WOYWW #446.. Pretty tidy for me..

Hey,

Hello WOYWWers!!

The last time I played along was July 2016 (WOYWW #370)...

I can't believe it has been so long.

I recently sent Julia a Christmas card and I was delighted to receive one back from her, but her note made me think about you all and the delight I've always taken in seeing your desks.

I stopped playing along as I was traveling so much with work, I really wasn't able to comment on all your desks and it upset me to not return the compliment of a desk visit.

I have also been a bit poorly, cue major op, large complication, 8 weeks off of work - but let's not worry about that, as I am now 100% fit and well and better than ever.

So here I am back for right now..

My desk today (well last night..) is pretty tidy for me! You can see my stamp perfect in action (faux MISTI) I was making baby cards last night, there has been a ridiculous amount of baby arrivals in the last 2 weeks! I have a fave design I always seem to default to for Girl Babies.

Also you can see my wine, water pot, some misc bits of paper for things I am supposed to be working on and some stamp sets for the baby cards.

Here is the original card that I was recreating last night -

I am looking forward to a desk nosy later on today.

Cx

Love birds..

Hey,

With my birthday money from my Parents, I bought a ton of Zini's and Jofy's by Paper Artsy - Cara enabled me totally not my fault!

I decided to use the Lovebirds stamp to make a fun anniversary card for my friends.

So cute right?

I kept it all really simple by just adding more hearts and I even coloured it very similar to the image on the stamp packet.

I love these mini stamps by Paper Artsy, there is so much you can do with them, I have a few more cards to show you with these later on this week.

Cx

PaperArtsy Thank You..

Hey,

So my parents gave me a bit of money for my birthday.

I used it wisely -

I got a bit of PaperArtsy envy when I saw Cara's haul from the stamp show she went to...so I invested my bday money in some new PaperArtsy stamps, along with some goodies from Avery Elle and Reverse Confetti.

I decided to use some of my new stamps to make a Thank You card for my parents.

I combined two of the Zini's, I had seen a similar idea and liked it, it's also a great way to get more out of your stamps.

Here is a in progress shot -

I masked the 'Dog' Zini off and stamped the flower. Ages ago I did an online card class about Masking and it has been one of the most useful classes I have ever done.

I coloured the stamps using Distress Inks and a paintbrush, I added a Simon Says Stamp sentiment and decided not to add anything else and let the image be the hero.

I made 4 of these, some without a sentiment, so that I can use them for other things.

Cx

The Flower Challenge.. Tic-Tac-Toe...

Hey,

I was over at Cara's blog this week and I saw her card for The Flower Challenge and I was inspired to join in.

I love a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge.

I decided to use the middle horizontal row - gems, watercolour and CAS.

I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use the Newton's Nook Vertical Vases, that I have had for ages and have only inked up once!

I went with a bit of messy watercolouring for the flowers using Distress Inks.

The sentiment is from the same set.

Super simple card, made with a recipient in mind.

I think as the challenge runs for the whole month, I might need to play again!

Cx

4 cards 1 stamp set: Wplus9 Happy Birds..

Hey,

So today is fun, as I am linking up with my friend Jen to show you the cards we made using the Wplus9 Happy Birds set.

Before we get into the cards, let me talk a bit about Jen.

She has been one of my online craft crushes for a long time. Then last year she reached out to me via my blog and BOOM huge friendship - she is awesome and her messages / emails make me howl with laughter. She is totally my kind of people. Thank god for the internet. We get to meet face to face in 4 weeks - OMG so excited I am wiggling as I type this.

You might remember her being mentioned here before as she sent me the Monster stamps I so desperately wanted! Anyway, check out her blog, she is wickedly talented, has the most excellent sense of humour and is an all round sweetie pie.

I used this stamp set recently and mentioned that I wanted to do 4from1 with it and she said wanted to do it too - hence our linked posts.

I did something a bit different for me and stamped, coloured and cut all the birdies first. It meant that I had to think about what I was going to do with them and so they were all coloured to suit their cards. I used distress inks and an aquabrush to colour them.

