WOYWW 491

welcome to a Halloween WOYWW  week 491..  Not that there's anything remotely Halloweeny here, it's just the end of October already (what the actual heck?)   -  as  I am gathering ingredients and trying to force myself to carry on with Christmas card production...

I'm falling behind so am intending to get some masterboards done, to make big backgrounds to cut up ...  got some distress oxides ready to use and some JoFY Paperartsy stamps ready to use, and 12x12 tissue paper for lightweight adding to card bases.

At the front are some tickets for the Christmas at Kew event that I am going to with some of my work colleagues at the end of November (just need to keep them somewhere safe now) .  I know November is early for Christmas events but the dates we could do in December had already sold out.  You'll have seen photos of the lights in daylight on my blog before, and I can't wait to see the trail at night.
This link tells you more about it

Not that I am actually making Christmas cards as I write this, because it's the Great British Bake Off final on tv... gotta get back to it! 

WOYWW 490

Happy WOYWW again - the day we meet at Julia's and share our crafty spaces.

Trouble is, nothing has happened here since last week!  I can't share my untouched Christmas cards again but I couldn't bear not to join in as I haven't missed a week in years.

so, time to 'fess up, a staged desk!  well, a staged floor....

 a journal page I did for the France Papillon challenge (I must be 8 weeks behind at least) and I haven't done any for ages now, not even a single layer .   (and I can't even remember if I already shared this...but it's the last one that is finished!)

this was a week where the prompt was 'my ideal day'  which, you won't be surprised to hear, featured Kew Gardens (for last Saturday's visit see here)  My reference to emergency party shopping the previous week intrigued some of you... accessorising for a dress to wear to a party at my boss's last Saturday - so no, Jan, no thigh high boots!   but I still managed a few hours at Kew in the sunshine in the morning.   

oh, and the party was great - I amazed my work colleagues by dancing (badly, have no sense of rhythm - I'd be rubbish on Strictly!) for most of the evening, 

so, my staged desk.  hopefully next week, something else will have happened to share properly! 

Neet wanted to see a pic of the new party dress... well it's about 20 (at least ) years old  and only a poor selfie as there is no-one to take one of me here...

WOYWW 489 - told you...

..that it would grind to a halt that is..    but before I share my desk, let's introduce why we're here... it's Wednesday... it's time for WOYWW  (anyone else championing Crackerjack there?!)    Again.   wasn't it just Wednesday?

so I spent ALL day at Kew last Saturday (6 hours, nearly 700 photos.... ) if you wanted to you could check them out here (obviously not ALL of them!)  and Sunday it was wet, so after some emergency party wear shopping I did very little. 

Before I went out however, I did assemble some more of the Christmas cards .. but I told you it was too good to be true, no more have been added to the total .   They need glitter or bling of some sort, too.    I know this is a bit of a cheat of a "desk" share this week - sorry!

I am delighted that the details of next year's WOYWW crop have been announced (here on Julia's if you  missed it) and I really hope to go - ten years needs to be celebrated!

Here's one of the Kew photos to whet your appetite - mainly because this is too short and sweet even for me !

WOYWW 488 don't all faint, but....

Well hello deskers and happy Wednesday....

time to report for duty once again at Julia's   share and bare all.... desk wise 

so, why am I warning you?  

I had an idea pop into my head, for a theme for some of this year's Christmas cards....

when I unexpectedly went to Kew after all on Saturday (yes, I got WET!) I put it off for a day but..

I was awake early on Sunday to watch the F1 Grand Prix which started a stupid-o'clock (6am uk time) and afterwards I thought.. well I'm up... get on with it.

It's one of my all time favourite stamps, a poinsettia by Penny Black, one of their brush art range, from years and years ago..

and  of course, Distress Oxides...

I used a variety of not very traditional Christmas colours (love to do that!) and in no time at ll I had about 18 (see first pic) stamped up ready to mount up - my favourites turned out to be the blues! 

and I have even matted and layered some of them into almost finished cards!! 











