WOYWW 199

Hello all... Yes, I know, I've been missing the WOYWW action for too many weeks, but I really, really wanted to make it along to share my current workdesk situation now that it's set up!  If the letters WOYWW mean nothing to you then hop along here for a taste of the best and nosiest bloghop around, hosted by the lovely Julia Dunnit at the Stamping Ground.



I'm back in the Czech Republic (where this whole Craftyblogland madness began for me), so longtime WOYWWers may remember the set up in my room in my mother's beautifully renovated farmhouse here... a plastic garden table (huge working area - so cool!)...







... and then my "shelves" made up of just some of the boxes which I used to transport my travelling stash (and no the sprays are not free, I'm afraid, and no, you can't help yourself - very sorry).

My paints live on the windowsill - pictures of them next time around perhaps.








As to what's on this workdesk... well, lots of tags, basically: experiments with Distress Paints, some playing with inks, some leftovers, a canvas for re-working, some mess.



But what I really want to show you is my other workdesk!!  And that's over in the museum...  The museum?  Yes, the museum!

I had to come with lots of boxes as I'm here for 10 weeks helping my mother (known to some of you as Cestina - and she's making her WOYWW debut today) prepare her large collection of dollshouses to open as a small museum here.  Many of them had been stored in the garage in the UK for over a decade, so you can imagine there's urgent work needed to make them fit for public consumption.

First, though, we had to create some kind of order out of the chaos of packing boxes, and there was much sorting of boxes of fairly haphazard collections of dollshouse paraphernalia, as well as all the random bits of assorted flotsam and jetsam awaiting transformation into some miniature accessory or piece of furniture.  Crafters - especially the alterers amongst you - will know exactly the kind of junk I mean!

(For a more detailed version of the whole journey, check out Cestina's blog - especially this post for the chaos!)

And now, I'm happy to say, not only is the vast majority of all that sorting done, but we also have two beautiful work stations set up, and a room divider with all the paints and tools we need to share sitting in between.  I had an absolute ball setting it all up!!








The double desk under the window is my area, and you can see Cestina's trestle table beyond the dividing shelves.







We each have our own sets of really vital tools on our own workdesks, so there'll be no fighting over craftknives, lollypop sticks, toothpicks and glue sticks.







And here's what's on the workdesk now - a dollshouse wall, being repapered (much easier when they come apart like this - sadly not the case with most of them - there's some fiddly work to come)...









... and 7 Gypsies fans might just recognise the papers being used!









That's not the final dado rail - just a piece so that I can judge how the proportions are going to look.







So a slightly long return post - apologies, Julia - but it is all about workdesks...

Hope to make it round to visit lots of you - it's been too long... but for now I'll wish you a very happy WOYWW!

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius

WOYWW 189

Oh boy... the weeks really do whizz by, and yet again it's Wednesday!  Time to share What's On Your Workdesk with the fabulous crafty hop hosted at the Stamping Ground by lovely Julia Dunnit.

I'm going to be speedy again today, as Julia prefers, because I've got a bloghop to participate in - part of my new and exciting duties as a member of the Artistic Outpost Design Team.  So if you're not all hopped out by the end of the day, I'd love it if you had time to pop along.

Anyway, here's my current chaos - an attempted DT project underway... As you may be able to see, this poor trio of papier-mâché frames is already on it's third attempted alteration.







I keep painting over the top of versions I don't like, in search of something better, and finally I've succumbed to the texture paste.  We'll see where it goes from here.

There's also a tag where I've been playing with Leandra from PaperArtsy's stencil "bumping" technique - spot the song inspiration, anyone?

There's more to do on this one, and I'm not sure it's really doing the trick for me, so it will probably go on the back burner...

And then various other half-finished bits and leftovers from previous projects.  Looking forward to seeing your chaos craftdesk when I come hopping later...  Happy WOYWW everybody!

