WOYWW 551 - it's Christmaaaassssss!!!!

Well Happy Wednesday deskers and a very Merry Christmas to you all - there may be fewer of us gathering today but before we all get on with our Christmas duties, I'm sharing a quick desk for you....it may be Christmas but it is WOYWW too..

Firstly, 

a Christmas greeting for all of you, may the day be filled with sparkle and fun! I used a bit of the background I made for my brother's card - it can go in the box for next year !

Secondly,

some "almost" crafting got done when I was making a kind of tag/wallet thing for some money for my niece and nephew...(they are of an age when they appreciate hard cash for gifts from their auntie!   I stencilled one tag with distress oxide spray and used the leftover in the (very nearly full) journal.... Forgot to photograph the finished tag/wallets though... doh!

I am spending the day at my brother's with his wife and two (grown up) children and my sister in law's parents;  so will be having a busy old time. 

their gifts were wrapped at the weekend and are now packed ready to take when my brother collects me later (depending on what time you read this)   I had to use the hallway as there wasn't enough space in the living room so it was a bit dark

I know lots of you will be too busy to join Julia and the gang today, but for those that do, I hope you enjoy your Christmas!

WOYWW 550

What a lovely round number - welcome along for another WOYWW - time to share our crafty spaces once again; Julia has the link as always .   Bit weird to think this time next week it will be Christmas...

There has been some more enabling (although I seem to have double clicked on one of the stamps and got two ...

 sent in a nice festive sparkly envelope (Country View's advent of course) 











the "special" cards got made and posted without being photographed for posterity... it's only now that I realised that!

I do have one though, that hasn't been sent in the post  as it's for my brother and his family and I'll be passing it over in person, at some stage.



Not sure yet if I'll be seeing them on Christmas Day itself or before to hand over presents,

background is distress oxide sprays, with JoFY stamps and glitter...

I tried hard to capture a picture of my Christmas decorations without too many reflections in the window of the room, but it has proved impossible.











it's just not the same without the lights on in daytime!  It is also remarkably similar (i.e the same) as last year!













Of course I toddled off to Kew last Saturday - it was a gorgeous day!

I will be late visiting today as I am unlikely to get time at work (during my lunch break of course) as we are having our Secret Santa distribution with food and drink! 

See you soon! 

WOYWW 549

Morning deskers!  Here we are again - time for WOYWW again...

 desk on Sunday morning  -  a pile of cards written and ready for posting (done)

a pile of final cards (found some left from last year, can you imagine!   spares!)   ready to write - these are the ones for hand delivering

still not finished the "special" ones..

 the promised goodies from the Country View advent day - and they had a second Paperartsy day too since, so one or two more may have fallen into my basket....

last Thursday was office party night... not too many photos (and none of me, sorry Neet) 

but this was the fab suspended Christmas tree in the restaurant we ate at.

 at one stage I had a few drinks lined up... the fizz on the left isn't mine, that's James' sitting opposite me..

we had pre-dinner drinks wrapped up on the roof terrace  - the wind was cold but as with so many of these places they had heaters and blankets for use. 










Finally, there was an even more stunning sunrise yesterday (Tuesday)   than the one I shared last week (you know how I love my sky pics!)

 just stunning, what!!

and here it is in the reflection on the building again!



Kew pics from last weekend here 


Thanks for looking  and I'll visit your desks soon 

WOYWW 548

Well here we are again Wednesday  - December (yikes)  so it must be What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday... again!  Queen Julia has all the details..
I still haven't written out my Christmas cards - will have to wait for the weekend now as Thursday is our office party (half the office are struggling with colds/flu/sickness so it'll be a fun night........)  and I still don't know exactly what I'm wearing; so tonight I'll be getting ready!

Anyhow,  has there been arting here?  Sort of...

I started to get some ideas ready for my "special" Christmas cards..

not sure if this masterboard/background will make the grade yet.


Distress Oxide sprays of course...


Watch, as they say, this space!




There was a beautiful sky as I was walking to the bus stop on Tuesday morning

 glimpsed between buildings.

and a great reflection in the finished,  mostly glass, building, of the sky and the new building still going up



Last Saturday at Kew was equally beautiful,  the weather was gorgeous - pics here 


Hopefully next week I'll have something more interesting to share (not least because Susan at Country View Crafts is once again, doing her Christmas Advent specials.... oops!

WOYWW 547

Morning deskers!   Hope you've all had a creative week?  I haven't....  but reporting for desk duty with Julia once more... all the details and link is here 

Of course I didn't get my Christmas cards written, didn't even get the greetings stamped in the insides! 
I did however have another little play with the Dina Wakley stamps (well, the scribbly script one that Julia liked from last week)

 I do love a scribbly script!

this time I stamped it on the blank page in black archival ink before spraying with some Distress Oxide inks, but so far all else I've done is swiped a little paint in patches to tone it down a bit.

