WOYWW 233

Morning lovely crafters and dear WOYWW friends. I've managed to get back onto the register today after some busy weeks kept me absent and it's so good to be back. If you want to join in with the wonderful desk hop of WOYWW, then pop over to see the lovely Julia, HERE. 

My desk this morning is a sunny one, love this cold bright weather.

I thought I'd give you a long shot today so that you can see the greenery that now adorns my craft room. Jozarty's Wax plants have thrived this year but have now had to find a warmer spot for the winter. I'm in the middle of prepping for Craft Club tomorrow. We are making the tattered flower wreath that I've done the last two Christmases in various workshops. My Craft Club ladies saw it and wanted to make it but as there are so many of them they will be doing a smaller versions otherwise I think I'd be cutting tattered flowers from now until Christmas!!

This is what they are making, regular visitors will remember it I'm sure.

Well short and sweet from me today. I have DD at home. It's their Targets Day at school so they get the day off and we have to go into school for a 10 minute chat with her form teacher!! DD is not complaining as she is having a lie in. Neither am I as I have the day off too although have to work tomorrow to make up for it.

I'll be round to catch up with your desks as soon as I've made a fresh cuppa so have a great Wednesday and Happy Crafting.

Beside The Seaside

Afternoon folks. I hope you are well and preparing for the chilly weather we are being forecast here in the UK.

I just wanted to share with you a few more of the samples I made for Sheena's recent shows on C&C. These stamps and the new Luminarte Silks have been such a joy to work with that the cards made themselves really.

This first one you may recognise if you saw the shows as I was very honoured that Sheena demoed a version of it.

It's such an easy card to make, just Chipped Sapphire Distress ink brushed out with water and then coated with the ice silks. The shells were black embossed and painted with the silks.

This second card is along the same lines but using Stormy sky and adding the ice silks to the shell embellishments. I love making these tone on tone cards.

And last but not least my favourite, the boat painted with H20's with the puffin, who can resist him. I blended the Ice and African Jade silks over the embossing folder in the background.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

A Shining Light

Afternoon lovely crafters. I hope you are having a good week so far. It soon gets round to Wednesday doesn't it?

As promised here is another of my samples using Sheena's gorgeous new stamps. This set is coastal but works with the shells from yesterday beautifully.

I used the distress inks bleached out with water technique that you have seen me use many times but it's one I love and works so well with the lighthouse. I painted over all the bleached out areas with the new Luminarte Silks Ice which is clear but full of diamond sparkles so that whatever you paint it over shines beautifully.

Don't forget to catch Sheena's new shows on Create and Craft this Friday and Saturday. I will let you know as soon as we have the times.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shells and Silks

Afternoon folks. Sorry I've been absent again lately. I've been buried in my craft room with some lovely new goodies and a tight deadline so blogging got left behind yet again.

But I can share these lovely new goodies with you now so hold on to your purse strings 'cos you are so going to NEED these. Sheena is launching Luminarte silk paints on Create and Craft on Friday and Saturday and they are fantastic. Up until now they've only been available in America but now we have them. They are shimmery and shiny and great for so many projects from altered art, journalling and card making. They can be put on any surface but clean up with water so are brilliant.

We have been playing with them with Sheena's new coastal stamps and here is my first sample.

The background has been stamped with the gloss gel medium and over painted with H20's and the shells are air dried clay. I pushed the stamps into it and then cut round with a craft knife. Once dry they have been coloured firstly with distress inks and then the Jade silk painted on top. It doesn't disturb the distress inks but changes their colour. Because we have been enjoying lovely sunshine today I think I managed to catch the effect for you.

I have had such a lovely time playing with these that there are lots of samples to show you so I'll be back tomorrow with some more. Don't forget to have a look at the rest of the teams blogs too if you get a chance, they have been creating some stunning things.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

WOYWW 229

Morning WOYWW friends. Another Wednesday whizzes round which means it must be time for some desk snooping, yeah!!!! I'm still battling internet problems but managed to hijack Hubby's laptop last week to do my desk visits. Don't know what's up with my 'puter but it can pack it in!!! They are so annoying when they play up aren't they?

Anyway, on to my desk this week. I cheated and took the photo yesterday afternoon when it wasn't pitch black.

At last I've managed to finish off the big cog I started weeks ago, it only needed bits sticking down but I kept adding a bit more so it was one of those never ending projects.

I have the obligatory cup of tea of course and the usual crafting paraphernalia, nothing very exciting.

Short and sweet from me this week but I'll share the finished cog with you before I go.

If you want to share your desk with lots of lovely people from all over the world then pop over to see our Desk Headmistress, Julia, HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

WOYWW 228

Morning folks. Here we are at Wednesday again. Apologies for not getting round many desks last week, we had internet problems for a few days, but thankfully my resident handyman has put it right now so I shall try to do better this week. If you want to join in the fun, then pop over to see our Desk Headmistress, the lovely Julia, HERE.

My desk is a hive of activity this week as I'm trying to restock my supplies of cards while things are quiet on the DT front. I have so many ideas of things I want to try that the days are flying by.

I've been inking through a die cut aperture with my ink dusters. I don't find I'm as heavy handed with these and get a nice soft look with the inks. 

This is the end result. My new favourite ink colours, Peacock Feathers and Squeezed Lemonade. 

I also got into the garden yesterday to take some pictures of the lovely flowers that are still flowering their soaks off despite the rain. 

Love this apricot rose against the Acer in the background.

The baskets are still looking good. Hope the frosts stay away a bit longer to keep them going as long as possible. 

