WOYWW - 22 December 2010

A very late entry to the WOYWW party this week - been a busy day with DD under the weather and mum arriving to stay for the Christmas period. Finally found time to snap a quick photo though... this is the contents of my workdesk today:

It's a bit of experimentation really... I'm having a go at Julie's fabulous faux dichroic glass technique. Have been dying to have a try of this for ages... I bought the goodies I needed (Viva Decor Croc paint and UTEE) weeks and weeks ago but with illness etc - and the urgent need to make xmas cards! - it's taken me until now to get around to having a go.

In the bottom right corner you can see my first attempt... didn't turn out too great... the paint didn't crack into small enough areas and the ink colours I used were too bright and didn't blend into each other enough:

But I'm persevering and the second lot is already looking more promising... the paint has cracked the way it should and now I just need to add the inks and UTEE and see how it turns out.

So that's it for my desk. To check out all the other crafty desks this week, don't forget to head on over to Julia's blog.

And just to end this week's post on a fun note, I thought I would share a photo I took of DD having her dinner tonight... DH decided to let her have a chocolate mousse for dessert... and it looks like she really liked it! :D

Thanks for popping by - please do leave a comment... ooh and have a very Merry Christmas! :)

WOYWW - 15 December

Ack! How did it get to be Wednesday again?!!

I really must blog something other than WOYWW at some point! :lol: I've just had so much going on with illness and pregnancy and people visiting etc and crafting has just not been happening very much!

However... it's Wednesday again and it's time to share what's on my workdesk:

The chaos here is actually the in-progress production line for my christmas cards (with my prototype sitting there for reference! :lol:). I had intended to get them all finished and posted by yesterday but I've had unexpected houseguests for the past couple of days... a really good friend who moved to Scotland a few months ago texted me on Monday feeling a bit fed up as she was home alone with her little boy as her hubby was working away all week... my hubby works away during the week too so I said she'd be welcome to come stay with me if she wanted... so on the spur of the moment we decided "Why not?" and she packed up the car and drove down to Yorkshire! :) It's been absolutely lovely to see her again and so nice having company... and great for the little ones to play together again.

So naturally I've been spending my evenings chatting and catching up instead of crafting! However, I only have a few cards left to make so I will crack on with them this evening and hopefully get them posted out tomorrow.

Another photo I have to share with you is some goodies that haven't made it as far as my desk yet - they only arrived yesterday:

Finally, it's my freebie ProMarkers! I took out a magazine subscription 2-3 months ago and the subscription gift was this set of ProMarkers... and it's taken them all this time (and several chasing emails/phone calls!) for them to get them to me. But I finally have them! Yaaaaay! Can't wait to play. Once the Christmas cards are done! :lol:

Sorry I didn't make it around many of the WOYWW entries last week... I had every intention to but, as described above, I've been somewhat preoccupied! I hope to get around a lot more desks this week. If you're new to WOYWW, you can find the full list of desks to visit here at Julia's Stamping Ground blog.

Hope you all have a great week and I look forward to checking out everyone's desks!

WOYWW 8 December...

Where did the time go? It's Wednesday again already and time to share what's on your workdesk! To indulge in the full cornucopia of crafty creativeness on show, hop on over to Julia's blog for the full list of workdesks! In the meantime, here's what's on mine:

Pleased to report that a) I am a LOT better than I was last Wednesday (almost back to feeling fully human again!) and b) for once I actually have something on my desk to share with you and some other stuff I can show you too! :D

So here's what my workdesk looks like today (apols for the positively frigid-looking wintery blue light... *brrrrr* I feel cold just looking at this photo! :lol:):

Not managed any crafting since the weekend but what's currently on my desk - and has been since the weekend! - is the detrititus of my participation in the UKS Cyber Crop at the weekend surrounding one of the lovely layouts I made over the weekend, following Rachel's yummy Forced Smile class that was offered as part of the Cyber Crop.

