Wednesday 31 March 2010

Zentangle-Doodle-Dandy

Well, I have doodled my way through the footie this evening, not really concentrating on either properly!  I don't think I like it - the doodle, that is - I think I was - thinking too much about it, but for a first effort I suppose it's ok...  and I don't think I used the right kind of pen.  Looking at it now it's scanned, I think there is too much white space.. hey ho!!


WOYWW 31.3.10 - it's not Wednesday AGAIN, surely??

Here we are, another Wednesday!  Once again I have had to cheat a bit with the timing of the pics, owing to my early starts in the morning and my eagerness to get posted!

I have done another couple of swing rounds, although I'm kind of back to where I started, but there were a few extra bits to include.
The blue box contains all kinds of bits of "ephemera" that are too small to store anywhere else, the red ones under the cardboard drawer units are some of my card stock boxes and I'm sure you'll recognise the pile of stamps standing in shot proudly!



and these are some little sectioned boxes with things like brads and small chip shapes that I will use - one day!





I may have unintentionally mislead some of you last week as I had lost this pic of my boxes of cardstock (I saved it in the wrong place on my computer) as I think you thought I'd lost the card stock..... you may agree it would be hard to lose this lot!!  They live just outside the living room and are colour co-ordinated by box (yes, I buy a lot of card stock!!) The drawers on top contain bits of coloured wires, packs of fibres etc. The lead hanging down oh-so-tidily (not) is my camera charger!  They used to stand inside the doorway itself but I couldn't get in and out...!!





Finally for this week is an area we haven''t explored together before - the other side of the sofa!

This is one of my boxes of (mainly 12x12) papers (it's sitting on top of the other one!) I can't quite remember what's in the one underneath as this one is sooo heavy the bottom is sagging and when I lift it off one day soon, everything is going to fall out in a big mess..... what d'you mean, another big mess??!!
You cheeky lot.

I don't seem to have shown you anything ON my workdesk.... lets get that sorted.

(speaks in Aussie accent) "Can you tell what it is yet?"

Well, I have seen various examples of Zentangles around recently and am determined to have a go - so I have prepped a sheet of card so far..... Not sure when I'll get it finished, mind!

I don't think I'll get away with hopping round to see many of you during the day at work, I am going to get caught soon.... so I'll catch up with you as soon as I can.  In the meantime, pop over to Julia's to see what this is all about - and why not join in? The more the merrier!

Tuesday 30 March 2010

Easter - Stampotique Style! SDC#4

The latest Stampotique challenge is Easter using Stampotique stamps. 


I made this card using Girl with a Heart Purse.  I drew round an egg shaped clear stamp on some patterned paper (so it's not cheating on the challenge, right?!) and drew what is meant to be a wicker basket on a scrap of paper to place the "easter eggs" in.  I don't have any Stampotique sentiment stamps - or any others suitable so wrote something I think most of you will agree with!! using a black 3d gel pen.

Sunday 28 March 2010

Songbirds on Sunday

Hels has another fab challenge this week on Sunday Stampers - Birds.  Quite by chance, a couple of weeks ago I bought a fab set of Prima stamps called Songbird from the Stamp Attic and hadn't used them yet.  So the challenge was made for me, I reckon!!


I think the flash has reacted a bit with the white background, sorry! 









I took a square scalloped card mat from Craftwork Cards and distressed it with brushed corduroy DI and spritzed it with a gold pearl/tea dye reinker mix and then stamped on the music score from the same sheet.  I wish I could read music, I could have sung it to you!!




I went out into the garden and cut a small twig and stuck it to the card and stamped the bird on a scrap and coloured it before sticking it to the twig.  I found an alphabet set to make up the word songbird and spritzed that too before sticking it behind the twig.


I suspect the twig may not stay on the card very long, so I haven't mounted it up on a full card, and I couldn't have done this with the scanner so it's as well I got the camera sorted!

Happy Sunday, and here's hoping Liverpool do better this week than they did last week - so much for the lucky tshirt!

Saturday 27 March 2010

In a spin for wild honey

I really need to get the other 6 of the new DI's or I will have worn out my Wild Honey!

I had already coloured the tag with wild honey ink.

