocks to make storage easier and are now condensed into two tower blocks instead of three.

I just got so fed up of having all that worktop covered in boxes and am trying to think how I can get even more space as I still seem to have clutter taking up too much room.  Watch this space!

Am mega busy trying to get a project done for the Oyster Retreat - is anyone going to it?  So this was my work desk outside.  It is so rare I get to craft outdoors I just had to show you photos from the other day.

I used the Bistro Table - and chairs (didn't want to put too much weight on the glass table shown still with it's cover on below - those steel dies don't half weigh and I have two boxes of them) - can you see my two flowering yuccas - top left?

It was lovely to do some die cutting outdoors.

We have been taking advantage of the sunshine and actually had the French Window open most days for this, the first real summer we have had in ages (read "years").

This is the other side of the patio - the decking area

Hope we get some more of this lovely weather throughout August and September.

More Black & White - A Sneak Peek

I think I am becoming obsessed with Black and White but it fits in so perfectly with that Art Nouveau image from Tanda Stamps and I have to get some samples done for my next workshop at Paddy's Stamping Place in March.  I'm uploading them here as I do them because I may not be able to get the samples to Paddy, because of the weather, and this way people can see them if they want to book on the workshop.  Here's a sneak peek at another one of them:

As you can see the left flap slots into the right one (my workshop is all about cards that flip and fold), when it is opened out it looks like this:

I think I will put it into Tuesday Taggers as another sample as well.

Well, this snow is not moving at all so here are a few more photographs - this time of our back garden (you might recognise bits of it on my header which is from photographs taken a few years ago when we had snow (but not as much as this and it certainly did not last as long).

This gives you an idea of how deep it is
those BIG plant pots house little trees and they are almost submerged

This Christmas tree was about 5' tall when we moved here

12 years ago

There's a bird feeder somewhere in the middle of that scene

OK so it looks pretty - I've seen it now - am getting bored

Please Go Away Snow!

Woke up to This

"This" being 6.5" of snow.  To prove it I stuck a ruler in the snow outside our door (it had been cleared there yesterday) and took a photograph.  Guess my crafting of yesterday which was due to go in the post will have to wait a day or two.

Had a phone call from my DIL to say my son had made it into work this morning (4.30 AM) but she hadn't as the buses were not running from Bolton and it is one of those she has to catch in Swinton to get her to the University in Manchester.

It's still coming down thick and fast but we both went out to clear some snow so we could get to the bird table.  We moved one nearer to the other so it is sheltered by the magnolia bush and they don't seem to use it much where it was.  I battered the bushes on either side of the bird table so that the poor little things can land on it and gain access to the food.  Two more fat balls went out and two came in to defrost.  This is what the magnolia bush and the bird table looked like this morning.

I have never seen snow on our big tree like this before.

It really is quite thick and I guess it will keep the squirrels away.  Nowhere for the collared doves to sit either. I just hope everyone is remembering the birds at this time - when I put the seed on the cleared off table you should have seen them come flocking.

I checked the hanging seed feeder and it was full of snow where the seed drops so that had to be cleared as well.  Please check your feeders if you have them.

Happy Christmas Everyone

It is Christmas morning and I have been up four hours - I can't believe this - I have not opened a single present yet.

Been outside sorting food out for the birds and then decided to begin the mammoth task of clearing the drive in front of our house so that the people in the bungalow next to ours have some access for their family who are coming to visit them today.  I think Paul (neighbour) was quite touched and so he got a spade and started helping - I've now left the men to it.

Anyway, thank you to all who take the time to read my blog, special thanks to those who leave a comment - it is very much appreciated.  May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and I hope you are all surrounded by family or friends.

Here is our snowman - note there is another large snowball beside him (and there is one behind) so I am hoping to build another one (or two) before the snow melts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Winter

View from the front of our house looking down the drive this morning

Just after posting I went to make a cuppa and noticed the bird table covered in snow.  Well, I couldn't leave it like that could I?  In my sandals I went out and reached over clearing a patch big enough to put some seed down.  Before a couple of minutes had gone my favourite blackbird (the one with the grey feather sticking from his wing) was on there eating away.  Sadly I did not get a photograph of him.

I had to try to get photographs from inside the house and was not at all successful.  They are not good, but here are a couple.

Cheeky Mr Robin - kept the other birds away but this blue tit is so brave (look to the right of the photograph)

A little blue tit makes it at last

It was difficult with the blue tits as they landed and took off almost straight away.  Didn't get a photograph of the chaffinches either.

I need a better camera!

Sunshine on a Cooler Day

Well, Bank Holiday is over and the weather has reverted to how it was prior to the weekend - it is cold and a bit on the dull side.  Thought I would brighten my blog with a picture of my favourite rhododendron.  We have two bushes which herald these gorgeous flower heads and my photograph does not do them justice.  They are the most beautiful ones I have seen.  Totally white with deep purple centres, each floret looked almost like an orchid.

This is a closeup of one of the heads.  Can you see why I think each floret is like an orchid?

Not being a day for sitting out in the garden, much as I like to look at the rhododendrons, I went to the podiatrist (he prefers the term chiropodist) so life is much better today.  

I finally finished off my other card with the alcohol ink image and here it is.
As it was a 'pinky' background that I had created with the inks, over stamped in black Archival ink and clear embossed I first mounted it on some silver cardstock which I had embossed with one of my Cuttlebug folders.  Then I mounted on some pink cardstock and finally on a brown background (which look dusky pink in the photograph).  I am hopeless at getting things centred and so for this one I decided to mount in one corner - this left a fairly wide gap and I used one of my Grungeboard flourishes, coloured with a black Dabber to tie in with the image).  

Hope you like it.