Wednesday 29 November 2017

WOYWW 443: No Energy

First of all apologies for not visiting many of you last week.  I woke up with a sore throat on Friday morning and by Friday evening had no voice, a nasty cough, was aching all over and had zero energy.  It was a miracle that I managed to raid the bit box for long enough to keep up my daily blog.  Sunday's was quick, as it was my 500th post and I set up another tag give away.  If you'd like a chance to win, just go to the post (HERE) and say which tag you'd like. I spent all weekend and Monday in bed and was just about starting to feel human yesterday.  Eva came over for some crafting in the morning, but the afternoon was spent at a MFL curriculum leaders get together for all the local middle schools.
Anyway; on with the desk sharing, which is the whole purpose of my Wednesday posts.  For further details, visit Julia at the Stamping Ground who is chief desker!
My side of the desk is staged, showing all the bits and pieces at my disposal to make the tag in the centre (for details see HERE).
On the other side of the desk, Eva was working on a birthday card for her Hubby's forthcoming birthday, using her new Groovi plates (neither of us could resist the Gray Day Sale on the Claritystamp website at the weekend).
Work in Progress

Tuesday 28 November 2017

A Splash of Lime Green

There seem to be a lot of challenges around at the moment which involve the colour green.  This tag was created for the fortnightly Tag Tuesday prompt which starts today: Anything Goes - include some lime green.  However I am also entering it in the current That's Crafty challenge: Green with Envy.

Monday 27 November 2017

Be Original

I'm still feeling lousy and not up to any major projects, however I didn't want to miss a blog post.  I therefore used a page background that was already created, together with some pre made bits and pieces to put together a journal page; it took all of 10 minutes, but I liked the finished look before crawling back into bed.

Sunday 26 November 2017

500th Blog Post Give Away

Just over two years ago I started this blog to share my art work and creative exploits.  This is my 500th post and I've decided to have a give away competition to celebrate.  In the picture you can see many of the tags that I've created over the last couple of months.  To win one, just comment on this blog post which tag you'd like me to send you.  In a week's time I'll announce the winner.

Saturday 25 November 2017

Green-Eyed Monster

I am not feeling well today, hence the late blog post (for me).  I went straight to bed last night instead of creating and preparing today's blog post.  Instead, I made this quick tag this morning with left overs from yesterday's journal page (see HERE).  I am entering it in the That's Crafty fortnightly challenge: Green with envy.

Friday 24 November 2017

Stamping - Collage - Green

This page was created in response to the second Explore your Creativity challenge on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art.  The colour had to be predominantly green and stamping and collage had to be part of the process.  I had fun working within these constraints and the quote chips used as the finishing touch describe both the process, and the lack of planning that went into this page.  As the colour is green, I am also entering this into the fortnightly That's Crafty Challenge 'Green with Envy'.

Thursday 23 November 2017

Bon Voyage

This card is to wish my nephew a safe trip, as he is off to Canada today, to train and then work as a ski instructor.  We hope he has a fabulous time, but also that he doesn't forget to at least send the occasional postcard!

Wednesday 22 November 2017

WOYWW 442: Busy, Busy, Busy

It's a busy week, and I haven't spent as much time crafting in the shed as I would have liked.  Plenty of shed time, just rather a lot of data analysis, planning, marking and sorting for work.  I have been cramming the crafting in around the school work.  Eva made it over yesterday and we spent the morning crafting before heading off to Stockport and a journal meet up at the Hobbycraft there.  It's a once a month event (usually the third Tuesday) and they are a very friendly bunch.  Eva came with me for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed herself;  it was well worth a two hour drive back (13 miles stuck behind a tractor and trailer at 20mph).  
Anyway; on with the desk sharing which is the whole point of my Wednesday blog post each week.  For more details visit Julia (chief desker) over at the Stamping Ground and find more desks to visit.
My side of the desk shows the start of a Bon Voyage card for my nephew.  He is off to Canada tomorrow to train and then work as a ski instructor.  We won't see him again until March, but he will at least have family to visit, as my brother is only a few hour's drive away from where he will be based in BC.  I will be sharing the finished card on my blog tomorrow if anyone would like to see it then.
On the other side of the desk, Eva was getting into the groove with her parchment work using the groovi system.  It makes the line art side of parchment work really easy and you can then add white work and grid work in the traditional manner.  Happy WOYWW everyone;  I won't be visiting many desks today as I am going into work at lunchtime to do some learning walks and then attend a twilight session.  I will do my best to get round everyone by the weekend so I can catch up with everyone's goings on!  Thanks too, to all my regular visitors and new followers.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Remember

