WOYWW 712

 Wow, Wednesday again... desk sharing day  WOYWW  again.  I can't quite believe this is the last Wednesday in January already!

I've been playing with the Stencil Girl stencils still... 

made another birthday card

and some more with the poppy seed heads, slightly different colourways to before 

 really really like these 2 stencils!  

I also received a die in a giveaway from a blog I follow 

that I didn't even realise i was in for a giveaway!

not tested it yet 

I had a great morning at Kew last Saturday - it was pretty cold but dry - yay! and the sky was so blue - yay! and the sun was out  double yay! - made such a difference! 

Took loads of photos that you can see here 

I know several of you will have seen them from the FB link  

the pond (and the lake) were frozen again

and my Kew buddy Kim and I were able to play shadow pics for the first time in weeks!

and we got some great photos of the robin in the Temperate House, he was a right  little poser!

thanks for popping in, I'll be round to visit as soon as I can. but I hope you are all well.  Happy WOYWW! 

I "might" have ordered some of the new Paperartsy stamps/stencils that are being released this week... 2 days down, 2 to go... wonder if there'l be a second order! 

WOYWW 711 on a roll

Welcome deskers - Wednesday already again.. time for WOYWW  with Julia at the Stamping-Ground. All welcome.

I was on a bit of a roll on Sunday, had some birthday cards to make and decided to play with the new stencils from a couple of weeks ago.

the recipients won't see this post as although they're crafters they don't check my blog,,,

the first is for a friend who is nursing her husband in his final weeks and so "happy" birthday didn't seem appropriate for a sentiment....

the colours are bundled sage and speckled egg distress oxide,  and a small sweep of frayed burlap for shading

this is speckled egg for the stencilling on the background and the stamping is medieval blue  (versafine clair) 

a chance to use the new Paperartsy set I got before Christmas

then I went to the journals...

 one of Dina's supporters that I follow on You Tube (Claire Stead, art_journal love)  shared her love of this colour combination a while ago - peacock, turquoise and orchid paints (Dina's paints) 

the stencil is the new "twisted forest" from Stencil Girl from a couple  of weeks ago.

and I used it randomly over a black background in the journal -  love the colours over black!

Claire also inspired this one, which is a work in progress,  just black and white.. stencils by Dina, over black.  

will add some stamping at some stage... probably!

and again, the first stencil, the poppy seed heads, in a different colourway, on watercolour paper

I think these were uncharted mariner and villainous potion as watercolours 

Not had such a productive time for ages!

Finally Kew on Saturday - a bit of rain, but missed the one torrential downpour by timing a walk through the Temperate House at just the right ten minutes!

love the shapes of the Monkey Puzzle tree branches 

inside the Temperate House during the downpour.

Thanks for looking,  I'll be along shortly....

Happy WOYWW  

WOYWW 710

 Hello deskers  - Wednesday again already.!  can only be time for WOYWW with Julia 

I've finished the journal page from last week

 

and played with a new stencil 

Saturday saw me at Kew, for the first of another year's visits - didn't get as wet as I had expected as luckily the forecast heavy rain didn't materliase. 

saw this in the Princess of Wales conservatory

and Kim and I had fun with the mirror installation again 

as Jan said, is the world ready for multiple Helens... or Kims come to that.  

thanks for visiting, I will be round to see what you're making soon.

Happy WOYWW   

WOYWW 709

 Morning deskers,  welcome to 2023!   Another Wednesday, another WOYWW 

I spent a bit of time at the weekend crafting!  Proper crafting although it turned out a muddy mess

it's a canvas, 9x12 approx (inches)

the background images amongst texture were from a Kew paper bag but 

they ended up obliterated

I wish I knew how to stack photos side by side! 

finished canvas,  still muddier than I wanted!

then I took to a journal

this is a work in progress 

and just to start the year off, I bought new goodies!

ordered one day, delivered the next - all the way from Scotland (Stampers Grove) to Surrey  - not bad going!  I wasn't expecting them for several days given the post disruptions. 

Kew was a damp visit on Saturday and light on photos but had a good walk nonetheless

i think this weekend will be wetter unless the forecast has changed.

