WOYYW 135

 

It is so good to be able to spread out now, in my new workspace.  One table is full of paper and everything that goes along with crafting ..... you know the type of thing, cutting machines, assortment of glue,  ribbons and embellishments.  I also have various bags and disorganised piles of work in progress.  Including a JYC album that has pages and front cover but no content, Halloween mini albums, and various others. 

Would you agree that I am somewhat behind?

The sewing machine was set up because this time I had a deadline.

Can you guess what I was making?  Or perhaps you'd like a peek?

And there is more peeking at Julia's where you can see more What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and thank you for visiting.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES.......

Well, I have finally started to move into my new work space!  I began to wonder if the day would ever arrive and   I will eventually buy a new work table and storage but for now I will try out the space and see what I want to do with it.   And I lost no time in making two books to take on holiday.  These will be used to record our travels and there was no time for elaborate works of art.  But at least I managed to put some pages together and add envelopes for storage and notes.

 

We are currently having a motor camper built, you see.  Another long term plan finally achieved.  Well, nearly... because at the moment it looks like this:

I am assured it will be ready for our holiday.  Let's say we are on a very tight schedule and I am trying hard to hold onto my optimism! 

I recently read about someone who kept a log book, recording the travels in his campervan.  After collecting these for a number of years he decided to add photos and have the pages professionally bound into volumes.  What a lovely idea, I thought.  And so I plan to record brief notes daily and I will add leaflets and things we collect, adding photos when we get home.  I won't have mine professionally bound since I like making my own books, but I like the idea of recording our travels.  We have lots of ideas planned for the future but first we  will be heading for north Wales.  And of course, I shall take a small kit with me because I will have a another new workspace to try out!!  

Here at Julia's you can see see what others are busy with.  Have a good week, what ever you are doing.

I HATE PACKING....

but I love it when I get there!  Yes, this weekend I am back at Belstead for 3 days and looking forward to some great company and 'me' time. My bags are bursting even though I am trying to pack less, I am sharing a car with my friend Jill and what's more, we plan to shop on our way!  I intend to finish my Journal Your Christmas album..... yes, I know it is nearly March but I am determined to complete it!  I have printed some more photos today and gathered bits together.  It's all in bags cluttering the hall.  Hope the won't be as much as last time....


Last week I went to the Stitch & Creative Craft show  and bought more Christmas papers, stamps, and other bits.  They were bargain prices so how could I not?!  There were some lovely pink papers and brads so they will add a change to my colour scheme which has so far been fairly traditional.  I've just noticed bright pink on one of my Christmas album pages (see photo above) so perhaps it's not so traditional after all!

Here are some of the things I bought.  Some Spellbinder dies for my Hot Shot which I will be using lots this weekend, and I especially love the fabric 'Bloomers' made by Websters Pages.  I've hankered for these for a long time but thought I try and make my own. As often the case there has not been the time so I hankered no more!  I just need to make sure I use them and not just admire.  I also bought more paper flowers to add to my collection, and some gorgous papers which are also Websters Pages. These are double sided and at 50p a sheet how could I resist?  I'm just surprised I didn't buy more. 
 
 

One of the other things I bought are Decopatch tissue papers.  I already had a stock (far more than I realised actually) but couldn not resist the beautiful colours and designs.  I bought some fibreboard shapes to cover and started today thinking this would be quick and easy.  Little did I reckon on the gecko's fiddly feet!!  I had planned to make this as a gift, but as it should have been posted on Monday I may have to rethink my plan. 

My postings seem less frequent lately as I have been busy and work remains a preoccupation.  Hopefully things will settle a little from here on and I have some annual leave due next week. Yay!!  The car is booked in for it's overdue service, hair cut booked, and I have lots to do at home to catch up.  But I plan to see friends and have time with my granddaughters on Monday.  Lovely!! 

Best get on with the packing......

CREATING CHRISTMAS

Since my last blog I have been busy creating Christmas and coping with the snow. I love the contrast of seasons so in a way I relish the current weather and it really does feel like Christmas. At home we have had to contend with frozen water pipes which have now been lagged so hopefully no more problems. We have also been unable to get to work some days as the road conditions have been just too bad. This has given me time to do other things and for the first time in many years we actually put the Christmas tree up on 1st December and decorated the house. Usually I make most my cards but this year decided not to put myself under pressure and bought most instead. I tried not to feel guilty but decided I wanted to put my energy into something different this year. So I have taken part in Shimelle's Journal your Christmas. Being snowed in gave me the perfect opportunity to make my album and put my first pages together.

















Unfortuantely life happened, as it always does, so the rest of my pages remain as ideas and prompts ready to put together. I'm really enjoying the daily downloads from Shimelle and thinking about Christmas past & present.

This photo was taken last week for 'What's on Your Workdesk. Wednesday?' But I did not have time to post..... the table looks much the same, and much remains work in progress though my cards are now finished. One of the other albums on the table is 'Inspiration Everywhere', another e-course I have been doing. This was a free offering from the talented Jessica Sprague. It involved making an album to use for art journalling, and there were some lovely papers and ideas, including making a CD of inspirational music and doing hand prints which was a lot of fun.
If you share my interest in creative e-courses you may also be interested in Big Picture. They offer free classes as well as a range of others which are reasonably priced. One I am signed up for starts in Feburary and is called 'Embrace Imperfection'. A good way to start the new year!


One exciting event has been the recent arrival of a new granddaughter, Wren.

I will write about this another time but I mention it because a friend of my daughter did a wonderful photoshoot of the baby and her sisters. It was the perfect gift and I have used some of these photos for my Christmas cards this year.
The photos are very special and I can see these being used in lots of future projects.


TodayI received more dies through the post for my new Big Shot. Oh the excitement and anticipation!! I'm starting to experiment and getting to know what this machine is capable of. Today I have been making my own rubber stamps using a Tim Holzt alphabet die. I started by cutting the shapes from a sheet of funky foam and backed them onto EZ Mount so I can print using an acrylic block . So good so far....

Spot the not-deliberate mistake? I thought I had considered mirror image when placing the foam on the die, but forgot that this will be reversed again when it is printed! I always find it best to learn by mistakes and I can remedy this by taking the letters off the foam mount and reversing it. It just means cutting the backing all over again, tedious but at least I can watch a Christmas film on tv while doing it! I got the idea from a YouTube video. I love the way people are so generous in their sharing and I wanted to pass this on as it is so useful.
I will show you the stamps when I have finished them. I would not have thought to use my Big Shot in this way so am getting quite excited as all the possibilities. I have also been busy sewing and will share these next week as they are Christmas presents and I want no peeking! Tonight I have presents to wrap. Top of the Pops Christmas Special is playing in the background so it is feeling quite festive, specially with snow lying outside and the prospect of more to come.











Have a very Happy Christmas. Some people will have plans disrupted because of the weather & impact on travel. What ever you do, be safe, and have a happy and peaceful holiday.