A card for Emma

Made this card for my niece's birthday today - she loves green.  It is  version of the one we did at Vicky Stampers club meeting the other weekend, with Lindsey Mason.

The original had a glittery flower on but I wasn't keen on that so just added a sentiment bead lower down.  Can't remember where I got these from, but I have had them years and am speedily running out of my supplies. Always amazes me what can be done with a few pieces of white card, inks and a couple of stamps.

WOYWW 223

Missed last week as we were away in sunny Lincolnshire, camping by the sea and what a week to chose, fantastic weather.
Back with a vengeance now, both to WOYWW courtesy of the fabulous Julia, and to crafting in general.

Can tell I'm back because I've been flashing the plastic a bit (?).

New Christmas stamp bottom right that I spotted in a craft shop that I just happened on, honest, while we were away.  Just above and to the left are three bottles of Dylusion spray ink, then a pack of metal leaves and to the left of the sprayed panel I am working on (yes I do actually do something with the stuff I buy) is a Crafty Individuals dragonfly stamp and three DI markers.

My other spray inks are in the wooden drawer and in the middle but there was a serious gap in my supplies, hence the three new ones.  Towards the top left of the general mess are the pieces I made at the Lindsey Mason workshop I went to on Saturday at our monthly stamp club (you can grab a closer look in my previous post below).

So that's the WOYWW bits done, if you want to see where I was last week then scroll down.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.....

Our little camp in the semi-shade.

What's Sorrel looking at?

This!  Early morning duck patrol, and they are on their way here...

Wildlife pond in the middle of our campsite - perfect.

Workshop with Lindsey Mason

It was our stamp club meeting yesterday and Lindsey Mason did a great class.  Not my usual style of stamps but I loved what she used and enjoyed myself getting my fingers a hundred shades of purple and blue (ink sprays).

We made a card background stamped first with white acrylic and then oversprayed.  The panel is on watercolour paper and I have just ordered the dragonfly stamp plate as I love it so much.

The second piece is a hanging.

Sprays again, stamped and then 'bleached' with a waterbrush before re-colouring the toadstools and fairy with Distress inks.  The toadstool stamp and leaves are Dylusions and the fairy and little mushrooms are Lavinia stamps.

Seems I'm back to full stamping strength as I cant wait to get my new stamps and get inky again.

Shadow box

Decided I needed to get a move on with the shadow box and took on board all your comments on my WOYWW post, including the hand and the background, so yesterday evening out came the paints and brushes and I covered the box and frame, scanned and enlarged the main image and stuck that down.
This was the result....

I used various acrylic paints in lime, pale green, mid green and blue, including some from Paper Artsy and some bog standard ones from the local stationers, blending and dry-brushing until I got a look I liked.
The stencil is from my growing stash from The Crafters Workshop and I sponged more acrylic through. Once dry I added touches of Viva Inca Gold, well when I say 'touches' it is more or less covered lightly. Had to work hard with this as the wax has dried out a lot but at £8 a pot no way is that going in the bin.  I didn't pay full price as I got it from Lin Brown when she was closing her on-line shop.

Today was spent playing with all the junk, sorry, I meant to say ephemera, placing it roughly where I wanted it and photographing the result because I knew as soon as I started lifting them to glue I would forget what I was doing.  Anyway it progressed and developed and this is the end result......

Quite pleased with the result but of course I would do it differently if I did it again (or I may just add another splash of lime in the bottom left corner and it does look better in the flesh as the colours on the first photo are more true to life.

So that's it ladies, hope she likes it.

WOYWW 221

Every week that I join in Julia's amazing desk journey/snoop I see all these fantastically tidy desks and if there is such a thing as re-incarnation then next time that will be me - TIDY CRAFTER!  Well that's my aim but more my luck to come back as a cockroach.  Not that I have anything against cockroaches, all God's creatures so entitled to be here, just not in my eyesight please, I would rather have pretty butterflies flittering here and there splashing a bit of paint around.....