Yesterday lunchtime I decided I couldn't wait till Ally Pally next month to get some more of the new Timmy stamps and ordered a set from Jennie at The Artistic Stamper - I was torn between the new Good Thoughts and the previous issue Just Thoughts; which I ordered.  However, Jennie then rang and said it was out of stock so would I like to wait (no!!) or have Good Thoughts, (yes!!) and she would try and get it in the day's post still - and it did indeed arrive today - what fabby service!! So I used one of the stamps with the Timmy mask and stamp and some WV butterflies (metal stuck on grungepaper and grungepaper flower - whch I attached with a Timmy game spinner so it spins on the tag.

Friday 26 March 2010

Friday Night Wendy

I didn't set out to make this but it kind of evolved!  I started with the Prima flower which was a pale cream colour but I added a touch of my fave wild honey DI (cos I was going down that colour route again, at this time!)

Then I pained the chip with Claudine's Trad Tan paint and smooshed some bundled sage and peeled paint inks over it, stamped the WV background in peeled paint.

I added a small area of terra paint which I heat dried and covered with the Viva Inka Gold in this yummy bright green. 

I placed the prima flower onto the larger brown paper flower (Bazzill) with an eye pin (although it doesn't show up in the scan) and added a small Maya road flower with a  little green brad for the centre. Stamped the WV sentiment on a white scrap and coloured it to match (antique linen), added the grungepaper leaves and idea-ology.

Because the artificial light is poor in my living room at the moment, I decided it would be quicker and easier to scan this, rather than photograph it, then took several attempts to get it scanned right, so maybe not after all!!

Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow - depends on the weather - I fancy going out somewhere a bit different with my camera but if it rains I'll just stay in and - make art!! What are you up to?

Thursday 25 March 2010

Kitty ATC

Just a quick ATC tonight - haven't made an ATC for yonks!  Here's Kitty again.


I wanted to have a large mouse chasing along behind Kitty (thanks to a suggestion from a work colleague who wants acknowledgement, ok Fran it's done!) but didn't have a House Mouse mouse big enough.  So I thought maybe he could go Kitty riding instead.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Meet Eric - and Kitty

Hello, this is Eric.  This is the tag that was half done on my craft mat this morning (see post below).  Thanks, Julia - Kitty did end up on the tag, so did Eric!  I stamped Eric on a white scrap and coloured with watercolour pencils, Kitty is stamped on a scrap of tag  (inked with wild honey again) in walnut stain distress and cut out & stuck on. The tag itself is coloured with vintage photo and fired brick sponged through the sequin waste and the Paperartsy stamp. 

The sentiment is T!m's, of course.

That Kitty is soooo cute... I think I will be using him a lot. Wonder if I can incorporate him into the Stampotique Easter challenge!

Thanks for dropping by earlier - glad my boxes and boxes of stash are keeping you happy!

WOYWW - 24.3.10 - you can really see!

Yayy!! Got the software downloaded from Nikon thanks to a lovely girl in Jessops camera store in Sutton.  So I can play properly now on WOYWW - check it out here at Julia's place.  So stand by for pics taken very recently (ok, I 'fess up, they're not today's cos I go out to work too early to have time to faff with the camera first, and this is a scheduled post, but they are NEARLY Wednesday's and nothing's moved since....)

So first off, the workdesk itself (ok, small patch on the floor in front of the tv in the living room)
New Stampotique stamps that arrived Monday and still not inked up (shock!) and a part done tag that I don't know how to finish it.  The hinge is grungeboard that I have done the "drunken scotch" technique to - I saw a link to Kat's blog where it had been tut'd  (tutorialed?) some time ago, but this time I went back and DID it. Just not sure what to do with it yet!!

So after the work"desk" come some more "swingrounds" including the one inside the box that failed last time - the T!m/prima/ideaolgoy box Linda was so keen to see inside! Did you know it was her birthday on Tuesday and T!m himself left a message... she's probably still dancing on the ceiling.  Anyhow, sorry, here is the pic.  In my true style, it's a mess!   To it's left is my box full of blog-post-art that I am not sure what to do with!!

Also, I can show you my ribbon box as they seem to becoming the latest show'n'tell!

Normally it is "tidily" stacked with it's lid on, on top of one of those towers of Ikea boxes you saw before.

ok, what else?  This was meant to be my craft table, til the computer/scanner/printer took up all the space. Hmm, a few more boxes underneath (embossing powders, beads, glitters,) and magazine storage - they go back a couple of layers deep - can't get in to them to re-read them.... Do you like my screen saver?  It's a gorgeous calligraphy pattern I downloaded (no point asking where from, sorry!) Wish I could do calligraphy.




