What's on your workdesk 610

 Short post this morning.  Nothing much to show on my desk.  Just my Staystation the remnants of a card which was one of four I made during the week.  As usual the others went in the post (well would have done if we had not had the snow but are all sealed up) without myj taking a scan or anything.  Then there is my Journal which has been waiting all week for me to start on a workshop with Tracy.  The paints are there, the circle is drawn - I just haven't started it yet.

Last night we heard the dreadful news that one of our own was very poorly in hospital.  We are all busy with praying for our dear Shaz and her lovely husband Doug.  There is an update in the Updates Group - they have moved Shaz to a side ward which they call "amble care" and Doug is still with her.

Jeudi Journal - Circus (the story is a bit long today,sorry)

I really did enjoy this page - well making it!  Early too!  I had the idea of a circus tent with someone flying through the air on a trapeze but it was a"no-goer" as I found it too difficult to adapt one of the Dylusion figures.  I did, however, get one of them to sit on a trapeze which was so funny as when I turned to Art Journal Journey Tuesday lunchtime I found that the new challenge had been set as "Heavy Metal".  But as Valerie will accept 'anything metallic'  luckily for me the trapeze was held up with metal chains which I had drawn in with a metallic pen.  

To begin with I gave the whole page a shaded turquoise wash, starting at the top and gradually going lighter which gave it an almost greenish look.  Then I began drawing in my Circus tent and doing the lettering on both sides of it incorporating the final word into the banner across the Big Top.  I had some leakage down the two long sides from a previous page so I stamped a long narrow border and covered the leakage up with a bright colour of paint.

Today the story is about the family of Mrs Brown.  "She has a fairly large family of seven children, two boys and five girls.  Some are mischievous, some are a bit 'out there', some are certainly different but all in all they are a handful.  Take the boys Hubert and Herbert, you would not think of them as twins because Hubert is tall and gangly whilst Herbert is shorter and a little, well, overweight shall we say.  Hubert is the stranger one of the two because he has a pet caterpillar which he takes everywhere with him - he even walks around with it sitting on his head!  Although they are certainly not of similar size they both have the same size of shoe, both are as scatty as one another and quite often you will see them wearing one another's shoes - often one of their own and one belonging to the other twin.

Then there is Thelma and Louise.  Dad's favourite film was 'Thelma and Louise' so when the twin girls were born they had to be named after Susan Sarendon and Gina Davies' characters.  Thelma likes to sport way out hair styles, and likes to dress hers up with an assortment of imitation animals or exotic flowers.  She tends to be a bit wayward and likes to think of herself as a modern day Thelma to be truthful.  Louise, on the other hand, is not at all like Gina Davies in the film and tends to shut herself away.  She is rather a shy girl and often can be found hiding herself in the attic or some tree branch (or on a trapeze for the purpose of illustration) in the garden.

The final three are a bit of an assortment too.  Bette, the eldest left home to live with her boyfriend two years ago and now is delighted to find herself pregnant.  She is probably the most sensible of the whole family and is looking forward to welcoming a baby into her new home.  They had saved up enough to make a deposit on a nice little apartment which has two bedrooms and access to a lovely shared garden.  She and her mother get on famously, despite mum not wanting to be known as a grandmother yet.  So that only leaves Olivia and Vivien (named because of 'Gone with the Wind' of course - dad again).  Vivien is the youngest member of the family and she is treated like the baby at all times much to the annoyance of the other girls, that is why she is still walking around wearing her baby wings whenever you see her.  Olivia is a daydreamer, she likes to be a bit 'punky' and dreams of driving fast cars and being a motor mechanic or something like that - anything to do with a race track.  She always has her hair spiked up.

So that is the Brown family.  Dad is busy at work and Mum is left with the children who are not at school because there is a darned pandemic in the whole wide world and schools are closed for the time being to reduce the risk of spreading infection.  She has got to the end of her tether with them so has given Bette a call in the hopes that she can talk to her and have a bit of calm amongst the chaos.  As she says to Bette "Our family is just one tent away from a full blown circus".  Bette agrees, especially as mum is wearing a cat head at the time!"

Sorry that is a bit on the long side, if you managed to stay until the end 'well done and thank you'.  See you next week  for another go at a Dylusion quote and something along the lines of 'metal' for Valerie's challenge over on Art Journal  Journey.

WOYWW 609

First of all - thoughts and prayers for one of our group - Shaz, and Doug her lovely husband who feels like he is one of us by now, we are thinking of you constantly and praying for your return to good health.  

Another week has flown by and it is now week 609 of the WOYWW blog trail (see here) where we bare all for Julia.  Well, on our desks that is.  The mind boggles as to how that could be interpreted.

