Jeudi Journal - Happy New Year

 Well, first of all here's wishing a Safe and Well New Year to everyone!  What else can I say with the world in a turmoil with this Covid blighting our lives.  It seems wrong to say 'Happy' because it cannot be "happy"  as we know it of old but it can be as happy as we all make it.  We have just gone into Tier 4 so all non-essential shops are now closed as from midnight last night.  At least it stops the mad parties some folks were no doubt going to have.  (Or does it?)  So I wish you all a Safe and Well New Year and will leave it at that.

My blog page is sticking with the old saying because it fits on the top of the page.  Apologies for it being a bit hazy but it was right at the bend so didn't scan very well.  To begin with I inherited a previously painted blue page so I stencilled some stars randomly in gold and silver, mainly silver all over and then stuck a couple of pieces of washi tape on for no reason than I always forget to use washi tape so am trying to remember in the future.  Because of the quote I wanted to use a figure in a leotard type outfit and as I only have tall figures like that the page had to be portrait style.  Not much room for anything in my journal with these larger figures.  Anyhow, the story is:

"Angelica was a pretty young thing with quite a tidy figure, but then what do you expect at eighteen.  She had spent Christmas with her parents and had the usual Christmas Fayre which included puddings and chocolate; lots of sitting around playing word type games to keep the 'old folks' happy.  Indeed Grandma and Grandpa had had such a lovely time, especially as they had not been going out much due to the pandemic.  It had been 'touch and go' as to whether they would be able to spend Christmas with the family or not but luckily they were allowed to meet as a 'bubble' and have a lovely day.

Luckily because Angelica's home came in a Tier 1 area she was allowed to go and take part in sport as she had only made up 18 in mid September.  Her friend Sally had also only made up 18 in September so it was fine for them to attend a sport area at the moment.  Thrilled to be able to have some exercise Angelica had rung the local sports hall and found out that there was a Yoga class running with four spaces.  She had hurriedly rung Sally to ask if she would like to go along and on Sally agreeing she had booked two of the places.  How good it would feel to get some exercise and get out of the house and away from all the tempting sweet things.  It was almost a week away but at least it was something to look forward to.

Thursday dawned and Angelica got dressed ready for her exercise.  Leaving her yoga mat at the door she went in to find Sally sitting there fully clothed and with a drink in her hand.  An alcoholic drink no less!  Putting her head on one side and looking a trifle puzzled (wide eyed for you, the dear reader) she asked what on earth was going on and why was Sally not dressed and ready for yoga?  Sally had obviously been to the hairdressers and had her hair coloured and recut into a stylish bob so it was obvious she did not intend going doing any exercise that day.

Imagine Angelica's dismay when her friend answered "Yoga Class!  I thought you said 'Pour a Glass'!"

I want to add this to Tracey's challenge at Art Journal Journey, it's the last day to do so, which is "The meaning of ..." and I think there is a lot to think about with this blog post.  If you have read the story and looked at the picture you will no doubt have come up with one or two ideas for 'the meaning of ...'

Take care Everyone!

WOYWW 604

Christmas is over and done with for another year, I do hope you all had a nice one despite the restrictions that we have had to abide by.  Now it is time to reflect on the year we have had and look forward to the next one.  I suppose we are all hoping that it will be a much better one than 2020 has been and with the starting of the vaccine programme it looks to be heading in the right direction.

Anyway, you came here to see my desk, along with others on the WOYWW blog hop and not for me to woffle on so here it is

As you can see, there is not much for you to look at.  The plastic box on the left contains some pens and card, some stamped, some stamped and coloured - my start for next year's Christmas Cards.  Told you I was going to start.  Next there is my latest workshop with Tracy Evans but the front cover is not complete yet, those sticks in front are part of the next bit - and I am still looking for the mica sheets!

Because I have nothing much to show you I thought I would show you my Advent House, made some years ago.  The house was purchased and then I foraged all over the German Christmas Markets for things to put inside each window.  The top has a piece of acetate behind it that I coloured with Alcohol Inks to replicate a stained glass window.  A tiny wooden angel on top of the metallic borders I made, as cladding, and a Father Christmas in the chimney finishes it off.  The back of each window features different techniques as back cloths.  I probably have featured it before but it is quite a few years ago so most of you will not have seen it.

All that remains is for me to wish you a Happier and Healthy New Year - please let us get rid of Covid for once and for all.

Jeudi Journal - Calories!!