Beginnings are always messy.
John Galsworthy

WOYWW 188

Question: What's On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
Answer: On mine, at the moment, quite a lot of chaos at a slightly crazy angle!  And I wasn't planning to join in this week, but I've seen a few desks and I just don't want to be left out, so here I am...

Question: Join in with what?
Answer: The best crafty blog hop, allowing you a chance to snoop, peek, peer and generally indulge your curiosity to the full visiting craftdesks around the world.  Hop over to the Stamping Ground, where our hostess Julia Dunnit will be delighted to show you around, and you can join in too.


Now I've got to go and get on with some of those many, many half-done things on the desk.  

I hope to get the little Victorian girls up and posted later today (yup, done), and then try and figure out what to do with my fairytale castle window frames, so I'll  be back later to do my snooping.

Oh, and anyone who's not heard my big news... do have a look here.

So much to do, so little done, so much to be.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

WOYWW 186

Wednesday - is it?  If you say so... well, today is our "Christmas Day", so forgive me for being forgetful.  Later my brother and his family will arrive, and we'll do the big present session, and have our Christmas meal, but I've just got time to join in with WOYWW first (though my visiting may be a little delayed, I fear).

Yes, Wednesday means it's time to show you What's On My Workdesk... and you can hop over to the Stamping Ground for this week's nose around more craftdesks around the world, hosted by the lovely Julia Dunnit.

I've got a very messy desk - the wastes left over after struggling mightily with one of my DT themes this week (more of that on Friday, maybe)...

The canvas board in the foreground is one failed attempt.

The cat pictures are Steinlen illustrations - from more failed attempts, although one of these did form the basis of what I've eventually gone with (still not happy with it).

The tag with all the painstakingly stamped words from a very long cat quote is another fail.  Epic.




I'd far rather just show you a few pictures of some of my favourite ornaments on my tree... the one up in my attic room (bedroom, living room and craft room), which is all silver, white, blue and wood - suiting the frosty temperatures up there!  Don't worry, I like to live cold...



















Yes, that's better... hope you're all having a wonderful time this Christmastide!  And happy WOYWW...

WOYWW 185

Hello, hello - very quickly... here's What's On My Workdesk this Wednesday.  I missed last week, and couldn't bear to miss two in a row, but I'm afraid the photo's very blurry - no light at all today.

To go for a nose round the crafting desks of the world, hop over to the Stamping Ground where the generous Julia Dunnit hosts the best weekly blog hop of all...

What do we have?  The makings of a card using a Nicecrane Design image on printable canvas; some more Nicecrane gift tags made on playing cards in the background; a wood-mounted Father Christmas stamp which I got for £1 in The Range; and all sorts of other mess!

Hope to be back later today with the finished card (it is finished, but no time to post just at the moment)...  UPDATE - finally it's posted!

For now, a happy WOYWW to you, and since it's the last one before the big day, I'd also like to take the chance to wish you all a peaceful and joyous festive season!

WOYWW 183

Brrr!!  Well, what do you know... it's been snowing!  That's pretty unusual for the outskirts of London in December.   I was up before 5 doing some insomniac crafting, and then was too chilled to get back to sleep again, so I've given in and decided to share What's On My Workdesk this Wednesday.  I had thought I probably wouldn't get round to joining in this week, but having just gained all these hours...  well, here I am, and here's my workdesk this morning: 



If you're not sure why I've capitalised all those letters, then hop over to the Stamping Ground where our hostess, Julia Dunnit will explain all, and join in with the craft world's nosiest bloghop!

I'm back home, delighted to be reunited with the rest of my crafty stash after nearly a month away with only limited supplies... and as a result I'm in the middle of about six different things.  

There's a children's board book which I started before I went away, covering the insides with torn up book pages.  Yesterday I started work on the cover using some Tim Holtz Kraft Resist papers.  

There's a tag which started completely by accident.  I didn't want to throw away the tissue tape that I'd used to secure my little £1 alphabet into its box for the journey back from Stratford upon Avon.  

