What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday #322

Well I am still currently working mainly on a laptray but with any luck by the end of today Mr P's PC will be back and I can then have the dining room table back.

So currently on my laptray is this little lot, which hopefully by the end of the day will have been magically turned into a birthday card for my Mum.  If you swing by the blog tomorrow you should be able to see the finished article.

The stamped butterflies are Stampin' Up Swallowtail and all the diecut butterflies are Stampin' Up too. All in my favourite colour combo of Daffodil Delight and Smoky Slate.

If you would like to share your workdesk then take a look at Julia's blog Stamping Ground to find out how.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday #321

Oh gosh I haven't taken part in the desk sharing for so long - apologies Julia

I have little desk activity going on at the moment as I always use the dining room table, this usually isn't a problem as Mr P sits in the lounge using his PC.  But that is having some repairs/updates at the moment and so he is using the dining room table for his laptop so my space for working when he is at home is much reduced.  Instead I am mainly working on my laptray when we are both home.

Whilst sorting some paper pads the other day, I found the little Forever Friends decoupage pad you can see on the left, in my stash.  I didn't buy it so I think it might have been in with some paper pads that a friend gave to me for making my charity cards with.  I love a bit of fussy cutting so had a lovely evening cutting out all the images and then building up the layers with Pinflair glue.  The pad has matching papers and sentiments so hopefully it won't be too long till you get to see some finished cards with the images.

If you fancy sharing your desk and doing some desk hopping, then pop over to Stamping Ground to find out all about how to join in.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday #287

Just a quick fly in to say hello Wednesday and show off the craft explosion that was our dining room table at the weekend (good job we didn't need to use it).

I was making gift boxes to house the little crop presents for our last crop of the year.  It was quick and easy as I had the WRMK gift box punch board.  You can see the boxes are half constructed and I also made tags using a new set of stamps from Stampin' Up which have a matching punch.  I love using the SU markers to colour in my stamps so it was super easy to make a gift tag that co-ordinated nicely with the papers.

I'm now off to say hello to Julia at Stamping Ground and see what the other WOYWWers have been up to!!

WOYWW #286

It is Wednesday so it is time to hook up with Julia at Stamping Ground and share what is on my work surfaces.

At the weekend I dusted off the sewing machine to make some tissue pack covers following the lovely tutorial that Fiona at Staring at the Sea did back in the summer.  Even though my sewing machine skills aren't the greatest they were very easy to make - thank you Fiona for such a clear and easy to follow tutorial.  My ironing board was put up to provide an extra work surface to work from -

I made four to start with and have already ordered fabric to make some more for a Pass it Forward thingy that I am in.  I will definitely be making these for the fundraisers that I have planned for next year.

Today there is no crafting going on,  not on the dining room table or the laptray as I am busy in the kitchen making these for small Christmas gifts.

The baby Dundee cakes are made using this recipe, they freeze really well and will be ready for me to start gifting in December.

If you want to join in with WOYWW you can find out how to right here on Julia's blog

What's on your Workdesk Wednesday #285

Gosh in a blink of an eye another week has come and gone, it is Wednesday again and time for crafters around the world to 'fess up about what is on their desks.

The weekend saw the usual crafty takeover of the dining room table and cards were made for orders that I had gained from the fundraiser.  One of the first substantial pieces of 'kit' that I bought when I first started scrapbooking in 2004 was the Creative Memories cutting system - I still use it all the time and still on my first set of blades (the good news is that I managed to get a spare set of blades before they left the UK).  It is so handy to take to crops/retreats when I don't want to lug a die cutting machine with me - at least I can cut circles, ovals, hearts and diamonds.

The laptray was put into action as a post it note pad production line but sadly I never got any photographs of the finished items as suddenly last night I heard my brother was coming round to collect them for my sister-in-law - oh well, if they don't all sell I will get photographs when they come back to me LOL!!

 At the moment the laptray is home to beady stuff - I had a request to make some longer dangly earrings for my sister but I had to wait for some longer headpins to arrive in the post.  I will make every effort to get photographs when they are finished!!