This week we have the quote from Dyan which reads "Christmas Calories Don't Count" - something we perhaps would all like to think but something which most of us know is not true.  Maybe there are one or two out there who can get away with eating exactly what they want in the sweet line and maybe some who can shed the pounds they do put on quite quickly.

"Here we have Mitzi surrounded by lots of sweet things such as Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings and gingerbreads.  By the look of her she has put on a pound or two from eating all these rich foods, including the majority of the turkey with lashings of apple and of cranberry sauce.  Her two young friends are quite shocked, particularly Carol who is expecting her first baby in February and so has had to watch what she consumes over and up to the festive period.  

Holly, agog at what Mitzi is eating is holding her hands out in despair and berating her friend for everything she is eating.  Holly is a sensible girl and attends keep fit classes at the local school to keep her sylph-like figure.  In fact that is where the three girls actually met two years ago when they became good friends.  Holly thinks she is quite right in saying what she thinks to Mitzi but Mitzi firmly believes, as she says "Christmas Calories don't Count!"  She might just change her mind in the new year."

For my page I swiped Peeled Paint Distress Ink across the page both vertically and horizontally following it with Broken China in exactly the same way.  This was a technique we had used on a workshop I attended (virtual) last week.  I then used some white paint through a stencil (AALL & Create Superbly Square Stencil by Abs) before stamping a border with one of Dyan's stamps - holly and some stars and Christmas trees, again by Dyan.  The figures are, as usual, all by Dylusions and Mitzi is the largest figure I could find along with some legs from a much taller figure to emphasise the weight she has gained.

I guess I am highlighting the problem of over-eating at Christmas, something which is quite easy to do when faced with all those goodies that people tend to bring to you which fits in with Tracey's theme over at Art Journal Journey this month.  So I am linking this page, once more, to AJJ and will be linking it again next week which will be New Year's Eve and the last possible time to enter in with this theme.  

All I am left with now is to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and the hope that you all stay safe and well in these turbulent times.  Here is our tree.

WOYWW 603

Ooh, it's nearly here.  Two more sleeps and it will be Christmas.  Sorry for all my friends down south who have ended up in tier 4 but I don't think it will be long before we are all joining you.  I just feel sorry for all those lorry drivers who may not get back to their loved ones in time for their children to open their presents.  Plus it has been going through my mind, that apart from food and drink (how do they go to the toilet?). I mean, come on, we all need that!

What are all you WOYWW'ers up to?  Is everybody busy and flying around like scalded cats?  Hope you are not too busy to treat us to a short post to tell us what you are up to.

Well I have been busy doing a workshop over five days, yes, five days, with Tracy Evans.  Not full days, a bit over a couple of hours each evening, but then lots of time outside those hours amending things that did not go according to plan.  I can't show it to you yet as the cover is not finished.  It was the first thing we did but I could not find my Mica so, as my back would not allow me to rummage, it is still missing.  I only had it a couple of weeks ago but where it is remains a mystery.  When I have done the cover I will load it up via video but it will most likely be in the new year as I want to do some chill things, like eating, drinking and being a couch potato for the coming days.

My room is in a bit of a mess and my polymer stamps, used in the workshop, are in a dreadful state so want a good scrubbing.  Only trouble is rubbing anything, therefore cleaning stamps, sets my back off so I might just have to delay that or do them in stages.  Here it is:

I need to put things away as I want to get my journal page painted for tomorrow and I do not want paint on my stamps.  I also have to make some mince pies as we have eaten the ones we bought and I have the fruit cake to  ice.  Oh, don't ask about it being a fruit cake and not a Christmas cake.  Please!  Well, I may as well tell you as I have mentioned it myself and got my BP up yet again.  Checked the order the night before and glaće cherries were still on the order.  Brilliant!  Next day the order came and the long awaited cherries turned out to be Maraschino Cocktail Cherries!!!  The air was blue - the phone call was almost blue but I managed to contain myself.  "Do you want a refund?" - "Too beep beep right I want a refund" (sorry if my vocabulary offends anyone) - even though it was only £1.25 - it became a principle.

So we don't have a proper Christmas cake, just a fruit one!  What stupid person told the picker to put cocktail cherries instead of glaće cherries in my order.  Do they not know the difference?  However, Chas also has a cherry-less pudding I made, but I only did a tiny one for him as I can never eat it after a huge main course, prefer my veg.

