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

Remembering a Very Special Day

Unforgettable!

It's 29 years since I married this lovely man. Missed always. 

Elizabeth

Scrapbook Page - Recording Memories of the Scottish Highlands

Hello Everyone, 

10/2025 - On Honeymoon

Now that the heatwave has ended and my garden is soaking up the much needed rain, I suddenly have more time on my hand to do some scrapping and I'm using it to catch-up with recording all the lovely memories I have stored away in my photo collection. It's an extensive collection and the chances are I will never really catch-up. Just as I am unlikely to use up all my old stash. Especially when I'm so sorely tempted to buy some of the new collections released each year. 

However, that's the two main aims for this year and this page is one that combines both a happy memory and old stash. Tick! 

The photo is of my beloved Alan taken when we were up in the Scottish Highlands on honeymoon in August 1996. We got married in July but had to delay the honeymoon until we could both have time off work. I'd just returned in June from a year of study in America - a great experience but an expensive one. To recoup some of what I had to spend, I did some temping in a GP's surgery for a few weeks before the trip. It wasn't the first time we had been to Scotland together, We'd gone up the summer before stopping to introduce him to family in Ayrshire on the way. Alan had completely fallen for both my family and Scotland and couldn't wait to return.  I think you can tell from that lovely smile that he was delighted to be back in the Highlands. 

The layout was inspired by not much more than the materials that I had available in a kit I had put together prior to packing up and moving house in 2022. Though I should mention that Shimelle's classes, Half and Half and New Pages from Old Stash, have clearly influenced the outcome. I just built up layers of scraps to mat the photo and then created a half and half page for the background. It's a tried and tested formula that works well when using up scraps. 

I wish I could give more precise information on what's been used but I all I remember is that most of the papers are from an old Project Life collection. The light green scrap is from 49 and Market's Kaleidoscope Solids Pack 3 from 2014 - that is old. The alphas are from Elle's Studio Jane collection of 2021 - not so old. A few of the stickers are from Dear Lizzy and the wooden button is from Cocoa Vanilla Studio's Storyteller - one of my all-time favourite collections. 

I thinks that's enough from me now. There's so much more scrapping waiting to be done.

Hope those of you in the UK are enjoying the Spring Bank Holiday despite the inclement weather! And those not in the rainy UK, have a happy Monday no matter where you are. 

Take care

Elizabeth 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 833

Hello Everyone,

Happy WOYWW to you all.

After having missed last week's celebrations, I almost decided not to post today but here I am hoping to write the fasted WOYWW post ever, We've had the most heatwave of heatwaves up here in Scotland. Totally unexpected and I, for one, am not acclimatised to anything like it. So much so, I've been suffering from heat exhaustion. My own fault! I went out in the midday sun and only fools do that. You'd think someone in their late seventies would know better!! I've recovered but. as you can imagine, very little has been accomplished in the meantime. The photo above was actually planned for last week's post. I hope you all enjoyed WOYWW's 16th Anniversary celebrations. I was so sad to have to miss it. 

This is the desk this morning. I have to admit that there's not been a lot going on, Not here in the craftroom and not out in the garden either. It was all going so well too! Anyway, yesterday was my kid brother's birthday. Looking for pics of him had me dashing down the proverbial rabbit hole. There's nothing quite like a sibling's birthday to make me nostalgic for the 'good old days' when we were young and the world was, well, different!

While I'm showing what's actually on my desk, I think I should reveal what there is to the right of it. Stuff, of course. Paper kits, stencils, Nuvo drops, a basket of small paper punches, the guillotine, more scrappy stash, sketches, rulers and an essential, the TV remote control. There's more underneath. Carefully horded embellishments and the basket of punches is perched on top of a box of old photographs. Family history that I'm trying to record for posterity or, if not that, for my very interested granddaughter, 

09/2025 - Movie News

This is the page that was in progress last week. The photos are from the news photos that appeared when Hollywood came to Glasgow to make the movie Batgirl in January 2022. It's the second of it's sort filmed in the city. The Victorian architecture makes the perfect backdrop to these movies. To quote my granddaughter, 'Glasgow is the new Gotham City'. 