My fave of the whole batch is the one that became and anniversary card for my in-laws (45 years!!). I thought it was romantic enough to work, but not so girly that my FIL would be all eye rolling!

Just going to show you one more, so this post doesn't become war and peace!!

I chose the french fry card - I love the sentiment, I added a bit of texture paste to the white panel, so the bird stood out even more. The 'Happier' stamp is by Neat & Tangled  - awesome set, comes with so many fun sayings.

Confession time, it took me WAY too long to realise that the bird is holding a fry (DUH!!)

I can't wait to see what Jen has made.

Watch this space we'll be back with another 4from1 soon.

Cx

Floral Birthday...

Hey,

Today is a happy day for me, I got my all clear, 10 weeks after my op! Meaning I can now exercise, bend, run, etc - yay!

I have a friend that I met via a DT and we have become firm penpals!

This year I wanted to make Sue something pretty and Spring like for her birthday.

So I pulled out the MFT Flashy Florals and Large Desert Bouquet stamp and die sets and went to work.

I love the bold looks you get with these flowers, I used this card as an inspiration.

The Wonky Stitched die that you can see on the white panel is also by MFT. I LOVE these dies, its a great way to add detail to a card.

I tried the trick of adding interest to my leaves by first stamping in a light green and then stamping just the edges in a darker green. I really like how easy this is to do and how great it looks.

The die-cut Happy was not my original plan, but I think it works much better than stamping the entire sentiment.

Finishing touch was to add some bling..gotta have bling.

I've heard from Sue and she got her card and loves it - that made me happy!

Cx

Here comes the bride...

Hey,

Happy weekend to you!!

One of my fave blogland buddies Cara of Crafting Bunnies, is on the design team for Penny's Paper-crafting Challenges and I thought it would be fun to be supportive and play along with the current challenge.

The current challenge is 'Anything Goes' and one of their sponsors is All Dressed Up.. I really like the digital stamps by All Dressed up, so it seemed like a perfect time to break out my new The Gorgeous Bride stamp.

I have absolutely no need for a wedding card, but I love making them and someone always needs one..

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and kept the colours soft and all tonally the same. I wanted to keep the background soft and so used a die-cut piece of patterned vellum that a friend sent me. Here is a close-up because you have to see this gorgeous vellum..

Randomly, I found a scrap of pale pink spotty ribbon on my desk (my desk is a hovel right now) and thought it worked really well on my card.

I love the sentiment, by American Crafts, it fits the image so well, as this card feels more like a girlfriend to bride on her Wedding Day or Shower.

Both the bride and the sentiment were die-cut using MFT stitched dies (regular rectangles and rounded rectangles).

I am super happy with my finished card, it came out exactly as I had pictured it in my head - well bar the additional piece of ribbon..anyway that totally never happens, so it felt good!

Cx

WOYWW #369...Getting ready for a holiday weekend...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW to you.

We are still hanging out with the lovely Lunch Lady Jan, at her blog, whilst Julia takes the time she needs to recover.

WOYWW is that awesome time of the week, where we nosy at desks from around the globe..

My desk photo was taken before I started working on my art journal page.. So it's quite tidy, you can see my hand wiping towel, some oval stitched dies, a halloween stamp (for a DT make), my Lawn Fawn stamp shammy (get one they are awesome), my mouse and a scrap of fabric..it's a piece of an old shirt of Hubby's, when they get discarded, I wash them, cut them up and use them for craft cleaning..best thing ever.

I've been absent for a couple of weeks..I was in London and then the last week and a half back at home has been crazy! Looking forward to the long weekend (4th of July) that we are about to have :)

Whilst I was away the lovely Lynne sent me this -

Isn't it gorgeous!! She also sent me some items to use in my art journal. I plan to make a spread around this lovely piece from Lynne, so watch this space.

And final pic for today is off my art journal in progress last night, complete with a view of my toes..not sure why I still had my sandals on...

Have a great day, see you all for a desk nosy later.