So now I must pop over and visit Julia who came up with the idea of WOYWW, if you would like to share your desk then take a look here to find out how.

WOYWW #284

It's Wednesday so that means it is time to head over to Julia's and share with all the ladies that 'fess up to the mess or tidiness that is their desk.

A big apology that I didn't make it in last week, Wednesday was the start of turning the house upside down for the fundraiser that I did, so all my crafty stuff was put away tidily hidden from view!!  My usual work station of the dining room table ended up looking like this -

I always have about a week following the fundraiser when I don't feel like crafting at all, so there is nothing to show on my table which is now back in the middle of the dining room.  BUT I must get my butt into gear as I have a few orders for earrings and cards, plus I sold all the post it note pads and my SIL wants more as she showed the one she bought to some work friends and they all want one too LOL!!  The good news is that once I have completed the orders and have fulfilled all the Avon orders placed at the party (I donate the commission) I should have bettered my total raised year, which was £160.

So anyway I have cut all the chipboard ready to make the pads and started choosing some papers - so tonight I will watch The Apprentice and get on with these on my laptray.

If you want to join in with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday, you can find out how to right here

Blogtoberfest 2014 - Day 29 - WOYWW #282

Gosh these Wednesday's roll round so quickly, I swear we only had one last week!!!

Well if it is Wednesday, it is time to pay a visit to Julia's desk and share What's on your Workdesk Wednesday.  So this is how my dining room table was looking for most of the weekend -

 I thought I would be brave and show what the whole table looks like.  I spent most of the weekend making cards for my fundraiser and did 15 birthday cards and 18 Christmas cards in the end - I will blog them all properly soon but here is a quick peek at some of the birthday cards.

And currently on my laptray is this -

A new to me Woodware stamp which I am colouring in with Promarkers

Blogtoberfest 2014 Day 22 - WOYWW #281

It is Wednesday therefore it means it is time to fess up and show off the clutter that is on the dining room table.  I do promise you that I do clear this away when we need to eat - can be a right pain sometimes, but apart from my laptray it is the only work space that I have.

So on the dining room table I have some panels of silver cardstock that I have embossed and a pile of diecut snowflakes - they are for the Christmas cards that I have made for this month's Beat the Christmas rush and I will share them on the 25th.  In the background is my laptop - I often listen to crafty podcasts or watch videos on Youtube whilst crafting.  And the mug is my favourite Marillion one that I love to drink peppermint tea from.  At the front left are my Perfect Layers tool - my most used crafting tool - so much so that I have just treated myself to the larger size for scrapbooking.

And on my laptray I have -

Some Christmas cards that are a work in progress plus a pile of papers ready for other cards that I'm making.  These scissors are my favourite - they are Fiskars and have lovely large handles (I struggle with scissors as I have arthritis in my hands and my hands often lock onto the scissors with small handle), despite the large handles the blades have very fine tips and are brilliant for fussy cutting, I would be devestated if anything happened to these or I lost them as Fiskars don't seem to make them anymore.

If you want to join in or take a peek at other desks then head over to Julia's blog

Blogtoberfest 2014 Day 15 - WOYWW or WOAWW #280

It is Wednesday therefore it must be time to join in with Julia's What's on your Workdesk Wednesday - well I have been away for a week and haven't done any crafting at home but I did invade my friend Lisa's husbands desk whilst I was away.  So technically I should call this week What's on Alun's Workdesk Wednesday!!!!!

Lisa has recently done a mixed media class decorating book covers, so she took me step by step through the class so that I could make the covers for my Journal Your Christmas album.

