WOYWW 665

 Is it really a week since I was doing this before?  The days are flying by and I grow older each day, wish someone would invent a clock to go back just a little for me.

Such a sad world at the moment with all this trouble in the Ukraine.  It's heartbreaking to see those women and children fleeing their country, their homes and leaving loved ones behind to fight.  The thought of leaving my husband or son behind to fight brings me to tears.  Friends too.  Just so hard and what a harduous journey they face themselves ... and to what end?

So much sadness in the world, our hearts go out to our own Juilia lost her dear Mama, and I heard yesterday that our closest friend in America had had to make the decision to turn off his mother's life support (her wishes).  So very sad.  My condolences to them both.  I haven't mentioned before that someone I knew years ago fell on the first day of her holiday and hurt her leg.  She saw a doctor (in Dom Repub) who said nothing broken ... to rest and take paracetamol.  A week later she was admitted to hospital, transferred to ICU where she had two heart attacks and died.  Her husband had to travel home alone facing his 70th birthday and his eldest daughter's 40th just a week or so later.  As I said, so sad for so many.

Sorry for all of that, on a better note, or an attempt to brighten you up, here is one of my Polaroids where I used the colours of the Ukraine flag as my backdrop.  That and a couple of donations is all I can think of doing at the moment.  It should be a grandad cooking but I changed the head.

I think he is cooking a bit of steak and there are a couple of burgers and two sausage on the grill, but there is also a fish in the bucket if you look carefully.  I did take the head off.  I remember my 16 year old son working on a fish stall in the local Saturday market, if they asked for the head to be left on he would chop it off and vice versa.  In the end the owner rang me and asked me not to send him in any more.  (Glad he doesn't read my blog now he is grown up.)

Our stamping club opens up next Saturday.  Thursday I have to go and look at the new proposed premises ahead of the meeting for a health and safety induction.  I have been so busy with the paperwork and getting a class sorted for the month after as we won't have anyone volunteering to do any as yet.  I tried a couple of external tutors but no joy - anyone know of any around the Warrington area who are good and willing to travel (and don't cost too much).  We have money in the funds and want to spend it on a good class.

Well, better get my workdesk shown to you for Julia and the gang, here at woyww.  It is the aftermath of my getting my class ready so it is nice and tidy with just the stuff hanging around waiting to be put away - where do you put  twenty completed cards safely for a month?

Don't tell anyone you have seen some samples, twelve from a 12" x 12" sheet and eight from a 8" x 8" sheet.  Plus I got rid of lots of my scraps of coloured card.  Win win!

See you next week!

Jeudi Journal - Glitter

"I'm so crafty I sweat glitter" is the quote for today and I almost had you believe it was true if you saw me.  No, I am not a glittery person except at Christmas when the Stickles comes out but today I decided to use a glitter spray.  Oh No, sprays and I do not get on and this darned thing gave one squirt and gave up.  In no time at all I was covered in the stuff and had no idea where it was coming from.  The only way I got it off my hands (and down my nails) was with Simple Green used as a handwash.  Nothing else cleared it. 

After all that I was not keen on the page but decided to go ahead with it anyhow.  I could always cover most of it with some images.  Perhaps a run over with an iron would get those wrinkles out and then it might look a bit better.  At least it was glittery.  Now you know two of my dislikes, glitter and sprays.  Mind you I am coming around to the glitter but doubt I will ever get over my dislike/fear of sprays.

Can I really restore that to something usable?  Look at the creases!  At least you can see that it is a glittery page to begin with.  The deep pink was a mistake, I read the label on the Mini Mister wrongly - ah well,  Mini Misters are better than sprays.  Then I added a border coloured with glitter pens and some mirri card letters.  But ... on with the story:

"It was Friday night at the 18's Disco in town.  Elspeth and Emer, the twins, had gone along with their friend, Ginny to enjoy a spot of dancing and meeting up with other friends they had been at school with.  It was a good place for them to go, having all just turned 18 not long ago.  Yes, they were old enough to drink alcohol but none of them were really interested in it, having seen what it could do to others.  The three of them just wanted to dance the night away and forget the week of work they had had.  Not that they had had a bad week, just a tiring one

Ginny was at the local college studying Child Care whilst Elspeth, the tallest of the twins had secured a job with the local veterinarian because she was animal crazy.  Emer, the small twin had always enjoyed art at school and was on secondment from her college working in one of the large craft stores in town.  Ginny and Elspeth were talking about the various things that had happened to them at work, remarking how similar their jobs were, one looking after children and the other after animals.  There were some similarities to young ones and the cute little puppies that came in for a spot of training they decided as they exchanged stories.

Emer chipped in to the conversation saying her job sometimes was similar as she had had a party of young children in that day and she had taken charge of a group of six young children making cards for their mothers.  Needless to say there had been glitter and glue all over the place and she had found it so difficult to keep them from covering them and herself in the stuff.  She remarked that she did not know what had possessed her to let them loose on pots of glitter.

The disco was hotting up and the girls were having a great time moving to their favourite tunes and saying "Hi" to various friends as they passed by.  Eventually the three of them went over to the bar for a Cola, this dancing was hot work and they all felt a bit hot and bothered.  It was Emer who made them all laugh as she had noticed, as she came back from the toilets that she had glitter on her forehead.

"I'm so crafty I sweat glitter" she said, much to the amusement of the other two.  "That will teach me not to use it any more with children, especially if I am going out that night" she continued.  Elspeth looked at her twin and said 

"You missed some, it's all over your nose as well."  And the three of them burst into fits of laughter.  Another good Friday night for all."

Now it is time to link over to Art Journal Journey where Elizabeth has chosen "What's Your Style" as the theme for this month.  My Style?  Guess it's a bit Dylusional!  Elizabeth has shown so many styles to help you with this theme why not pop over and see.

WOYWW 664

Another posting for WOYWW which you can find all about here.  Good fun to join in and also a great way to make lasting friends.  Six hundred and sixty four weeks - wow that is some going.  Julia is a credit to the crafting world - incidentally it is about any craft - sewing, knitting, crochet, papercraft, mixed media etc etc.  So join in why don't you.

Not much today.  I did make a card for a friend who got engaged on Valentine's Day and I remembered to take a photo but was in a hurry so forgot to check it and it is not a very clear picture.  Anyway, here goes, it was one of those box pop up cards - hearts obviously:

All the hearts are double sided with a piece of acetate holding them in place so that they wobble about when you pick it up.  You can just see a row of hearts on the bottom of the box to the left - that is where it is decorated when it is closed.  My hand ached like crazy when I had done punching and die cutting the hearts out.  I was glad I made the box first of all.

Maybe this is a better photo so you can see nine double hearts - that was 18 in total and the four on the box plus the ones decorating the front - another nine - 31 in total?:

Apart from this card I have been doing my second set of Polaroids - all now uploaded to Instagram and some to Facebook.

But you came to look at my desk:

Some Polaroids waiting to be put away and my 'Wonderland, off to see the Wizard" one waiting to have the background done.  Things got held up a bit with some paperwork for the stamping group.  I got a bit bogged down with all the paperwork for the new Centre but think I have got it all off now.  Still things to do.  After my Polaroids you can see my tiered box what I keep all my Polaroid stuff in then, covering up the paperwork in case there is something you haven't to see are my 'One Page Wonder' templates for a worksheet I am doing as a fall back for the group.  Got some for 12 x 12, 8 x 8 and 10 x 8 paper done now - all I have to do is make some up into cards for samples.

Guess I have wittered on enough so it's toodle pip from me until next week.  See you.

ps: Yesterday was "Thinking Day" for the Girl Guide Movement - anybody do any thinking about Guides in other countries?  I did a little.

Jeudi Journal - Coffee

I had a lovely gift of some crafting things from a friend who is giving up. mixed media and devoting his time to drawing and amongst the things were some Dylusion paints - all in good condition so it would have been rude not to make use of one of the colours this week wouldn't it.  My page was coloured in the lovely 'Polished Jade' as Dyan calls it, and I used her Diamonds in the Rough stencil which is an old time favourite of mine as you undoubtedly know because I am always using it.

"Phyllis is a teacher at the local High School and she had had a particularly rough day with some troublesome Year Nine pupils.  "Year Nine is always a difficult year" she said, to no-one in particular, "I think it is because they don't fit in with the others.  If you think about it Years seven and eight are too young for them and Years ten and eleven don't want to bother with them as the latter feel they are too young for them to hang about with, besides which they are going through puberty and that is a problem in itself."

It had all begun with Antony Hollis flicking bits of clay around in her ceramics class.  Of course, one of the girls had retaliated and then it had got a bit out of hand and had ended with detentions being given out left, right and centre.  Phyllis did not like giving out detentions, there were too many forms to fill in for something like that but she had to punish them and that seemed the only approach to take.  She had gone into the staff room and had a bit of a moan but had been met with negative responses from her colleagues, who, for some reason, chose not to support her on this.  Perhaps because they saw themselves as having to do the detention duty for something they thought of as a silly prank.  You see detention was manned on a rota basis and so the teachers tried not to give out too many so that they and others would not have to stay behind in the evenings.

She had rushed home and not even taken her coat off, so wound up that she just went to the kettle and made herself a cup of coffee hoping it would calm her down.  It didn't seem to be working and as she was on her own in the house she shouted out "This coffee would work a lot better if I could throw it at some people." Now her evening was ruined and she had been hoping to watch that new drama series on tv."

This is my journal page that I do with Wendy and also enter it into Art Journal Journey.  This month the theme is "What's Your Style" as set by Elizabeth.  My style on a Thursday is very much my own version of Dyan's at Art form the Heart as I use her figures which I chop and change about with different heads, legs etc.  Sometimes they are a bit bizarre but today we have quite a sensible looking school teacher.  

ps this did not happen in my class, pure fiction.

WOYWW 663

It's Wednesday again, another WOYWW day and I am busy starting all over again with my Polaroids for the challenge over on Aall & Create - check out the details on their Facebook page.  So far I have done five for the new set and I am trying to make them different to the ones I did for my first batch.

Towards the end of last week I realised I had some birthday cards to make.  One was a very belated one for a friend who had a birthday on the 3rd (hanging head in shame), the others for the 14th, 15th and 19th of this month.  I worked really hard to get them all done and out asap and guess what?  I forgot to take a scan or a photo of any of them.  Sorry.

Here are two of my new Polaroids 

The first one is "Sitting Down" and the second one "Things with Wings" so I gave the nurse a pair of wings as everyone refers to them as 'angels'.  Sorry it is a bit on the pale side.  You will have to look on my Instagram account for the others - stamperneet is the name if you want to see them.

I had two big boxes of "stuff" delivered last week from a lovely friend who is giving up doing the mixed media stuff he normally does so I had a fabulous surprise when I found lots of Dylusion paint, in good order, and a box made specifically to hold them.  I've been painting pages in my journal ready for use since. 

Now Helen, eat your heart out, what was there in the box?  One of those Dina Wakely journals.  You know the kind, with the different pages, some cloth, some paper and some hessian.  I have always wanted one but never had the money spare to buy one.  Now I can't wait to get going but I have to be in the mood or the zone as I do not want to spoil any of the pages in it.  You see he painted the first two pages and now I have some of his original artwork and I admire what he does so much.  I am over the moon.  It will be one of those journals where I can do anything I want - be it a Dylusion page or something else, a Tracy Scott page.  I am just going to enjoy it and create.

Nothing else to tell you, so I guess it is time to link up to WOYWW.  I need to make an engagement card so hopefully I will scan that when it is done and then you will have something to see next week.  In the meantime here is my desk:

Starting left is my tiered box that, at the moment, is full of Janet Klein stuff ie all to do with the Polaroid challenge.  In the compartment below are some gel pens that I might use and next to that is my box full of ready cut out Janet Klein images alll in little individual bags with the names on the front of what is inside.  The paper jutting out contains the list of what we have to do and there are some bits belonging to my next Polaroid in front, my distress Ink tools, some ink pads behind and in the burgundy Felix box and the one next to it are my small JK images.  I find it makes sorting through them easier than keeping them in the drawer with the larger ones.

Behind are the usual piles of inkpads, and on top, the various books I made with Tracy Evans.

I need to have a tidy up of my craft room as I have to store some club things but more on that another week.  For now it is au revoir and see you next week on here but hopefully on your blog shortly.

Jeudi Journal - A Kitchen

It's Journal day and that means time to join in with Elizabeth at Art Journal Journey where the theme she has chosen is "What's Your Style".  Why not pop along and see all the great samples she has put up for us to see.  Along with that I am using a quote "The only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house" and I have a story to go with it concerning  Janet and her mother.

"Janet left home a couple of months ago to go it alone as she rented her own flat, moving in on her birthday, much to her mother's surprise.  She had always been quite an intelligent girl, brought up to know right from wrong and shown the basics of running a house by her house proud mother. Imagine mum's surprise when she called around the other day and saw that there was hardly anything in the kitchen.

The shelves were bare, the pantry was almost bare, except for a few tinned goods and the fridge only had frozen ready meals in it.  It was obvious that Janet was not really looking after herself as mother thought she should.  At least Tiddles the cat and Rex the dog looked quite happy and healthy she thought.

"What has happened to all the food I gave you when you called last week?" she asked her daughter, "I gave you enough for you to make some meals in advance and they should be in the fridge now so that you don't have to cook each night when you get home from work."

"Oh mum", said Janet, "I'm my own person now and I will choose the way I live, sorry if it's not the way you and dad live.  I'm an adult and I will learn by my own mistakes.  I am not like you, I don't enjoy cooking and the only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house."

Mum was quite upset, she worried about her daughter, wondering if she was getting enough sleep, eating correctly and was she really happy being on her own.  Why only the other day she had said to Derek, her husband, how she was worried about their daughter.  He thought she was being over protective and should leave Janet to learn from her own mistakes.

Eventually mum said she thought Janet should give up her flat and go back home .  The conversation got a little heated and then Janet said that one of her friends, Sally, was talking about leaving home and she might move in with her.  This calmed mum down a little and she decided to go home and leave it, perhaps talk to Derek again, but then maybe, if Janet had a friend living with her they could share the household duties and with a bit of luck Sally might like eating and therefore cooking.  She could only hope."

WOYWW 662

I'm back again with some more Polaroids for the Aall & Create Challenge.  You can see them on my Instagram account under the name stamperneet and I would love it if you gave me a like on there.  I decided to do some of Abs' type of backgrounds this time having had a reminder from a friend who had not seen stencils used in this way before.

I might be a little late in visiting today as I am on the second of a two-part workshop with Tracy Scott - learning how to use coloured pencils.  It was really good yesterday morning and terrific Value with Tracy giving us lots of information to begin with and then learning how to do a graduated shade and one with a highlight to make it look dimensional.  She is an excellent teacher, and such a lovely person too.  yesterday was 3.5 hours and if today is too then it's 7 hours tuition for £20.  I call that really good value.

So this was my desk yesterday, last night and this morning:

Close up

Laid out ready for another morning of learning.  Cheapo felt tips, pens, pencils, erasers, paints in the background, more pens, sketch books  Prismacolor pencils, rubber stamps, stencils.

Obviously I cannot tell you about the class but I might show you a sneak peek at some of the things I did next week, hopefully after improving!  If anyone wants to do the class you can contact Tracy and enrol for the class which is saved in video format.  Obviously you can't ask questions like the 'Live' session but I never asked anything because it was all explained.

I hope this is classed as enabling rather than me advertising - Julia, please tell me off if it is the latter, I honestly viewed it as enabling others to experience the workshop.

Right, I had better get off now as I must get some cards made.  Spent simply ages making a card for a friend and guess what?  Mailed it before I took a photo!  Doh!

See you all at Ms Julia's for our WOYWW pow wow after class.