No idea what is going to happen next!

the next pic is even more staged!

when  I was at Kew on Saturday (pics here!) 
I saved my drinks cup - although it's fully compostable made from plant material of some sort (according to the blurb on the side)  - I liked it's cheery Christmas pattern so much I brought it home - either to alter in some way,  or I might just take it back and use it next weekend.

In their efforts to not use plastic and to encourage no waste, they make a surcharge in the cafes if you buy a drink that comes in a disposable cup - and you save that if you take your own. 
My camera bag is actually full already and doesn't have room for packing a cup, but I'll try!

Off to check out all your crafty spaces now! 

WOYWW 546

Once again we find ourselves assembling for desk sharing at Julia's the Stamping-Ground
Not sure that I have a valid desk for sharing today (well, when do I, working on the floor but you know what I mean...)

I finished off the journal page I was playing with last week - using the rest of the stamps from the Dina Wakley set I used already.


stamping without a block, so you only get a part image,multiple stamping in the same purple inks I used for the main images, turning them different ways to add to the pattern

I did mean to add some splatters... so maybe not so finished after all! 

I had to make a sympathy card for a dear crafting friend who lost her battle with cancer recently


it required test stamping of the image as I've not used it for ages, and wasn't sure how subtle to go with the colour

(the stamp is a wooden mounted one by B-Line designs, it's a beautiful image) 

the finished card.


















Had another lovely visit to Kew on Saturday, and yay!! no rain! 

 just love the colours and patterns on these leaves - they look painted!

Happy desking! 

WOYWW 545

And whizzzzzz  it's Wednesday again, which can only mean one thing... it's time for WOYWW - all the details at Julia's  
I don't mean to boast.... but I think (apart from some special ones)  .....I have finished my Christmas cards!

 I went back to the Paperartsy stamps by Sara Naumann and batch stamped another load of images



this was the work of an hour during Sunday's service for Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, I always watch it on tv


I used a few different colours - mostly distress oxides

cut them up and layered them on to card blanks



22 more cards..

bish bash bosh! 

I also had a play in the journal... as a reward! 

it's so nearly the end of the book I am itching to start another one

spread some blobs of paint with an old credit card  and then dripped some distress oxide sprays and spread them with the card

stamped the Dina Wakley images with archival inks on both sides of the pages.  Was so wanting to use those stamps they've been sat here weeks!


the page isn't finished yet, it needs text of some kind and some more background stamping of some sort. 

Didn't get wet at Kew last weekend!!  Left just as it started to drizzle... Pics here  had fog, sun, and a lovely time!     this was the view of the river as I walked across Kew Bridge ! 










That's it from me, happy desk snooping day!

WOYWW 544

Time for another Wednesday get together, for WOYWW - where we show what's on our workdesks.  Julia once again is our beloved host

I seem to have taken two weeks to make one lot of cards - last week I had the stamped out designs.  This week (well at the weekend)  I assembled them into some more Christmas cards.

 there were 13 stamped out images, so that's another 13 for the pile


some of the images I close cut and others I trimmed to squares and edged with ink to match the stamping.


a small greeting, using the same ink colours and also outlined in ink to make it stand out and bingo!  cards done


(well, still no middles stamped  - every year I say, don't leave it till they're all done, do them as you go along........)

and a closer view


I kind of got bored with the stamp again so didn't carry on (haven't put the stamp away though - obviously! - so it may see some more colours later on)













Kew last Saturday was WET  -  but they were still dismantling the Chihuly sculptures so I got a bonus
pics here as always  and a sneak peak...

in case you don't recognise them like this laid out for crating up - this is what they looked like a couple of weeks ago..







Given how wet it was outside, I can't blame them for working inside - I imagine they will have finished by the time I go this weekend

WOYWW 543

Another Wednesday (another month nearly finished!)... time to share our crafty spaces once more -  head to Julia's for the link and details...

I haven't got any more cards to show this week -  or not finished ones anyway.

I've gone back to an old faithful stamp - a Penny Black design I have had (and used) for years - this time I have used Distress Oxides spritzed with water - mostly Dusty Concord and Evergreen Bough

but I have also used some layers of colours on some of them. 
Now I need to cut them down and layer them onto card blanks, but once that's done, there are quite a few more to add to the pile.
No doubt next it will be a different design - I get bored doing too many of the same thing.