Still aiming to use as much of my old stash as possible, most of the materials here are pre 2022 with the exception of the die-cuts in the embellishment clusters. They are from a more recent collection - Shimelle's 'Reasons to Smile'. An impulse buy last year. What can I say? It's so difficult to resist all the lovely new collections. I try. I try.

As Silver has aready had a starring role in this week's post, here's just one of the photos I unearthed from the box of memories yesterday to mark my brother Colin's 73rd birthday. 

Here he is with my middle sister, Margaret, It's lovely. They were lovely. They still are lovely. They are both wearing sweaters our mother made on her knitting machine. I remember them well. 

And finally, 

As if there is any doubt!

That's it for this week from me. Once again, I'm sorry I missed last week so belated congratulations to Julia, who dreamed up WOYWW for us all to enjoy for so many years, and to Sarah for taking up the baton and keeping the weekly desk fest going. Long may it continue. 

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone, 

Take care, 

Elizabeth 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 826

Hello Everyone,

Happy Wednesday. Happy WOYWW too.

This is not really what's on my desk this morning but it's a photo taken back in February, the last time I did make a page.  Since then there's been a lot of dreaming and scheming but no actual scrapbooking done. 

This then is only the second page completed so far this year. It's an old photo taken from last year's  Three Towns Explored calendar. The term 'three towns' is used in reference to the towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston in North Ayrshire which together form a contiguous settlement along the shore of the Clyde Estuary. Since moving here to Ardrossan I have become fascinated with the history of the towns and surrounding area. 

The materials used to make the page are from the Scrappyroo Scrapbook Supplies October kit, purchased while I was doing all that dreaming and scheming mentioned earlier. This is not a paid promotion, but it is a lovely kit and I could be tempted to buy more in future. Just as soon as I get busy scrapping again.

Talking of dreaming and scheming as I am today, and as I hinted in last week's post, I've been longing to make a garden. It's been on my mind since we moved in just over two years ago but, of course, other more pressing needs prevented me actually doing anything about it. For the record here's a photo of just how neglected the garden was.

Shameful! Hardly a redeeming feature to be seen. Even the shed is on it's last legs and there is no boundary between the strip that is my backyard and that of my neighbour in the flat (apartment) above mine. 

At the end of last year, I finally decided to do something about it and drew up a plan of sorts. 

This plan. It's basic and will probably change in time but it gave me a starting point. 

The first thing I did was order the summerhouse.

It's arrival was delayed by winter and a certain, now notorious, Storm Eowyn! One thing that has become very apparent is that Ardrossan could be a contender for the stormiest town on the west coast of Scotland so there will be no greenhouse. The summerhouse will have to do double duty as a potting shed, somewhere to grow seeds and a retreat in which to sit and idle the hours away.

Next came a fence to create a boundary.

This area of the garden is now enclosed. The area to the front is where the washing lines are and wher the two poles on the boundary are shared. I'm not sure why this is so. Perhaps it was intended to encourage neighbourliness, or more likely to save money. The apartment blocks were built by the council in the post-war period in answer to the increased need for affordable housing. Today apartment blocks like mine are a mix of privately owned flats like mine and council owned like my neighbour above, 

Since these photos were taken a gate has been fitted and trellising added to the picket fencing ready for the planting of the climbing plants I visualise scrambling up and over and around all that brown wood.  

Digging and clearing, not by me I hasten to add but by a neighbour's son, has unearthed paving hidden by the overgrown grass and evidence we believe that the land was once used as allotments. Possibly as part of the war effort to dig for victory. It's a nice thought. 

