WOYWW Week 894/114 - The Rose Grower

Hello Everyone,

Happy WOYWW to you all. I hope you are well. I'm happy to report that the temperature has dropped to a much more acceptable level up here at last. 

So what's on my workdesk today? That is, apart from the usual muddle of stuff around the working area. I think I need some shelving put up above the desk to hold all these untidy yet essential bits and pieces. Something definitely needs to be done!

Well, there's  a pile of recently completed pages. Yesterday, I forced myself to sit down and add journaling to each page and now they are ready to be filed in the relevant albums. 

On top is a stack of the lists I keep with details about each page made. They come in very useful when I'm posting pages online. 

Just under those is a plastic bag containing the the bits and pieces used in the making of the last scrap page. It includes some dies I used to make heart and butterfly embellishments for this page. The blue letters used in the title are from a set that are so old they are not dated. Producers didn't date scrapbooking products until fairly recently. 

The layout is based on a Premium Sketch from Scrap-a-Sketch. The photo is of my beloved Alan posing proudly under his favourite climbing rose.  He was a keen and knowledgeable rose grower. 

And finally, because I know she has her fan club among you WOYWWers, here's this week's pic of Silver.

This one was taken just after I'd brushed her coat. A service she demands regularly! She's  a very fastidious cat. 

As usual, I'll post this to Sarah's Craft Shed where you can see many much more creative workdesks every Wednesday. If you don't already do so, feel free to join in the fun and show us what's on your workdesk today. You'll be made most welcome.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone,

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

WOYWW Week 891/111 - Organising Stash

Hello Everyone,

I hope you've all had a good week whatever the weather. Here on Scotland's west coast we've had rain which has brought the temperatures down - much more comfortable to live with. 

This morning my desk is looking reasonably tidy. That's because I've been sorting through and organising papers, scraps and embellishments in the hope it's easier to make better use of it all. This started with me looking for what I call background papers, i.e. those with little or no pattern on them. I'm not sure how fascinating this is to you as it is to me all but here's where I've got to so far.

Up until now the papers in these trays were sorted by colour and I'd got into the habit of shoving all the scraps in with whole sheets. It got messy, and time consuming, to sort through. Now it's just whole sheets sorted by theme, e.g. the seasons, special occasions, and, on the top tray, suitable background papers. 

Sundry patterned papers are now easily accessed on a trolley to the left of the craft desk, out of the weekly shot. On the top shelf there's the full 12x12 patterned sheets together with a few full size sheets of stickers, and, of course, essential treats for Silver!

Larger sized scraps are now in the middle shelf and narrow strips on the bottom. 

That left all those much smaller ones that are too good to toss but difficult to file tidily. 

It's scraps like these that got me in to cardmaking years ago, but I don't make cards now so I am trying to incorporate as many as possible into my layouts. Being environmentally conscious prevents me from tossing them in the bin!

The homemade kit I pulled out yesterday included a fabulous paper from the 'Carefree' collection by Heidi Swapp which now forms the base for this layout.

The theme of the collection is of a dry sandy desert. I'm nowhere near a desert but there's plenty coastal sandy beaches. The two photos here, from 2022, are of scenes from Ayr. The boat is of MVF Watchful, a historic herring ring net fishing boat which, though it looked abandoned in the river estuary, was in fact intended to be a monument to all the souls lost at sea. Sadly, since the photo was taken the boat has been, having been found unsafe, demolished and removed.  The second photo is of the South Beach sand dune area that was used in the making of an episode of the TV series, 'Shetland'. Both photos are mounted on scraps of paper - that's a few more saved from the bin!

Finally, as Silver isn't posing in the desk shot this morning, here's a pic that made me laugh.

She clearly thinks I've no right to be laughing at her!

To see more creative workdesks pop over to Sarah's blog, Sarah's Craft Shed. If you don't already do so, feel free to join in the fun and show us what's on your workdesk this Wednesday. You'll be made most welcome.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone,

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 798/18

Hello and Good Afternoon Everyone,

I'd love to say I have a great excuse for being late but it wouldn't be true. As my mother would have said, I'm like the coo's (cow's) tail, all behind! I just can't seem to get organised and it shows on my desk.

See what I mean. It's a mess. To quote a fellow desker, Lynn of One I Made Earlier, I need 'to give it all a good coat of looking at' and and then just sort it all out!!!

Maybe I should explain a little of why things have got to this abysmal stage. As well as being the designated craft room, this room became my bedroom. I had to move out of the main bedroom when Alan was becoming increasingly disabled so he had the necessary space to move around with his walker or in his wheelchair. While I slept in here, I kept it reasonably organised, crafting in one area, sleeping in the other. However, recently, after many months of dithering, swithering and generally being somewhat unwilling, I have moved back into the main bedroom. And what an upheaval it's been. Stuff has gone from one room to be stored in the other. Result the main bedroom is a haven of peace and tranquillity but the craft room is in a real muddle. I dare not show you the rest of the room - it's the very definition of chaos! I'm ashamed. 