This is a box of Viva paints, distress stickles, chip bits and bobs, etc that lives next to my work"desk" cos there's nowhere else for it. It doesn't usually look this tidy!

There was another one I wanted to show you of the boxes of cardstock outside the living room door, but I seem to have lost that, it will have to wait for next week.

I have got a half day today, as my hairdresser is coming to do my highlights (it is great having a mobile hairdresser, she comes to me, brilliant - all I have to do is hoover (sorry to swear on a craft blog!) up the hairs when she's finished. So I can spend the rest of the afternoon coming to see what you have all been up to. 
Take care, all. 

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Honey Honey (how you thrill me, ah ha)

Been chilling out watching TV tonight but I did do this tag with Wendy stamps - inks are wild honey and vintage photo. and I think (cos already I can't remember) antique linen on the watercolour paper on the bottle.



See you on your workdesks tomorrow!

Monday 22 March 2010

Hearts - and a new blog

I created this tag yesterday (or it may have been Saturday) and am scanning the image.  I've used the victorian velvet, bundled sage and dusty concord inks and stamps from the Love to Make Art set by WV, including the lips (or are they wings, Hels???)

I also used some distress stickles on the lips and in the middle of the heart.

I haven't been making art today, because I have been creating a new blog - somewhere to show some of my photos (the 35mm film camera, not the digital one, I will need lots of practice before I take that out of the craft room!)

So if other people's photos don't leave you completely bored - I'd love you to check it out.  There is a link in my side bar, or you can click here

I will add more another day!

Sunday 21 March 2010

2nd post today - PDCC 21

For my second post today, I have entered this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge .  The colours this week are:
How pretty is that?  However, I've been "umming and aahing" all week, not sure what I could use to take part.  Sure, I've got a few (just the odd one or two, right!) flower stamps....

So today (after we lost the football - see previous post - BOO HOO) I got started.


I grabbed a medium sized tag, and one of my favourite Stampington stamps which I inked with a very pale (i.e dried up, doesn't really show) pale pink Sea Shells ink pad and Wild Plum (Adirondack)and sprayed the stamp with water, before stamping on the tag.  I love this technique.

I added some scattered straw distress ink round the edges of the tag - I don't seem to have any genuinely pale yellow inks - well, I must have somewhere, right - anyone care to tell me where?!

I finished it with a Wendy script and some pale pink and white Prima flowers.

I scanned this one, rather than set up the camera to transfer again!!

Please scroll down to see what else I did today.

Any time at all? SS Challenge 96

Hels has created another stunning piece of art for her Sunday Stampers challenge today, catch it here. Wow.  I have lots of the same stamps she has, so wanted to make sure I used something that was going to be different and with my new found (not well honed yet) digital camera skills, I have done this tag on Maya Road chip tag (sure that's not what they're called!)

I used various Paperartsy "ding and dong" stamps on a variety of surfaces - the gorgeous new bronzed gold (for the bird), copper (clocks) and the back of a piece of textured cream card (winged clock)

I painted the tag with traditional tan paint, made a tape sandwich for the bird and scooched a small wheel over his (her?) wings and spritzed with some perfect pearl/DI reinker mix.

I found an unopened (still on the backing card!) Sepia Accents which I used for the wings and the small clock face. Before I stuck the winged clock to the chip, I spritzed the whole thing with glimmer mist (honey amber)

Now lets see if any of the close up shots are any good (just cos I can, lol!!)



You won't hear anything from me for a couple of hours at least cos Liverpool are playing Man U and it's on TV.  I've got the lucky t shirt on (the Istanbul one which won't mean a thing unless you know!!)

Saturday 20 March 2010

U - for Umbrella

The Alphabet Challenge is now at U - I don't know where the weeks are going! and as soon as I saw the title, I knew I had just the stamp - this text one- although I must say my memory is playing me up because I thought the intended for accompanying piece was a duck...
Still, at least I could find it... didn't have to do any of that one-legged leaning over balancing mullarky either!

Stamps are by Hobby Art, background inks by Lord Holtz of distress, the puddle is of my own making (don't mean that how it sounds, lol!)