Cx

Let it snow...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

So despite the title of my post, I don't really want it to snow, I am loving being back in NYC in the sunshine.

A blog buddy of mine Cara has been playing along with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.

I think its a great way for someone like me who doesn't love making Christmas cards to a) get enthused and b) explore my stash.

This week the theme is landscapes -

I had a lot of fun making my card.

I broke out a fun die by Gina Marie Designs - it's falling dots and looks like snow to me, I added a bit of Tumbled Glass distress ink to look like sky here and there. I combined it with a stitched hill die by Lawn Fawn.

I recently acquired a great set by Newton's Nook 'Snow Day' and I stamped and fussy cut the Winston Snowman / snowbear?!

I hunted through my stash for an appropriate sentiment and came up with 'Let it snow' by Unity Stamp Co.

This was so much fun to do and I am so happy with my card, it's kind of made me love Christmas Cards all over again.. I will be playing again!

Cx

1,000th Post...the ramblings of a crazy crafty 40something..

Hey,

So today is a big freakin' deal for me...

It is my 1,000th post.

I actually can't believe it..

I started this blog in 2010 having no idea what I was doing or what I wanted to achieve with it and here we are six years later.

My Husband is a constant source of wisdom and he said a while ago that he thought it was cool that I had a blog that was an outlet for me, my makes and my chitty chat..

This blog has given me so much, that I actually don't know where to begin or how to explain what it means to me, but let's give it a go shall we?

I have met so many wonderful people via my blog, people that I wouldn't have met under 'normal' circumstances, they have become friends and in some cases daily companions (Sue and Cara, I love you guys..).

These are the people that helped and guided me through some tough times - when I was out of work, when we moved to NYC, when my Ma had Cancer.

They also celebrated the joyful times - becoming DT for Moving Along with The Times and Retro Rubber, when I turned 40, when I got a new job, when I won challenges.

There are also the wonderful people that have taught me and subsequently became my friends - Jenn Shurkus and Cheiron Brandon what the hell would I have done without you over the last 2 years!?!

Let's not forget the gift that is WOYWW (What's on your workstation Wednesday) - hosted by Julia on her blog Stamping Ground.  There are no words to express what a wondrous thing a WOYWWer is, you should join us on a Weds sometime and find out for yourself.

I also have to give a big shout out to my Retro Rubber family. What an amazing bunch of ladies they are - I love being teammates with them and our FB exchanges are comedy.

This blog has also given me the chance to constantly express my gratitude for JT.
I mean how on earth can I express how amazing she is?! Seriously though, she's as crazy as a bag of cats and she is my exact mirror image - so I guess that makes me crazy as a bag of cats too!  What I like, she likes, what she loves, I love, what I dislike, she dislikes, it's so weird, she is like an actual real life sister, born 12 years after me LOL.

So much joy has come from this personal piece of blogland and I never knew burping my life onto a blog could be so rewarding.

Anyway, as I wipe away my tears of joy, I want to give you something to say thanks. Send me a message via my contact form in the sidebar and I will send you a card and a little 1,000th post care package - who knows what it will contain, but isn't that part of the fun?

Cx

WOYWW #365.. So many reasons to be happy...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW..

As you know our fabulous leader Julia is in hospital recovering from her op, so the also fabulous Lunch Lady Jan has stepped in again so that What's On Your Workstation Weds can continue..

I had great fun catching up with many people during the Seventh anniversary last week. I didn't make ATC's, but several very sweet people sent me ones anyway..I will be send you something else in the post ladies and thank you - WOYWW spirit just making me smile as always.

So what's on my desk? Well it looks pretty similar to last week right? My art journal front and centre, waterpot (full of dirty water), tea towel for cleaning brushes and various partly made items strewn around my desk..

My journal was actually supposed to be two individual pages and not a spread..but actually turned out looking like a spread, I think it's because of the colours..

As per the title of my post today, I have a lot of things to be happy about - I just spent a really nice weekend with Hubby, chilling out in the Sun together, holding hands, drinking, eating, giving up smoking and hanging out with old friends. 