Last Saturday saw me make a final visit to the Dale Chihuly exhibit at Kew - it has been a fabulous 6 months and I will miss them a lot - the link to the whole post is here  but as you may not have time to scroll through all of them, here are some of my favourites  -  all from last week, but my favourites of the glassworks too

they have changed so much as the seasons have changed around them, and totally alter the impact.. Magic!  (well, good planning on Dale's part obviously, but magic nevertheless)

 this one,

and this one, have been my absolute favourites from the whole thing. 




I may have to delay my visits to your desks until after work this week (apart from my fellow early birds)  as we are very busy and lunchtime may be curtailed a bit - but I'll see you soon! 

WOYWW 542

Well wouldn't you just know ... it's Wednesday again and desk sharing day again.  Head over to Julia's for the link and show us yours!

I am on a (small) roll with my Christmas cards with that stamp set from Paperartsy and got another 7 or so done at the weekend

when I was at Kew on Saturday (pics here )  I bought some goodies - they are reducing their Dale Chihuly souvenirs (although not the small glassworks unfortunately!!)  so I bought a canvas bag (half price) and a mug (quarter price) 

the biscuits weren't on offer, they just looked tasty!


it was a gorgeous day at Kew on Saturday - this one coming - the last weekend of the Dale Chihuly exhibits - is rumoured to be wet... but I will be there!

I'll be round to see your desks soon - I get the early birds done before work, some at lunchtime if I can, and finish off when i get home...

WOYWW 541

I'm writing this whilst watching Great British Bake Off and nearly started, good morning bakers...

let's start again.  Good Morning Deskers!  Whizzday or WOYWW day again...   time for another desk sharing get together with Julia and the gang - join in here    and even though I'm early prepping this it seems Julia is earlier still... so it's going to be a live post! 

I had planned to have loads to show today... but of course I haven't done a lot..

 I have rushed together another Christmas card using the new stamps from t'other week!

spritzed the card base with Victorian Velvet distress oxide spray, bit of water, bit of blotting...


stamped another of the leafy stamps just in black on white card

used the teeny greeting as an extra layer of background in pink ink and edged the card scrap with it too.

I have put the other 2 purple ones together too, so I now have a grand total of 4 finished cards!





Kew last Saturday was WET - had a fabulous time!  pics are here   hopefully this weekend will be drier! 

so, even though it's Tuesday, welcome to What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday....

WOYWW 540

Welcome to Whizzday.. WOYWW week 540.  The day of the week when we gather at Queen Julia's to share our craft spaces.

For a change, I have the promised new stamps to show...which true to form, arrived last Wednesday

I happened to see somewhere, that Dina Wakley had launched some new stamps and well.... I can't resist her silhouette figures!


I'm looking forward to playing with these beauties!




In the meantime though....



don't faint.... it's early October.... and I have started... well made (one) my Christmas cards....



I shamelessly took the colour idea from Nikki Acton on the Paperartsy blog when these stamps were launched...  I love purple for an alternative Christmas card base.


I also had a chance to play with some of the new Paperartsy Fresco paints that I showed you last week... one of the purples, and the sort of aqua blue-green overlaid on the background (which I failed to photograph before stamping and cutting up)

but I do have one finished Christmas card to show for my playtime!


I even managed to tie a relatively neat bow with my ribbon!

no doubt this will be the first and last card for some time, but at least I have one done!


I'll try to visit as many of your desks as I can in my lunchbreak and the rest of you later on!  Happy deskday!


p.s.  if you want last week's Kew link - here it is!  

WOYWW 539

Morning fellow deskers.. Normal service is resumed... enabler alert!  It's the first WOYWW  of October and many crafters' thoughts are turning to Christmas...

Now, don't be fooled into thinking I've made a start on my Christmas cards (heaven forbid!)  but Paperartsy had some more product launches last week .....

and so I indulged... and got some of the new Fresco paints (and another distress oxide too)  Because we all know I NEED more Christmas stamps like I need.... more paint probably!!  But I saw some fabulous samples made with this set (and another one from the same theme but manage to resist)  so I had to ...

I did also managed to add another couple of layers to the journal page from last week too... still nowhere near what I'd feel is finished...


I added some drips of Distress Oxide, which did what they should and oxidised, so the colours have changed somewhat

the blue (it looks black but is blue)  bundle to the left is a couple of strips of wide ribbon that I took off a big cosy throw the other day (I bought it to snuggle under on the sofa which is fatal as I am more likely than ever to not do any crafting of an evening...
but it had to be saved. 

there is another stamp set on the way too, which will probably arrive today and so have to be held over for next week... no hints, you'll have to wait and see! 
Have a great Wednesday, happy desk hopping!   
Oh, and the link to Kew (final early opening)  from last week is here   at least from this weekend I can turn the alarm off and just wake (it will still be in loads of time to get up and go!)