Enough rambling, you want to see my desk, or I hope you do, so here it is.

 It's been like this since Sunday afternoon, when I get stuck, a frequent thing, just shut the door and walk away for a couple of days.  Keep creeping back in hoping to find a bit of inspiration or, fingers crossed, that the craft fairies will have been in overnight to help, no such luck.

I'm trying to do a shadowbox thingy (technical term) for my Great-Niece's birthday on the 15th.  Always make the two girls something, even though they are 26 and 22 next birthdays.  Emma loves green and brown so I started there spraying flowers, painting, cutting and alcohol inking metal charms.  Not quite sure which direction this will take so I had a play around 'arranging' (very loose term) the bits in the frame.

Think the hand will have to go, and the background needs some colour, and I need some texture, and a bit more lime green at the top, and maybe the picture needs to be a little bigger, but apart from that.....

Have to get it finished this week as we are away next week, taking the campervan to Lincolnshire, Andy will be trying to get me to go to all the old Second World War airfields and I will be trying to find craft shops so lots of fun all round.

Happy WOYWW, see you on the tour.

WOYWW 220

Getting back into the habit of sharing my mucky desk/table each week along with all the other WOYWWyers courtesy of Julia over at the Stamping Ground.  Not as much to see this week though.

As I'm back in the crafting groove I dug out my art journal and had a play yesterday.  I subscribe to Donna Downey's YouTube Inspiration Wednesdays and this week she used acrylic paint and swirled the colours with her finger.  Sounded good to me, nothing like getting messy with pain so out came the cheap acrylics for a little practice.
Of course it doesn't look anything like hers but I the swirly bits on the right reminded me of roses so I added a few stems.  The left hand page was a complete disaster so I smoothed the paint off and made some patterns by dipping a flat brush in two colours of paint and twirling it round.  Just playing but having fun as well and it's good to play with no intention of making anything or going anywhere in particular.

The box on the left of my desk has just had a coat of white gesso while I decide what to do with it-  a shadow box that I want to do for my niece's birthday.  Whatever I do will involve paint, inks, papers and possibly flowers, that's if I didn't clear them all out in my last big tidy.  (How come whenever you decide to tidy and throw out something that has been taking up houseroom for years you suddenly have a 'good idea' and regret throwing it away?)

Anyway, it is good to be back for the second week on the trot. Happy Wednesday blogging buddies.

Just realised this is the second week my desk has hosted a cup of unappetising liquid.  Looks like tea this week but it is my brush washing cup - last week looked like yuk (which it was ha ha).

Cant stop crafting!

Not much to show for three months and then you get two posts in a week, must be mad.

Have had a crafty week this week, even bought a copy of Craft Stamper after cancelling my sub in the depths of my crafty slough of despond.  Busy day today, housework, as we have family for lunch tomorrow so the table where I craft has been cleared.  Just the opportunity to share some of the cards I made last week.

Love this stamp (Stampers Anonymous), she looks so wistful. Stripey paper is Papermania, lips coloured with marker and given a coat of lipgloss (Glaze)

Another sheet from the Papermania pack, stamps by Darcies and I doodled round the edge with white pen.

...and now for something completely different, playing with my Copics before they dry-out from lack of use.  Don't you just love colouring in?  When my friend's boys were little (in their 30s now) I would head for the colouring book when I went round, kept me quiet for hours.  The background is Copic dots, like Pointillism (?) without the talent of a Seurat.

The last two photos are of the deco pages I made.  These will be in the post to USA for the swap I'm in but as the recipient doesn't visit my blog it is safe to post them here.  The theme was 'red' so lots of scope.  First one is a Blockhead stamp, Copics (again) and a sheet from the Papermania pack that started off black and white but I added touches of red to the flowers.  Also added a few 'dewdrops' to the poppy.