My Dad is actually coming to visit us ON HIS OWN in NYC in Sept (he has not been on a foreign vacay for 30 years!!). These things all make me happy and realise how lucky I am. If you get a chance today just smile at yourself..it makes everything better :)

A few people wanted to see the Pocket Letter I had made for Nikki C. Now that I know she has it, it can be revealed!

I used a co-ordinating paper stack to cut the inserts and all the little icons are wooden and hand painted by me! I chose symbols for my two Cities - London and NYC and wrote a little story about what each one means to me on the back of the insert. There are also little tiny gifts behind the inserts too :)

I'm swapping things with a few other people, so just message me if you are up for a swap :)

Have a great day.

Cx

WOYWW #364..Seventh Anniversary...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW, it is the Seventh Anniversary of WOYWW today and ATC swap day.

Our illustrious leader Julia is away this week and so Lunch Lady Jan or LLJ is the hostess with the mostess, over at her blog Lunch lady Jan's Fabric Frenzy.

I am not joining in the ATC swap this year, I just didn't have the time this year with my large project at work.

I think Cara will be happy with my desk this week, she's always telling me it's too tidy.. I signed up for a Dina Wakely art journal class run by The Inkpad NYC and so I wanted to have a little play before the class. On my desk you can see my art journal front and centre, my paint pallet, waterpots and brushes, my coffee from the local deli, a piece of scrap grid paper for stamping on and various other bits and bobs.

Because I work from home from my craft desk, my enthusiasm for staying at my desk to make cards is not there. I felt I needed something more unstructured, but I am SO linear that it can't be too random..

So I thought painting would be good and then I was turned onto the idea of Art Journaling by Cheiron.

I am loving what I am creating and it's such a fun, messy way to spend 30 mins immediately after work, then my mojo returns and I spend another hour or so playing at my desk before Hubby comes home.

Here's the spread you can see on my desk..not sure if it's finished or not, but that's the fun part of art journals, you can come back to a page if you want to.

Because I like structure in some shape or form, I traced around oval dies to create the egg like shapes. I then die cut tissue paper in the two sizes and stamped over it. Before collaging the stamped ovals onto the page, I broke out the water colours and painted around the egg shapes. 

The stamped tissue pieces got applied using Liquitex Multi Matt Medium, as did the butterflies.

I then used a Faber Castell Pitt Big brush pen in black and white to draw around all the shapes and add some interest to the blue watercoloured eggs..

I love bling..so...

Here's a close up, so you can see the details.

Fun times right? Best bit is..because of all the different techniques I love to try, I have only had to buy a journal..I have everything else in my craft room.

Happy Seventh Anniversary everyone, especially big shout out to Julia, you are awesome and WOYWW gives me so much every week, even if I don't join in.

Cx

WOYWW #362...Double life...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW.

I have decided to reward myself for working so hard, by making time to play WOYWW this week - yay!

I love this time of the week where we go and visit Julia over at her blog Stamping Ground and nosy at lots and lots of lovely desks and hangout a bit with our blogland buddies.

My desk photo shows how my craft desk lives a double life as my work desk..I know shocking right?!

You can see my laptop, my keyboard, my mouse - because I am a geek, I don't need a monitor, I have jacked him into my massive Dell all-in-one, which is working a giant monitor for the odious Mac thing. My notebook, notepads (because I walk all over the house taking calls and these are very portable and magnetic, so I scribble notes here and do not mess up my notebook....) and pens.

Doesn't look much different really, but I have found putting odious Mac thing away at night means the work day is over and playtime can commence - hence the twofer shot, showing my desk back to it real purpose :)

It's always this clean after work..

Also, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of the Pocket Letter that I made and sent to Nikki C - can't see it all because she hasn't received it yet :)

What a pocket letter looks like all folded up for posting

All wrapped to prevent damage and for a bit of a surprise..

The New York paper was bought shortly after we moved to NYC..check out my desk 3 years ago..

Fun times, I love to swap stuff :) Message me if you want to swap things.

