WOYWW 423 - and book giveaway

Afternoon Everyone,

It's another wonderful day here. Casa Worthington is basking in sunshine and the roses are recovering after the many, too many, days of persistent precipitation we've endured recently. Just the kind of weather you'd think to potter around the garden. However, the sun has brought out what I think are a swarm of flying ants and I've taken refuge in my craft room to share what's on my desk with Julia and all over at the Stamping Ground.

There's not been a lot of activity over the week. I did finish the layout that was on last's Wednesday's desk but the leftovers are still lying there waiting for me to do something with them. I do want to use them up rather than put them away in the scraps drawer so I've pulled out a page of sketches (saved from a 2013 issue of Scrap 365 magazine). It's a plan.

That's a new stamp set from Shimelle Laine. I thought the words and phrases were quirky and different enough to merit a place in my collection.

Also on my desk is this book from Carole Matthews - my holiday reading. The story is based on the life of cardmaker Christine Emberson. You may know of her from her association with Spellbinders and her appearances on craft shows on TV. It's a light but fun read, not least because of the many references to cardmaking. Now that I've read it I've decided to make it a giveaway. Just let me know in a comment if you are interested. If there are many of you, I will do a draw and I'll let you know the result next Wednesday.

Not exactly a desk but it is what I am working on in the garden this week. This is my mini nursery by the kitchen door and those plants are waiting for me to find time to plant them out.

And finally. The herb patch is doing so well that I have a bit of a glut so when I spotted the instructions on how to make flavoured oils in a garden centre recently I thought I'd give it a try. The tall one (an empty Worcestershire Sauce bottle) has rosemary in it and the jam jar has a mix of thyme, marjoram and rosemary. Haven't tasted them yet but looking forward to some on salads later.

That's my various 'desks' for this week. I'm looking forward to seeing what is on your desk and I will comment on as many as time allows. I did look at everyone's desks over the last week on my husband's tablet but I found it takes forever to type up a comment on it, unlike bashing away on the keyboard I'm using now, so I gave up. Sorry about that. Knuckles duly rapped.

Take care and have a great week.

Giveaway - Paint Fusion DVD & Stamp Set

Afternoon Everyone,

The craft room sort out is still ongoing - I have way too much stuff that I don't want anymore. This Sheena Douglas Paint Fusion DVD and a Simply Sweet stamp set - unused - are among that stuff.

The video contains 3 hours of step-by-step projects and inspiration and the stamp set includes a practice guide for the painting technique.

I'd like to give it away so if you fancy trying out this stamping and painting technique, or you know someone who might like to give it a try, then simply leave a comment to let me know.

In the event of more than one person showing interest, I'll do a draw to decide who will be the lucky recipient.

The giveaway will be up for a week, closing on Tuesday, 23 May 2017.

I look forward to receiving your comment(s).

Giveaway - Spectrum Aqua CD-ROM - The Winner

Hello Everyone,

Just a very quick post this morning and apologies for being a couple of days late. As there was only one person interested in this CD-ROM I didn't need to do a draw.

The Spectrum Aqua disc is now yours Valerija. I hope you find it as interesting and useful in learning new colouring tips and tricks as I have.

Please email me with your postal address and I will send it out to you as soon as possible.



Look out for more giveaways as Operation Craft Room Sort Out progresses.

Happy Crafting

Giveaway - Spectrum Aqua CD-ROM

Evening Everyone

I'm still sorting through my stash - decluttering the craft room - and today it was the turn of my collection of craft CD-ROMs, DVDs etc. So now I have a few to give away starting with this one - Spectrum Aqua from Crafters' Companion. The disc contains Leann Chivers' video tutorials showing how to colour using Spectrum Aqua water-based markers with hints, tips and inspiration.  It's a very comprehensive disc covering, for example, creating a customised background, stamping effects with markers, white outline stamping images, creating Bokeh effects and mixing your own custom colours from a palette.

If any of you are interested in this CD-ROM then leave a comment below. 

I'd appreciate it if you are a follower of my blog.