I am a week behind with the prompts on Art Journal Prompts.  This page was created for week 46 and the prompt was Remembrance.  As we recently commemorated the centenary of the end of the battle of Passchendale, I decided to base my page around the Great War as it was known at the time.

Monday 20 November 2017

Gelato Tag

I created this tag for the November mini mission on Mission Inspiration (theme 'Horizon'), but as I have only used their stamps I will be adding it to the November challenge for Visible Image too (Make a Tag).  I like to play with words and images so that they fit together so the layout was easy once I'd found the quote to go with the 'Horizon' prompt.

Saturday 18 November 2017

ATC Swap: T is for...

I can finally share the ATCs that I made for the November swap with Junk Journal junkies and Mindful Art.  The theme was 'T' and, as always,  I worked with stamps from my extensive Claritystamp collection.  All the stamping was done with Onyx Black Versafine ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Friday 17 November 2017

Thursday 16 November 2017

Music Tag

The current challenge over on Tag Tuesday is Music; however as I've only used Visible Image stamps I will also be entering it into their November challenge which happens to be  'tags'.

Wednesday 15 November 2017

WOYWW 441: Speedy Crafting

I will be doing some speed crafting over the next couple of weeks to enable me to share a blog post every day (my aim until at least the end of 2017).  I seem to spend longer and longer on my days off completing school work and as I cram most of my crafting into Tuesdays and Saturdays (when there's no home football match) I have to complete at least three projects at a time to keep up.  I do try and craft after work for half an hour to help me unwind, but do not always finish projects in that time.  I don't see crafting as a chore, but my mojo doesn't always play along when I want to complete something.  
Anyway; on with the desk sharing, otherwise Julia will not be happy with me (to see more, visit our leader over at the Stamping Ground, where you'll find links to desk heaven)!
My side of the desk shows my new light box which will hopefully help me take better photographs of my projects.  It  has an LED strip across the top and plugs into my laptop via a USB cable.  I had just made a start on some ATCs for a swap (T is for ...) and had my folders of Claritystamps out in the background.
On the other side of the desk, Eva was using some of my Groovi plates and my Light Wave to do some more parchment work.  She was travelling light as she could only stop for a couple of hours, although as you can see, she bought biscuits with her!
I must dash; I have three sets of books to mark and more lessons to prepare ready for work tomorrow and Friday.  I hope to have time to visit a few desks before I have to get started, although  it may well be the weekend before I get to everyone.  Thanks to everyone who visited last week, with or without comment!

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Monday 13 November 2017

Art Journal Assemblage: Flight of Imagination

When I saw the prompt 'Assemblage' for week 45 of Art Journal Prompts 2017 and having watched Nina's video showing how she created her page, I decided to have a look through my 3D and die cut stash to see if I had anything that I could use.  Of course I found far too much to use on one page and therefore spent quite a lot of time deciding on the final layout as you will see.  I am pleased with my finished look and will use the canvas paper as a base for other art journal pages I am sure.

Sunday 12 November 2017

Stencil Fun

This piece was created for the first Explore Your Creativity challenge on Junk Journal Junkies and Mindful Art.  The challenge was to use stencilling and texture paste with the colour blue.  As it involves so much stencilling, I am also entering it into the current challenge on the That's Crafty Challenge Blog (Stencil It!) as well as the Country View Challenge for November (Stencils).

Saturday 11 November 2017

Creativity Is Good For The Soul!

I worked on this tag for the November Challenge on Visible Image, which was simply to create a tag using their stamps.  I used a mix of some old favourites and one of their newer sentiments.  I couldn't resist this challenge as I love tags and also enjoy using Visible Image stamps.  Towards the end, I thought I had ruined the tag, but managed to come up with an idea which saved the day and enhanced the final look.

