Wednesday 16 February 2011

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 89

Good Morning Everyone,


I trust you are all well this morning and enjoying life wherever you are in the world. Here in my own particular little patch in South Ayrshire, Scotland, it's almost like Spring and after yesterday's horrible, windy and dreary weather that's refreshing.  Many thanks to all who visited here last week. I started out well enough visiting many of you but then something radical happened to the list which threw me completely - the numerical order changed and as I'm dyslexic I got completely lost! So apologies to those of you I missed.

So what's on my desk today? Well, as you can see it's pretty much as I left it last night when I was experimenting with embossing folders. Late on I decided to put each of my small folder collection through the Cuttlebug to catalogue them. After that it just seemed pointless putting them all away again so I started to play with little bits of cardstock. I've now got a wee stock of ready embossed card to use on projects. You can see the drawer filled with off-cuts/scraps of card that I can't bear to throw away because it 'might just come in useful one day'. Well, it did last night : )

The blue card resting against my chicken cupboard (or chook cupboard as RosC would call it) is a piece of core'dinations which came free with the V&A Hanoverian folder from Docrafts. There was even a small piece of sandpaper to rub down the card once it was embossed! The effect is really very nice.

And then there is my new Ottlite. The Estate Manager treated me to this recently because 'my eyes are dim, I cannot see' as well as I used to and he took pity on me. The Ottlite casts a light like daylight over quite a wide area, certainly wide enough for me to work in, so I can now do my colouring wherever I want as this little beauty is portable.

I see this morning you can see my wire basket which is jam packed full of 6"x6" and A5 paper garnered over the year - I keep it there handy for card making. There's also a couple of plastic cartons, one has a stock of even tinier pieces of cardstock, useful for stamping greetings on or testing out colours, and the other contains stamped images waiting to be coloured in. In the background is all the bits and pieces I consider vital and so can't bear to put away.

If you have stumbled on this blog by happy accident and are now wondering what all this WOYWW is all about please pop over to the Stamping Ground blog here where the Keeper of Desks, Julia, has a lovely list of bloggers willing to show it all in the name of crafting. It's well worth the time taken as you just never know what you might find. Last WOYWW day I discovered Sandy of Keepsake Crafts who makes brilliant flowers from zips and due to the interest shown by some of us she has very kindly posted a tutorial here. Now, after seeing these on sample cards on TV but with no demo on how it was done, I did try to make them myself but I just wasn't pleased with the result so a big 'Thank You, to Sandy for this tutorial.

Right, I'm off for my first cup of tea before I do anything more.

28 comments:

Fiona said...

I love your little Chook cupboard Elizabeth - we have spring down here in Hampshire too - makes everything feel so much better doesn't it

Scrapcat 1 said...

love the desk and does the lamp make a big difference I am thinking about getting for as I do craft at hours of the day or night!

Hazeyj said...

Hey Elizabeth, nice to have a glimpse of your desk and an insight as to what you've been up to as it kind of validates the way I pooter about too! Sun is shining on Merseyside but it is still cold! Hazel x

Unknown said...

Great looking desk Elizabeth. Those Ottlite lamps do seem to be popular - maybe something I need to add to my ever growing list of things I 'need'

Dee #94

Helen said...

Good to see your fab desk again.

Twiglet said...

Thanks for the link to zip flowers - fab!

Stacey G.-2 Craf-t-4u said...

Great space. Love your supplies! Good idea for the paper scraps. Now you are ready with embossed pieces. I should try my hand at that.

Simple homemade living said...

Thanks for the idea for the paper scraps x x

laura 119

shazsilverwolf said...

Love the desk, and hello & Big Hug to The Boss Shaz #131

Susanne said...

Your cute wooden cupboard caught my eye. Thanks for the peek. S #106

Anonymous said...

It's trying to be Spring in Michigan for the next couple of days before it gets colder again, at least it's melting the snow! Love your fancy Bug, mines just the plain green one but I guess they still work the same!!

Hugs
Brenda 100

Ciara said...

Great minds think alike Elizabeth - I did the very same with my embossing folders recently, so I have a little catalogue of mine too! I'm going to do the dies next, maybe in acetate.

Those lights look brilliant, I hope you enjoy working under it!

Julia Dunnit said...

Well now you must promise yourself that you haven't got a tray filled with embossed pieces that you may never use! Am so glad you're enjoying some finer weather - I 'm only 8 miles from Fiona and beliee me, there's no hint of spring today!

Andrea - Wales, UK said...

I seen those Ottlite's on Create and Craft last weekend and was very tempted. Another item to go on the list!

Andrea.xx

nnalorac said...

Think I could do with one of those lamps, nothing worse than trying to match paper colours at night and find in the morning you've got it completely wrong! I do love the colour of your bug! Thanks for dropping in by. Carolxx

Dolly Daydreams said...

Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for sharing your workspace with us it gives a welcoming insight into our fellow crafters lives to see where they create their art, my you are so organized ! I would definately be too embarrassed to share mine but its nice to have a peek at everyone else's .

Keep up the good work

Marie x

jude said...

Nice creative desk this week t first though you had soda stream machine on your desk??...Then the brain fog realised it's your craftlamp..lol
Happy Wednesday hugs judex22

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Hi there Elizabeth (and the Boss), love your chicken cupboard so cute thanks for sharing and for popping over!
Shaz in Oz.x

okienurse said...

What a nice neat desk. Looks like you have some fun toys out to play with! Thanks for sharing.
Vickie #30

Maggie's Crafts said...

Great pic! Thank you for sharing.

Maggie
xx

Glenda said...

We too are experiencing some wonderful weather here in the Southern States! Today we are supposed to be in the 60's. Things are beginning to sprout, but I fear they will get bitten....winter isn't over here! Love your desk with all your goodies!

Karen said...

A great looking and very creative desk Elizabeth, thanks for sharing :) We have had a couple of nice Spring like days down South too and doesn't it just make you feel so much better for seeing the sun shining??
Thanks for stopping by & have a lovely day,
Karen #59

nnalorac said...

Me to Elizabeth!! Have left you something on my blog! Hope you will accept. Carolxx

lisa said...

Looks like you've been having fun with your cuttlebug, Elizabeth. I have a box with pieces of embossed card in too, you never know when they come in handy.
What do you think of your Ottlite. I'm quite interested in one but would love an independent review!!! You know what they're like on the telly for enthusing about things.
I agree with you about finding lovely new blogs while wandering among the WOYWWers. It's a real treasure trove.
It was like Spring here yesterday but we're back to Winter with gloom and cold again.
Hugs Lisax

Nicky said...

Love your desk and great use of your bits to emboss them redy to use - we have signs of spring in Kent to so many its just around the corner ~ Nicky no.6

Oliva Ohlson said...

So glad you like having fun with your cuttlebug...I love mine! I need to organized my basketfull of embossing folders...but then I get sidetracked by other things, and never get back to it! Thanks for stopping by :-)

karen said...

So glad I finally made it here for a visit! Great idea to have some embossed bits on hand for future projects! And the light you have sounds amazing! How does it replicate daylight? Special bulbs? I may have to google that! I love your little chicken cupboard! I am wondering what you store in there?! Tiny chickens perhaps :)
Thanks for visiting me!
xoxo Karen

akilli melek said...

Love using little scraps too, i never throw anything away. Good idea to have some pre-embossed bits of card ready to use.

Not playing this week, too busy sorting stuff out for my holiday. I'm heading home in 2 weeks time. cant wait.
caroline x