This is optional but it would be nice if you could add the first photo to your own blog sidebar with a link back to my blog - just to get the word around!

I'll make the draw on 26th April so if you are interested then do get your comment in before 10pm Tuesday 25th April. 

A February Blog Giveaway

Hello Everyone,

I've been sorting out stash and I've come to the conclusion I have way too much stuff. That being so, I've decided to do a few giveaways starting with this one which is made up of PART of the Classical Bloom Luxury Card Collection from Dawn Bibby. This was a pack I took on holiday back in June 2012. I made several cards from it - you can see them in the post from 27th June 2012, but when we returned home it got put away and forgotten until now. These photos show in more detail what is included.

Cardstock - 3 sheets foiled and 2 patterned

A selection of toppers, sentiments, decoupage & embellishments

Cards - easel, aperture & fancy shaped - envelopes included

Here's a card made from the collection using a circle aperture card, a decoupage rose and one of the greetings, which I will include with the giveaway.

To be in with a chance of winning please...

1. Be a follower of my blog*
2. This is optional but it would be nice if you could add the first photo to your own blog sidebar with a link back to my blog.
3. Add the letters FBG after your comment if you want to be included in the draw

*New followers are very welcome if they are genuine and not just giveaway hunters.

You have until Tuesday 10pm UK time 28th February to let me know if you would like to be in with a chance to win the giveaway. The draw will be done on 1st March,

Edited Note: the giveaway is open to all followers no matter where you are in the world.

Good luck!.

Celebrating 1000 Posts with a Giveaway

Morning to all Followers, Friends and Readers ...

... of this Blog,

This is the one thousandth post I've put up on my blog ... that's 1000 posts! Truly an unbelievable number which I certainly could not envisage when I started out almost 4 years ago, on 28th September 2010. I've no idea how many words that amounts to or even the number of photos published ... whatever, it's a huge amount and  I can't tell you what fun it has been and no doubt will continue to be :)

Many of you have been here almost from the word go so to celebrate this momentous occasion and to thank you for all your visits and comments over the last four years I'm offering a wee giveaway.

It's a gift voucher for £30 from The Craft Barn. I've chosen to give away a gift voucher so that the winner can choose whatever takes their fancy from the huge range of products available at The Craft Barn - there's sure to be something to please most crafters. Edit Note #1: I chose The Craft Barn because they will ship internationally.

However, if the winner is a sewer, knitter, crocheter or gardener and would prefer it, I have an alternative in mind ...

... an Amazon gift voucher. I know from personal experience that there is a very wide variety of sewing, knitting and crocheting items available on Amazon, not to mention a huge selection of books on just about any handicraft and gardening you would care to mention.

So, what do you have to do to win? Simply be a reader of this blog and leave a comment on this post. Hopefully, if I can work out how, I'll make this a sticky post and you have until the end of this month, 31 October to add your comment. I will then collate them all in the old-fashioned but tried and true method of putting them all in a hat and ask the EM to do the honours :) The winner's name will be published as soon as possible after that date.

Many thanks in advance for your participation.

Edited Note #2: Sandy at the Craft Barn has very kindly donated a £10 voucher for me to giveaway, how lovely is that! This means that I will now be making a second draw and the EM will be working overtime :) 

Good Luck!

Experimenting with Watercolours - Sunday Snippets

Good Afternoon,

Actually, it's not really a good afternoon here ... it's windy and wet. Apparently it's only going to get worse because the tail end of Hurricane Gonzalo is heading our way! That being so, you know where to find me, holed up in my craft room experimenting even more with watercolours. Which is what I've been doing whenever I had a spare moment recently and now I have a couple of finished cards to share with you.

This background for the topper on the first card was created with Aqua Tint brushed over white cardstock. I dampened the white card with water before brushing on the colour in a sweeping motion. I think you can see that I went back with more colour several times trying to get a sort of landscape effect. Once the ink dried, I splashed some water droplets over the surface - this has a 'bleaching' effect adding a bit more interest to the finished background.

