What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 590

 Afternoon Everyone

It was too much to hope that, after last week's unexpectedly early post, I'd make an equally early appearance this week. No excuses beyond the usual one of life getting in the way. And that life has not been made any better by the latest pandemic restrictions here in the UK. Sigh. I can't help thinking that we WOYWWers are luckier than many, we have our workdesks, and we have the weekly opportunity to keep in touch through Julia's weekly get together on the Stamping Ground. Our long distance camaraderie will help us through, I'm sure.

Spot the difference! I've had a major clean up and so much tidiness is good for this old soul. I'd say that I will keep my desk this clear but I think that would be too optimistic. Much too optimistic. Papercrafting tends to be a messy business, don't you think? That's another of my homemade scrap kits in the poly bag. This one is predominately blue in content with a little bit of black and white for contrast - much of it made up of scraps. Using up paper scraps could be said to be my current raison d'etre!

Warning: this is the enabling me now. On the left of the desk, just above the handy wee pack of heart shaped puffy stickers, is this pack of Heidi Swapp Color Magic Notes 18. The notes are white with an embossed design which is, when spritzed with a coloured ink like the Ocean blue Color Shine I used here, revealed. I wasn't sure how useful I'd find the notes but they've won me over ... I like that I can spray them any colour I need for a layout. . 

That's all from me this week except a for a few images that I thought you might appreciate this week.

First up, one for the sewers among us. 

Next, some naughty humour:

And finally ... 

Isn't that the truth!

Sunday Snippet Card - Autumn Birthday

Hello Everyone,

And happy Sunday to you too. I hope you are having a wonderful day. It's been perfect crafting weather here, dull, miserable and rainy, and I've been happily creating another layout for my son's 50th album. It's getting nearer completion but still a way to go. In the meantime, I have a little birthday card to share with you.

It's made from scraps from the bits and bobs box - I swear that box is really a Tardis!

Supplies used:
- a white card base measuring 5x7 inches
- scraps of white and green cardstock for topper and greeting
- a scrap of green ink spritzed masterboard - a leftover from an earlier project
- stamps: 'Variostamp Leaves' from Folia Bringmann; 'Autum Harvest' stamp set from For the Love of Stamps by Hunkydory
- inks: various green ink pads from my stash including Versafine 'Olympia Green' and Memento 'Tuxedo Black'
- pens; Promarkers in greens, browns, orange and yellow for colouring the autumn harvest image
- glitter glue: yellow, cinnamon and platinum Stickles to decorate the pumpkin and cones in the image

The 'Birthday wishes' stamp was originally all one stamp but, as I wanted the words to be separate, I snipped it in half, then stamped the two words on two very tiny scraps of white cardstock. They can still be stamped together if needed - no irreparable damage done.

That's it for this Sunday. Take care everyone and enjoy the rest of the day.

Hello Autumn - UKPC September Swap Card

Morning Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying today and maybe finding time to craft. The card I'm sharing this time was made for this month's swap for the Facebook group, UKPC, The theme was green and white - a favourite combination.

The 'inchie' tiles were made from an autumn inspired masterboard I created using a combination of leaf stamps and various green inks, as can be seen in this photo.

How the masterboard was made:

First, I found, in the bits and bobs box of course, this Gelli plate print piece, made using Vicki Boutin's 'Juicy Pear' green and Maggie Holmes 'Sunny Days' aqua acrylic paints ...

... and decided it would make a good base for stenciling and stamping on, using just about every green ink in my stash, to create a masterboard. First, I stenciled here and there with a Heidi Swapp trellis stencil, then a combination of leaves - from Folio Variostempel's Leaves set - in various greens was stamped over the entire surface of the print. To finish, texture was added with a Vicki Boutin stencil and Ranger's Opaque Matte Paste.