I went to Kew Gardens again this morning - despite the rain - it started as soon as I got the camera out of my bag! but the daffodils are blooming lovely now - such a difference two weeks makes; the film is at the developers and I will fetch the pics tomorrow, but as you may have noticed yesterday, I have got the digital camera sorted for future WOYWW shenanigans (don't think that's quite right) so prepare for some more revelations next week. I couldn't sleep for excitement - how SAD is that!!

Friday 19 March 2010

Gingersnap - Art Exchange postcard

I have just taken part in my first ever art swap - to help Gingersnap Creations celebrate their first birthday and I know Hels, who is co-ordinating the UK entries is going to be sending them out soon, and she has just posted one of her cards.

I thought I would show you one of the postcards I made - the theme was "party" and we had to make 4 4x6 inch postcards.  I was VERY nervous about taking part and even more so once I'd actually sent them off - but it's too late now! However, I did enjoy it, so thanks Gingersnap for encouraging me to try something new.

I made my own base pieces from some cardboard backing sheets from an old A4 notepad and painted them white to make the base easier to colour, then inked them with my favourite Distress Ink colours - old and new issue. This one is the new tumbled glass. I have used cuttlebugged metal, a T!m Holtz mask, Wendy Vecchi flowers and Maya Road letters, with distress stickles.

I hope whoever gets this, enjoys it. I promise it wasn't quite as wonky as the scanned image makes it look!

Also, I have to say thank you to Wendy Gale of the Stamp Attic - she has been kind enough to give my blog a plug on her blog after I showed her the first tag I made using my new WV stamps I won in her give-away. Wow! How chuffed do I feel!   Thanks again, Wendy.

digi camera software sorted - look what I can do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I have managed to contact Nikon and obtain links - and install - the software for my camera AND it seems to work AND here are some images I've transferred to the computer.  OH YES.  I may even be able to join in next week's WOYWW properly -inside my drawers and all!!  (Mind you at one stage I did think I'd killed the computer, as the screen went grey and when I moved the mouse all I got was a series of streaks, that moved with the mouse....  However, that old IT cop out - turn it off and back on again - worked!!)

This is a wooden box I bought many months ago and decorated with TSS metal, papers, timmy masks, etc and finally I can show you, cos obviously it wouldn't fit in the scanner!! It now stores my TSS tools on the floor (sorry, on my workdesk!)

Will be back later with some art.  Oh, I'm so chuffed with myself - I really don't know what I'm doing with the technical stuff on computers at all.

Thursday 18 March 2010

Gingersnap challenge - copper ginger or rust

There is a new colour challenge at Gingersnap Creations - to use copper, ginger or rust in a piece of art.  This is the same colour challenge they used to launch their challenge blog a year ago.  I wasn't blogging then, but this is my entry - although I am not sure if it needs something else as well?

I coloured a circle chip with black dabber paint, added some terra paste to which I added copper dabber paint, and found (using more leftovers - that's twice this week!) a piece of cuttlebugged copper which I trimmed to fit the circle, and scooched round the edge with a TSS wheel.

I tried to age it a bit with some paint, but it hasn't worked too well.  I stamped the Wendy Vecchi message on a scrap of card and stuck it to the chip.  Finally I found a small dragonfly which I painted black and copper, but it didn't show up very well, so I coverd it with versamagic ink and some rust perfect pearl powder.

AND Liverpool won tonight too.  Now its bedtime - and tomorrow's Friday, yippee nearly the weekend!!

Wednesday 17 March 2010

WOYWW - another tag

It can't be Wednesday again already?!! That means it's time to get nosing round people's work desks again here where our hostess with the mostest Julia encourages us to share deep and dark secrets from our craft spaces.

Well, I wasn't out with the camera last weekend (too busy crafting), so no more inside my drawers this week, sorry!  I had so many lovely comments last week, I hope you'll forgive me not having any more revelations this week (I am working on trying to sort the software for the digital camera so I can transfer the photos to the computer. At the moment I can take the pics but not upload them to the computer, so bear with me!!)

I made this tag (which I realise is sort of green-y which means I can claim is meant for St Patrick's Day today for all those of an Irish persuasion!)
I used tumbled glass and shabby shutters distress inks on the tag, sprayed a couple of perfect pearl/DI reinker combo's to tone with the tag inks, stamped a French script stamp in black, and "the crimson fan" stamp by Acey Deucy, which I haven't used for ages (where have I heard that before recently?) and added a grungeboard butterfly which I inked and sprayed and sanded, and some green wire mesh instead of a ribbon.