Second photo uses Artistic Outpost stamps and a variety of red colourings, including a Cranberry Adirondack pad that was one of my first ever purchases.  It has been re-inked many times but works as well as ever.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Whats on your Workdesk Wednesday - 219

Remember me, I used to be part of your gang but have been missing for a few weeks -well a lot of weeks actually.  Lots of things going on to prevent me crafting and joining in, broken Freezer, replacing freezer, broken washer, replacing washer, holidays, bad back etc etc. Add to this the utter and complete loss of mojo and inability to concentrate on any crafting and you have an unhappy bunny so much so that at one point I packed lots of stamps and stuff up ready to give away and give up. Happy to report that I changed my mind and unpacked it :-) and this week has seen the return of Mojo and I'm on my way to catching up on all the many birthday cards I haven't sent.

Four cards on my desk, nothing too fancy, it's baby steps at the moment in case I frighten off that Mojo person again - if you are wondering what the table knives are doing there it's because they live in the dresser behind me and I was too lazy to put them away after Sunday lunch.  Still they are beautiful stylish knives (Robert Mellor).

So that's me, back where I belong and happy to be taking part in Julia's big desk hop again.  Hope to get around a few desks this week and see what delightful art you have been creating in my absence.  See you on the tour and if you want to see a few photos of my holidays then scroll down.



Saundersfoot, Wales.  The beach was just yards from our holiday home, out the door, 50 yards down the lane and down the cliff steps, perfect for us and perfect for Sorrel.

This beach wasn't quite as 'friendly', Pendine Sands where Malcolm Campbell, (father of Donald Campbell who was killed on his water speed attempt) broke the world land speed record in 1927.  The beach was later used in preparation for the D-Day Normandy landings in WW2 and the chance of unexploded shells.  Scary hey?

And this is what I call a beach.  Further west, we parked at Stackpole Quay and walked over the cliffs to this beautiful beach, down the steps, across the beach and up the other side.  Took us a few hours but the views were stunning.  You can just see Andy at the right edge of the photo

Whats on your Workspace Wednesday - 207

Bit late today - 6 weeks late to be exact.  Completley lost my Mojo and crafting has taken a back seat to other issues, bereavements, bad back, broken tooth, holiday and just yesterday, a broken washing machine.

In an attempt to give myself a kick-start I got out some background papers yesterday and my art journal so that's more or less all that is on my desk this week.

Oh, and some rolls of washi tape brought over from Japan by an Aunt's Japanese daughter-in-law - Kinuko.  She came for dinner on Sunday and joined the monthly lunch circle - Andy's Mum, his two Aunts ( one only recently widowed) so we went out for lunch.  Had to use the campervan as well as the car as couldn't get all 6 in the car.  Kinuko also brought me a cute little box containing two pottery chopstick stands and it was wrapped in waxed paper bag (above) so that will be saved and used in craft.

Another reason for going out - my birthday last Friday and here are some of the lovely handmade cards I got from friends (including the lovely Neet of Hickydorums).

Lastly here are Andy and Sorrel outside our campervan last week.  We went to Northumberland, a stunningly beautiful part of England, our first visit but not our last for sure.

My loss of mojo has also meant I haven't visited many of your blogs for a few weeks, hope to put that right today, once I'm back from the dentist's, starting with Julia's.  Hope to see you all next week with something positive to show.

I'm back

Cant believe it is over a month since I blogged but life takes over sometimes.  Back now, only hope my Mojo returns as well.  It's on it's way back as I actually made something yesterday - the first bit of crafting since my last blog entry a month ago, so I'll share the photos of that tomorrow.

Lots of things happening recently to keep me off here but I wont bore you with the details.  What I will bore you with are a few holiday photos as we spent last week up in the North East visiting first Haltwhistle near Hadrian's Wall where the weather was a bit wild, wet and windy, before moving on and up to the coast between Craster and Beadnell Bay.  A stunningly beautiful part of England and one we had not visited before.  Will be back soon though as despite the mixed weather we loved exploring the area.

So here are the photos: -

Sorrel up on the wall, guarding the Roman Empire.

Beach near campsite taken on Tuesday afternoon.  There were a few people there as well we didnt have the place solely to ourselves even if it looks that way.