Here's some close-ups:

As well as what's currently on my desk, I'm pleased to finally be able to share with you what was on my desk a couple of weeks ago! :lol: These are a couple of items I made for submission for a magazine contest so I couldn't really share photos of them at the time as there was the possibility (however remote!!) that they might end up getting published. However I''ve now received them back and I'm not a winner - this time! ;) - so I can share them with my fellow WOYWWers... :)

A couple of cards:

And a chipboard word book that I made from scratch and decorated using scrummy BasicGrey papers.. am really quite pleased with how this turned out:

So there you have it. My workdesk as it stands today *and* as it was a couple of weeks ago.. a bit of a bonus to make up for last week's "no piccies" WOYWW post! Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment to say hello or let me know whatt you think of my projects! :) And happy WOYWWing! :)



A huge big thank you...

...to my lovely lovely UKS teamie Alix!!

I've been meaning to blog this since last week but have felt so flipping rotten that I just haven't gotten chance. So it's a belated thank you, but a heartfelt one, nonetheless!

Look what Alix sent me as a belated birthday present!!

Isn't it just gorgeous?! My hastily snapped pics really don't do it justice and there are some much better photos of it over at Alix's blog. It's soooo pretty and detailed and clever and I love just about everything about it!

I've been ill for what feels like forever and was feeling particularly rotten on the day this pressie arrived, so although it was meant as a birthday gift, it also went a long way towards cheering me up when I felt grotty! And it's just so lovely that someone would think of me and make me such a gorgeous handmade gift, something that has had such thought and work put into it. :)

So thank you again, Alix! (((hugs)))

WOYWW - 1 December

It's Wednesday again and time to ask the question, What's on Your Workdesk?

And the answer is... I don't know. I can't tell you and I can't show you (sorry, no photos at all this week) as my workdesk and I are currently separated by about 13 miles and this post is coming to you live from my hospital bed!!

Unfortunately my lingering cold devolved into sinus infection last week and yesterday deteriorated to the point where I couldn't  get out of bed - couldn't lift my head off the pillow without the room spinning or sit up without throwing up!! After phoning around the drs and the antenatal unit at the hospital I am booked to deliver in, darling hubby - who, bless him, has been working from home since last Friday and trying to get work done, look after 19 month old DD *and* a sickly wife - got me into the car and brought me into hospital to the antenatal unit where they checked me over to make sure baby is okay (she is) and that my symptoms aren't pregnancy-related (e.g. pre-eclampsia - they aren't).

So they basically decided my problems are related to the sinus issues and they decided to admit me as I was dehydrated (after not eating or drinking and throwing up all day!) and have put me on IV fluids and injections of anti-sickness drugs, in the hope that I can keep stuff down long enough to take the antibiotics that will hopefully clear up this infection and allow me to function as a human being again! Still feel horribly dizzy but am now at least able to sit up (slowly and verrrrry carefully) without throwing up. So.. progress!

So my apols for no workdesk photos... mind you, with hubby working from home he's probably being dumping the day's post on my workdesk anyway! :lol:

I hope to be back in the land of the living next Wednesday and able to share some photos. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your WOYWWing!

WOYWW 24 November...

Wow, is it Wednesday again already? Where did the week go?!

So it's time for another WOYWW - if you've no idea what I'm blethering on about, head on over to Julia's blog and join in the fun!

Once again, sadly, I've been working on something sooper-sekrit and therefore I can't actually show you the completed items that are/were on my desk. Sorreeeeee! However, I will instead show you the aftermath of last night's very-late-finish crafting session in which I frantically tried to finish said sooper-sekrit project in time for today's posting deadline!!

As you can see, the chaos even spilled over into (by which I mean, completely took over!) the computer area of the desk too! Am going to have to do some serious tidying before I can even think about starting any more crafting! :lol:

I will also share what would be on my desk if I'd had chance to tidy it/clear space yet... more goodies! :) Been waiting impatiently for this little lot since the back end of last week and they're here at last! Yaaaaaaay!

I gotz my Tattered Florals die!! *dances* :)

ATCs, stamping and experimentation!

Not a lot of crafting has been happening of late, due to DD and I's collective illness, but I have managed to throw together a couple of sets of ATCs... and try out some new (to me, anyway!) techniques in the process.