Thank you for the lovely Christmas cards that have been dropping through my letterbox.  I will try to scan them at some time and show them to you.  Well, must get on, hope you all have a lovely Christmas and above all Stay Safe and Well.

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Jeudi Journal - Dear Santa

This week we started on a new set of quotes from Dyan so I had a word with Wendy and got her to agree to a Christmas related one for this week.  So we have "Dear Santa, is it too late to negotiate?" as the quote.  I love Christmas although this year it is a very different one for most of us and we will be spending it just the two of us with our television for company.  

I have already been and negotiated with Santa as I had a huge list of crafting things for my other half to choose from so, not knowing what he would choose I went to my second list and bought myself one or two things, as featured on my blog post yesterday.  Those were my negotiations, but they came a week early so that I could get them in time, so far I have just stroked the papers.

That fits in nicely with the theme that the lovely Tracey posted - 'the meaning of'' over on Art Journal Journey.  So when there is nobody to negotiate with I talk to myself and finally decided on sending for the papers I had been longing for, not that I needed them you understand.

My page shows a young girl and her mother who have gone along to the local department store in town to see Santa.  "Unfortunately, knowing Cassandra like he does Santa has just taken off as she walked into his grotto.  You can just see his legs disappearing as he ran away.  Poor Cassandra is a little bewildered so she shouts after him "Dear Santa, is it too late to negotiate" but he is gone - through the nearest exit.  You see he has met Cassandra before and knows what a little minx she really is.  It happens every year, she decides what she wants for Christmas, writes a huge long letter to him, choosing ever so expensive gifts and then at the last minute she changes her mind and wants something else - equally expensive of course.  All this is a test in that she is hoping that she will get all the expensive presents she wants.

She really is a little bit of a spoiled rich girl who ties her mother around her little finger and dangles her like a carrot.  You only have to look at mum to see that she ends up carrying whatever cuddly toy Cassandra wants to take with her so that the youngster has both hands free to grab hold of all the various toys in the store to try them out that she now sees."  I am sure we have all met a Cassandra at some time when we have been shopping.

For the background I used Speckled Egg and Peeled Paint just swiped direct to paper.  I then stamped some holly for a border on three sides and popped some red on the berries.  All images are by Dylusions and are coloured with Promarkers.

I hope you are all ready for the big day, if you celebrate it and are safe and well whilst we are experiencing a different world at the moment.  Guess I will see you all on Christmas Eve - next week!

WOYWW 602

Morning!  Another week, another Wednesday, another WOYWW where you meet up with all of your blogging friends.  AND another week closer to Christmas!  Only nine days to go and I still haven't made my Christmas cake.  Blame it on Asda - we have a delivery with them (isolating means we do not go to the shops) and each fortnight I order glacé cherries and they do not have them.  Fingers crossed they have them tomorrow in our order.  Fruit got soaking a couple of days ago so come the cherries and it will be in the oven.  No cherries means I finally give up and its a fruit cake but it's not a Christmas one without cherries, for me.

Hopefully all my Christmas cards are out now, the tree is up and I had my Christmas top up at the chiropractors on Tuesday.  Got a bit of shopping to show you - these are my latest buys:

Three pads of 8x8 papers, as if I needed them - but they are gorgeous; some Alice in Wonderland stuff, another set of Petite Dolls, some metal tags and a couple of £1 stamps to make up the amount so I didn't have to pay postage.  (The last three items came from Susan at Country View Crafts - you only have to spend £7.50 to get free postage and she has had a great sale on - not advertising, just enabling).

I have a workshop every afternoon from 4 pm starting today and going through to Sunday.  There was a lot of prep and that will be on my desk later today.  I was hoping to have it all on for this blogpost but I still have things to do so most of it is on my trolley at the moment. Hope to be able to show you next week what I made.  Another book - looks interesting so I could not resist.

Well, I had a weepy session the other day because look what came through the mail to me - a complete and utter surprise:

Someone sent me a "Hug in a Box".  I won't say who as I don't know whether she wants me to disclose her name or not but wasn't that a wonderful thought.  Made my day - my week.  And certainly got me thinking.  I am saving the hot chocolate and marshmallows for Christmas Eve and I will have the face pack that morning before I have my shower whilst having the Starbucks coffee with the Kit Kat (well, I might share it with my other half).  In case you are wondering what is in the tiny box at the back - they are Positivity Cards which I can pick out and read at my leisure or really when I need a bit of positivity.

