WOYWW - Wk 176 - What's On Your Workdesk

Hi WOYWWers, Followers and All,

Last week I wasn't up to participating in WOYWW and missed the fun so I'm back this week to join in the massive weekly snoop around the world's crafty spaces courtesy of the estimable Julia Dunnit, our amazing keeper of the desks, over at the Stamping Ground. Don't know what this is all about - where have you been?!?! To join in click on the WOYWW icon on the left sidebar there - you'll enjoy the experience :)

This photo was taken late Tuesday evening but I can assure you it will look exactly the same in the morning. In the forefront, what you see is the beginnings of a Halloween tag! Now, I don't do Halloween but the EM suggested that I make an exception this year and create a card for our wee granddaughter because she does do it. She gets into costume and enjoys the whole witches, ghosties, spiders and scare-yourself-rigid thing. Instead of a card, I've opted to make her a tag to hang in her room - she'll love it :) I haven't really got a plan, I'm just playing around with a couple ideas and I've pulled out some supplies that I think might be useful - suitably spooky paper, coordinating cardstock, ribbons and trims, black ink pad, of course, a couple of punches, a roll of spider web-like stuff, and the Hougie (my trusty score board) - there's the beginning of a rosette lying on top. That bit of grey card at the front is my go-to tag template - I made it a couple of years ago and it's still going strong.

At the back, among all the usual bits of crafty stuff, you can see a few tubes of rub-n-buff in a dish, a bottle of really good adhesive, a box of baby wipes, oh, and my treasured WOYWW badge :)) There's also a couple of cards I've just completed - they are propped up on top of two packs of card bases from Craftwork Cards and Docrafts Papermania  papers and flowers, from the Chelsea Green Capsule Collection, used in the making, are still on top of the baby wipe box waiting to be put away. Here's a couple of close-ups:

Lovely paper and I just love red and green together :)

Finally, just in front of the chook cupboard is a card the postie delivered only this morning :)

It's a swap card from Julia S-W at Julia's Stuff - isn't it fabulous!

I love everything about it - the inked and embossed background is beautiful and the glossy inked flowers are gorgeous and who wouldn't love the cute rabbit and the goose. Another wonderful piece that will go up on my display shelf and be treasured. Julia's post on how she created this card is here.


Mrs D will probably not be one bit surprised that I've nattered on as usual ... hope she will forgive me, yet again :)

Hoping to get around to visiting a goodly number of you today, though I cannot promise to visit you all - wish I could but there are so many of you and so little time :) However, I do promise to do my best and if you leave a comment I will definitely return the visit and leave you a comment too as long as Mr Blogger isn't playing up ... he has already signed me out, with absolutely no by your leave, while I've been writing up this post!

In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful week and a happy WOYWW.

Happy crafting,

Tuscany Hills ... two cards from one sheet of toppers

Morning All

I trust you are all well and that yesterday turned out to be a good Monday for you.

The cards I'm sharing with you this morning were made some time ago now and they have been lying in the basket forgotten till today. Both cards, a note card and a birthday card, feature toppers from the same Italian themed  Kanban sheet  - Casa Colonica.

For the note card I used an off-cut of Kraft cardstock trimmed, scored and folded to make a card base measuring 4" x 5¾" covered in paper from Prima's 6x6 Botanical collection. For the layering I used papers from Docraft's Papermania 6x6 Birdsong collection topped off with a strip of the Prima paper - bakers twine has been wound round and tied with a bow topped with a button before attaching the topper which was matted on to a piece of the Birdsong paper. Butterflies punched from the leftover edges of the topper sheet;  and decorated with pearls embellish the front. Off-cuts of the Prima paper decorate the inside.

This card was made for my elderly uncle's birthday. As he is well-travelled and loves Italy, I thought this would please him and maybe even give him the desire to visit Tuscany again.

The base is a square white deckle-edged card covered in Basic Grey's Origins 6x6 paper pad matted on to some textured gold paper, I've forgotten the source but I think it was from the fab box of goodies Jo of Jozart sent me some time ago.

This topper is built up in several layers - I hope you can see this in the photo - and matted on to more of the gold textured paper. All papers are edged with a Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy ink pad. Caramel/white baker's twine was wrapped around one of the layers several times and just knotted. The inside is decorated with strips of leftover paper. 

When it comes to making quick cards - especially if, as in this case, I've nearly forgotten the birthday so rushing at the last minute -  I've found Kanban's sheets of toppers really handy and I like the quality of the card too. My favourite craft centre carries a great stock of them too and that means I can cherry pick for ones that I really like and I don't have to buy an entire collection.

Time for bed for me now - yes, it's the early hours again. We are visiting Arihanna later today so I need to be as fresh as a daisy for the trip.

Thanks for looking and take care everyone.

Happy crafting,

Polka Dots and Winter Botanicals ... and a trip to the tower

Happy Monday Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had as lovely a weekend as we have had here. We did take off on a trip to visit our friends in Dumfries in Galloway yesterday - more of later.

First I'd like to share this quick and easy snippet card.

You may have spotted it on my desk in a recent WOYWW post.

It's just a square deckle-edged card base covered with fab polka-dotted paper from Raspberry Road Designs' Christmas Collection, another one of the embossed bits out of the box, with the Sizzix Winter Botanicals embossing folder, Botanical Patch, matted on to a scrap of brown card.

The greeting - I've long forgotten where this came from but it is computer generated - the Anna Griffin red velvet ribbon, red gems (Anita's) and the red card candy are all from stash.

I said it was quick and easy :)

So many snippets means I'm heading over to Di's Sunday Snippets #42 - I see she is back from the WOYWW crop and I'll be slipping over there after I've finished writing up this post to read all about it :)

Now, a little more about our weekend jaunt. Every year on this particular weekend - the weekend before the clocks go back - we visit our friends, Brian and Margaret, in Kirkcudbrightshire. It is usually the last time we see them before the winter sets in because neither drivers, the EM and Brian, enjoy driving in the dark and then, of course, there's the weather - the roads can be perilous in the winter. The route winds through hill and moor country - beautiful but incredibly isolated.

And, because I know some of you enjoy seeing photos of our gorgeous Scottish scenery, here's just one of the many hundreds of photos I have of the gorgeous countryside we pass through - this is looking down on the start of Loch Ken.

Also on the route we pass this oddly situated tower house:




We can't help wonder who would live in such an isolated location






It's a restored 16th century tower.

However, when you can see views like this from your windows, why wouldn't you want to live in a place like that?

The imposing entrance. Note the cameras - they seem strangely out of place out there where there is nothing but uninterrupted views all around ... I'd think that anyone approaching could be clearly seen for miles!

Okay, if you've got this far, thanks for staying the course :))

I've just been hailed from below - it's time for a bowl of soup before I get to disappear into the craft room for a bit of crafty play. The EM is expecting delivery of his new laptop today - that should keep him busy for an hour or two too :))

Hope you have a great day and happy crafting.