I am super excited, tomorrow is my Friday as JT arrives, so we can go to Providence for the Mixed Media Loft Art Retreat..I think this constitutes the world's most expensive playdate, but I don't care, it will be fun to see JT and play together.

Cx

WOYWW #360...Now I can see clearly...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW to you.

It's that wonderful time of the week, where we join our fearless leader Julia over at her blog Stampin' Ground and share our desks..

I am happy to be back at my desk. My photo was taken last night and you can see the final pieces of the pocket letter I have just finished for Nikki C. I hand painted all of the little icons, as they were just plain wood and I find it very therapeutic to paint them.

Nikki and I met via WOYWW and agreed to swap pocket letters. I got Nikki's a few weeks ago..unfortunately due to my travel / work schedule I have been a bit behind with mine for her..

When I got back this weekend, I sat down at my desk, looked left and realised that my card blank box was a hot mess...

I realised that I hadn't been in there in several months and had infact started a new box to my right, which was neat and tidy.. Hmm two lots of card blank boxes felt unnecessary.

So I ordered another Fridge Binz and voila! neat and tidy card blank box -

Isn't it pretty!! I folded a batch of A5 ones, so I could keep some out, but the rest have been put away. Now I can easily see what I have and USE what I have..

I'll be nosying after work this week..

Cx

WOYWW #356...Pocket Letter...

 Hey,

Happy WOYWW.

Bit late to the party today, forgot to schedule my post!!!

That's what Easter in Tampa does for you :)

For those of you unfamiliar with WOYWW. It is that time of the week when we join our Hostess Julia over at her blog Stamping Ground for a weekly global desk nose - its fun.

My desk is from last night. I was mid create for a guest blog post I am working on, you can see the card peeking out from under a set of stamps. You can also see my glasses, a stenciled piece of paper, glittery washi tape, scissors, glue, embossing paste, ink, my mouse, a notepad and my sippy cup :)

Not complete chaos, which is good.

A couple of weeks a fellow WOYWWer Nikki C mentioned that she was making a pocket letter and wanted to swap. I reached out, because I have been wanting to make a pocket letter for ages..

Nikki's arrived in the post this week :)

Pretty Envelope

First view of the letter 

Full view of the letter

It's so lovely and full of wonderful little things in the pockets. Thank you so much Nikki - proper thank you coming your way.

I am mid-way through mine for Nikki, it's fun so far and less complex than I had thought :)

One last photo for you - of Aligators in Tampa - we had so much fun, it was warm and it was exactly what we needed :)

Have a happy WOYWW. See you later gators for some nosying.

Cx

WOYWW #354...What it means to me...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW.

It's my first one in a while and I thought given Julia's news last week, that it was only fitting that I talk about what WOYWW means to me.

Julia's weekly global desk nosy (at her blog Stamping Ground) has introduced me to some wonderful people - including Julia.

Before I talk about some of the lovely people I've met via WOYWW lets look at my desk - from Tues night..
Mid 'creative' flow it was a bit chaotic, you can see a tin of mini distress inks ontop of a pile of stamps, there is a drawer from my Promarker unit (there is one cube with mini drawers for stuff), this drawer has all my mini stamp blocks in it and some misc mini stamps, in front of my Filofax you can see some of the mini stamp blocks, peeking out from under the Filofax is a project I'm working on.

I have a great set of friends that have come from WOYWW, Superstamp Girl, Kim Young, Carole and Darnell to name a few of them. 
Today I'm 'showcasing' Darnell.. just before I went on holiday last month, a little envelope arrived from Darnell -

In the envelope was the cool card and Papertrey Ink Balloon dies!!

She sent them to me because I commented on her blog that I loved a card of hers that featured balloon dies and that I had to get some. She said she thought it was a shame I didn't have any and she had too many for one girl.

How sweet is that..it came just at the right time :)

I made this card for a class I am teaching next month, using the new dies -

I thought it would be a simple make for my class of beginners.

Thanks to all the wonderful friends I've made via WOYWW, you all rock.