Other supplies used:
- dark green cardstock for card base and 'inchie' layering
- white embossed card for topper base - another piece found in my bits and bobs box embossed with an old but favourite trellis folder from Crafts-Too
- a 1½" square Woodware punch used to make the 'inchie' tiles
- dies: butterfly from 'Butterfly Dance' by Tattered Lace, dragonfly a mini die from Cut & Make from The Range.
- stamps: greeting from Hunkydory's 'Autumn Harvest'
- inks: various greens from Ink It Up!, Letterpress, Ranger's Distress Ink, Versafine, Papermania, ColorBox, We R Memory Keepers
- embellishment: yellow Stickles 

As everything used on this card has been in my stash for quite some time, I'm submitting it to Shopping Our Stash's Challenge #405 - Dream the Embossible Dream

And also to C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 528 - Autumn/Weather

Many thanks for visiting here today and any comments are much appreciated - especially as I know that, like me, you're likely to be very busy.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 514

Hello Everyone,

It's Julia's Whizzday, more usually known as WOYWW, so time to reveal the mess that is my desk today.

I've been getting back into crafting, the hitherto elusive mojo has returned, so there's stuff, lots of it, on my desk to show for it. I had a lovely day recently experimenting with paints and inks using a much neglected Creative Palette - more details in this previous post - and now I've begun to make cards with the results. Admittedly, there's only one completed card but it's a start. Still out, because I haven't gotten round to putting them away,  in a cluster in front of the screen, are the bottles of ink and the tubes of paint, a saucer of bits and bobs used for creating markings on the paint/ink covered palette, the brayer, the palette and a stencil too. To the front, from left to right, is the stamps used on the card, adhesive, and the pile of printed pieces and some plain card left from making the card.

The background for this card was created with a combination of Vicki Boutin's Blue Hawaiian acrylic paint, Limon ColorBox Crafter's ink and Heidi Swapp's Hot Pink Metallic Texture Paste which gives a lovely shimmery effect. And I admit that the die-cut butterfly is there to hide an spot of bad stamping! 

And finally, the book bit. Just one again this week but it's a lovely one.

Lucy Mangan's 'Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading' is a joy. As a child my late brother and I were two little bookworms and this book captures so perfectly the necessity we both felt to read just one more page/chapter, and of being totally unaware of anything/anyone else when when our noses were well and truly stuck in a good book. However, Bookworm isn't just a funny and endearing tour of the author's childhood reading but it also delivers an insight into the eccentricities of her family, some of which made me laugh out loud. It's a book full of food for thought and I heartily recommend it to bookworms everywhere.


That's it for today. Until our next Whizzday, I wish you all a wonderfully crafty week.

Mixed Media Backgrounds - Part 1

Hello again ...

... two posts in one day - I'm excelling myself! Actually, it's been lovely finding time to mess about in the craft room. It feels like an indulgence to be able to experiment with paints and inks again, and the Stampendous Creative Palette I mentioned in an earlier post. Here's the results of my playtime.

As you can see I dug out the brayer ... I can't remember when that was last used too ... and for these background pieces I used a selection of ink refills - from Colorbox, Ranger's, Vivid and Rollagraph - all almost as old as Methuselah but still very usable! I tried placing a stencil (Clarity) over the wet inks with mixed success but scoring the inks with the Vicki Boutin Art Wedge, comb and bottle top was more successful.

Next, I tried out acrylic paints, Vicki Boutin (Blue Hawaiian), Maggie Holmes (mint and blue) and Heidi Swapp metallic texture paste (Hot Pink).Love this combination of colours.

For these backgrounds I added a base of some cheap white acrylic, Wilkinson's, which worked very well. As did the more pricey Daler & Rowney cream Simply acrylic. Vicki Boutin's Juicy Pear provided a great pop of bright citrus against the blues and pinks already mentioned.

Finally, the disaster! This is what happens when the phone rings and the card is left down on the painted surface too long. Patches of the card softened and stuck to the drying paint. It's quite textured and looks rather like flock wallpaper. I'm still debating with myself on whether it's at all usable or only fit for the bin.

Next, I plan to use the backgrounds for cards. Immediately!! Well, at least within the next few days. So much better than stashing them away in a box to be forgotten. So, part 2 should follow soon.

Hope you found this resurrection of old crafty tools of interest. It's my shame that they've been languishing in a drawer forgotten and neglected. They deserve better treatment!

Thanks for visiting.