The fabulous stamp used is a Penny Black slapstick cling called Dreamy. Forest green cardstock from Papermill Direct was used for the card base and the matting with a scrap of white (same source) for layering. The greeting, from Stampin' Up's Wetlands set, was stamped up with VersaFine Olympia Green.

The background for this second card was made by mopping up paints, leftover on the craft mat, from the first and then adding just a little sprinkling of Leaf Green Brusho crystals in the areas that were the dampest. The images, zen poppy pods from Lavinia Stamps stamped with Archival Black ink, have been painted with a combination of Aqua Tints and Brusho crystals in shades of red, yellow and green.

The topper is matted on to a snippet of red American Crafts cardstock and then layered on some of the green card leftover from the first card. No sentiment or greeting on this one ... that way it can be used as a notelet.

And as I've manage to incorporate a fair few snippets into these cards, I'm off to submit them to Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 147.

Would you believe it, since I started to write up this post the sun has come out to play! It's still windy but so nice to see the sun again, however briefly :)

The EM put on his domestic god pinny this afternoon and has been baking up a storm, fruit scones and my favourite low-sugar fruit cake ... the aroma wafting through the house is simply gorgeous.

Just discovered that the Christmas Movie channel has returned ... it's only the middle of October and we haven't even had Halloween and Bonfire Night yet!!!

I hope you are well and having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Crafting,

PS: Have you seen that I'm celebrating with a giveaway ... do check out the sticky post at the top of this blog for details.

Saturday Book Give Away #7 ... and announcing the winner of Week #6'

Welcome back to another Saturday Book Give Away – Week #7.

Front Cover

This week the topic of the book on offer, Country Living Scrapbooks, is all about making scrapbooks. This book is for those of you who like to make scrapbooks, albums, journals, and even keepsake/memory boxes, from scratch rather than buy them ready-made. It offers “a wealth of ideas and solutions on organizing, preserving, and displaying these special documents of our lives.” 

Back Cover

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course! 

Week #6

Four folk were keen to own book #6, Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression by Sharon Soneff, but, sadly, there’s only one copy, and so there can be only one winner. 

The EM, as usual, was pressed into service, and again he performed the task with his usual aplomb!


So with no more ado, the winner is:

Craftychris 

Congratulations Chris ... if you will kindly email me at ellie.worthington@sky.com, giving your postal details, I will send it out to you as soon as possible.

Chris says, “ooh I would love to win this fabulous book, I am just getting into Art Journaling so this book would be so perfect!”

Well, Chris, this book is full of ideas to incorporate into your art journaling ... I hope you find it very useful.

The draw for this week's giveaway book and the next giveaway, #8, will be announced next Saturday, 18th May.

Hope you are all having a great Saturday wherever you are.

Take care and happy crafting,

Saturday Book Give Away – #6 ... and Week #5's winner

Welcome back to another Saturday Book Give Away – Week #6.

This week the book on offer is this fabulous book entitled Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression by Sharon Soneff. This book is for those of you who are either already into or  would like to get into art journaling, particularly if interested in it as a form of therapy. It explores how the process of journaling can be an aid in dealing with some of the more difficult, stressful and challenging periods in life.

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course!

Nothing to it, really :)

Week #5

Three peeps were keen to own book #5, The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking but, sadly, I have only one copy and so there can be only one  winner – I wish it were not so.  

The EM was pressed into service again, and as usual he performed the task with his usual grace and flair:

 So with no more ado, the winner is:

Sara Mcmillon

Congratulations Sara ... if you will kindly email me at ellie.worthington@sky.com, giving your postal details, I will send it out to you as soon as possible. 

Sara says that she ‘has collected all sorts of paper, layouts, embellishments and other stuff for scrapbooking’ and has ‘NEVER done’ anything with it! Well, hopefully, Sara, this book will be just the thing to get you
started.

There will be another book to giveaway next Saturday, 11th May.