Friday 10 November 2017

Gratitude Tag!

The November theme for the challenge over on Tag It Tuesday is 'Gratitude' and this is the first of my entries.  As I was short on time, I decided to go with a mainly journaled approach, however I have no doubt that I'll have a go at one more before the month is up!

Thursday 9 November 2017

Happy 25th Birthday, Son!

It was my eldest son's birthday yesterday, so I can now share the card that I made for him.  It was influenced by a card made by Katie Skiff found on Pinterest, with a twist of my own.

Wednesday 8 November 2017

WOYWW 440: Long Distance Crafting

Happy What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?  Julia will explain more and is the gateway to desk addiction once a week!  As regular readers will know, my desk photos are always taken on a Tuesday as that is when I have a regular crafty visitor on the other side of the desk.  Yesterday was a little different in that, in addition, Eva and I were also linked in with Ellie (The Glittered Poppleberry) via Skype as we live over 100 miles apart. Ellie is a new desker (who joined in with WOYWW for the first time last week) who Eva and I got to know through a Facebook group.  We have only met up once in person (at a craft show in Telford) but often chat long distance and craft in our respective spaces at the same time.
I was busy creating a birthday card for my eldest son who turns 25 today (sharing tomorrow for those interested) and was using my Grand Calibre to die cut the card front.
Eva was working on some Groovi parchment work so didn't bring quite as much with her as usual!  She has a fantastic sense of composition, but it trying to improve her snipping skills.
Eva's first two Groovi pieces
Apologies if I don't visit you until the weekend.  I have rather a lot of data analysis to complete and some writing assessments to mark so will be rather busy until then.  (Good job I've already sorted my next two blog posts!)

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Monday 6 November 2017

Sunday 5 November 2017

Three Colour Fun!

This journal page was created following the prompts for October 2017 on Mission Inspiration.  As you can see, I am a little behind and the new prompt which appears on the first Saturday of the month gave me the impetus to complete the previous challenge.  I decided on my key word first (from the list of five) and once I'd found the quote to go with it, I was off and running.

Saturday 4 November 2017

A Stencilled Tag Experiment

There are several challenges that I've noticed recently which include stencilling as a technique.  I therefore decided to work on a tag to practise layering different stencilled designs, and shall enter the resulting piece in the November Country View Challenge: Stencils. All the stencils that I used are the mini layering stencils by Tim Holtz.

Friday 3 November 2017

Autumn: The Year's Last, Loveliest Smile: A Journal Page

This page was created for week 44 of Art Journal Prompts.  The prompt was Autumn/Fall and I decided to use my latest bargain buy from Craft Clearance (thanks Nina for the tip); the large pack of Tim Holtz Grunge board (Swirls/AlphasTH92491) which were less than £10 for 26 sheets of grunge board.

Thursday 2 November 2017

Tag: Book Print

This tag was created for the fortnightly Tag Tuesday challenge; this time the prompt is 'book print'.  I decided to combine some of my favourite techniques with one of my favourite stamp sets (Bookworm by Darkroom Door).

Wednesday 1 November 2017

WOYWW 439: Visitors

It's been a busy week in the shed!  I had a lovely visit from Margaret last Thursday (Glitter and Glue); we had lunch together and got to know each other better.  It was lovely to see her and she showed off her self taught parchment skills (which are impressive and beautiful), so thanks for visiting Margaret!
Eva is back from Germany and spent the afternoon  with me yesterday on the other side of the desk.  As usual she bought the kitchen sink lol.  She tried out a new stamp set on different surfaces using my Tim Holtz stamp platform.
The other side of the desk.
I suppose that I'd better share my side too.  I came across a bargain or two on the Craft Clearance website; a set of Tim Holtz stamps (Classics #4) that I've been after for a while and the packs of Grungeboard Alphas and Numerals that are standing up in the background.  They were less than £10 a pack and comprise 26 and 16 sheets respectively.  You can also see my 3D pop up box which I have shared over the last couple of days (see HERE and HERE if you are interested).  I also started a new tag which I will be sharing tomorrow.  The stamps on the left are from the Flutterby Collection by Sara Davies. 

To join in with more desk fun, you can find out more from Chief desker Julia on the Stamping Ground.