Whats on Your Workspace Wednesday - 130

My table is a bit of a mess today as I'm in the middle of a few things - why finish one thing when you can have three things going at the same time?  Bet I'm not the only one with a messy desk this week as you can see at Julia's blog-hopping paradise over at Stamping Ground.

So what can we see today?  Can't tell you what it's for (yet - tease, tease) but I raided Sorrel's sandpit for the sand you can see in the yellow bowl, had to wash it to get rid of the muck though - yuk.  Little tin of bits - shells, charms etc and some wooden cubes gessoed ready for stamping/covering, not made my mind up what I'm doing yet.

Have only made one Christmas card this year so need to get my skates on.  The one you can see is my last year's card to Mr B.  It's a pop-up type thingy and I liked the idea so am going to do more this year for family, so it's out as inspiration.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Thrilled to find out this morning that I'm one of the winners in the Crafty Individuals November Challenge for my winter canvas -  have already had a good browse round the shop and picked my prize stamp.

Well I didn't have to browse too much because I had already seen the latest stamps and had to go for the one with perfume bottles on.  One of the bottles is 4711 Eau de Cologne - anyone remember that?  I can, it was probably the first 'perfume' I ever bought as a teenager (either that or ' Nuits de Paris' -  think that was what it was called, used to buy it in Woolies and it was in a dark blue glass bottle), and I thought I was so sophisticated.

Just for Fun - shape

This weeks challenge on Just For Fun is 'your favourite shape'.  Well Neet you set me a difficult one this week - never thought about if I have a favourite shape before.  First thoughts were not about cards or crafts but rectangles -bars of chocolate, rounds - chocolate buttons and ovals - cream eggs (sense a theme here?).

Back to crafts and I was going to do a tag then found these jigsaw shapes that I have had stored away for ages.  I loved playing with them when I bought them so I guess they count as a favourite shape.  Had a play and this is what resulted.

The word stamp should read 'What do you do when the pieces don't seem to fit?' which is appropriate.

At least I got the photo straight this time which should please (?) the person who commented on my last JFF challenge piece, not that it bothered me........... much.  Didn't realise it was a geometry competition.

Just for fun - better late than never, but better.....

On the last minute with my entry for this week's challenge over at Just For Fun, which is your favourite technique.  Another challenge for me as I have so many 'favourites but I had to go for 'resist' (will avoid making the obvious jokes) plus a little gold embossing as this was the first thing ever I did on a card - how brave was that - when I started stamping all those years ago.

 Finished it about 10 minutes ago with a mizhi (?) knot.

What's on Your Workspace -Wednesday 129

Yes it's that day of the week we all look forward to - Wednesday.  What about Friday, or the weekend I hear you ask? (well I don't really as that software hasn't yet been invented but give them time).  No Wednesday, God's gift to nosey people who like to snoop around other crafters' workspaces, and all courtesy of the lovely Julie at The Stamping Ground.

This is my desk at 4:30 Tuesday afternoon - nothing on it this morning as I had to tidy everything away ( breaks my heart to do it) so we can eat at the table as I can't eat pasta on my knee as I make too much mess - like a two year old, I'm a disgrace.  Had a good afternoon Tuesday and got loads done.  The two boxes I got for my Neices' stockings are almost finished (closer look later) as is my button tin (again, see further down the page) and at the back you can see two boxes of Christmas stamps.  Not that I'm making many cards this year, stopped doing that a while ago and now only a select few get handmade cards - collectors items ha ha.

The box on the right contains all my treasures - want a closer snoop?  Of course you do.

Keys, watch parts, charms, locks something old, something (well lots really ) new.

Anyway, enough of that here are the boxes and the button tin, both before and after painting with acrylics and buffing with metallic wax - I love that stuff.

Those paints made a big difference to the tin didn't they.

Enjoy your trip around via Julia's blog.

Less is More

The challenge on Less is More this week is to use silhouette.  Now a silhouette is usually a block black image against white but this clever stamp reverses the image stamping a black background to give a white silhouette and as snow is forecast for later in the week it seems an appropriate image to use.

After entering last weeks one layer challenge I really have the bug so this week's entry is also a single layer.  I used my bone folder and the groove in my paper cutter to make the embossed lines.

I was hoping to show you the boxes I was working on (see WOYWW post) but I made a mess - yet again - so am going to paint over the sides and start again - gesso covers (literally) a multitude of sins.  So that's this afternoon sorted out.

Whats on Your Workspace Wednesday - 128

Am writing this on Tuesday as I want to try scheduling again and maybe this time it will be third time lucky - have figured out I was on Easter standard time so I have changed that and it should work now.

So, what is on my table this week? A bit of work in progress and a completed item this week plus a few new buys, I know, I know, cant stop spending - well if the country is in a recession I'm firmly in the 'spend your way out of it' camp.

Just painted the two cardboard boxes at the bottom ready for decorating so have the paint box out and the lace.  Not decided quite what I'm doing yet - story of my life - but ever since my two great-nieces were little part of their Christmas has been chocolate coins in different containers every year.  When I started crafting all those years ago handmade containers became part of.the tradition so I rack my brains each year for something different.  So far I have done different shaped boxes, pyramid boxes, crackers, jars and this year is is a treasure chest.
Emma and Sophie are 23 and 19 now but still can't wait to get to the bottom of the Christmas gift bag and the coins.  Will probably take me a couple of days to decide what colours I use - do I stick to their favourites (green/brown for Emma and purple/blue for Sophie) or should I go for metallics?  Am tempted to go wintery like the colours I used on my CI challenge canvas (see Mondays post for a closer look) and use crackle glaze and get out the snowman stamps - what do you think girls?

Also on my desk - some beautiful Melissa Francis papers (and this from someone who vowed last week she wasn't going to buy any more paper for a year ha ha.  Have a closer look here and you will see why I was tempted.

...and at 59p per sheet they were bargains (again).

If, like me, you love being inspired at the work done by crafters around the world, and messy desks, then hop over to Julia's blog at the Stamping Ground for a tour, only get you cuppa ready first and make sure you are sitting comfortably because you could be there a long, long time.

PS - just checked (7:15am) and it worked.  Now I've mastered scheduling what next, splitting the atom, time-travelling?