So I decided to "pay it forward" and make up a craft box for someone who has been ill but I don't want to say too much as someone connected might read this.  But I did get another opportunity when a friend, who I miss because I see very little of her, rang the other day.  She is going through a bit of a rough time at the moment so I put a little box of things I could find (new, not used or gifted) together to make a present for each member of her family.  Then popped a tin of biscuits in, (we can order another for ourselves), a bottle of wine and a big bar of chocolate.  We took it to her house and dropped it on the doorstep with a note saying Father Christmas had sent Elvis the elf with it.  I hope she enjoys it when they open it on Christmas Day.  As for me - it made me think an awful lot more about the real meaning of Christmas.  And it all started with "A Hug in a Box".

All the Best to all of you.

Jeudi Journal - Stable

This week the quote chosen is "Stable is a place where horses live" and all I had was a Dylusion unicorn to illustrate the concept of a horse with.  So a snip at the horns and a bit of strategic colouring and voila - we have a horse.   

I really struggled with this one, perhaps because I was tired and not really thinking things out fully, or had I become jaded with all the Christmas card making of the last few days and needed a break from my untidy craftroom.  Whatever it was all my mind went to was a psychiatrist and a patient - with a horses head somewhere in the picture but when it came to weaving a story around it I struggled and struggled.  As what story I made up around my figures it just did not seem to work.  The delete button saw more action than it normally does.  In the end I decided on:

"Angelina was a typical teenager, moody, sulky, untidy, and, quite often, mouthy!  Her parents were not particularly wealthy but she had her own horse in the paddock attached to their home, much to the envy of her friends at school.  She was definitely a "daddy's girl" who had only to pull a certain face and moan that she wanted something to reduce him to reaching into his wallet and giving her whatever she wanted - well, within reason.

Her mother, on the other hand, was the one who had to put up with the sulks and mood changes and pick up after her but she had come to the end of her patience and decided that things needed to change.  Angelina had to start helping a little around the house. 

 

Take, for example, her own room!  It was always so very untidy and all Angelina did was lie on her bed and either chat to friends on the phone or read one of those trashy novels.  Well, mum had had enough on this particular morning and so she stormed into her daughter's bedroom and confronted the lounging Angelina with an ultimatum.  Either Angelina started to look after her own room, including dusting and vacuuming (which meant she had to put her books and clothes away tidily in future) or there would be consequences.  In fact, as she told her daughter,  "it's like a stable in here" to which Angelina sulkily replied "a Stable is a place where horses live".  Her mother was so angry at that retort that she threatened to make her daughter live outside with her horse in a real stable."

Told you I was struggling, let's hope I can do better with next week's quote.  Now what did we agree on?  Will it have a Christmas theme?  In the meantime I am linking this to Art Journal Journey in the hope that it makes me realise that the above describes my craft room at the moment and I had better get in there and do some serious tidying up before giving it a clean for Christmas.

WOYWW 601

Well, what is there to say after Saturday's WOYWW?  It was so lovely to put faces to names and it will be a different story today when I go commenting on the various blogs because those who were at the party I will be able to see in my mind's eye whilst messaging them.  Good to see, also, those that I knew from the various crops I have attended.  Thank you so much Julia for organising it.

Well, the last Christmas card has now been made and all are gone in the mail to be transported to various parts of the country.  Don't laugh but I have decided to begin next year's crop of cards already.  Mainly because after endless pointed circles I managed to get a couple of almost perfect ones.  So few went out this year that I am making that my card for next year and production is already underway.

The tree is up as some of you saw on Saturday, the shopping list is done for the next two deliveries so there is only mince pies and ... wait for it ... a Christmas cake to make.  Why so late making the cake you ask!  Well I have not been able to get glacé cherries from the shopping order and this last week they appeared in stock.  I love Christmas cake so much that I am not bothered if it doesn't get eaten until New Year or whenever, besides which there will be so much eating going on that it probably wouldn't get cut into anyway.

On the left are some tags I found in a cupboard - from years ago - made by friends and some of my own.  Then my box lid (I use that to stand the figures on when colouring hence all the marks), the new figures and behind them my depleted collection of Promarkers.  They have served me well but several have run out and others are getting there.

Still not tidied my desk up and been buying more of those little figures but this time via the Etsy shop rather than the stamps.

The news is full of the Covid 19 vaccine - various friends will or will not be having it - have you decided yet what you will do when it comes down to you?  Me, I am having it despite one or two little niggles.  Apart from necessary medical visits and the occasional walks I have not been out since March.  Visiting a supermarket will be a whole new experience when it happens.  So with the options being a) have the vaccine, b) stay in forever, or c) resume life and risk getting covid I think (a) wins for me.