The first set of ATCs was made using Silkies (which I had not used before) and a funky set of Inkadinkadoo clear stamps that I've had sitting on my "to play with" pile for a while:

I rather like the shimmery sheen of the Silkies and they blend together quite nicely. The circle designs were stamped with Versafine ink, with the larger design being embossed with black embossing powder. (BTW I have one of these left for swapping if anyone's up for an ATC swap!)

The next set of ATCs are the ones that were sat, in progress, as backgrounds on my desk in this week's WOYWW:

The backgrounds were made by applying a metallic purple ink onto the card with an inkduster brush and then stamping the scrummy lace design (Anna Griffin clear stamps) over it in black Versafine. I stamped the flowers onto acetate using Stazon and cut them out:

I have to say at this point that I *love* this little stamp!

It was a freebie with Craft Stamper magazine a couple of months ago and I've already used it on various projects - it's just so pretty and versatile!

Anyhoo.. I cut into the acetate flowers and bent the petals upwards a little for dimension and attached them to the cards with Glossy Accents and added Papermania black gemstones to the centre:

Incidentally, these ATCs are also available for swapping! :D

My final set of ATCs are still in-progress... in fact they're currently just backgrounds! But they are made using another technique that I've been wanting to have a go at (one of many from Tim Holtz's lush Compendium of Curiosities that I am slowly working my way through!) - stamping with water onto Distress Inks.

I went out and bought myself some new Distress Inks (any excuse, eh? :D) in order to try this technique as the book suggests it works better with bolder colours.

If you haven't tried this technique, it involves blending Distress Inks onto the card in the usual manner and then coating your chosen stamp with Distress Embossing Ink (as this helps the water cling to the stamp) and spritzing with water from a mini mister then stamping onto the inked card and lifting straight off.. then using a heat gun to dry the card.. in theory the Distress Inks on the card should react with the water and the stamped image should "bleach out" of the stamped background.

Sooo... it kinda worked:

On my first attempt I think I had a bit too much water on the stamp as, although the bleaching effect worked, the stamped image kinda blurred a bit in places:

So on the next two I used less water.... and I think I didn't use enough as the bleaching effect was subtle at best! :lol:

But I've had fun trying and I am loving these bright Distress Ink colours. :)

I need to tidy my craft desk...

...so that I can make space for THIS: :D :D :D

Oooh I can't WAIT to have a play!! As soon as DD's in bed tonight, it's tidying and then playing for me, cold be damned! :D

WOYWW 17 November...

Welcome to another Wednesday! If you're new to WOYWW and wondering what on earth it's all about, check out Julia's blog for details and the full list of fab blogs to visit! :)

Not much on my desk this morning. Well, actually, I have a confession... these photos are of my desk at 11:30pm on Tuesday night... but believe me, nothing has changed since then! :lol:

Crafting has not really been happening this past week, due to a combination of illness (both DD and I are full of cold!!) and houseguests so aside from the general crafting debris around the edges of my workspace, and a couple of completed ATCs, the only thing currently gracing my workspace is a set of in-progress ATCs.

I used some lovely new Anna Griffin lace stamps to make the background for these and have stamped a flower design onto acetate.. these are going to be cut out and added to the background.

As there is so little on my actual workspace, I thought this week I'd also show you the rest of my craft desk...

Can you believe I tidied this only the other week and had this part of the desk completely clear - enough so that there was workspace for a friend to come round and craft with me? *sigh* The clutter just seems to pile up, no matter what I do... not helped by hubby having the occasional tidying spree which usually involves dumping any of my or DD's belongings (note her stylish booties gracing my desk!) into my craft room!

I can never seem to keep my computer area tidy either... too many in-progress bits and bobs, scraps of paper, empty tea mugs and - at the moment - empty tissue boxes (curses this rotten cold!)!! There's a printer under there somewhere... :lol:

WOYWW

Bit late to the party today...  it's been a kind of crazy day! Have been battling viral labyrinthitis (feeling constantly dizzy/wobbly) to finish off an urgent project. Finally got it done and sent on it's way.

Consequently, I can't really share with you what has been on my workdesk all day (as it's still sooper-sekrit at this stage) other than a few tantalising snippets:

Therefore I shall instead show you what has been sitting on the floor of my craftroom (in a carrier bag) today... at least I had to unpack it to take this photo so it may now stand a chance of getting put away properly! :lol: