WOYWW #184 - 12/12/12

It's a freezing start to an iconic date, namely 12/12/12. As we whiz around the world of crafty desks, courtesy of our leader Julia, some will have experienced most of the day whilst others will still be waiting for it to dawn.
My prize from Tim's November tag arrived from Inspiration Emporium yesterday:

I decided to buy as much as I could with the $25 so went for a load of masks and made it up with a pack of kraft tags. I paid the $10 postage myself. After a wonderful workshop a few weeks ago with Hels, I became hooked on masks following the amazing techniques she showed us.
So to my desk this morning. I am still making Xmas cards. Can't believe how disorganised I am this year, even the pressie shopping is still not done. I just don't have any spare time and the jobs are stacking up. One of  my major and very important tasks is a new page for Toby's albums. His anniversary is on the 17th making this year the 4th since we lost him. Unbelievable. So here is my little space just now:

The beginnings of his page which will have to be completed today or tomorrow.
Right I am away to watch Hels on C&C showcasing the melt pot.

WHATS ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #183

Julia arranged the weekly Wednesday desk hop around the world 183 weeks ago and it's still going strong. well done Julia. What a Pinocchio nose we all have now - except for the porky pie bit of course!.
I have been meeting myself coming back since you came to mine last week and had to have a little tidy up inbetween making this lot:

There were a few more than this but they had to be posted as some where going abroad. I just don't have any spare time so am making cards on a conveyor belt so to speak. Couple with the fact that my computer is running on gas just now and I can't do half the things on it I really need to do. It's driving me crazy. So, to the tidy desk - again folk:

You can see my new i-phone bottom right - I changed my contract last week, another palaver, the bit of paper has details of Hel's tv shows on the 12th and 14th, my now full set of the new distress stains, a few ink pads and blending tools which I'm using on the Xmas cards, my specs of course - don't worry Sylvia my lovely case is just out of view - a pile of Xmas stamps some on blocks some not and some just waiting their turn, my now very mucky cleaning cloth, etc. etc.
Right, got to keep this conveyor belt moving........

WHAT'S ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #182

Just look at the number of weeks our leader of the world desk hop Julia, has been giving us the chance to have a good old nosey at other folk's craft spaces, 182, incredible.
It's such an eye-opening time to see the crafty work of others - given the time. I for one just don't seem to know the meaning of the word 'time' just now, not having any of it. Not done many Xmas cards for eg. done no Xmas shopping - a big NO NO for me - so must get cracking somehow. Oh my desk, well this is it this week:

My purse, empty of money!, my new distress stains -1 which is still in the post, my new phone, - getting to grips with it slowly, a new bottle of Cosmic Shimmer glue and a new (to me) set of Tim's Xmas stamps - no craft going on as I need the time!!!!
To top all this, my compter has a fault and is on a go slow. Oh !!%%&&*****
Right, a new day so got to get some of these backlog jobs done.

WOYWW #181

Well now Julia, wonderful leader of the weekly desk snoop, I have a little surprise for you this morning. Known generally for having a tidy desk, look at it now:

It's completely cluttered and I can't move.
I've been busy decorating papier mache boxes, making a little gift card wallet courtesy of Hels tutorial, making my DT ATCs and challenge entries and generally having to do more work on the computer than when I actually went to work!!!
I now have another Xmas project which is just visible in the photo above. A red tree inside a box. It's going to be a little Xmas scene and will replace a card for my hairdresser who now expects something exciting each year. I made her a star card some years ago and she still brings it out each Xmas. Warms your heart to know you made something that bring pleasure like that. Whilst using some distress stains though, I now find that the dusty concorde one is now a lovely green colour. I've already had 4 bottles replaced by Ranger and now it looks like I will have to contact them again after I've gone through every one this time that is. Just ordered the 12 new ones so I hope they will be ok.
Well today should have seen my little car have it's MOT, but last night the rear n/s wheel ceased up so we had to cancel it. I need to get it done because I don't know whether this will be the decision time for it to carry on or be scrapped. It's now 15yrs old but still lovable. Just hope that my DH can get it done within the week so I know whether to cash in the tax disc, renew my insurance or whether to just sit and cry.......
Ok, see you next week.

WOYWW #180

Julia,  leader of the grande desk hop about, I wasn't sure whether to join in today as looking at my empty desk - again - is quite boring. But, I'm afraid life is getting in the way of.....life. See what I mean about my work area:

Not even a glass of wine on my coaster - just to note that I took this photo last night!!!! You can see my new Matt Cardle cd - The Fire. Before you ask, the MS punches are in their boxes so that I can hang them from hooks, Saves valuable space on my shelves.

The raised bit of space only has my Timmy Xmas stamps on and a bit of die cut grungepaper. All ready for Mr. Mojo to return and make some Xmas cards. Got a long wait at this rate.
So, after watching our Hels on the tele in a mo, I shall try and pop round yours.

WOYWW #179

I'm up a bit earlier this week in practice for a very early start tomorrow in order to travel down the horrid M6 to the NEC show. I wonder whether our leader of the Wednesday desk hop, Julia will be there or any of you fellow woywwers. If so, give us a wave.
I've actually been crafting my little heart out this week although some of my work has been on the computer and to do with my DT slot. However, I've made Tim's tag, a couple of ATCs and am now working on a birthday card which I hope to finish today. So this is the state of my desk:

Obviously taken last night but it is still the same this morning except for the banana. I ate that! Lots of distress stains and ink pads together with a few leaves, die cut from the Autumn strip die. The rest is probably the same as always.
Right then, I'm off to start my travels and hopefully leave a few comments, that's if Blogger doesn't play up like it has for the past 2 days making my life so difficult.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN WOYWW

Daytime:

Night - be very afraid:

No craft on a desk today Julia, oh leader of the world desk hop Wednesday, instead, decorating the motorhome outside has been this week's craft project.

Have a spookily fantastic woyww.

WHATS ON YOUR WORKDESK #177

I got up at 7am this morning but thought 'what the heck' and went back to bed hence my late post today. I doubt Julia, the leader of the desk hop, will mind too much, after all, I've given up all hope of ever visiting the hundreds of desks each week that pop up on Wednesday. Sorry about that, but today's success is still wonderful. I change the way I pick the ones to have a look at from starting at the beginning of the list, to visiting the first 5 in each column, to closing my eyes and taking a stab in the dark. No matter how I go about it, I haven't managed all of them for nearly 2 years!!!!
What I have managed though is to see some fabulous spaces, clever projects and lots of stash that I would love. Not that much on mine though today:

Just the remnants of some card I was cutting for this weeks Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge.
So then, next week I will be in the motorhome up in Stockton-on-Tees. I booked this in order to take our granddaughter to Newcastle for some shopping experience as part of her birthday present - she turned 15 last month, but unfortunately she has made plans with her friends for Halloween and we will still be there so she has had to put a rain check on the trip. It also seems that there will be snow over the tops this weekend and we travel on Saturday - great!!! Winter never really left the UK this year and it seems it is around with avengeance again.
Stay warm wherever you are and happy woyww.

WOYWW #176

I doubt any of you, not even our Julia, envy where I am. Just to show you what I have seen from the window for the last 4 days, here is a picture:

Cheeky, no I'm not in prison! My OH wanted to return to the town where he was born (Rotherham) and see his school and the house where he was born and lived, so we are in a Premier Inn. Actually we leave this morning and not a moment too soon for either of us. So no craft to show you just this which is the desk where I am now sitting typing this post.

Must go and get a shower and pack our bags. Happy woyww.

WHATS ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #175

Gosh! 175 weeks since our wonderful workdesk queen, Julia, started this phenomenon each and every Wednesday. How time flies eh? We do our best to visit each of us but not many actually manage the whole 'million' who now take part. I do try but generally fail miserably.
Well, this is my little space today:

Quite untidy for me but that's because I have actually been crafting over the last few weeks. I finally finished my 'big' project - which you can see HERE and HERE if you want, so the mess is the remnants of that.
There's a plastic bag full of scrap card etc, 10 brown bottles which have arrived too late for my project - darn it - a mountboard coffin which I didn't get to use - yet, a lock n lock with dried candle wax in - super for making bottles full of rancid yak, a container full of sand with a funnel over the top of it!!!!!, the usual punches, scissors, melt pot etc etc. - BUT if anyone can tell me what that yellow thing is I would be grateful - I think......................

WHAT'S ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #173

It started to rain on Sunday evening and is just spitting this morning. Over 50 hours of torrential rain has caused havoc to many parts of the country including the NW. Fortunately, we are lucky where I live and the flooding has mainly affected roads, fields, etc. but not that far away in Preston, Chorley, Clitheroe, etc. the situation is much worse. My heart goes out to those who once more have lost their homes and possessions. I just hope things are put right for you very soon.
So, I crafted again yesterday on my mammoth project. Another week or so and I may have something to show you but until then, here is my desk:

This is the bit where I sit to compute and before you ask again, the MS punches are still in their boxes so I could hang them up as I don't have much shelf space. Besides, the ones without a box take up enough of that. You can see my distress stains, some re-inkers (not distress), my big shot, laptop, printer, sky box - on it's side to save room, a wonderful ATC from my friend Sonia which says 'keep on smiling'. I keep it at eye level. A few pens, pencils, dog clips, star confetti, my special coaster - made by Sylvia - glasses (their case is just out of shot bottom left) an external hard drive, a bluetooth USB thingy, a jar of foot cream!!!!! a lipstick and other bits and bobs.
Our Leader of the Wednesday snoop, Julia, has once more given us the opportunity to travel the world today, so if it's ok, I'll pop over if you have some sunshine.........

WHAT'S ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #172

Gosh Julia, I bet you can't believe how many of these wonderful Wednesday's there have been or indeed, just popular your idea of snooping around crafty places would become. Well done you I say and thank you for the opportunity to travel the world.
I generally like tidy, however, over the few days after last Wednesday, my little work space was in such a mess that even I was thinking someone else had been in here. Once I finished the part of the massive project I am 'playing' at making just now, I had a clear up - sort of - and this is how it looks right now:

A lone distressed bit of flower ribbon that just jumped off the shelf, some wooden beads that I have dyed with orange alcohol ink, some black vine leaf ribbon, a few favour embellishments that should have been put away, all the usual glues, scissors, inks etc, a disc that hubby copied the tutorial to that I was working on this week and not least of all, my lovely glasses case that now goes everywhere with me.
So show us yours so we can pop round for a little look see.

WOYWW #171

Hello on another Wednesday. Our leader Julia, you know, the one famous for inventing the Grande Nosey, will have been up early this morning. Not me. I've just dragged myself up after a rather disturbed night of sleep - yet again - due to the lashing rain. What happened to the indian summer??
Anyway, rather than show you my desk in it's usual empty state, I am making no bones (pun there) about the fact that I have staged it to show you some of the stash I have accumulated in readiness for some Halloween fun courtesy of Laura Carson starting today. See my left side bar for details. So here it is - enjoy......

WOYWW #170

A bright and sunny morning to all woyww-ers around the world especially our lovely leader Julia who by now will be off doing other things after having posted a photo of her desk earlier.
I haven't done very much crafting of late because there are so many jobs to do around the house before the onset of winter. Oh! listen to me, as if we had a summer!!!!! Anyway, here is the usual bit of my desk:

Nothing new there except my DT book, my partly finished Tim 2012 September tag - I don't have the typewriter die so am pondering what to add instead - a tiny piece of crinkle ribbon on top of a bit of metal sheet, a pan scrub that I used on the tag as I don't have any nasty wire wool and a tiny perfume bottle.
The rest of my desk looks like this:

Empty apart from a part eaten bag of chocolate peanuts, some indigestion tablets, the piece of card I used to mark my green' should be brown' distress markers (now replaced by Ranger - thank you so much for such an amazingly quick service), an external hard drive and my wonderful glasses case and drinks mat.
So no crafty project in the making. Goodness knows when I shall be able to start something. We still have the shed fascia boards to replace, the greenhouse to re-coat (it's wooden) some cementing to do, a paving slab to lift and straighten as tree roots have raised it, plus ordinary life which keeps getting in the way. Hope we finish everything before our next set of booked dates which begin in 2/3 weeks. Righto, off to start again.

WOYWW #169

I wonder when our lovely Julia publishes her woyww post each week? I've scheduled posts, stayed up until midnight to publish a post, kept my phone in bed and checked through the night to see if Julia's is on, I've even jumped out of bed at 6am to be an early bird and link mine so I get near the beginning of the list. Why?? because this woyww 'thing' is exciting. Being able to visit with crafty folk all over the world and see the creations, stash and sometimes, awful mess that we are all capable of making, is the highlight of each week. However, today I decided to simply get up - whenever - take my photo and write up a little ditty before joining you all, so here goes:

Quite tidy again. I have been making a few things for anniversaries and challenges this week as proved by the little pile of scraps to the left. You can see 3 lovely Inkadinkadoo stamps that I used to stamp on tissue paper for a canvas I made, the flower and rosette are still waiting for a project, there's a little box about to be decorated, 2 paper flowers I made from Tim's pine cone die for the August tag - trouble with them is, I made them inside out, der!! the usual scissors etc, and 4, actually, distress stains that are all brown but come out green. I marked them on white card and then emailed Ranger who are going to replace them.
That's how it is today, all ready to play on the next set of projects. I have to write another post now because the 3rd of the little tutorials I did for Just Some Lines is live today, then I can call round yours.

WOYWW FROM HOME - is it BOOHOO or AT LAST!??!!