Looking back from the beach car park to Dunstanburgh Castle.  Couldn't believe how many there were on this stretch of coastline, all to keep out the marauding Scots.

Last but not least, Beadnell Harbour.

We also went across the causeway to Holy Island on Wednesday but it rained solid from 8:00 to 16:00 then the sun came out and the beautiful blue skies you can see above.  What a country!

WOYWW 201

Bit late this morning but I was determined to join in again after missing last week's desk hop.  Mojo still very hit and miss (mostly 'miss' at present) and I can't see it getting much better this month as we are away for two weekends and then a week at the end of the month.  Better get my skates on as Sorrel is waiting for me to post so we can have our morning walk.

Have been working on some pages for the deco book swap I'm in so they are on there (black, white and red).  Also there is a card to be sent with the pages. It's a simple one-layer made by scribbling marker pans on an acrylic block, spritzing with water and 'stamping' with it to create a background.

Short post today so please head over to Julia's to see what others are working on this week.

I'll leave you with a couple more photos of the card (before and after overstamping the background).

WOYWW 199

Couldn't come out to play last week, Mr Mojo ran away and I searched high and low for him.  Gave up eventually but I hope to round him up this week otherwise I'm going to have to give away all my craft stuff (don't think so).

I have had a clear out though chucking loads (and loads) of paper, dried out ink-pads and other rubbish.  Thing is I have that much stuff that it overwhelms me at times, feel much better now I can see the floor.

The card on my desk uses an image I stamped and coloured (proMarkers) a while ago and in my clear up I found just the right scrap of inked paper to match.  The stamps are new(ish) ones - bought them at the Manchester show and still not used them.

Did manage to make a very grungy card last week, not sure everyone would like it but it pleases me, mainly because of the quote stamp - what do you think?

Off now in the great Mr Mojo hunt, going to start at Julia's place and then visit as many desks as I can this week to make up for all the ones I didn't see last Wednesday.  Sorry if you visited and left a comment in the past week but I promise to do better this time.

WOYW - Thursday

Took photo yesterday all ready to join the desk hop then forgot all about it, I know, how could I?  Well I would forget my own head if it wasn't screwed on - honest.  I would share the photo with you but I finished the deco pages I was working on so I'll show you those instead, plus a lovely gooey cake that my niece had for her 21st.

First the pages...

The theme is butterflies (how did you guess) and we do two pages and send them to the next person on the list in our group of 8.  This one is stamped on acetate and it's blinged up with some Stickles on the back of the acetate..

Same sprayed background paper on both but this one is stamped in bleach.

My niece (or Great-niece to be correct) loved her card, she is a very 'pink' young lady and we had a small family get-together last Sunday.  not sure how she stayed awake because she didn't get in until 5:00am that morning after a night of celebration with her pals in Liverpool - I didn't know places stayed open that late.

Took a few photos but none turned out that well but here is the cake for you, made by a work colleague of her Dad.

....and not a stamp in sight.

Very unusual for me but I have just finished the card for my niece's 21st birthday card and didn't use a single stamp.  She is a very 'girlie' young woman, loves pink and I had run out of ideas (and had few suitable stamps that she hadn't seen before so out came the pretty papers, pearls, photos and die-cuts (another thing I forget I have) and here is the result.

I do like pink and green together - reminds me of apple-blossom.  Butterfly die was borrowed from a friend and I 'scattered' pearls around and added a couple of metal corners.  Found some peel-off borders at the back of the cupboard and edged the paper with them.

Here's the inside view.

Oops, just realised that I lied in the post title as I did use a stamp, one of Art From the Heart 'sentiments which seemed to suit Sophie down to the ground (or to the shoes).

She is getting a cheque to go with it and a gift bag full of sweets as a new sweet shop has opening in town and she likes 'Nerds' and 'Millions (whatever they are) so I got a load of those plus some other stuff I have never heard of.

Calling round tomorrow morning to wish her a very happy birthday then back to have a play in my journal and I can promise you that there will be lots, and lots of stamps involved in that - and no peel-offs.