First job was to paint the covers with gesso and add torn up pieces of paper

 Then I covered that with Mod Podge and added some texture paste snowflakes

 Then metal embellishments were added

 And another layer of Mod Podge before adding fabric and chipboard die cut snowflakes.  Then the whole lot was covered with Gesso.  Then I started adding colour with mists and distress stains

The colour was built up in layers

And the final colour layer was to add gilding wax and then buff this off

Thank you Alun for letting me make a right mess on your desk!!  And thank you Lisa for taking the time to show me how to do it and providing me with so much of your craft supplies xx

Blogtoberfest 2014 Day 8 - WOYWW #279

It's Wednesday so it means it is time to join in with Julia over at Stamping Ground to share what is happening on our Work desks or in my case dining room table.

Not a huge amount going on as I have been busy getting ready for a trip to the south west.

At the beginning of the year I joined in with a Pass It Forward challenge on Facebook and realised that I would be seeing one of the people that I needed to make a little crafty gift for this week.  So if I get my skates on I can hand deliver a little gift to her.  So this is the top of the box that I am decorating with stamping - there will be some lovely Christmas scented tealights to go in the box.  I will share the box very soon on the blog.  The stamps are Crafty Impressions and are called Christmas Sharing - there are some lovely sentiments in the set and some lovely holly swirls.  I used some Stampin' Up markers to colour the stamps - Real Red and Old Olive.

Once I cleared the table off, the postman called and then my table was covered with this awesome pile of crafting deliciousness.  I was lucky enough to win a giveaway sponsored by Papercraft Inspirations on Enfy's blog Going Buggy.  The prize included the latest magazine, some craft books, an 8x8 album and lots of other fab crafty bits - I was thrilled to bits to say the least!!

I'm not going to be online for a couple of days so I will catch up with everyone's desks at the weekend!!

Blogtoberfest 2014 Day 1 - WOYWW 278

I haven't joined in with What's on your Workdesk? Wednesday for a long time - so please forgive me for my absence.  Mind you as I don't actually have a dedicated workdesk it should be what's on your dining room table or what's on your laptray LOL!!

So this is what my dining room table looks like when I am scrapbooking -

 A layout that I started at my last crop for September's Scrapology challenge - it is finished now and I will share it here in a day or so.

And this is what is currently on my laptray -

 

Some toppers for thank you cards - I was spoilt rotten for my 50th birthday so am now making thank you cards for everyone.  I haven't used that sheep stamp (I think it is Nellie Snellen) for ages, I stumbled across it in a drawer the other day - the sentiment is stamped with those little Studio G alphabet stamps that are on wooden dowels.  I will share the finished cards very soon.

To take a peek at other desks, wander over to Julia's blog

Saturday Nights (and WOYWW)

Once again there is a great monthly challenge over on the Scrapology blog using this sketch

And this is my interpretation of the sketch

I used Sarah's Cards October 2010 kit - Crate 'Restoration'.  There was one sheet of paper which was done in different stripes and that jumped out at me as being ideal  for this sketch.  I used various Martha Stewart border punches on several of the stripes and mixed them up with the matching self adhesive borders that came with the set.  I couldn't bring myself to write on my photos so added My Little Shoebox alphabet stickers and stamped out a journalling circle.  Once again I have delved into my old photo box and found these three photos from 1985 - back when I was young, free and single and every weekend meant pubbing and clubbing LOL I don't think my liver or my aging joints could cope now!!

I had done the class that the sketch was based on at the Cardinal Colours Seaside retreat last year - this was the layout that I did in class -

There is still time to take part in the Scrapology challenge as it doesn't close until 5th March and there is a lovely prize on offer from Jill at Cardinal Colours

Sandra has been encouraging those in Red Ribbons House on UKS to take part in What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday?  I tried to wiggle out of joining in by saying that I didn't have a desk to work from and usually used one end of my dining room table at the weekends and a laptray and sofa during the week, but was told that I could still take a picture of wherever I worked LOL!!  So this is what my dining room table looked like on Sunday -

As you can see I work in chaos with stuff all over the place including my net book close by and always Peppermint tea in my Marillion mug.  I keep my BigKick out on the dining room table all the time so that I can use it easily (if it lived in a cupboard I would never bother getting it out. 

The two layouts on the table were both works in progress for my Marillion album.

And the table viewed from the other way with my boxes of punches and dies behind me