Being only £1, it doesn't have a lid, and I found I had no tape with me except my lovely TH tape, so I had to use that.  When I peeled it off yesterday, there was no way I was chucking it in the bin, so I layered it on to a tag - so that's now ready for development.

There's a tiny little wooden box with a ship scene on it (just behind the tiny alphabet, on top of my other alphabet in its posh wooden box) awaiting alteration.


The main reason for my - very mild - insomnia (I spent years suffering from the real thing, so I don't like to take the name in vain) was an over-excited and busy brain: late yesterday, I was invited by the delightful Ignacio Molina to join his small team of designers working with the amazing images he produces over at Nicecrane Designs.  My brain got to work right away, turning over possibilities, and pretty much wouldn't leave me in peace.  So the other thing you can see are lots of lovely images which are on their way to being part of various projects... most of which weren't there at midnight last night.  Expect to see more very soon - possibly later today (yup, it's up now) if I don't fall asleep!!

For now, I'll wish you all a very happy WOYWW, and look forward to snooping round your way very soon!

A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.
Charlotte Brontë

If a man had as many ideas during the day as he does when he has insomnia, he'd make a fortune.
Griff Niblack

WOYWW 182

No, no, no... it's simply not possible that it's Wednesday again!  Someone's been stealing my days...

Ah well, the good thing about it is it means that it's time for another bloghop around the crafty workdesks of the world, courtesy of our lovely hostess, Julia Dunnit, over at the Stamping Ground.  So here's What's On My Workdesk this Wednesday... What's On Yours?!

It's my last week in my temporary accommodation while I'm working away from home, so all this really will have to be packed up by Friday morning.  I battled my way here on the train with too many bags plus the cargo case, but I'm so relieved to say that my lovely and long-suffering brother is coming up with the car to take stuff home for me... it'll make packing less painful, not to mention the journey!

There are a couple of finished projects still lying around - the thank you card, Much Relief, and the tag, A heart full of love (click on either - or indeed both - of those for a closer look), and I've covered up a DT piece which you're not allowed to see until Friday.

There's also an MDF heart I'm about to have a play with, and a tin I've just started altering (under the stamps at the left).  A thin coat of gesso on the lid, so far, is all I've done... and it's going to need plenty more to cover up the bright primary colours!  That's going to have to wait until I get home I think.  For now, it's doing a good job of storing the things I've made whilst here, ready for transporting.  And this time next week, I'll be home.

Thanks so much for taking the time to drop in...  If you leave a comment, I'll be sure to come round and have a nose around at your place!!  Happy WOYWW everyone...

Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.
Charles Dickens

WOYWW 181

I think I managed a full house last week!  At least, there were one or two links I couldn't make work, but other than that... so I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself!  I can't promise the same this week, but I'll do my best.


Anyone baffled by my opening statement has clearly never played along with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted each week by the lovely Julia Dunnit over at the Stamping Ground.  

Make your way there as fast as possible for every Nosy-Parker's favourite blog hop as we ogle the craft desks of the world...

I'm still in my temporary accommodation with my travelling stash.  Last week you saw my lovely early Christmas present - the fabulous Tim Holtz cargo case.  
What you didn't see was some of the stuff which replaced clothes in the suitcase (got to get your priorities right, you know).  So I've included these two pictures of the shelves just by the work table.

Lots of lace, and ribbons, and spare sponges, and tapes, and string, and masks, and doilies, and die-cuts bought from ebay, and even an old book for tearing up on one shelf (no, I didn't bring the glass decanter)...

... and lots of stamps on another shelf (nor did I bring the telephone!).

And on the table itself - well, I've just cleared up all the mess from the projects I completed at the weekend, which you'll see over the next couple of days (even later today, perhaps, if I get my act together).  

There are a couple of tags where I've been experimenting with the PaperArtsy crackle glaze, and my Thankful Heart which some of you will already have seen in close-up. And the turquoise tag was just where I used up some leftover paint (which gives you a clue to the colours you'll be seeing in the next couple of posts), and tried out a new music stamp.  Just trying on the flower wreath for size...