Well certainly the washing and ironing is a boohoo but having a phone that works is an 'at last.' I have missed being able to reply to our Julia and the rest of you wonderful Woywwers out there over the last 4 weeks because, to be honest, this is the very first time that O2 has ever let me down.
I have had their connection for over 14yrs because it serves the majority of the places we go to - not any more. My mobile web connection, although archaic, is T-Mobile and that was much better, but I can't email from it. Well, looks like I have to do a-think when my contract is up in December.
The holiday - it was special. My DH hates all sport not related to motorbikes. We watched almost every minute of the olympics. I was in heaven and he is now a convert eagerly awaiting the paralympics. We met up with special friends but missed another. We had fantastic weather and we drank far too much, - who cares...... We laughed, we howled at late night comedy tv, we walked around wonderful places, saw birds and animals that made us stop and stare, we had ' do nothing days', we drove miles, we shopped in Asda for groceries and spent £'s in Trago Mills in Devon - but for me, the best part of the whole 4 weeks was sitting on the quay side watching the Sunseeker Yachts being built in Poole, Dorset. I simply adore that sight. It gives me dreams like no other. They are only for the super rich but I dream of the places they can take you. Magical, just magical.
I have already shared a very special day with you that I had with my pal Sylvia and hubby Reg.  Asa and Kobe are starting to shed their unbelievable coats ready for the winter but will still look wonderful. Sylvia spoilt me with hand-made presents and I leave you with photos of my work space and their glory:

Oops, that's me trying to make Tim's August tag at last.

WOYWW - STILL IN DORSET

Nothing on my craft table today. The only craft I've done in the last 4 weeks was to make the little matchbox chest I showed you previously. My hobby, when in Poole, is to watch Sunseeker yachts being built. Just can't get enough of their beauty. So, when I win the lottery (that's the £150million one) I will be inviting Julia, and anyone else who wants  to come on my 155' yacht for a trip around the I.O.W..
It's a date then.
Last night we went into Poole for the bikers festival when hundreds and hundreds of bikers park up all along the road by the dock, marina, Thistle hotel, Poole Pottery etc. Out of all the owners they were about a dozen in their 20s, the rest were 50+. Took  me back 23 years when we had our Honda CBR600 and then the Yamaha Majesty 250 that we actually bought in Paignton, Devon. That was an expensive holiday!!

It was another glorious evening.

Just couldn't resist another peek in the opposite direction though................ I should be home next week.

WOYWW - FROM DORSET

Both phone and internet connections in the area where we are (near to Corfe Mullen, Dorset) are complete rubbish and I am tearing my hair out throughout the days. However, my determination to join in with our lovely leader Julia's woyww has me calm just now.
I am still enjoying good weather and have only been caught a couple of times by a shower. Not much crafting this holiday though but I have made this:

I took the instructions from Laura Carson who makes unbelievable ATCs and little works of art such as this chest of drawers. I sent to America for some of the items I needed before we came away but still had to source a couple of beads, which I had forgotten to pack, a tassel and a key. I have taken an age to load this photo so will have to catch up with more shots when I get home.
Just have to share this one though:

My most favourite view whenever I visit Poole, the Sunseeker boatyard. There were 2 like this in the water and several more being 'created' in the hangars. At over £12-15 million each, some folk are really rich eh?? To top that, there was another in the marina!!! Must win that Euromillion lottery.
We have booked an extra 3 nights here as the owner had had a cancellation, so won't be going home until at least a week on Friday. The weather is going to get hot again aswell. Yippee.

WOYWW - 1/8/12

I'm still down south on my holidays and the best thing is, the weather is holding. I wonder whether you have sunshine or rain where you are. Our leader Julia, queen of the Wednesday craft spaces, may be wondering too.
I have a very special few photos to share with you today. I excitedly went to see my special friend, Sylvia and her hubby, Reg. We had a good 'ol natter and catch up and I shared her joy when she showed me her new embroidery machine. What a piece of crafty kit that is. However, that didn't match my utter thrill when she presented me with these:

Top to bottom -
a fabulous patchwork cushion for my craft chairs at home,
an incredible tote bag
a little case for scissors, pens etc.
a perfect case for my craft glasses - Sylvia says they are always just lying around on my craft desk
a drinks mat for my coffee, wine or G & T depending on the time of day.
Here is the other side of each item:

The material is so special because it is full of craft images and sayings. I'll try and load another photo so you can click on it to read and see what I mean:

Okay, I'm pushing it a bit here, but whilst I'm on a run, here is the view from Sylvia's front veranda:

Now that's called Heaven on Earth.
See you next week.

WOYWW FROM A McDONALDS WIFI

Just cannot get onto the web from our site and my mobile web so we have had to bear the scorching sun and drive miles to a McDonalds so I can join in with woyww today. I hope Julia and everyone else has had an easier time of playing today. Obviously this means I cannot travel around to yours, sorry about that.
Anyway, I do have a picture to show you of the table in the back of the motorhome full of the goodies I bought on Monday. Hre - I hope - it is;

I brought the flowers from home but all the little boxes etc. are from Trago Mills, which for those of you who have been to Devon will surely  know. They have built the most gorgeous garden centre with fabulous ponds and themed areas. I will be going back before we leave for Dorset because it was so lovely.

Here we are parked up. Just look at the blue sky. The temperature has been off the scale since we left home - at 4am - on Sunday morning. How lucky are we then?
Right, I have to post this and link it and then post and link another piece before we leave here.