WOYWW - Week 108 + My Favourite Lily Blooming at Last

Good Afternoon Everyone,

There's lots on my desk this morning - I think I've found my messy streak at last! That's because I was working on this week's Christmas card when the postman delivered my latest edition of the Craft Stamper. Needless to say the makings of the card were abandoned until the mag had been read and digested - I'm just too easily distracted : )

Under the magazine there's the paper intended for another card which will feature the cute little baby sitting on the easel (actually there's two - one coloured in pink is hidden behind). There's also a sheet of cream card lined up for a scrapbook page of the sea view photographs taken on holiday.

I've been increasingly drawn to vintage work I've seen recently on so many of your blogs so I raked out the book you can just see at the top of that pile - Vintage Greeting Cards by Maryjo McGraw. I've had it for sometime and, yes, I have looked through it before but not studied it deeply until now. Ms McGraw has packed the book full of techniques - some I would simply never have thought of - ever. For example, using brown shoe polish as an overlay to age photographs, or using a patterned paper napkin as a background or that a fragment of sea glass, the stuff we can pick up from the beach, will make an interesting embellishment when adhered to a photograph.

Some of you might be wondering why there's a roll of  aluminium insulating tape balanced on top of my tub of gilding flakes. Well, the EM spotted it in one of his favourite haunts - the building suppliers. He recognised it as one of the materials seen on a recent steam punk themed TV demo and thought it would probably be a handy addition to my crafting arsenal . Most women get flowers, I get aluminium insulating tape  - and I'm definitely not complaining!

Well, that's me for today but, before I go over to Julia's Stamping Ground to hop amongst the workdesks of the world, I thought you might like to see this photograph of my favourite lily, taken just this afternoon.

This pot of lilies that sits on the deck and last year it didn't do too well, but this year it has gone mad!  There's been dozens of buds just waiting to pop for simply ages so we have been awaiting the grand opening with baited breath - you see, we'd forgotten what colour these lilies were. They are simply the most gorgeous deep red - fabulous!

Happy Crafting,