What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 524

Good Morning WOYWWers,

Happy Wednesday to you all.Yes, it's time to show and tell over at Julia's place, the Stamping Ground, again and I have no idea where the last week has gone - it has just whizzed by! Anyway, here's what's on my desk this morning.

There's a birthday card in the making. It's been quite a while since I did any colouring with my markers so I'm a bit rusty. The plan is to use the last bit of the Gelli plate print I've been working with these last few days. I've cleaned my desk too - a deep scrub was well overdue! 

Another project I've been working on this week is this UFO.

Another project, the designer calls it a Catch All Caddy, abandoned when the EM's health took a dive last year. I've found it a complicated pattern to follow but it's almost done, at last!

This is my latest sofa project.

Socks again. I'm using sock yarn brought back from our recent holiday in the Peak District. 

The danger of sewing is that it involves some very sharp tools.

At the same time as trimming fabric, I managed to trim my thumb too. 

I thought you might like to see another photo of the black elder growing just outside my window. 

It's stunning. In fact, I've never seen it look so good. It's just too distracting - the birds and the bees love it too. 

And finally, the book bit is back.

Not to be confused with the film of the same name, 'The Bumblebee Flies Anyway' by Kate Bradbury is a  lovely memoir of the author's experience of transforming a neglected backyard in Brighton into a beautiful wildlife garden. However, all the time she was clearing, digging and planting with wildlife friendly plants she was aware that her neighbours were doing quite the opposite by decking and paving over their gardens. I really enjoyed this book and now feel justified for leaving the weeds in my garden be. 

Thanks for dropping in, take care and have a wonderful WOYWW day.

Mixed Media Backgrounds - Part 2 - Bluebell Card

Morning Everyone,

I can't believe that it's taken me this long to follow up on Part 1 of my experiments with mixed media. I simply forgot! Indeed, I've made a couple of projects with those backgrounds since then - see here, here and here. So, I think it's time I got caught up by sharing how I made this card for the UKPC May Swap. 

The background is a piece from a Gelli plate print which was made using the plate.

This one is quite old now and though it is no longer pristine looking it's still in very good condition and fit for purpose.

Other items I used are a brayer, for smoothing the paint over the plate, and a variety of little tools, plastic cutlery, an old comb, bottle top and a Vicki Boutin art wedge, that I use for marking out patterns on the surface of the paint.

To make this particular print I began by putting dots of of acrylic paint - a mix of pastel shades, Maggie Holmes mint and blue,  Wilko white and Heidi Swapp's Hot Pink metallic texture paste - randomly on the plate, then smoothed it over with the brayer before using the art wedge, etc., to create surface pattern. Then, very quickly before the paint dried, the print was lifted off the plate.

 To make the card I used the following:

A piece of the Gelli plate print, cardstock in two shades of blue, the bluebell mask from That Special Touch Masks and the word 'Imagine', stamped in black, from Sarntangles stamp set.

With a stencil brush and a variety of inks, in shades of blues, greens and pink, the floral image was created over the background. Then, to add a bit of sparkle, Stickles,  pink, blue and rock candy, and blue Nuvo crystal drops was added to the bluebells and the butterfly.

To finish the card the topper was simply matted and layered on to the two shades of blue cardstock then adhered to the front of a white card base.

I can't think why I'd forgotten how much fun it is to make your own backgrounds, especially with the Gelli plate and paints. Messy but great fun. It's just another of the many tools that I've tucked away in an effort to keep this room tidy. Trouble is, to be tucked away is to be forgotten. And there's a lot forgotten in this craft space. Wonder what I'll unearth next.

Take care and have a wonderful day.

In A Vase On Monday - Wildflowers

Hello Everyone,

Happy Monday to you all. Wandering round the garden deciding what to cut and bring indoors is becoming much more difficult. Wherever I looked today there were so many roses and clematis in bloom I felt spoiled for choice. So being a contrary Mary, and because of their fleeting beauty, I picked a bunch of wildflowers - a complete contrast to last week's vase.

Can they still be called wildflowers when they are all grown in a garden. The red campion (Silene dioica), and oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), come from the tiny wildflower patch and the lupins 'Gallery Blue', foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) and cranesbill (Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo') are growing here and there in the borders. The whippy tendrils are from the Golden Hop (Humulus Lupulus 'Aureus').

Red campion and a cream coloured foxglove.

Oxeye daisy 

Lupin 'Gallery Blue' and Cranesbill

Pink foxglove

As I do quite often, I put the vase on the brick wall before taking the photos. I find the light is better there. It didn't take long for this bee to discover the flowers ...

 ... well, he wasn't to know they weren't growing there.

Linking this post to Cathy's meme In A Vase On Monday on Rambling in the Garden and joining with many others who share whatever they have found to put in a vase this week. If you have filled a vase today I'm sure you would be very welcome to join in too.