WOYWW 273

Hi fellow WOYWWers!

I haven't played along for a while and I miss checking out what everyone is up to so today I am going to make time to catch up!  Two days ago this was my desk after a long overdue tidy up!

I was getting ready to make my August tag and had collected together some bits and pieces and was ready to follow my creative muse just as Mr Tim had suggested this month….

Here is my desk today!  One tag and one Art Journal page later!!!!!  I think my creative muse was a bit of a messy madam ;-)  I did have fun though but I suppose I had better tidy up again so I can start messing all over again.  I have had a thought to make a series of Christmas videos so I think I might need some space to get the Christmas stash out to play with!

But that can wait first I am off to get a cup of coffee and then I am off to visit with my WOYWW friends as well as some of my fellow tag artists…..happy hopping for me.  If you want to see what WOYWW is all about and make some lovely crafting friends then follow this link over to Julia's to join in the fun!

Thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 263 - Has it really been Two Weeks?!

I can't believe what a bad blogger I have been.  It has been two weeks since I last posted.  I had better get a bit more organised.  Today is Wednesday at least it is here in the UK - another grey start to the day in Derby but it seems to be brightening up a bit.  I am linking up with Stamping Ground for WOYWW and I want to share this photo first.

Five lovely ATCs on my desk to add to my collection!  A big thank you to Regina, Krisha, Diane, Maggie and Eliza for sending me your wonderful ATCs they are now in my treasure chest so I can take a peek next time I want some inspiration.

Something else that arrived on my desk:

The lovely Magda over at http://littleeverland.blogspot.co.uk  had a couple of giveaways and I won!  Yesterday the lovely Ignis arrived for me to play with along with this fab tag from Magda.  Needless to say I have already inked up my new stamp and I will share the results with you on a later post as I made a video of all the inky painty fun I had.

Here are another couple of photos in the spirit of Desk Hopping and for your perusal!

I finally delved into this corner cupboard and tidied it up…..though I'm not sure it is apparent from this photo….it was much worse before I promise….the same cannot be said for the box which is waiting for me to sort it out after it fell off a shelf spilling all its goodies all over the floor!

This is supposed to be a bit of an arty shot and a sneak peek of my next online workshop project that seems to be taking me forever and ever to get finished!

…..and last but not least shelves!  I am not sure if I have shared them before.  The top two shelves are Ikea CD towers hung horizontally and they work a treat for stacking and storing lots of stash!

I think that is it from me as I have a challenge to enter next!  I will be desk hopping tonight when the footie is on the TV!  If you want to know why I am showing you shots of what is on my desk this fine day then please follow this link where you will meet lots of lovely creative folk all around the world….Have fun!

Thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 261 - The first step to the next Anniversary!

Hello fellow WOYWW folk and anyone else happening this way.  Hold on to your hats for a very scary ride.  Those of you with neatness tendencies my find the following photos offensive! Tee Hee

This one is not too bad.  This is my photo desk being used as a dumping ground!  On the floor is the hood of our broken extractor fan…..that is hubbies' mess!….anyone would think this used to be his office ;-)

Quick tidy up and I can now use the desk for photo shoots!  I have hung two of my canvases as I don't want to ruin them.  You can see that I don't really have a view out of my windows as my craft room/s used to be a garage and it looks out under the car port.

Again not too bad just a few bits and pieces resting a while where they don't belong!

I have a couple of baskets of cards I am going to donate to a worthy cause……..oh and that pile of filing…..it's my pesky hubbies again!

Brace yourself this is a more scary shot!  I have been working on a layout and have gotten a bit stuck with where to take it next……..Mind you I can't sit down now to finish it off as the chair has stash being stored on it!

All neat and tidy again and ready to work on finishing this off - I had better get on with it as I have a canvas brewing in my head and a June tag to make and a final video for my next workshop too.  Mmmm I think I may be tidying again very soon.

Now those with an OCD disposition brace yourselves!

Once craft area tidy…….one more to go ha ha.  But I am all tidied out and need some WOYWW time. If you have no idea what that is then please follow the link to a wonderful blog.

Now for news on the anniversary swap.  My ATCs are arriving yippee!!!!!  So far I have had 3 pretty ones from the lovely Hettie, Jill and Annie.  I am checking the post every day in anticipation.  I am wondering how long the ones flying in from the USA and Australia are going to take?  Mine were a little late setting off as you know.  I am going to do a separate post about how I created my ATCs as I don't want to spoil it for my other swap partners with a full reveal.  I will link it in next week's post.

If you want to see how my pond is getting on check out the previous post.  I can't add any more photos to this entry ;-)  I am off to see what is going on this week and to check out some more wonderful ATC art.

Oh almost forgot.  I mis calculated how many folk I agreed to swap with and I have two ATCs left to swap if anyone still wants to just let me know on the comments.

Have a wonderful WOYWW and thank you for popping by X

PS if anyone is having trouble with my photos opening will you let me know - thanks x

WOYWW 260 - Happy 5th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary everyone!

This one has to be quick from me this morning but I will be back later to visit when my visitors have gone!

First of all I wanted to show you what I made when I took part in the 3rd WOYWW Anniversary!  I am not sure why I didn't take part in the 4th but here I am for the 5th - How time flies when you are having fun!

As you can see I still have plenty of room for my new ATC swaps.  If I am not mistaken that is Shoshi's delicate Zentangling you can see!

Now my confession  yesterday was supposed to be ATC making day for me but my play was interrupted by visitors so this was yesterday morning.

….And this was late last night and this morning.  I hope to get these finished off tonight and in the post tomorrow!  I am really enjoying working in miniature and if anyone else wants to swap with me I have two left with no homes to go to.  (All gone!  Just nipping in and noticed I have two new swaps!  Off to make strawberry coulis!)

That is it from me as I have a Nutella Mouse to whip up as well as shortbread biscuits and my main which is Chicken Honey and Mustard with Garlic Mash and Savoy Cabbage with bacon to prep.  Ivan is on the starters which is Pacific Pork Kebabs!  Mmmmmm I haven't had my breakfast yet.  Our visiting family have set off about now so I had better get a wiggle on if I want to look calm and oh so prepared when they arrive!  Better not show them my ATCs as it will spoil the illusion tee hee!

Have a wonderful WOYWW everyone and a big congratulations to Julia for bring us all together.  I will be back to visit with everyone later this evening……and to finish my ATCs!  Oh almost for got the link……if you don't know what WOYWW is then follow this link and find out why a fun idea for a desk hop is still going strong and celebrating it's 5th year today!

Thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 259

I am a bit late posting as I have been out and about this sunny morning but I have a free afternoon so I can enjoy a spot of desk hopping and catching up with my WOYWW pals.  I also have a May tag to finish off for 12 Tags of 2014 so a very pleasant afternoon for me!

Here is that work in progress on my filming desk.  I took my photos in natural light as the sun is shining here so there is a definite contrast between light and shade in my desk shots today.

ooooooo look at that messy craft mat!  The sun is really drawing attention to the smudges and paper bits!  As you can see I have made all my little paper quilt pieces and I am ready to go embellishment hunting to finish off my tag.  I have always liked this look so it is fun to try it out this month.

As always when I work on my 12 Tags of 2014 there is the chance to rummage through my Tim supplies as you can see from this shot.  I never use all I get out but it is just nice to remind yourself what you have!!! tee hee - Mind you I notice an absence of the little heart charms that Tim used on his tag so I also add to my wish list along the way.  It is all part of the fun.  I wonder if anyone else is working on this challenge today.

You can also see the corner of my 2014 tag storage that I completed yesterday.  It is filling up nicely and the year is just flying by.

As we are having sunshine here in the UK I am dividing my time between the craft room and the garden.  I was sitting admiring my lovely clean water feature (boy did it smell!) gurgling away when a blackbird popped by to collect some grass for her nest.  The dog got a quick brush incase she wanted to add a fleecy liner to her new home!

Can you spot what happened when I clicked the camera button?  That smudge is one startled blackbird!  Can you see at the top of the photo a pile of earth and to the top right a hole behind a brick wall?  That will soon be our second water feature!  Hubby has been hard at work digging out a pond.  It is amazing how much earth seems to pile up in comparison to the hole!

That's it from me so I am now off to link up over at Stamping Ground so I can check out how everyone else is spending their day!  If you love crafting and having a little nosey around then follow this link to a wonderful bunch of crafters sharing their work desks and their creativity today.

Happy WOYWW to you all and thank you for popping by x

P.S.  If anyone other than my Swap partner wants to swap ATCs with me please leave me a comment I have 7 left…..or will have when they are made!!!!  I love swaps ;-)

WOYWW 253

Good Morning Everyone

It is sunny and bright here this morning but I am feeling rubbish!  I think I may be coming down with a cold.  You know the feeling - fuzzy head, scratchy throat and other things I won't mention so as not to put anyone off their breakfast ;-)

So what I am I sharing today?

A desk full of UFOS(UnFinished Objects)!  I have 6 layouts all waiting for titles and journalling!  Oh and 6 eggs that might be decorated for Easter.  I have a habit of making up my scrapbook layouts at the crop I go to and I have stopped taking my Cricut with me…..I carry enough baggage as it is!  Now I just need to get into the habit of getting home and getting on with finishing them off!  So I have laid them out to wait for inspiration to strike today.  Mind you they will have to wait a while as I am off to visit my Mum and there is an Ikea plate of meatballs with my name on this lunch time ;-) Yum!

Then I guess if the sun stays out I may have to do a bit more pruning and tidying in the garden ready for the long hot Summer we are going to have this year!……Dreaming…….

This layout is of my son Callum playing on a Gameboy!  I think it was when he first discovered the delights of electronic entertainment!  We drove back from Gibraltar to the UK and it was a treat for him as he was going to be cooped up in the car and on a boat for quite a while.  As you can see he is hooked!  Cute Leopard PJs - now he wears a onsie and has his nose permanently stuck in his phone or his laptop!

I am thinking I might leave the word on this tag as the title for this layout as it works quite well for this shot of Mariah and Callum with??????  Is it Goofy ……..or is it Goofy's nephew??  This is a lovely sunny layout and a great reminder of a wonderful warm sunny day spent lazing on the beach - PERFECT!

Happy WOYWW to anyone popping over to visit my desk today.  I hope your desk is full of lovely creativity for me to peruse this evening!!!!….and that your day is sunny and warm wherever you may be.  If you have no idea what WOYWW is then please follow this link and join me hopping from desk to desk all over the world.  I know you are going to love it and make lots of new crafting friends along the way.

Thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 250

Hello fellow desk hoppers!

Yippee some free time to catch up with everyone in WOYWW land!  I have my coffee brewing and my eye on the last cookie in the packet so I am all set to desk hop and visit you all!  Just need to write this post first…….mmmmmmm…..what shall I share today?  Well there is this……

One desk with video tutorial underway.  I love that Graphic 45 harlequin print!  A bit messy but I think it will get a whole lot messier before the tutorial is finished!  My camera is on my desk because I am uploading from the card to my computer at the moment.  Then there is this little lot!

This is my photo desk being used as storage at the moment as it is full of all my Graphic 45 creations…..That is what I have been doing for the past two weeks.  I have been as happy as a pig in mud up to my ears in my lovely Graphic 45 stash…..and that is not all of it …….take a look up here!

 A bit gloomy because of the light outside but I think you can see how busy I have been.  Time to put my feet up and visit with my WOYWW friends!  If you want to see any of the projects in more detail here is the link to the audition post.  I know I am up against some very talented opposition but I have had huge fun trying and have created a little new G45 stash room - I have my eye on that 'On the Beach' collection as I love the seaside.

If you are new around here and don't know what WOYWW is then please pop along to Julia's blog by following this link and hop to the desks of crafty folk around the world.  You will have hours of fun and inspiration and will make lots of new friends for sure.

Happy WOYWW to you and thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 246 - Is it Wednesday again already?

Thank you to MaryAnne for reminding me what day it is with her fab share today that popped into my in box this morning.  I am definitely going to try making my own modelling paste so a big thank you for sharing x

Here is my desk photograph for today.

From left to right we have a peek at one online workshop project awaiting more embellishments - that is what the glue gun and the patterned paper and the leaf die on my guillotine are for.  Glossy Accents and Cosmic Shimmer Pearl PVA have just been used on the workshop project.

The lego card was the result of a tutorial I shared on You Tube yesterday which is now a bit wrinkly as I spilt water on it!!!!  ooops!

The box has some Tim Holtz Stencils and Distress Paints inside that need unpacking.

You can see my red handbag and some rose trim that needs putting away as I didn't need to use it after all just at the far end of my desk…....

……….And last but not least standing up behind the blue bin are some My Minds Eye Chalk Studio papers and embellishements and there is a layout in there waiting to be finished off.

I'm off to have a little snoop around your desks now before we take the dog for a walk by the river.  I wonder how high it is today?  It has flooded areas of the golf course and Comet loves it as they are the perfect huge puddles of water for a dog to charge through!  I swear it makes him smile.

Wishing you a wonderful WOYWW (and if you don't know what that is then to find out what you are missing pleas click here!!!)

Thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 243

Morning fellow WOYWW friends!  I can't believe how long it has been since I have played along!  I have been busy making videos and they really do take up a huge amount of time but I do love making and sharing them.  I have a quiet day today and I thought I would treat myself and catch up with you all and have a look at what you have all been up to.  For my first photo - taken yesterday (if you are averse to 'messy' please look away now!)………

I know, I know, you can't even see a postage stamp of workspace left!!!  So I rolled up my sleeves and….

I promise that I didn't just sweep it all on to the floor ha ha!  I did put everything away which did take me a while!!!  And as it was so clear I decided to get out the scrubby sponge and to tackle the build up of glue and paint splatter.  I even scrubbed my craft mats!  How virtuous did I feel this morning walking in to my craft room????  Here is the long shot.

Here is the place I most often sit…..It is just waiting for me to get busy

And here are some goodies I collected together from under all that mess to play with later!

Now those with a suspicious nature will be saying why didn't you take a shot of your whole craft room looking fabulous?!!!!   Well I can only do so much scrubbing in one evening right?  I do not want to get Repetitive Strain Injury now do I? ;-)

So keeping my back to the rest of my room I think I can put my feet up and visit my WOYWW friends and if you want to make friends with lovely crafting folk around the world and have no idea why I am showing you the results of my cleaning frenzy then click on this link and be prepared to be amazed and enthralled as you desk hop around the globe….

Thank you to anyone that pops by to visit my extremely tidy return to WOYWW.  I wish you all an amazingly creative week X

WOYWW 227 and It's Been a While!!!

I have been having a bit of a busy couple of weeks and I haven't posted for a while so what better way to catch up with you all than a spot of WOYWW desk hopping.  If you don't know what that means then you really should follow this link (when you have read my post of course ;-)  There you will find Julia who has all the magic links to craft desks all over the world ready for you to explore.  I recommend a cup of coffee and a cookie or three!!!

So what is on my desk this week????

Here is a new photo album I treated myself too and it is already full!!! Next to it are some remnants left over from a big sort out I am having and they are waiting for my next task to be undertaken which is to take down and wash all my Ikea jars which are looking like they are ready for Halloween they are that dusty!!!  So all these little brads will find new homes in sparkly clean jars......soon ish!!!

The album is waiting to find a home too as it is already full!  I had a pile of layouts waiting to be put away and most of them were quite bulky with embellishments so I am loving these new ring binder albums as I they self level and you don't need to undo posts and add spacers!  Here is a layout I made with some pretty MME papers - I am going to put Black and White Photos on the pages and then embellish some more.  I wanted to try out combining a 12 x 12 layout with Project Life style pages and I like the result.  You can have a pretty and arty layout featuring one great photo and then do all your journalling and add lots of other photos on the accompanying page.

My hubby has been busy putting up a few extra bits of storage for me so I have been happily sorting through and rearranging my possessions!!!  Here is a before shot.......

One extra CD rack and a rearrangement of my little drawers.......plus a fair bit of tidying and sorting......

I even have some empty space!!!!!  I am going to sort out the CD rack that runs up the side and that is that area sorted.  You can see I even have room to display some of my projects.

Next up Ivan added a rail to the back of my door and a few curtain clips later and..........

I always forget to look through my many packets of stickers and embellishments when I am working on a project and now I have the perfect place to make them easy to sort through when looking for a matching pretty or two!  I like the way this works a lot so I am thinking of adding another bar below to make even more room for storage.

Another before shot........

I felt that this area where I store my most used items could do with another shelf and so one handyman later........

The extra shelf means I now have room for that growing collection of Distress Paints and Distress Stains..........

....Oh and my Distress Glitters......I am not sure Ivan realised he was making room for more shopping...........:-) !!

That's it from me except to say I have lots of plans for Halloween project videos and Christmas Project Workshops coming soon - another reason why I have been so busy.  I will post about them over the coming days so please pop back to see what has kept me away from my blog.