Needless to say, I'm now busy acquiring plants - quite a few. The plan is to keep it mainly grassed but to introduce wild flowers where possible like those in this photo - snowdrops, bluebells, wild daffodils, and wood anemone. There's also wild garlic which, as it spreads too readily, will be planted up in a pot.  There's more. The climbers - clematis, honeysuckle, wild sweet pea, and my favourite rambling rose, Albertine is on order.  As are a couple of small trees,  rowan and an amelanchier (also known as serviceberry or juneberry) to encourage birds to visit. Which brings me to my last photo for today.

Silver has found herself the perfect lookout post. She's clearly intent on monitoring the local cat and bird population.  Seriously, she loves being out in the garden with me. My own little gardening companion. 

And finally, the funny is back.

So that it from me this week. Thanks to everyone who read last week's post and also for the lovely comments left. Sorry if I didn't leave you a comment. Must try harder. I'm just out of practice as could be seen from the mess I made of leaving a link on Sarah's blog - Sarah's Craft Shed - where you can find even more clever crafters revealing what's on their desks this week. 

Goodbye for now and thanks for reading this far. I wish you all a very good week.

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 797/17

Hello Everyone,

It's been another while. Another unscheduled break. I won't make any declarations along the lines of being back for good this time. But I'm here today and there's something on my workdesk too.

Another of my kits made from a combination of old stash ...

and leftover scraps. The tan and brown printed paper is actually a sheet of saved wrapping paper that I thought too nice to toss. 

I'd also included a stencil that I thought would be great for a mixed media background. Taking my cue from the two chosen photos - there's rather a lot of sand in each - I inked through it with the colour Pumice Stone in Ranger's Distress Ink. The spatters were created with Heidi Swapp's Colorshine spray in Teal picking up on the blue of the hills in the distance.

The photos were taken on my first visit to Barmouth in Wales in 1995. City born and bred, Alan much preferred to be by the sea so when we met he couldn't wait to introduce me to this little seaside town. I'm a city girl too but, in truth, I didn't like sand. At all! Not between my toes, in my hair or on my clothes. Not anywhere.  Fortunately there's more to the town than sand, those blue remembered hills for instance, and I did grow to enjoy visiting Barmouth as much as he did. 

Like the layout in yesterday's post, no new stash was used in the making of today's page. The stencil is from Design Worx. 

I enjoyed having a go at a mixed media background again and there's a lot of satisfaction to be got from using up old leftover scraps of paper. Anyone looking through my album in the future won't have any idea the materials were old when the page was made. Well, not unless, like you, they've read this post!

And finally, 

Silver couldn't resist the empty wash basket and beat me to it. 

As always, I will do my best to visit and comment on the posts, Blogger permitting, of everyone who leaves a link on Sarah's post today. 

Best wishes to you all for a brilliant week. 

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

Beautiful & Tasty Bouquet - A Scrapbook Page

 

As most readers will know, I love having flowers around me, but since Silver, the very curious kitten, joined the family three years ago, I've had to find safer spots in which to display my vases. This beautiful bouquet, a gift from my son and his family, was very quickly tasted, smelled, and finally tipped over, reminding me of how careful I should be. Of course, I just had to make a page to record the story for my 2024 album.

Materials: Heidi Swapp's 'Set Sail' collection; Pebbles' 'Kid At Heart' collection; embellishments from a selection from American Crafts,, Simple Stories, Doodlebug and 49 And Market collections.

Layout inspiration from Lisa Sikorski's Scrap A Sketch.

For the record: I've had to take some extended sick leave. Not so much because of the infection I had but because of my over sensitivity to one of the antibiotics prescribed. I'm not sure which is worse, the infection or the 'cure'! I'm on the mend but it's a slow process - I don't think it helps to be as ancient as I am - and I'm beginning to feel more able to scrap and blog again.  

PS: I wouldn't wish allergic reactions to antibiotics on anyone!

Take care everyone

Elizabeth