Well, after last week's hive of industry there is little to show you this week.  I have had my paints out for a Tracy Evans journal spread for a week now but the tidying up of my room keeps getting in the way.  I don't seem to be making much headway either.  My Thursday journal with my friend Wendy is about the only thing I have done craftwise but I have thrown lots of paper away.  Mainly class notes that I will not use again, or which I would redo anyhow.  I have moved my books back into my craft room from the spare room where they languished on the window sill.  I was surprised at the amount of page protectors that had housed some worksheet had disintegrated along the top edge, with the sun I guess.  Anyway, here is my room as it stands Tuesday evening and will stay so until later Wednesday.

and the other bit of desk

As soon as I get all this sorted I will, hopefully, do some crafting.  I need to do it this afternoon so that I can get my journal done for tomorrow.  Last minute again!

Well, yesterday morning we awoke to snow again.  I didn't venture out but this was the view from our bedroom window

By just after lunch the snow had lots of footprints in it from the magpies who had been scurrying about meeting up for a natter about how was the best way to get food.  They seemed to enjoy having a good layer of snow to walk through.

Just one last thing - a friend of mine was appealing on Facebook for bits and pieces for her friend, Anna, who is doing voluntary work in her area on the outskirts of London putting together craft goodie bags for children so that they can be kept busy and happy during the time they are away from school.  Some parents are struggling to hold everything together and Anna has offered to collect any bits and pieces (toppers, stickers, card etc) but I am sure other crafts could be incorporated into the bags for young to teens.  Anyone who is a gran will have a better idea than me.  Anna is willing to pay the postage (I think via Hermes - https://www.myhermes.co.uk/send ) if you want but I sent some stuff myself just as a donation.  I have the address if anyone wants to get rid of tidying up stuff.  No pressure, I just thought I would pass on.

Well, that's it for this week, prayers for Shaz are top of the list, let's hope for better news on her next week.

Jeudi Journal - Narky?

Well, what a quote for today!  And if I want to enter this into Erika's challenge over on Art Journal Journey I don't think I can use this quote as something that is amongst my favourite things.  The quote I was faced with for this week is "I'm not Narky - I'm selectively polite" so that would not do at all but I did manage to sneak in a couple of my favourite things on this journal page.  I had to, you see it is almost the end of the month and the last chance I will get to enter the challenge.

So I first of all began using my new Distress Oxide Spray.  I vowed I would not buy any more sprays but when I saw the result Tracy Evans got with the Frayed Burlap I knew I just had to have it.  The only trouble was I sent for the Bundled Sage!  It does not oxidise in the same way.  So now I am awaiting delivery of a Frayed Burlap Oxide Spray and in the meantime I sprayed the Bundled Sage on my page in five short bursts, quite near the page to get a circular pattern.  Didn't like it so I chose one of my favourite stencils and using Broken China Distress Ink I did a bit of reverse stencilling.  Then I added a bit of background stamping with what is fast becoming one of my favourite small stamps.

Next, which figures to use?  Well, it all depends on the story - or does the story depend on the figures?  That is my secret but the story this week goes:

"Emmeline is out with her aunt Rebecca and they have had a lovely day at the zoo.  Aunt Rebecca has taken Emmeline to her favourite restaurant for an English High Tea thinking it would be a real treat for the young girl and a perfect ending to a lovely day.  After a delicious sandwich (crusts off of course and thinly sliced cucumber), devilled eggs, scones with cream and strawberries plus a slice of Victoria Sandwich aunt Rebecca thought that Emmeline would be ready for home and possibly an early night for her mother, Rebecca's favourite sister.

But oh no, Emmeline has other plans in her head and she wants to delay the ride home and insists that her aunt takes her somewhere else AND buys her an ice cream.  Aunt Rebecca tells her "No, we must go home now, you have had sufficient to eat and will be sick if you have ice cream on top of all that", but Emmeline stamps her feet and refuses to speak to her aunt.  Aunt has been a nursery school teacher in her time and has witnessed many a child's tantrum so she decides she is having none of this behaviour and so she tells her niece in no uncertain terms that she will do as she is told.  Emmeline just stands there, refusing to speak or move.  When auntie takes her to task and tells her there is no use her having a mood as she is not going to stand for it,  Emmeline replies "I'm not narky - I'm selectively polite".  Now what does auntie think of that and what does she say next to Emmeline?"

I will leave you to write the ending to this story - I think I am going to be a wee bit selective over this!

WOYWW 608

Another week has gone by and the past week has been an enjoyable one because Mr Mojo came back to bite me on the bum and I produced stuff.  Not jaw dropping stuff but stuff all the same.  Blame Marjie Kemper for doing a 5 day challenge which was doing a page a day in a sort of junk journal.  I paid my dues and joined in.  Won't say we made two pages each day, or even one because some days we prepped pageS for the following days.  Anyway, here is what I ended up with:

Top L is a paper bag, bottom R cereal box

Top R is washi tape

Well, after crafting each evening for an hour Mr Mojo was definitely back and so on Friday night I immediately signed up for a workshop with Jo Rice.  