It took me a while to find card blanks to match the colours of ink I had used - but at least they're all stored in colour-organised boxes!  of course, the ones I wanted were all at the bottom of the piles..

can you tell I used to make a lot of cards!  

Go me!!  Early October and I've started.... will probably all grind to a horrible halt now, but at least there are some done.

well partly done... no middles stamped (I don't use inserts, just stamp straight onto the card base.) 

so, that's me... what have you got to show and tell this week?  I'll be over soon.. 

WOYWW 487 - back to work

So my time off work has come to an end and I am back to work today... had a great few days though, some glorious warm sunshine and lots of photos - couple of trips to Kew (here and here) , one to London and one to Hampton Court..    Somehow we have found ourselves in October... how did that happen?! 

time quickly to share a floor space for WOYWW  with Julia and the gang
I didn't go out anywhere on Tuesday to give my legs a rest (and the camera!)

 I got a few more layers done on a couple of the FB challenge for France Papillon..

this one is "pretty in pink"

and this one is "nobody said it was easy"

bit random on this one..


of course I didn't make a start on the dreaded Christmas cards (it was only a very vague idea, the weather was much too nice to stay in!)
guess I will have to soon though.

I'll visit as many desks as I can before work, the rest once I get home.

WOYWW 486

Welcome to another week of desks... Julia is hosting, as always - catch the link here 
I'll be late this week getting to your desks - and linking too, as I am off work for a week and taking an early trip to Kew today so unless Julia is really early, I will miss when the post goes live and have to catch up later.

but, you're here for a desk.. not that I have one of course; still working on the floor.

 the stencils I was waiting for last week arrived, and have been tested already... should have included the results... hang on I'll see if I can find them


(more stencils you say... yes. . what of it.... there can never be too many stencils) 

aerial shot of the tatty rug and my France Papillon journal (page doesn't really fit the theme but it's another one finished...)

here's the test of the harlequin stencil.  was only playing so it's not meant to be fabulous.



Anyhow, I will visit your desks when I can,
catch up later! 

WOYWW 485

Time for WOYWW again - saying nothing about how fast it's come round again

the new stash I was waiting for last week of course arrived on Wednesday but I don't know how to edit posts on my phone and I was at work, so had to save them for today..


two of the sets of texture fantasy/rust pastes by Finnabair for Prima. 

I did get to Ally Pally on Saturday, arriving about 12.30 after I'd been to Kew

this is the Stampers Grove stand who have taken the Paperartsy space in the hall and had a fairly good range of their stamps on show...





Lauren was demoing for Stampers Grove with some of the new Paperartsy stamps







when I arrived I thought it looked fairly busy but it soon seemed be thin out (it was lunchtime I suppose...)

 


and these few pics I took certainly make it look empty..


I did bump into Erika shortly before I left - I only stayed 2 hours - but no photo evidence to prove it!

I really didn't buy much - I don't think those of you I mentioned this to on Facebook afterwards really believed me... but this is it!

one set of stamps, 3 stencils, an ink pad (heard so many good things about the Versafine Clair inks, so thought I'd try a black one) and some odd bits and pieces. 
I can't remember the last time I bought so little at a craft show!

There just wasn't a lot there that was my kind of thing, a lot of stands with "everything's £1" or cheap bulk buys, or packs of card - I have enough to stock them myself -   and without the major draw of Paperartsy, I don't think I'll be going again..

I was lucky enough to be given a ticket by someone who couldn't make it, so it was worth going just to see what it was like without Paperartsy, if only to prove to myself what I suspected...

I finally managed a bit of crafting- my boss and another girl at work have birthdays this week so I made a couple of cards - forgot to take decent photos before I sealed the envelopes...

I made some backgrounds over some patterned paper and used some of my new distress oxides for the stamping - gathered twigs, which is a dark brown, and wild honey (the silhouette on the right was stamped first in wild honey then overstamped in gathered twigs as it wasn't dark enough)

I found a bottle of liquid pearls for the centre of the row of flowers that I hand coloured with sprays - can't remember the last time I used liquid pearls!