WOYWW 213

Here we are another Wednesday another WOYWW.  Am sure you all know the acronym by now, if not follow the link for a full explanation from our leader/initiator/instigator/mother ship pilot etc etc.

First of all - Ladies - I am so sorry but for some reason I cannot comment on those of you who have Wordpress.  As what I do it refuses my email addie and/or my password.  My sincerest apolgies - am trying to get it sorted.  Have spent ages messing about trying to do it.
(2) Cazzy - I could not find your "comment" link on your blog, hence no comment from me, sorry.
(3) Everyone - it is a big help for commenting if you put your number, even if it moves you only move a couple or so.

Right, that is the admin, or sort of, over - now to my desk.  It doesn't seem to change much, still the little space with all the rest of my largish counter taken up with drawers etc.  Oh for a huge shelf, that does not bend under the weight, running around my room to put the storage on.

Remember my talking of making a foursome with the cat food boxes last week?  Well, here it is - my new Distress Ink storage, stored in the window sill above my working bit on my desk.

Previously I had some in a lovely hinged box and some in a plastic tray - adequate but not that convenient for something I use almost daily.  I am hoping this will be so much better (and the window is not to the outside but to another room so no sun coming through to dry them out).

all taped up

top of box - found these stick down letters I have had for ages - need to start using stash (sounds familiar?) - not sticking very well so had to use glue in the end.

  

Sides

Back

Lastly, but by no means least - here is another ATC I received last week from Dolores in Slovenia - a really lovely surprise and such a lovely atc.  Thank you so much for thinking of me.

Can I be naughty and put a plug in?  Check out my new blog - see the button to the right - Flat Susan has been travelling.  Catch up on her travels - read how she ended in a puddle in Italy, how Jo nearly had a heart attack and how she met Elizabeth's family in an unusual way in Scotland.

All Confused

Here's the code I have to post.  Would I have lost all my loyal followers had I not done this?  Oh dear, this old lady is so confused.  Hope I have done it correctly. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A Birthday Card

Was tidying my blog photo file up earlier and came across a birthday card I sent to a friend a couple of weeks ago so thought I would show it today.  I was up early this morning and crafting up to lunchtime (late lunch) but I am not sure if I will show what I was doing in a day or two or leave it to enter for a blog challenge.  Mmmmm.....

Anyway, short and sweet, which is not me, here is the card I sent to Jo.

Knowing Jo likes purple and footwear I thought this was the perfect stamp.  It's one I bought when in America from my friend Mary.  I used Twinkling H2o's to paint it and did a bit of cutting out and mounting of parts of it so they stood out proud.  Think I used Glossy Accents on the clock face - it is so long ago that I cannot really remember now.

The cogs peeking out from the white card are die cuts (Tim Holtz).

Before I forget I will be teaching at the Oyster Stamps Retreat 16 - 18th August in Northampton.  Enjoy a weekend at the Hellidon Lakers Golf and Spa Hotel, Daventry and get Grungy with me!  Would be lovely to see some of you there.

WOYWW 212 Recycling

Well, the weather has picked up again but I believe today is going to gradually go off and then Thursday is forecast for rain - let's face it we need it, we never get enough (scoff).

Stayed up late to get this on the road (as I forgot all about it until just now) and see if Julia is posting at just gone midnight - if not I am going to bed as I want to be up early in the morning.  So what have I been up to?  Making more things with my cat food boxes.  They are proving great for storage and I have an idea for four of them.

Here they are, cut down and ready for covering or painting.  These three plus one more are going to be painted on the base, not the sides, and the inside.  Am hoping I do not need to Gesso the insides and that the paint will cover straight away.

These three are painted with my Dabbers - reconstituted - yes, it worked and they are fine now.  The blue one has crackle on it.

These two are holding my PaperArtsy paints - I just love those Frescos - great finish.

One of these has bits and bobs in it and the other has blank cards ready for decorating.

Hopefully I will get the foursome done soon and then I can show you what I am doing with them - maybe even decorate some of these, above, too. In the meantime I will show you one of my one layer cards

done for a challenge on an internet group.

you can never have enough Male cards

Pop over to the stamping ground and see what everyone is up to. What has Julia got to show us this week?

Artful Times Challenge 32 - White on White

The Challenge over on the Artful Times this fortnight is "White on White" which simply means making something that is all white - no colour at all.  You can of course use things to embellish that are white, like pearls, perhaps clear stones would count, lace, ribbon etc - as long as it is white.

I don't have a particular style but I do find it difficult to do "pretty" and remember Barbara once challenging me to do something "pretty" so for this challenge I decided to do just that.  Well as pretty as I could.  Hope you like my decorated box.

It measures 10" x 8"

As you can see it is decorated with diecuts (Spellbinders) with the edge done with a Martha Stewart Punch - all available from Oyster Stamps.

This shows the centre with those delightful ovals (Opulent Ovals) and the flower I chose to use (Anenome).

Even more detail of the inner ovals but really this was supposed to show you the flower which is a total of three flowers layered.

Here is a single flower which I put at each corner and the diecut I used to put a greeting on when I decide what is going in it and to whom it is going.

Hope you all join in with this challenge and pop over to Artful Times and seer the latest exciting new - you won't be disappointed - I can promise you.  Far from it!

WOYWW 211

It's time for you all to see what is on my work desk and it is the 211th edition from Julia of her ever so popular program.  Sounds like the opening line of a tv show.

Well to keep it short and sweet in the way Ms Julia likes it here is my desk as it stands this morning because I took the photo just before bedtime last night.

Pan Pastels, Distress Inks and brushes and a few plain white square cards.  (Ignore the decoupage sticky stuff and the upside down Paint Dabbers (the ones that are soaking in water to try to reconstitute them - it has worked on some - honestly but then they have been stood for weeks).

What am I doing?  I am entering a challenge on one of the Yahoo groups which I belong to and doing some 'one layer cards'.  That should bump my box of cards for birthday up a bit as it is sadly depleted at the moment.

What is that to the right hand side of the k-roll?  Why it is the lovely gift from Sam that I don't think I have shown to you before.  I love it and am going to have to buy some dies on the strength of making something similar.  Want a closer peek?

I have the stamps!

Why not pop over to Julia's blog and see what she and others have been up to - here's the link.  Enjoy!

(Did I link Julia enough?)

Flag Tag Book Instructions

I hadn't realised that you would not all have made a Flag Tag Book before so I went on the hunt for a good tutorial.  Try watching this video - this will explain it all and you will see just how easy these books are to make.  No need to make them as complicated as the one I showed you yesterday with 21 tags in it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agEh_0ajaUw

Here are two others I received, in swaps, in the past.  Both of these were swaps in the Ready Steady Stamp Yahoo Group many many years ago and I can still tell you who they came from although neither of them have a name on.

Kath's very boutique styled Flag Tag Book

Liz's Travel Themed Flag Tag Book

So, as you see you don't have to have as many tags in as I did yesterday.  The secret is making sure they are all the same size (in each row) and getting them on the mountain or valley folds of the spine.  Hope you give this a try!