Looking out on our garden I can see that there is a bit of breeze building and there's the promise of rain too so any plans for trip out into the country tomorrow may just have to be cancelled. Either that or we don our waterproofs and boots and get out there anyway ... we shall see. Though I did hear the EM muttering something about fancying a Costa tomorrow and I could be tempted to a latte especially as the coffee shop is inside Waterstones, the book shop ... love any excuse to browse and it is always warm and dry in the coffee shop :)

Hope you have all had a great Saturday, doing things you enjoy.

Take care and happy crafting,

Saturday Book Giveaway #5 – The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking Techniques

Happy Saturday Everyone,

Welcome back to another Saturday Book Give Away – Week 5.

This week the book up for grabs is The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking Techniques by Karen McIvor & Sarah Mason. This is the perfect introduction to scrapbooking terms and techniques for anyone who would like to dip their toe in the water.  It’s one of the first books I treated myself to when I first started out with scrapping. Back then I there was a lot in the craft of scrapbooking that was a complete mystery to me ... this book helped to unravel the mysteries :)

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course!

Nothing to it, really :)

There will be another book to giveaway next Saturday, 4^th May ... which, coincidentally, just happens to be National Scrapbooking Day ... you would think I planned these things J

Look forward to hearing from you.

Happy crafting,

Saturday Book Giveaway #4 - Artistic Trading Cards

Happy Saturday Evening Everyone,

Here we are at week 4 of my book giveaways already ... how time flies! 

This week, because many of us have ATCs very much on our mind (due to a certain blog hop's 4 year celebration) I've chosen to giveaway this super little book, Artist Trading Cards by Leonie Pujol. Yet another beautifully illustrated book filled with inspiration, ideas and instructions for creating ATCs of all styles. So if you are into making ATCs - and I know many of you are - this book could suit you perfectly.

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course!

Nothing to it, really :)

There will be another book to giveaway next Saturday, 20th April, so if this one doesn't rock your boat, keep checking - there's still a pile of lovely books up for grabs.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Happy crafting,

Saturday Book Giveaway #3 - Outstanding Mini Albums

Happy Saturday Everyone,

As some of you are sure to know, I've got a pile of books looking for a new home so every Saturday I'll be posting a new one until the pile is no more.

This week it is Outstanding Mini Albums by Jessica Acs - which is in excellent condition. This beautifully illustrated book covers 50 ideas for creating mini scrapbook albums. The book is filled with inspiration, ideas and instructions for creating mini albums/scrapbooks of all kinds. So if you are into making mini albums - and I know many of you are - this book could suit you perfectly.

There are no special hoops to jump through though, if you want to, and, I stress, you are not obliged in any way, you could add the photo to your sidebar with a link back - just to ensure that as many people get to know about the giveaway as possible. Oh, and leave me a comment to let me know you are interested, of course!

That's it! Easy-peasy!

There will be another book to giveaway next Saturday, 13th April, so if this one doesn't rock your boat, keep checking - the pile of books range over many crafting topics.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Happy crafting,

Book Giveaway #2

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with the second book I have to giveaway as a result of reorganising the craft space recently. If you remember from the first book giveaway one of the jobs I did was to sort through my collection of books on crafting. And as the collection had grown rather large I now have a wee pile of books, all in very good condition, that have to go. This week's book is on cardmaking - it's Making Birthday Cards, a compilation of cards edited by Stephanie Weightman.

Same requirements as last week, i.e. none!

You don't have to jump through any hoops to be in with a chance of winning this book - though it would be nice if you mentioned it on your blog so word gets around - just leave a comment telling me you are interested in the book. I'll leave the giveaway up for a week and then organise a draw and announce the winner on Saturday, 6th April 2013.

Happy crafting,

Scrapbook Giveaway

Hi Everyone,

Brrrr! Still cold and I woke up to snow this morning. But it's just been on-and-off and is not lying, unlike much of the rest of the UK who seem to be having a dreadful time because of either the snow or floods - and all this despite being two days into spring.

When I was reorganising the craft space recently one of the jobs I did was to sort through my collection of books on crafting. Well, the collection had grown rather large and was beginning to take up much needed space on the shelf. Regrettably, I now have a wee pile of books, all in very good condition, that have to go and so I'm hoping to give them away here, this is the first.