Right that's me this week so I'll see you at a desk near you very soon.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

A Few More Sheena Cards

Morning all. Sorry I've been a it quiet, we had some internet connection problems last week which caused the phone line to stop working. BT told us there was a fault on the line and they would send an engineer!!! What a mistake to make, we now have a bill for £130 as the problem was inside the house. Trouble was the helpful customer advisor didn't tell me about the fee or the fact that I should check the sockets inside first. We could have saved ourselves a lot of grief if he had. You live an learn!!!!!

So with all this I didn't get to show you any more of the cards I'd made for Sheena's excellent shows on C&C last Saturday. I was very honoured that she demoed the church and poppy card I did manage to show you last week.

Here are the rest of them anyway.

A field of H20 poppies.

Daisies from the same stamp plate painted with white Acrylic on a distress background.

The church coloured with promarkers and then a distress sky added and acyclic ivy.

The Lake shore on a stamped Primary Elements background. I was wiping up red pigment powder for days after making this!!

The tall tree on an alcohol ink background, thanks to an idea I found on Pinterest.

The tall tree again on a book background that has been painted with Gesso & H20's.

I hope you enjoyed seeing them all in one go. I really enjoyed making this little lot.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Happy Crafting.

WOYWW 227

Morning WOYWW friends. I nearly forgot it was Wednesday this week. It surely can't be a whole week since we last desk hopped around. I'm sure someone pinches a few days each week they seem to go faster and faster. Anyway, luckily I did remember at the last minute but you'll have to excuse the brightness of my pics as it was very early when I took them and still dark!!

There's not much to see on my desk this week, I'm just revamping some old cards I discovered in a box that will be fine with a makeover so I thought I'd step back and show you my complete crammed in little space. As you can see it's totally full, although after my tidy up I have managed to get my craft trolley stored away under the desk instead of living in the doorway where I fell over it everyday. I also have to store my washing basket under there, thankfully empty which means I have done my housewifely duties for this week, phew!! As long as I still have room for my knees under the desk all's good.

This is the other side of the desk to the one you usually see. My lovely DH built me the ink storage unit out of my DD's old cabin bed, waste not want now!! The rest of it is currently holding up our porch...but that's another story!!

Before I go I can share with you now one of the DT cards I was working on last Wednesday. I'm really pleased with this. The main image is stamped with Distress inks and brushed out with water but the rest of it is done with real watercolour paints!! My WOYWW friend Sandra De does some stunning watercolour art and she inspired me to have a go, baby steps as yet but I shall definitely do more.

Right , that's me today so don't forget to join in with this wonderful world of desk hopping by visiting the lovely Julia, HERE and I'll be round to see what you've been up to later in the day.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

Don't You Just Love Poppies?

Evening folks. I hope your week has started well. We are being well and truly spoilt with this wonderful weather aren't we? Although it sounds like we have to make the most of the next few days judging by the weather forecast.

I spent the wet days last week cocooned in my craft room having a lovely play with some stamps I'd almost forgotten about. Sheena will be on your screens on C&C this Saturday 12th October revisiting some of her older stamps, amongst them the Poppies and Daisies and the beautiful Church. The Lakeland Silhouettes are also due to make an appearance.

I combined the Poppies with the Church for this sample. The church being stamped in Walnut stain and the colour pulled out with water. I then distressed the edges with scissors and added stamping and water blobs to age it. All the backing papers are stamped with the Ageing Beautifully set except for the embossed piece. The poppies are painted with Poppy H20, what else??

There are always so many beautiful new stamps to tempt us that we forget about the ones we already have. I have thoroughly enjoyed revisiting these and will share some more during the week.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.

Edit-I've had a question in one of the lovely comments you've left from a lady called Annette. I can't track her blog to reply personally so hope you call back here so that I can answer your question. The poppies on this card are embossed with black embossing powder on scrap card, painted with H20's, cut out and stuck on with 3d glue. I haven't used any acetate overlays although I know Sheena did when she made her version of it. I hope that helps and thank you for your interest, I really appreciate it.

WOYWW 226

Morning lovely crafters and WOYWW friends. It was an absolute delight to be back amongst my WOYWW friends last week. Thank you so much for welcoming me back into the fold again, I hadn't realised how much I'd missed being part of this lovely desk hop each week. If you haven't discovered this amazing group of people yet, then please pop over to see our Desk Headmistress, Julia, HERE.

My desk this morning, well yesterday afternoon to be honest, but it hasn't changed any.

I have been trying a new technique using the Luminarte Primary elements. It was something recently demonstrated by Sheena Douglass and I've been dying to have a play. It's ages since I've made something just for the fun of it so this MDF cog is going to become something....watch this space. I have some vellum flowers cut and plan to use the Julie Nutting Prima doll stamp on it but I have some DT work waiting so will have to come back to this later in the week.

Here's a close up, the shimmer and shine is amazing.

Last week I mentioned I'd been tidying up my craft room to make space for a new 12x12 cabinet so here it is in it's new home.

And this is how it started life after DH had kindly sanded it down for me.

You can see what colour it was originally though, not pretty. It had been a pastel display cabinet at my local craft centre and they were selling it off at a bargain price. I'm dead chuffed with it, it's taken all the 12x12 paper I have and I have a lot!! It also houses my rubbish bin at a perfect height to my desk.

Well that's me for today so thanks for stopping by and I hope your Wednesday is a happy one. I'll be back after work to have a good nosey round some desks.

Happy Crafting.