Jo used hearts where I have used stars

I loved that card and was raring to go on another so I got my journal our and made a similar page in my journal.

Now if I show you my desk as it is this morning (and was last night) you will think it is staged.  Well, you might be kind of correct but it isn't, it is just waiting for me to decide which stamps I am going to use in my next layout which is going to be along the same lines but with different stamps.  Can't wait to get started.

Was raring to go both Monday and Tuesday but other things got in the way so it is all ready for me to get going today.  But first of all I have to order the correct Distress oxide Spray - I ordered Bundled Sage when I meant Frayed Burlap.  Doh, still am a dizzy blonde despite the blonde having faded over the years.

Well, see you all next week on WOYWW when I hope the mojo has kept working, but in the meantime here is my desk today - I am off now for a snoop at other desks.  Toodle Pip!

and here is space around the corner

Jeudi Journal - Sugar?

 Well I am struggling typing as I cut my finger on a piece of paper and, perhaps because I am on blood thinners, it keeps on bleeding,  third plaster now.  So that's my excuse for the state of my blog today.  Did it work?  I don't want sympathy just you to acknowledge that typing and painting was a bit difficult to do.

To begin with I had a page covered in Victorian Velvet Stain but I did not like it.  I decided to paint over it with a red which I toned down a bit with some white.  Talk about in your face!  I had also been doing an online workshop with Marjie Kemper and one of the things we did was use texture paste through a stencil so the obvious thing was to clean it up by putting it on my journal page.  Some left over paste had to be used up rather than put in the pot so it got quite a bit on it - little did I think about the writing I was going to have to do later.

Anyway the quote this week is "Sorry but I'm, all out of Sugar Coating" and today we are in the home of Petunia the pretty cat and her other half, Bert the bulldog.

"Bert has just got a phone call to say he is to report to his doctor's surgery in five days time for his Covid vaccine.  He's been moaning for a while as to when it will be his turn, thinking he should have had it by now because of his bad chest, but now it has come he is reduced to a bit of a quivering wreck.  You see Bert is afraid of needles!  In fact when Petunia gets her knitting out he turns a paler shade of grey and 'whoa', when she starts to continue with her cross stitch he goes positively ashen.

Poor Petunia has had enough, he has done nothing but moan about him needing the vaccine and now it is here he is moaning that he doesn't think he should go.  She is getting a little tired of going into another room to do her sewing and knitting just because of his "fear" of needles which she seriously thinks is ridiculous and partially because he wants to stretch out on the sofa and watch what HE wants the whole time on television.  She is always finding ways to pacify him about the various phobias he says he has but this time she has had enough.  For the first time in her life she gets angry and yells at him "Sorry but I'm all out of sugar coating".  Then she tells him he is worse than the kids."

This story has come about because they are wheeling out the vaccines like nobody's business here in the UK.  Every night the news is full of the various places where they have set up huge centres in an attempt to get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible.  Some areas are ahead of others but if people will only wait their turn it will come.  (Incidentally this is no reflection on my other half, he is happy to wait his turn, unlike some.). 

I am linking this to Erika's challenge over on Art Journal Journey where she asks you to choose your favourite things.  I think one thing I am very happy about at the moment is that at last it looks as if we might have a more normal life ahead of us - I just pray it is so and the medics and all associated with them  can start to relax a little and have less stress in their lives.  

WOYWW 607

Once again I have had to change my password - no idea why but it keeps telling me to change it.  Doing my head in.  Still, I am here now and ready to go showing you my desk in all its glory (that's code for mess) and a peek at what I have been up to during the week since last time we met.

Why am I showing you my desk?  Because it is Wednesday and the day to join in with others baring all - on the desk that is - and having a nose about to see what others have on their desks and also what they have been doing for the past week. Want to know more?  Want to join in?  Click here and all will be revealed.

This bit is not a mess but the hidden bit is, honestly!

I joined in a class, virtual, that is each night for an hour and that is what is on my desk plus a couple of die cutting machines.  Far right are some pages we did last night but by the side of the grey die cutting machine is the page we did today.  I made a tag to show what we did and on the back I am writing the instructions as I will perhaps forget.  I might show you all the pages next week in more detail.

I have been busy making cards.  I got the idea for these from my friend Maxine and did a worksheet to explain for my friends at the club.  It helped that I had lots of those Janet Klein figures readily cut out and coloured so I could add the to the cards but you could add a flower or something else - or even nothing as in the first one.

or an alternative way

That's all for this week, I just want to wish all my American friends a peaceful day as their new President is sworn in before I leave this post.