Have a great WOYWW see you all for a desk nosy later.

Cx

Happy Mail..

Hey,

Happy Friday to you.

Today is my last day in London, I head home tomorrow, but tonight I will be going to dinner with my folks.

I wanted to show you the two beautiful cards that Cheiron (left) and Jenn (right) sent me before Christmas..they came with gifts too :)

Happy mail from my inspirational teachers, who I am pleased to say are friends too.

Cheiron's card came with lots of yummy Spectrum Noir pens and pencils and Jenn's came with the great Hero Arts stamp I had coveted..

I love both the cards and Cheiron's is actually a card she made in a class that Jenn taught...awesome.

Love these ladies..

Have a great weekend, I am excited to see my Hubby and the Furbabies..

Cx

Sharing Handmade Kindness....

Hey,

Jennifer McGuire is running this awesome campaign #sharehandmadekindness - this month.

Go to her blog and check it out, it is a really nice thing to do, it sums up how I feel about the craft community and it will make you feel warm and fluffy.

I have combined my card for #sharehandmadekindness week 1 with this great challenge - Fab Friday - I stumbled across it, when I was looking at various blogs and I love this weeks sketch -

My card is for my DT colleague and friend Sue B.

Sue and I have never met, but she never fails to leave a comment on my blog, send me a card or a random email. She is a genuinely sweet person. So I made this card for her to say thank you for her friendship and to accompany a little something I have been making for her...

I used a Stampin' Up set - Tap, Tap, Tap to make my card and a set of mini alpha stamps. The circle die-cut I made using 2 circle dies..

Once again a simple card, but full of love and joy for Sue.

Cx

Fun times..

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I am counting down the minutes until I leave for Jenn Shurkus' loft art retreat...

I am a super lucky lady as the amazing Cheiron is giving me a lift AND a bed for the night - blogland really is the best land..

Don't forget Cheiron is teaching at The InkpadNYC on Oct.23 if you haven't taken a class with her yet and Jenn has dates for the November mixed media retreat.

To celebrate all these fun things that are happening I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - CAS Christmas..

My card came together really easily.

I recently found the green spiral (Silhouette die cut) in amongst a stack of paper and thought it would make a great backdrop for my new Poppy Stamps tree die.

I embossed the white background paper with a Sizzix swiss dots folder, stuck down the spiral, added the tree and the sentiment banner (sentiment by Lawn Fawn).

For the final touch I added some tiny bling to the spiral.

I love it so much, I am going to make a bunch of them, to add to my personal Christmas card pile.

Have a great weekend..

Cx

WOYWW #313..Craft playtime for months to come...

Hey,

Happy WOYWW.

What fun last week's swap was. I have now posted all of mine and now I am starting to receive yummy snail mail - whoop!

I will show you the delights I received once they are all safely with me.

So for you WOYWW novices, join us and our fabulous hostess Julia over at her blog Stamping Ground for the weekly global desk nosy - make new friends, be enabled to buy new stash, fun times.

I have been super busy craft wise, because I decided I just wanted to have some playtime with my enormous stash and so have allocated the Summer months to play and DT items only - sweet.

Sadly Mr Broken foot is causing me issues (btw the original break has healed..) I am off for a foot MRI today (sigh).

I have nearly finished Day 5 of my OCC and JT and I are now playing along with The Daily Marker - 30 days of colouring challenge. You can see what we are colouring here.

Due to me participating in the colouring challenge, my desk is very tidy, I like to colour in a tidy environment. I have been known to go to the dining table when I have been too lazy to tidy my desk..but Hubby has quite a lot to say about that.

My desk today shows my finished colouring from Day 2 and some ideas about making them into cards, my glasses are there (spotty pair for a change) and my mini distress inks.

I've got some exciting news for you, but that will be coming later on this week...

Here is a little card for you - in the layout stage...

I got the Avery Elle flower die on sale and it makes a very sticky up flower, so I will be using it on a present, but I do like this layout. I used SSS inks.

I followed this video to make my flower..neat idea.

See you later gators.

Cx