Looking forward to a little desk hopping and catching up with you all today.  Happy WOYWW to you and thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 224

Hi fellow desk hoppers.  Here is my video desk this morning and considering I have filmed two videos over the last two days it is relatively calm and tidy.  Particularly as one of those videos was for my September tag (12 Tags of 2012) which normally calls for collecting copious amounts of stash on my desk while I make decisions about which way my tag is going to look!  So not too much of a tidy up job for me this morning!!! ;-)

Here is a close up of the results of all that filming.  If you want to know how to make the beaded heart that is my latest free video tutorial which you can get to by clicking here.  Today I will edit the tag video and get it posted to 12 Tags of 2013.

I have a relatively quiet day today so plenty of time to go desk hoping for a while!  WOYWW and Pinterest two activities sure to enthral me so I do not notice the hours slipping by!!!  If you are just passing and want to know why I am showing you my desk this morning then please follow this link and join in a world wide desk hop!!!  It is great fun and you meet lots of lovely WOYWW folk along the way.

Part of me is glad we can't offer coffee and cake (or Percy Pigs) to our visitors or we would end up thudding rather than hippety hopping across the craft desks of the world!!!!

Wishing you all a happy WOYWW and thank you for popping by and saying hello X

WOYWW 223

Busy day ahead for me final prepping for class today.  Yesterday afternoon was spent designing two cards and this is the aftermath minus the paper debris!  I did tidy up a bit yesterday.

Some times a card takes a while and this not very traditional Christmas card did take a while to come together.  I had an idea in my head but I struggled with it for a time.  I loved using Distress Glitter on it.  It was perfect.  A sugary coating rather than bling.  Great for the non traditional look I was going for.

Then I had to design something that didn't take as long for the second card and it came together quick as a flash - sometimes it is like that.  So as you can see I am easing my class and myself gently into Christmas!!!

At the end of the desk you can see my New Theresa Collins Christmas Cottage Papers.  The are fab and I am looking forward to running a Christmas Workshop with them!!!!!

Can you see my growing collection of Distress paints peeking out from behind the Chinese containers....no Chinese left only glue and glitter now!!!

Here is a close up of the Christmas Card - love the sugary finish that the Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter adds to the card!....Hope you can see it a bit on the photo.

And this is the quick card design.  Perfect for any colour combination of card stock.  I am in love with book pages at the minute.  I bought a lovely pile of old books when we went out on a day trip recently.  Seemed rude not to get some use out of them really!!!

If you have enjoyed this peek at my desk this morning then I suggest you follow this link and pop along to see what Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday is all about - You will love it!  Happy WOYWW to you and thank you for popping by X

WOYWW 222 (Three Little Ducks!)

Morning Everyone!

Bit of a lie in today - the last one of the Summer holidays as Callum goes back to school tomorrow!  Has it been 6 weeks already????

Here is my first WOYWW photo, the before shot......

Mess, mess and more mess!  This is the mayhem left behind after making Tim Holtz a thank you present and after finishing off making my August 12 Tags of 2013 tag.  Oh what fun I had as you can see!!!  If you want to see what fun we had with Tim when he visited us in the UK I have posted about it here, here and here!  I was very excited as you can tell from the 3 posts!!

Here is my desk after a quick tidy - I now have room to finish off my tag book that we made at the workshop - I will share photos when it is finished.  In shot is also my Art Journal as I want to make another video.

I uploaded the video from my 12 Tags of 2013 series last night.  I have been making a video of each of my tags this year.  I thought it would be a fun way to share.  It is fun to see how I go from Tim's inspiration to my interpretation.  I love to see all the creativity that his challenge inspires in everyone that plays along.  I will post that in my next post.

Here is the tag that I gave to Tim - I popped a smaller tag in the pocket (don't know why I didn't photograph it!!!) to say thank you for all the 12 Tags fun.

....here is the other side!  Now as you scrolled down you may have noticed I have Pinterest buttons!  I have taken the buttons off the photos of my mess but kept them on things I think folk might want to pin.  This is my new found blog skill!  I feel quite techie now ;-)  Always something new to learn.  I thought I would include these tag photos here so I could give you the link to the 'How to do it'.  You need to be a bit careful because you are playing with the HTML code (scary) but I managed it first time so I think most people could.  Hope you find it useful.  TIP.  As I copied in the code I wrote down the line numbers so I could delete the code easily if I messed it up!!!

That's it from me - off to have a late breakfast and then back for some desk hopping!!! If you don't know what desk hopping is then follow this link to the WOYWW hub to find out more - It's great fun and you meet lots of lovely crafters along the way.

Happy WOYWW to you and thank you for popping by X