Lovely to have you stop by today, and I'll be using my lunch and supper breaks again to try to visit as many desks as possible.  For now, happy crafting and happy WOYWW!

You want to be a bit compulsive in your art or craft or whatever you do.
Steve Martin

Yes, I daresay... but compulsive crafting leads to complicated packing!

WOYWW 180

Hello desk-hoppers... it's lovely to be back!  I missed a couple of weeks, and it felt so weird.  But I'm delighted to join in again with the week's best bloghop, hosted as ever by the lovely Julia Dunnit at the Stamping Ground, as we snoop around visit the craft desks of the world to see WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk this Wednesday).  And not only am I back, but I believe my sister-in-law, Laura, is planning to make her debut, with her one-week-old blog Laurart...


Close readers will have clocked in the last couple of posts that I'm not actually at home at the moment.

I'm working away for three weeks, and having packed more craft stash than clothes (so as not to go into withdrawal), I've set myself up a temporary craft desk to play at, and that's what I'm sharing this week.

On the far left is my Paris tag, and then a canvas which was also headed to France, but lost inspiration part way and is waiting for a top up!

It would have been almost impossible to pack to come away, I think, without my early Christmas present from my mother (yes, she of the dollshouse museum blog), a Tim Holtz cargo case.  You can cram so many pads and bottles and bits and pieces in... and if they're TH/Ranger, it's all designed to fit them perfectly which, of course, delights me!

In front of it you can see the gesso and white acrylic paint I went straight out to buy at The Works upon arrival.  I'd run out of gesso, so had been waiting patiently to get here for that, and I'm afraid my white paint simply wouldn't fit in, but given it costs less than £2, and I go through it very fast, I figured it wasn't the end of the world to buy a new bottle.





I've also augmented the stash since arriving here in Stratford upon Avon, as I went to the last day of the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC on Sunday.  I had an absolutely wonderful time - mainly because I'd arranged to meet up with the fantastically talented Buttons... who, it turns out, is just as lovely in real life as she is online.  It was a real delight to make a face-to-face crafty connection with one of my favourite bloggers.


We were fairly restrained in our spending, but one of my main reasons for going was to see some of the PaperArtsy stuff in person, and I knew I wanted to get some Fresco paints (to add to the one I own).

I was so inspired by the demos Leandra was doing, that I also succumbed to some Ferro modelling paste, and some boards to create on.  Buttons also introduced me to the MDF Man, and I'm really looking forward to playing with these hearts, which were only 35p each! And I needed some new clear embossing powder, so was very pleased with this bargain jumbo WOW pot.



Sadly, we're in technical rehearsals and then previews for a new show, which means I'm in the theatre for upwards of 12 hours a day, and don't then have much creative energy leftover... but I'm really looking forward to Sunday!!




Lastly (sorry, Julia, I know you like us to keep it short), I mentioned in a previous post that the view from my living room where I'm staying is pretty special.









From the craft table, I look right out onto the River Avon and the weir, so I just want to leave you with a couple of pictures.








They were taken on Sunday morning - at the start of a glorious day. If you're feeling envious, comfort yourself with the thought that it's been pretty constant grey drizzle or worse ever since!





So, that's me.  As you'll have gleaned, I will have to fit my hopping into lunch and supper breaks over the next few days, but I hope to get round to see as many of you as possible. 

In the meantime, thanks so much for stopping by, and happy WOYWW to you!!

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.
Walt Whitman

Don't trouble yourself with looking at the view... I've already composed it.
Gustav Mahler (evidently a man with very few self-esteem issues)

WOYWW 177

Hello and happy Wednesday to you... It's time to go bloghopping around the craft desks of the world again, courtesy of our lovely hostess Julia Dunnit at the Stamping Ground, where you can show us What's On Your Workdesk this Wednesday... I'll show you mine, if you show me yours!

Here it is... and I have cleared the decks a little since last week, but there's a whole lot of experimenting going on.

So the main thing you can see is lots of tags... I've been taking a leaf out of the book of the wonderful Lynne over at Adorn, who does lots of staining with tea and coffee with the most beautiful results, and that's what I've been up to - just to see.  It took me back to a school project from more than 30 years ago!

Overall the coffee gives less interesting results than the tea(s), I think.  We'll see how I feel once I've got some stamping on them.

One set of results I'm absolutely delighted with is the seam binding though... these range from coffee to tea to a winter fruit tea.  Still quite wet here...













... and now nearly dry (and by flash light, I'm afraid).  Gorgeous, I think, and I'm looking forward to putting them into action.

Then there are some steps towards catching up with some of the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas (I'm so behind, but hope to be back later today with a step in the right direction - yup, done now!).

Also in the background here, there's a leftover Permanent Ghost, and my skull mask on an old book page which I've used in a few projects recently.

Great having it on an old book page if you're stamping rather than blending, as it gives a really thin layer so that the stamp can lie as flat as possible, and so get closer to the edge of whatever you're masking - tissue paper might be even better... another experiment to try!

Wouldn't work for blending, probably, as it would just crease up unless you were very careful.

Here's my little £1 alphabet I'm always talking about, sitting on top of the £6 one I hardly use - though it's vital if I want capital letters, and it is beautiful. It pleases me just having it there!  

Now that I'm better at stamping in a straight line, I could probably make more use of it - lots more experimenting to be done, then.

And finally, I clearly needed some greens!  Some wrinkle-free distress backgrounds and a little "watercolour" stamping experiment all using Distress Stains.  

We'll see if they go any further...







Thanks so much for stopping by; it's always great to have some company.  I think I managed nearly three-quarters of the desks last week; still haven't completed a full house, but I'm trying!!  See you soon...

All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make, the better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

WOYWW 176

Hello everybody!  Happy Wednesday to you... it's time to bloghop round the craft desks of the world again, courtesy of our hostess Julia Dunnit at the Stamping Ground.  Yes, do share with us What's On Your Workdesk this Wednesday.  Thanks to a sleepless night, I think I might find myself in the top 40 for the first time ever - yup, posting at 4.30am!!


A quick panorama of my work table, which frankly hasn't changed a great deal since last time... apart from having had a slight clear up of the stamps and inks which were scattered in profusion.  The pile of paper scraps on the right is ever-increasing!

There's one stamp set still there (disguising work in progress) and it gives a clue to what you'll find if you visit my second post of today.











But I thought I'd also show you a quick shot of where my Big Shot lives.  My room's in an attic conversion, and over the stairwell I've got a huge sheet of plywood, painted white, which has always held some of my decorative candle holders, jewellery and so on.  








Five months into my crafting adventures, it's rapidly being taken over by stash and mess... as is the floor area just next to it...

...but what's a bit of mess when you're having fun?!





Hope you have lots of crafty and hopping fun today...  I've ended up with another double Wednesday posting, so if you're interested you could hop here first, and have a look what I've been up to in all these work spaces.

Looking forward to visiting you all soon... 

Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into.
Oliver Hardy

WOYWW 175

I'm back!  It felt so weird to miss out on WOYWW last week... how can something become so essential in such a short time?! And if you don't know what I'm on about, come share the addiction over at Julia Dunnit's Stamping Ground where every Wednesday you can explore the Workdesks of the world.

And here's What's On My Workdesk this Wednesday:

Basically there's lots of inky stampy stuff I've been using on four projects which are all on the go at the moment.  I hope to be posting one of them later today - it's slightly covered up so as not to reveal it before it's ready - but do watch this space!  (Done now!) You can see the three TH metallic distress stains which I've been experimenting with, and a new arrival right in the centre - the embossing diffusers - very excited about playing with those.  The big gold bottle is just an old sun lotion bottle that I use as my water spritzer.  There's also a background made with paper napkins that's got a bit stuck, but I'm hoping inspiration will strike soon.

Short and sweet - just as our lovely hostess likes these posts to be, but I can't go without sharing just one moment of glee with you: I discovered yesterday that one of my projects has been "pinned" on Pinterest by... wait for it... the man himself, yes, Mr Tim Holtz!  Have a look if you don't believe me... I don't do Pinterest, so it took me a while to work out if what I thought had happened had really happened - and even now little bubbles of laughter keep erupting unexpectedly at the thought!! 

Have a very happy WOYWW, and I'll be round for a snoop soon...

Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place. 
Josh Billings

If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy.
Traditional Proverb

Update:  Sorry... the post has just come, and I quickly wanted to share my extremely happy mail with you.  I was thrilled and delighted to win the Crafty Individuals prize as part of the Tando Creative Birthday Blog Hop last week... and the incredibly generous prize from Jean and Malcolm has just arrived.  Not only lovely Tando things to play with, but amazing CI stamps and masks, and some very cute Christmas tags too - I'm blown away!!

Had to take the picture on the floor as workdesk is now full of half-made project, not yet ready for viewing!

WOYWW (WOYWM)

Hello all... later than usual this week with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, sorry!  And the picture was actually taken at 7am on Monday, before I left home (working away at present), so it's really a photo of What's On My Workdesk Monday, though I can promise you that it's all still there today, as nobody will have touched it in the meantime!!

A shot from directly above the craft mat today, full of all the bits from the last minute crafting I squeezed in late night Sunday and very early morning Monday, before going - knowing the next chance to sit down and do anything would be Friday at the earliest...

Lots of DIs in my favourite blues and browns; some half finished tags; some leaf die-cut leftovers in gold (from this), waiting to be used as templates in future projects; a timeworn rusted key; and the hanging I've been working on, which will be posted shortly - if I get it all done in the lunch break now!  Done now - here it is.

If all the WOYWWWOMWM is confusing you, pop over to Julia Dunnit's Stamping Ground for the hop of the week around the craft desks of the world... and it will all become clearer!

Once again, I'll have to be doing my visiting over the course of the coming week, but I'm looking forward to coming for a good snoop very soon.  In the meantime, a happy WOYWW to you all!

Certainly true for me this week, absent from my craft desk, with increasingly itchy fingers:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
First recorded in that form by a Miss Stickland in The Pocket Magazine of Classic and Polite Literature, 1832

WOYWW 172

Morning all, and a happy WOYWW to you! It's the weekly Wednesday hop around the craft desks of the world, hosted by Julia Dunnit over at The Stamping Ground... so after you've seen W on my W this W, why not go and explore some more over there?

Seems to have become my Wednesday habit to double-post and run off to catch a train... this morning the train I have to catch is a whole hour and bit later than usual, so it feels positively relaxed this morning!

I'm showing you quite oblique shots of the workdesk today - just for a slightly different angle on things.

The desk itself is the old family pine kitchen table, which was one of those quite nasty orangey varnished affairs.  About 10 years ago, I stripped it down, sanded all over and then stained it with white wood stain, and for years it was my regular desk for working at.  You can still see files and reference books on the top of the bookshelf.  

Now my laptop is relegated to my lap, and the desk and pretty much all the surrounding space is being taken over my crafting...

Today's mess includes the almost finished tag which you can see in today's other post; 

the mini-chest of drawers and the rest of the gift set which I posted earlier in the week and hasn't yet found another home; 

the tag with some enamelled stamping experimenting - I missed the CCII challenge for this technique last week, but saw such lovely things visiting people's blogs that I wanted to have a play anyway;

a growing pile of stamp sets which have been in use and not been put away yet... I know you're all familiar with that problem!!

In the desk picture above left, you can see CCII wide open on the desk, full of lovely ideas and techniques to try out.

Anyway, it's nearly pumpkin time, and I've got another post to write, so happy hopping, and I'll be doing my visiting later tonight, and over the course of the week again - hope to see you soon somewhere in Craftyblogland!


To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science. 
Albert Einstein