Unlike Jan of Lunch Lady Jan's Fabric Frenzy, brave lady that she is, I won't be posting a photo of the bed! See her post here. Like she says, it's just become an extra work surface. In my case it's a dumping ground! 

So if you'd rather see more organised workdesks than mine, and why wouldn't you, do pop over to the keeper of desks, Sarah on Sarah's Craft Shed and check out the many links thereon. Better still, why don't you join in the fun and let us see what's on your workdesk too.

As there's no show without Punch, here's Silver's contribution today.

'Me, shameless, not a bit of it!'

Best wishes to you all. Have a wonderful week.

Take care Everyone,

Elizabeth 

WOYWW - Week 564

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing? It's been quite a week. So much to get used to in a very short time. I hope you are all well during this period of enforced isolation. And that those of you who are key workers are doing okay. We are immensely grateful for all you do.

I hit a bit of a wall for a while this last week. Because I'm retired I would have said that I don't go out often, that most of my days are home based anyway. But, what with the cancelling a variety of appointments, the shut-down of the quilting classes and craft group, not to mention closure of all my favourite coffee shops, and, worst of all, the freedom to visit family and friends whenever, I now realise that I get out and about a lot. And so, not surprisingly, I'm at a bit of a loss on how to fill all those extra hours. It will pass but, in the meantime, I'll be trying, along with all of you I'm sure, to stay positive in the coming weeks.

Enough of that! You're here to see what's on my desk this morning.

It's another page for one of the classes I'm following at the moment. That's Freya and Josh (our great-nephew and great-niece) home-schooling. It's early days but they are sticking in and making the best of things. The background paper, Pinkfresh Studio's Felicity 'Happy Words', couldn't be more appropriate. I can't decide whether it needs a separate title or to let the 'Don't Worry Be Happy' do the job.

Here's what's on the right side of the desk.

Still a pile of page kits to work through, but it's going down - slowly but surely. Here, for the curious, is what I did with the one that was on top of the pile last week.

Finally, these lovely photos of Juli as a bridesmaid are in her album. She was fourteen at the time - 1985 - a lifetime away.

Just out of focus in the last desk shot is this. The new shelving expressly bought to house all the stamps that will go into those empty DVD style cases. I'd like to say I've made great headway with this project, but I haven't. Not yet. There's plenty of time.

Instead, I've been sorting through and making more space for this growing collection of albums. The two to the right on the upper shelf are new and therefore empty. I figure that they will soon be filled up over the coming weeks.

I have been knitting - yet another hat. I love this tweedy wool - the colours remind me of our Highlands. There's enough wool left, I think, I hope, to knit a matching scarf.

The knitting is keeping me occupied while I watch recordings of Jamie Oliver showing us how to use what we have in our pantry ... isn't that a lovely old-fashioned word ... fridge and freezer. Not that I don't know how to make the most of whatever I have in, my mother taught me well, but it's good to see Jamie 'keep cooking and carry on'.

And here, finally, for your amusement.

The hat, as modeled by Elizabeth!

Take care, stay safe and keep well.

WOYWW - Week 559

Hello Everyone,

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday seems to come round a day earlier every week. I spotted some of you in my feed yesterday. Well done to all the early deskers but I just can't keep up - I'm like the coo's tail - always behind!

Photo taken yesterday evening. The craftroom sorting is still ongoing and it's the turn of the enamel drops which, up till now, have been kept in an absolute guddle in a pretty, but pretty useless, tin. So, I've found a better box - once an office index box - and created dividers with tabs made with a die from Crafter's Companion's Die'sire Essentials 'Just the Ticket' set.

Another pic from yesterday. I used markers in the nearest shades to the colours of those delicious dots.

And here's what's on the desk this morning! All dots filed and looking tidy. It's good but I'm thinking it's needs a bit more thought. However, it will have to do for now because there's a lot more sorting to do. Sigh.

And then there's this. The recent storms and the continuing horrible weather has me wanting more cosy knitted hats. One of the ladies in my Thursday craft group gave me this mammoth ball of yarn she no longer loved. Happily, I do love it. It's a lovely shade of purple with the added interest from random flecks of colour too. It's nice and chunky too - so quick to knit up. The pattern is a very easy one I've knitted a few times now - it doesn't require a lot of concentration so perfect while TV viewing.

And finally today ...

The EM has been busy. Daughter Juli was looking for a spice rack, admired the one in our kitchen, mentioned how expensive the one's she's been looking at are. Et voila! One custom made spice shelf for the use of. Delighted daughter, happy dad!