I am scheduling this post to appear around 10 am and if I can sneak onto Julia's blog while no-one is working I will link it as soon as her post comes up.  It's such a PAIN having to work.... though if I didn't, I would have no money to indulge this passion! 
Edit - schedule didn;t work - I didn't do it right when I finished typing the post this morning so at least I can link it now (lunchtime!)

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Inspired by Wendy Vecchi - book 2

Over on the "Everything Wendy Vecchi" yahoo group I am a member of, we have a challenge going to create a piece of art inspired by one of the pictures in the new - amazingly brilliant - Wendy book 2.

Here is my interpretation (and I know you won't all have seen the original, which may be a good thing!)

Wendy calls this one, "All dressed up" and it uses images from the new set "it's face art" and some from the previous series.  I didn't have all the same stamps so have adapted where necessary, and for the bling, I didn't have any of the Prima swirly bling that Wendy used, so have had to make my own, shorter copy!

I have been making this all evening (after dinner, luckily, or I'd be starving!) it took a bit longer than I thought - mainly due to having to rummage around to find elements to use.... well, some of you in the WOYWW (see link on right) have seen the state of my living room cum craft room.. so I'm sure that won't surprise you!!

I am now going to have a well earned cup of tea and then it's time for bed!

Sunday 14 March 2010

Stampotique - Open Challenge - Spring - SDC #3

The first Stampotique challenge of the month, is open, so you can use any stamps you like.  The theme has been set for this by Jo Capper-Sandon and is "spring has sprung" so I took some flower stamps.  In fact, I have made 2 tags for this as I couldn't decide which to enter.

I have used bundled sage and dusty concord inks, and stamped "barrel of wildflowers" from Hero Arts on a scrap of cardstock, coloured with pencils.  I stamped the smaller of WV's butterflies on metal, and again on tissue paper that I coloured dusty concord, and cut out and stuck to both sides of the metal.  I inked the antennae straight onto the cardstock and added the butterflies on top.  The scanner has squashed them a bit, they are bent up in real life. I couldn't find a stamp that said "spring" (in ANY of my drawers, lol!) so used a 3d gel pen to write springtime and added a WV text and matching ribbon.





I used bundled sage on the second tag too, and the stamp is by Magenta which I stamped in chipped sapphire on watercolour paper and just added some pink pencil highlights.

I overstamped the tag with the WV leaf stamp in bundled sage and added the text in black.

Bits and Pieces - Sunday Stampers

Hi!

Hels has another great theme this week on her Sunday Stampers challenge - Bits and Pieces, inspired by the Dave Clark 5 song. 

Quite by chance I had started this tag last night whilst watching Casualty (not that there's any correlation) but hadn't been sure how to "finish" it.  When I checked out the challenge this mornng, I was spurred into action.

I've used my new fave ink, Wild Honey and an old fave Dusty Concord, and yummy Wendy Vecchi stamps throughout.

I splashed some water on the tag, stamped the leaves in the same two colours.  I stamped the heart and "believe" on some watercolour paper and added them to the tag. I used crackle accents over the "believe" scrap.

The paper flower is Prima, it was already yellow but I added a bit of wild honey ink to tie in with my colour scheme, added an idealogy bit and Craftnotions rainbow drop to the middle, and also on the heart, with a bit of bling too!

I cut some yellow ribbon (hmmm, that's a whole other theme!!) which I also over coloured with wild honey,and stamped the leaf stamp in dusty concord on the ribbon too, although it doesn't show up very well.

So, I think that's quite a few "bits and pieces".  I am off to link it (cos I've finally learnt too, thanks to Linda's lesson a while ago!) I've linked it in case I'm not the last person out there who can do it!

I may be back, as I have a couple of other tags that are work in progress!!

Saturday 13 March 2010

Play Date Cafe Challenge 20

This week's Play Date challenge is lilac, pea green and white.


When I was young (yes, I CAN remember that far back, lol!) I loved the Flower Fairy drawings by Cicely Mary Barker and when I discovered stamping, I was thrilled that some of the images have been released on licence as rubber stamps by Inca Stamps.  My favourite has always been the Lavendar Fairy (which is nearly lilac, after all you can get lots of shades of lavendar!!) and I have used it here to make a birthday card


I took a scalloped square mat (Craftwork Cards) and stamped the fairy in black versafine ink.  I coloured her with watercolour pencils and added some glitter to her wings and the butterfly. 