Jeudi Journal - Sweeping Up?

Today we begin with the story:

"This is, in a way, a carry on from last week, with the same wallpaper and floor covering, where I had Fifi working in the lounge but we have moved into the kitchen where her flatmate Imelda is lying on the floor.  She is so untidy!  Her friend, Fran, has just called and is a bit appalled at the state of the kitchen and so she mentioned the "C" word.  Well, that was like a red rag to a bull and sent Imelda off into a frenzy as she shouted 

"Cleaning?????  I just sweep the room with a glance."  

"Boy oh boy", thinks Fran, "you can tell by the state of it."  Imelda is lounging on the floor by a pile of books and there are several glasses littered about on the floor around her.  She really is the most untidy of girls Fran has the misfortune to go out with.  As if that was not enough there was a questionable bucket of something by the fridge and a dirty pan had been left on the stove.  If only she was more like Fifi who was always working at something.  How on earth Fifi could stand to share a place with Imelda Fran did not know."

As I mentioned above this is a carry on from last week - it was a double page with the stitching down the centre and I carried the colour across both pages for the walls and the floor covering.  One half was turned into a lounge and the other into a kitchen.  The kitchen was made with some more AALL & Create stamps, notably the fridge, the cooker, the shelf and the bird cage as well as the incidentals such as the flowers, books, drinks and the pan and bucket.

I enjoyed linking the two posts together in this way and would love to do an entire journal that told a complete story but I think that might require a bit too much imagination on my part, especially if I was to use someone else's quotes.

I am linking this once more to Art Journal Journey in the hope that it will work for the new theme that has been chosen by the lovely Tracey - The Meaning Of ... - in the hopes that this can be 'in the meaning of tidiness'.  I know my craftroom, especially at this time of year, is looking like a bomb has hit it but with all the excitement of getting ready for Christmas I am trying to clean and be tidy in other rooms in the house,  Yesterday the tree went up (you can see it here) so the lounge had to be cleaned in readiness and then the vacuum cleaner had to slink its way down to its lowest height so that it could vac up the pine needles that had dropped (yes, it is artificial but it still drops).  So at the moment cleaning the house is uppermost in my mind as we get ready for the 25th even though it will just be the two of us!

I don't think I am alone in being like this although many crafters will say they avoid housework at all costs.

WOYWW 600

Well, here we are - the 600th edition of What's On Your Workdesk - all thanks to Ms Julia, our Queen of Deskers and on Saturday we are having a virtual Crop!!!  The first ever we have had - all because of Covid.  But do we let that stop us meeting up and enjoying ourselves - do we hecky thump!  We just change direction.

So many many moons ago Julia decided to show her desk and invite others to do the same.  I did not know about this WOYWW then but a friend told me about it, I did nothing but then eventually joined in such a long time ago.  I only missed a bit of what turned to be the biggest blog event of my life.  The biggest kind of pen friendship ever!  Now I have friends all over the world and on one of my trips to America (to CHA - the big trade show) a friend from here who accompanied me said "how do you know so many people?  It was all because of WOYWW - they were folks like me who went to the show for one reason or another and we met up - in America!  At the other end of the earth I met someone from Australia who had relatives in Manchester and so arranged to meet me there on one of her visits.  WOYWW is responsible for the many many friendships I have all over the world.  Thank you so much Julia!

So what is on my desk this week?  Nothing much because I had a workshop weekend with Tracy Evans again and tidied up from that and then I made a few Christmas Cards (well, tried unsuccessfully to make the one I wanted) so made some others in order to get them out over seas.  All you can see is my Cutterpillar and a couple of cards and inkpads.

But we have been busy putting up our Christmas Tree, well, Chas has as my back went and I just couldn't do anything.  I think you will agree he made a darned good job of it - under my directorship!

Just so that you don't go without any crafting here are some photographs of my tag book made with Tracy at weekend:

The last two (directly above) are the covers, on the left is the back cover and the cover on the right is the front one which has a clay pot on it.  I just love the colours we used (although we had a choice I followed Tracy's which I fell in love with when I saw it (rust, who does not love rust!)

Well, that is it for this week - hope you all are keeping safe and well.  And before I go can I just say a BIG THANK YOU to JULIA for bringing us all together in WOYWW.  

THANK YOU JULIA. xxx