Thanks for looking, have a good day, and I'll see you soon.  

WOYWW 708

 Happy WOYWW everyone, (at least I think it's Wednesday and I think there'll be a WOYWW!)   I hope you enjoyed your Christmas.   

I don't have a desk to share today so I'll add a few photos from Christmas at my brother's.  

there were lots of presents under the tree - they took a long time to open as it is always one at a time rather than a free-for-all   

my niece likes to spread out present time!!

my brother opening one in between cooking dinner

the table was smartly laid - Christmas at my brother's is about the only time I eat at a table these days (can't get to my dining room table)

my niece and my SIL on either side at the front, my SIL's mum and dad and my nephew on the right.

brother is taking another photo at the same time...

I had rather an uncomfortable night on the air bed on the floor.... hence only staying one night (but my brother was driving his in-laws home today 

so wouldn't have been able to bring me home then too)

I had some lovely gifts, (plus a bottle of wine from my nephew which is missing from the photo)

the handbag is from my boss, the colouring book from someone at work at the rest from my brother and fmily.

Tuesday I went to Kew, pretending it was Saturday and confusing Julia, sorry!  

I'm hoping to get some time to craft today - I have to wait in for a new lens for my camera as when I got to Kew and tried to take the first photo, the auto-focus wouldn't work, and I could only take photos on manual mode.  Luckily although the camera is now several years old, the lens is still available and good old Amazon will deliver today! 

  I should at least be able to get to visit you all in a timely fashion and in the meantime will wish you a Happy New Year .  Wonder if 2023 will flash by as fast as 2022 has done!  

WOYWW 707

 Good morning fellow deskers and welcome to the last desk before Christmas....I'm still not ready!  

But, tis Wednesday, tis time for WOYWW  and time to meet Julia and fellow deskers to see what crafty wonders they've been up to...

I am sharing the "desk" this week, slightly stages with a wrapped gift ready to have a label added,  

and I folded a scrap of leftover masterboard I was using for Christmas cards, to fashion a little "purse" to hold a monetary gift for my niece.. loosely tied as I haven't yet got the cash from the bank to add to it!

had the light been better when I was rummaging in the ribbon box I might have found one that matched better....

I've had a last minute invitation to my brother's for Christmas (he's quite local, but due to Covid we've not got together for the last few Christmasses...) so my planned Christmas dinner for one will wait until I am home again.  It will be good to catch up with him, my SIL, niece and nephew and my SIL's parents.. 

Last Saturday was the last pre-Christmas visit to Kew (they are shut this coming Saturday, Christmas Eve)  and there was leftover snow and much beauty... here's a sneak peak in case you don't have time to visit the whole blogful!

the dogwoods round the pond were stunning in the wintery sun

loved the icicles on the statue's hand

my mate Kim and I did laugh at the gulls sliding on the ice on the lake as they landed! 

so that's all for this week,  just time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and good wishes for the new year - hope to see some of you next week in between the festivities.

thanks for visiting. 

WOYWW 706

 Well, another week has flown by and it is time for WOYWW again..

I don't have anything remotely crafty to share with you this week... nothing, nada, zilch..

I tried to photograph my window sills decorated for Christmas... this is the living room with the battery operated flashing lights (can't have ones that need a power supply as I can't clear the space to a socket...

forgive the reflections in the window, can't do anything about that ! 

the huge piles of crafty overflow supplies don't do much for the look either!

I decided to write the Christmas cards and post them after all, as I was starting to receive some in the post so figured that some "proper" mail was getting through the backlogs.. so fingers crossed!

Last Saturday at Kew it was really cold, and very frosty... 

the resulting photos were worth it though.  

the cold did for my phone though, the battery shut down and I couldn't get it to work until I was on the way home!  It has a habit of doing this though so I think it is soon time for a replacement.

Since then, we've had snow and oh, it would have been magical to be there in the snow (we've not had much, luckily so can still get to and from work, and, strikes apart, transport is still running 

I am looking forward to another visit of course this coming Saturday, which will be the last before Christmas as they close on the 24th and 25th.  

Hope to see some much more interesting crafty spaces from all of you, I'll be round soon. 

Happy WOYWW.