That's it from me this week. I'm off now to see what Julia and our fellow deskers have been showing us today.

Take care everyone and have a great week ahead.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 322

Hi Everyone,

Back again this week! And it's the second week in a row I'm managing to participate in What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday ... I'm doing well :)

Still not much going on but I have the start of a card laid out waiting for a flash of inspiration. There's that snoozing kitten again, a roll of Washi tape, used for parcel wrapping and not put away, and a bag of 'twinchie' sized stamps - mostly freebies from Craft Stamper. The stamp on the acrylic block is the one that came with the embossing folder.  I fished the green embossed card out of the box on the left and challenged myself to do something with it.

That box is a catch-all for the various bits and pieces I've stamped, decoupaged, inked, Gelli-printed, etc. Catching them in one place like this would be all very well if I did something with them but often as not these bits just get forgotten. But no longer! This is the week that I've decided the box will be, if not emptied, at least have the contents thinned out, considerably thinned out. There is a very good reason for this surge of productivity - well there would have to be a very good reason. It is that the craft room is going to be decorated next month, at last - we've only been here 20 months - which means that the craft room is going to be emptied of all stash to allow the EM, painter/decorator in residence, to work his magic. My job between now and then is to purge the contents and pack up what is being kept. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

Having said all that, I'm now abandoning the sort out and heading over to Julia's at the Stamping Ground where there's links to a lot more desks, much more interesting than mine, to peek at.

Have a great week.

Happy WOYWW to you all.

WOYWW 195

Morning WOYWWers, Followers and Bloggers All,

Wednesday again! And a lovely day it is here too - the sun is shining, we have a blue sky - and here's what's on my desk this morning.

I've been organising my humongous ribbon collection ... and baker's twine, and cord, and fibres! As you can see I've simply wrapped the ribbon, or whatever, round sheets of white card - colours sorted alphabetically - and slipped them into plastic inserts. They are then filed into some inexpensive but pretty ring binders found at one of the nation's largest supermarkets. Three ring binders, to be precise! It's shameful to have so much ribbon, etc., - hoarding at it's worst!!! During the process a drawer, several boxes, and not a few of those hanging up thingies, have been emptied/cleared/removed - the craft space is looking a lot less untidy than it did.

I've still to sort out a wee box of fibres ... later ... then it's back to cataloguing the stamps. A job I wish I'd thought of from the outset, but then it's easy to be wise after the event, and I certainly didn't think that I'd ever invest in more than a handful of stamps. Beginners, be warned! Mine, may be a modest hoard collection but it's proving difficult to keep track of what is where. 

To the left of the binders is a wee pile of photos and a sketch - the next scrap page project. At the back, on top of the usual mess crafting necessities, there's the latest issue of Craft Stamper - you can see the brilliant free stamp lying beside that much needed cuppa. I can see those little people being very usefully employed on scrap pages :) 

That's it for today - short and sweet, just like Julia likes it. Julia who? Julia Dunnit, of course, the brilliant instigator of this weekly desk fest. Hop on over to the Stamping Ground and join in, if you don't already. Once I've linked up, I'll be popping into to check out as many desks as I can ... I may be some time :)

Take care everyone and have a very happy WOYWW. 

WOYWW 184

Hi Everyone,

I'm back ... couldn't skip another week of WOYWW. I had withdrawal symptoms after missing last week but I was just too overwhelmed with stuff ... life and all that ... that I knew it wouldn't be fair to you all. This week promises to be much less frantic so, whilst I can't promise to visit each and every WOYWWer, I will pop over to as many as I can.

What's WOYWW - it's the week's biggest and most enjoyable blog hop arranged, as ever, by the wonderful Julia Dunnit over at the Stamping Ground. If you've never tried it, you don't know what you're missing :)

Here's my desk today ... well, actually, last thing last night, so trust me it hasn't changed at all.

I've been sifting through the photographs we had printed yesterday ... looking for a half-decent one of me, good enough to put in a scrap layout for a challenge. The choice is very thin :( I'm the one that's usually behind the camera!

The bun tray is an idea I've pinched from Shimmelle ... saw her using it in a couple of videos recently - click this link to view one. Having a small selection of tiny embellishments nice and handy saves an awful lot of clutter, not to mention the effort involved in getting up and down every time I need to find some buttons, brads, card candi, etc. It's also encouraged me to use some of those small lengths of leftover ribbon, lace and twine I've been saving forever. I'll simply replenish items as and when required. It has already proved very useful when making the gift tags that are piled on top of our address book ... another absolute essential at this time of the year.

That's it for today ... keeping it brief because none of us has time to read reams just now ... too many other things to do in the run up to Christmas. That being so, I hope you all take care, have a lovely WOYWW and a good week ahead.

Happy Crafting,