Most of you are, I know, cardmakers and not at all interested in scrapping. However, from the comments that my posts featuring scrap layouts attract it's clear many of you would like to give it a try and do something will all those lovely photos you have stashed away in boxes in the attic. But you don't know how to make a start. This book could be just what you need for inspiration, particularly if you like working with dies and cut-out shapes. Creative Scrapbooking by Sandi Genovese is an informative and easy to understand guide to scrapbooking. Sandi is known as the diva of die-cuts and has years of experience in scrapping.

You don't have to jump through any hoops to be in with a chance of winning this book - though it would be nice if you mentioned it on your blog so word gets around - just leave a comment telling me you are interested in the book. I'll leave the giveaway up for a week and then organise a draw and announce the winner on Saturday, 30th March 2013.

Happy crafting,

WOYWW - Week 128 ... yesterday's detritus and today's project

Good WOYWW day folks,

Another Wednesday has rolled around quicker than it ought so it's time to reveal all, that is, on my workdesk, to the world and Julia at Stamping Ground. If you've never joined in before, don't know what is involved, just click the WOYWW link on my sidebar and you will be transported to Julia's blog. There you will find all the blinky thingies that will enable you to view other desks in a similar state to mine ... go on, live vicariously - you'll enjoy it if you do :)

Now, where was I? Oh yes, my desk ... and yes again, yesterday's stuff is still there alongside some of the materials for the next card I plan to make at some point today! I just haven't got round to clearing away the design paper folder, the pack of cardstock and the glue gun from last night - I was just too tired. I spent two hours at the gym pumping iron ... well, not quite, more like treading the treadmill, etc., ... don't ask me today if it is doing me any good, I'm too stiff, sore and exhausted to appreciate it :)

So, apart from the usual items that live permanently on my desk, there's a digital stamp already coloured in for a topper, a template I'll be using to shape the topper, a couple of sheets of blue cardstock for the card and a fir branch stamp taken from the stamp set that I have vague plans to use on said card. Now I just have to tidy stuff away and I'm ready for action!

Before I pour myself a cuppa and settle down to blog hopping around your workdesk I'd like to tell you all about my celebration giveaway  ... I'm celebrating reaching 100 followers - well, actually 106 at the last count - either click on the photo on my right sidebar or click this link here. To celebrate, I asked Hayley of   Funky Farm Scrapbook Barn to put together a gorgeous customised kit which includes, MME papers, matching card, ribbons & trims, flowers, buttons and all colour coordinated, plus two stamp sets.  The draw is scheduled for 30th November - the day after my birthday, another reason to celebrate :)

Okay, that's me for another week - I'm off to check out your workdesks and see what you are all up to today. Hope you are all in the pink, and those who are not, hope you're feeling better soon.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week ahead.

Monday Card Class - cards made over the last two Mondays

Hi Everyone,

A quick post, this one. I was at card class this morning and realised that it's a wee while since I posted any of the cards made recently. So, in no particular order ...

All materials and equipment supplied by Evelyn, of Evy's Crafty Creations, the Stampin' Up demonstrator.

I've spent the last hour or so tidying up the table you never see - it's the computer table to the right of the craft desk - which had got into bit of a muddle over the last few days. It sometimes gets used as a dumping ground if I'm busy crafting but if I can't find something I'm looking for I figure it's time for a clear up. And in the process of putting away, filing away, tossing into file #13, etc., I discovered these cards and realised they were there waiting to be posted on the blog :(

We made another two Christmas cards this morning but, as I've not photographed them yet, I'll post them as soon as possible.

Don't forget to check out my giveaway to celebrate reaching the century in followers - 104 at the last count - either click on the photo on my right sidebar or click this link here. The prize is a lovely Funky Farm Scrapbook Barn kit especially commisioned for the occasion, and you never know, it might be your name that is drawn out of the hat :)

In the meantime, happy crafting,