The edges of the square are coloured with bundled sage distress ink and I added some ribbon and a greeting and mounted it on a square white card.

I hope you like it.

Friday 12 March 2010

Be Still, My Beating Heart!

Oh, I love WV stamps!!  My set that I won in the draw from The Stamp Attic arrived today and I had to ink them up right away.. I made this tag to show a couple of them off:

I think it's turned out better than I originally intended, through an accident!!  I was going to stamp a WV background stamp onto the square tag to form the background behind the metal, but - fundamental error here - I stamped it upside down - and it wasn't a background that can go upside down!!  So I had to think again. (I know I could have just turned it over, but I also didn't like it after all!)

I had the red metal already squished (Lin Brown's controlled squish method) and scribbled (ditto) - waiting for the heart stamps to arrive!!

So when I messed up the tag, I rummaged around in one of those boxes I showed you on WOYWW this week, and found this great background paper - decided I could use it as a love letter to fit in with the heart theme.

I stamped the heart on grungepaper and inked it with barn door and worn lipstick inks, with a touch of wild honey over the top, and some rock candy distress stickles on the top of the heart.  I attached a "Timmy" muse token with a brad. The text is from the same set and I love it already.  I made up the grungepaper flowers and added a metal flower from a box of bits'n'bobs.  The cuttlebug'd butterfly was a present from Lori - it's cut from an old coca-cola can!!

I am entering this for the alphabet challenge - T for Tag - which comes hot on the heels of my last minute entry for last week's challenge!

I almost couldn't post anything at all, because when I got home from work, keen to catch up on my blog-hopping, I found no internet connection AND most of my cable TV channels "unavailable".  When I rang they said "oh, you'll need an engineer, he can come Tuesday..... "  no way!! I can't go without blogging - or watching the football - for 4 days!!! Fortunately, shortly after booking said engineer, I got a message to say there was a problem in the area and an eningeer was working on it, and service would be back within 8 hours... luckily, I only had to wait about an hour and a half.  Phew!!

Thursday 11 March 2010

S is for Stamping

The Alphabet challenge has got to S - which this week is for stamping.  As I am getting to know my new WendyV stamps, I have made a(nother) tag using this great stamp from It's Face Art and the new Barn Door DI.
In truth I had the tag, stamped up and unfinished. Seeing I was about to run out of time for this week's alphabet challenge spurred me on to complete it.

I have covered the face with rock candy distress paint, added some leftover cuttlebug'd metal (see I do sometimes use up stuff!!) and the flowers are by Prima and Heidi Swapp, held on with a trinket pin.

It looks a bit wobbly on the scanner, the rock candy has  - rocked! But I am at work now so can't do much about it, sorry.

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Come On Over to My Place.... WOYWW?

Hey, you, we're having a party - nosying round your workdesk!

Well, as you all know, I don't have a digital camera so these are the photos I took last week of my "workdesk" and the promised swing round inside my drawers!!

This is an aerial shot of the floor space I work "at", including some of the stash from the Stevenage show on 28th Feb, and my new Wendy Vecchi stamps.

You can see on the craft sheet the prepartions of the Gingersnap yahoo group swap I am doing (gone in the post ready for swapping now, will show the finished articles after the swap). There is a right mess of stamps that has overflown from the wooden boxes in the next shots, and all sorts of "must have immediately to hand stuff" that doesn't fit anywhere else.
I did also take a swing round shot to the left of this but it didn't come out - think the camera strap got in the way, how lame is that! I was going to show you the inside of the blue box you can just see in this pic, which is my "Idea-ology, Prima, Glimmer mist etc box of accessories", so you'll just have to imagine it... Don't look too closely at the pile of cakes and sweets that seem to have crept into the viewfinder.  I said, DON'T look...

It looks a real muddle and I am quite ashamed of it - I may even get round to trying to sort it out soon... ha ha. I visit some amazing blogs and they all look so neat and tidy, I promise you I do -more or less - know where everything is..... usually. (like, I know "that" stamp is in...one of "those" drawers, lol!! 