WOYWW 197

Missed last week (boo hoo) as my back was bad and I just couldn't craft in comfort so my house has been a craft-free, glue-free, stamp-free location for about two weeks now and I have withdrawal symptoms.

Can't keep it up because it is my niece's 21st birthday on Saturday and I really didn't want to send her a shop-bought card for this special birthday.  Luckily, feeling better today and spent half an hour sorting out what I'm going to do and getting my desk a bit busier.

Not what I wanted to do but this one is going to be mainly papers, butterflies and sparkly bits, plus a few photos of her as a little girl to keep it simple.  Had enough by the time I had done this so packed up at 3:30 yesterday and took the photo before my back told me I had done too much.  Happier now I've started and at least I have 3 clear days to finish it so that's OK.  (so simple is the idea that I even searched out my one remaining page of silver peel-offs and am going to use them to make a border - had to search really hard for this as it is years since I used any.

So that's my week/fortnight news.  Did manage to spy on a few desks last week but didn't leave many comments - hope to be able to do better this week, starting and Mama Julia's - see you over there.

WOYWW 195

Didn't think I could join in this week but how could I miss the worlds best desk hop hosted by Julia of Stamping Ground.  Well I couldn't so I've just taken a photo of my desk this morning and here it is.

Even bigger mess than usual because I'm trying to do fifteen things at once including some pages for a deco book swap I'm in (due Friday) and prep for the workshop I'm doing on Saturday.  All the letter stencils are cut and have just finished the instruction sheets so they are on there as well.  Favourite bit of my desk this week?  Has to be those Graphic 45 letter stamps, in a fab tin - don't you just adore things in tins?

Was getting ready to go for a walk with Sorrel but I'm doing my impression of Rapunzel (without the long flowing locks) as Andy has gone to work with my door/car keys so I'm locked in (not really as I can get out the back way but the story loses a bit if I tell you that).

We were only going for a short walk anyway because a) I have too much to do, b) my back is giving me gip, again, and c) Sorrel hurt herself yesterday, playing too hard with a Pug, a Boston Terrier and then a Border Terrier, all of which were just a bit too boisterous, so we are having a quiet day.  May not be able to get round as many desks this week but I will return all calls.

Have a good Wednesday.

WOYWW - 194

Where are the stamps?  Must have got the photo mixed up with someone-else's as you never see my desk without stamps.  Well you do this week,

Away at teh weekend then back to make a card and decorae a big, big letter 'M' for my sister whose birthday it is today.  Can't remember how old she is, just know she is much older than me (just like Annie and Jo :-)).

Not a lot else to see, other than a bag of lace, my ribbon box (an empty photocopier paper box) and my bag of tricks.

Closer look at the card/letter here - Graphic45 paper, lace, pearls, buttons and, of course, a few stamps on the background paper.

Going out for lunch with my sister for a good natter so I may not get round as many desks this week but I will try my best.  See you over at Julia's place for the start of this week's desk travels.

A Weekend away

Made the most of the lovely sunny weekend with a trip to Chirk just 9 miles south of Wrexham, staying on a Caravan Club site snuggled up to the edge of the National Trust property of Chirk Castle.
Fantastic site with walks from the front gate through woodland down to the canal and the Thomas Telford's aquaduct that carries the canal over the river valley, a striking sight as it runs by the railway bridge.

We walked over it on Sunday but I couldn't do too much walking as I hurt my foot getting of a bar stool on Saturday night - and no I didn't fall and had only one glass of wine, just twisted the ball of my foot and it hurt, a lot.
Managed a little walk to the gates of the castle but no way could I manage the trek up the hill, very pretty though.

Back to the canal on Monday in time to see a barge cross the canal and go through the tunnel.

Just at the side of the path back up to the road was a drift of snowdrops, obviously escapees from the garden the other side of the mesh fence - think mine must have drowned, hardly any this year and I do love them so.

Don't you just love it when you can smell Spring in the air?.