These two are the peaks inside the drawers - some of them - as promised.  The one on the left here I wobbled a bit so it's a bit out of focus (I was standing on the sofa...) but you may be able to see some of the stamps. I couldn't pull them out too far as I didn't want everything to fall over, Leaning Tower of Pisa-like!!  (can you imagine the mess..)The stamps that are in these drawers are categorised, some by make (magenta, stampscapes) some by type (cats, fairies, flowers, more flowers..... )
I took this one in case the one above was too out of focus.  I was standing on a low stool by now! There is the Flower Fairy drawer, a couple of flower drawers, the cat stamps drawer, at the back. The ones in front, show a Magenta drawer, two (!) of the Stampscapes drawers, a script stamp drawer... at the front.  You may be able to make out an oven timer - that's so dinner doesn't burn whilst I'm faffing around with the camera.... and Eggheads on TV...
So, although it's not "this" Wednesday, this is my workspace! Someone asked the other week, how I get to the drawers at the back.  Well, I have to clear off one or two of the boxes on top (they hold tags, the smaller packs of patterned papers - I haven't got as far as showing you the A4 or 12x12 area yet! and my Craftwork Cards box of mats & layers, shapes, frames etc etc) and kind of lean over (there is space for one foot beside the TV - whilst not slipping on the craft mat or knocking everything else off..... must be a sight to behold - thank goodness there is never anyone there to witness it!!)

I am trying to schedule this as I will be out at work all day (I leave home at 6.30, don't ask why it's too long and boring a story and won't be home till 6) and will sneak onto Julia's blog to link it when I can, during the day; but I am coming to find you all!!   (edit at 8.50 a.m Yay! the link is up early today)

And if you've got this far down the post (sorry it's so long, hope you're still with me) and don't know what the heck I'm on about, check it out here at our host Julia's,  to join lots of likeminded (i.e. nosy) people to see WOYWW (what's on your workdesk Wednesday). See you all soon. (if I can get away with it during the day, if not later on tonight)
Thank you for visiting.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Aww - Sunshine Award

My dear blog friend Lori, passed this Sunshine award on to me!!   Not only that, we have this kind of "thank you for the thank you for the thank you" going on at the moment that stems originally from when I won some blog candy from her before Christmas - and today, I received MORE goodies from her in the post, today - so thanks again, Lori.  This could get very sillly - if we weren't both sensible grown up, mature, ladies, of course!!

Now I'm meant to pass it on to 6 more blogs. But because it's very late (look, I get up at 5.30 a.m ok,!) I am very tired, and another cup of tea is getting cold whilst I write a blog post, and I really need to drink it; I am going to cheat, and award it to all of you, my loyal blog followers, I appreciate each and every one of you and all your lovely comments. You mean a lot to me and so do your kind thoughts and words.

YOU are my sunshine (to quote from the song Lori has now got buzzing round my bloody head!!)  Go check out her art, if you don't know it already, now THAT's talent.  Thank you and good night.  See you all on my work desk tomorrow, there's the promised swing round inside my drawers ready for you!!

Monday 8 March 2010

PDCC 19 - Bring on the sunshine

This week's Play Date Cafe Challenge is to use deep yellow,pale yellow and white.  I don't often "do" yelllow although I love the colour especially after a long - very long! - cold winter.  So, as it's Mother's Day here in the UK this coming Sunday, I have made this card for my Mum:




I love sunflowers and this is a PSX stamp I got probably when someone was having a clearance sale and horror! it didn't look as it it had been used.

I stamped it in versafine black on a sheet of watercolour paper which is almost cream in colour, and coloured it using Tombow pens.  I attached it to a white card and stamped and embosssed the greeting, adding a few small prima yellow and white flowers.








When I went to Kew Gardens in the autumn, I came across some beautiful sunflowers in all their glory:

Sunday 7 March 2010

Sunday Stampers - week 94

To honour the release of Alice in Wonderland, Hels' Sunday Stamper challenge this week is to use rabbits or Alice images in your stamping.  There is also some amazing candy on offer this week so make sure youcheck it out.

I don't have any Alice stamps but I do have these cute rabbits from Art Impressions' "back to back" range,

This is the front of the card showing a bunch of naughty rabbits getting inky - well,painty!









And this is the inside!

The large tree is by PSX so it's very old now!

I couldn't find any suitable text stamps so have left it blank.

Saturday 6 March 2010

Gingersnap Birthday

Gingersnap Creations is a year old and to celebrate they're having a party! There's some great candy on offer - check the link for details.








I have made them a birthday tag using some new and some old WV stamps and the Gandhi quote is a new Penny Black stamp. I've used Wild Honey DI again - love it!

Happy Birthday, Gingersnap!