MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Well it took nearly all bloomin' day but the craft and sewing cupboards are now SORTED!!!!!  

Can't say the storage will work any better for me though so I just really must, must, MUST develop the habit of putting stuff away rather than shoving it in "to do properly tomorrow"!

So, for now, I have wonderfully tidy cupboards BUT will be crafting tomorrow and next week so today may well be the only time everything is where it should be.

And already I can't recall where I have put my stencils!!!!!!

xXx

This is it

Ok, today's the day!  

Can put it off no longer.  

Today is the day I tidy out my craft cupboards ... and by craft cupboards I mean two double wardrobes - one for papercrafting and one for sewing.  Except, of course, the papercrafting stuff has crept over into the sewing cupboard.

Really need to improve some of my storage methods as they simply are not working so after finishing a particular project I tend to clear away and just shove stuff in wherever it will fit promising to "put it away properly tomorrow" ... all those tomorrows have now added up to one awfully messed up cupboard.

And, of course, the biggest dilemma of all will be "when is a scrap of paper/card ready for the recycling bin rather than the scraps of paper/card box?"

Will report progress!

xXx

ATC's for WOYWW's 5th Anniversary

The penny dropped very late with this one ... that there would be an ATC swap for anyone wishing to participate.  The info had been there all along, of course, but I either hadn't spotted it or had dismissed it as I said I'd never get into the whole ATC thing.  But one thing I am learning is to never say never!

With yet more encouragement from MaggieC (Silvercrafter ... my real life friend as well as fellow crafter/blogger) I decided to Give-it-a-Go and then took to stressing BIG TIME about what to do.  FINALLY inspiration hit and the arrival of a new die saw me wanting to play with it immediately so, yet again, fell back the safe bet of butterflies. 

I found a quote that is particularly significant to me at the moment and went with it.  I wanted to make my ATC's as different as possible to the tags I had made for everyone at the crop but soon regretted my decision to go with a pink theme.  I don't do pink.  I hate pink. Even grunging it down it still looked way too pink for me. Did I mention I dislike pink?  

Even though they look fairly simple by the time I had finished them and was ready to throw them out I sat and thought of all the stages I'd put into them and all the ink and effort and thought it just too frivolous to start over.  Maggie asked me to show them to her and was very supportive and said they were fine .. so I figured I may as well risk public humiliation and go with them.

Saving one back for the person on the linky list after me I headed off to the crop and whilst still uncomfortable about the whole swappy-swappy thing I found it awfully addictive and am now the VERY proud owner of lots of little pieces of art that were given to me and I think I now "get" the ATC concept - who knows, I might even, one day, make more ... but can guarantee they will not be pink!

Butterflies diecut and inked and crackled using Distress Rock Candy.
I LoVe the way they curl up as they dry ... looks like they are all about to take flight.

My new Tim Holtz die had just arrived and I was NEEDING to play with it so inked some plain white card and cut out millions hundreds quite a few of the little flutterbies.  These DID take flight but only because I breathed too hard!

Backgrounds were embossed with yet more butterflies and inked pink ... why?  Why pink?  Ok, my plan was to make them as different as I could to the tags but PINK?

 Picked my favourite font and printed out the quote and then trimmed the edges with yet another Holtz die and inked it to make it stand out from the background a bit better.  Then an assembly job putting them all together.

The quote says

"Until you spread your wings you'll never know how far you can fly"

I do have a couple left if anyone would like one ... first come, first served ... just shout up (no swap necessary ... am happy to RAK you one!)

WOYWW 260

First things first ... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WOYWW!!!!!  

Well, it came and it went and what a FAB - U - LOUS time was had by all!
I refer, of course, to the WOYWW Crop that took place last Saturday.  Julia and Jan were the most perfect hosts with hugs and warm welcomes from the start and it was just lovely to meet up with a whole bunch of other WOYWW'ers and just craft away.

Jan provided the most delicious lunch and after much chatting and wandering around and seeing what everyone else was up to the day was over all to quickly.

Completely forgot to take any photo's ... yeah, ok, I know ... DUH!  MaggieC (Silvercrafter) has just saved the day, however, and my sanity and suggested I take a photo' of the ridiculous effort I did at the crop.  I'd never been to a crop before so had no idea what to expect and, having been really poorly only a few days before I had to Keep It Simple and after really ... REALLY ... stressing about what to do I saw the little quote amongst some Kaisercraft products and then knew instantly what I would do.

The photo' is me and hubby taken at Easter. We always spend Easter at Eastnor in the Malvern Hills and up from the camping field in the deer park is an obelisk.  It is quite a trek up to it and I never, EVER in a million-zillion-trillion (get it?) years thought I'd ever, ever, EVER (ok, you get my drift) get up to it.  Well, I got a couple of strolls around the deer park under my belt over the Easter weekend (we were at a Land Rover rally) and that in itself was a huge accomplishment for me as it is only very recently I have left the caravan at all.  Then as everyone drifted away after the holiday weekend (we were there for 12 days) I suddenly announced to hubby "do you think I could get to the obelisk" ... well, won't bore you with the whole story but the picture does say more than a thousand words.  To the obelisk I did get ... plenty of stops as I trekked up the hill and I took it slower than a snail with a broken leg but I did it!

Then, thinking I might have dreamt it and not made it at all I did it again two days later.  

SORRY JULIA ... have broken Rule Number One and have not kept this brief ... will get myself back on track for next week I promise.

My much preferred style of crafting is the whole grunge vibe thingy but not quite knowing what limitations, if any, there were at a crop I went with this silly just-stick-it-all-in-place heart ... will know better for next time and just grunge away.

I did take some tags that I made  before I was taken poorly though ... made as a little memento of the Crop and one given to everyone who was there.

We got to stay on until today ... camping (well, caravanning) in a simply perfect little spot but I dare not mention that or my post will be condemned by The Boss (that's you Julia!)

So before I get put in the naughty corner for making WAY too long a WOYWW post I shall just say thank you once again to Jan and Julia for a really wonderful day.  To MaggieC (Silvercrafter) for encouraging me to get there in the first place and to Shaz (Silverwolf) for coming out to meet me when I arrived so I didn't feel a right numpty walking in by myself.

Of course this is also the 5th anniversary of the wonderful world of WOYWW and am joining in with the ATC swap ... quite a few were handed out and received at the crop but I have one ready to send to the next person on the list but won't post a photo' until the deed is done.

Happy WOYWW'ing everyone and a huge HELLO to all my new friends here in blogland.  

WOYWW 259

Well I'm here ... a bit battered and bruised ... but here.  No WOYWW photo to speak of as a couple of unexpected days in hospital has left me a bit sideswiped but as I am DETERMINED to make it to the crop on Saturday I have only a photo of a list of Stuff-I-Must-Not-Forget-To-Take to share.

Of course, remembering what to actually put on the list is something of a challenge in itself as I rarely, if ever, craft anywhere other than at home and having found the only two workshops I ever attended quite traumatic I said I'd never attend a workshop or crop again.  It is mostly thanks to MaggieC (Silvercrafter) that I am going to the WOYWW crop ... just need to regain a bit of strength and I will be there!

So will keep this brief as I need to Make More Lists of Stuff Not To Forget and to start gathering stuff together.  All this can so better be explained by heading over to The Stamping Ground HERE and, all being well I am so looking forward to meeting those of you who are going on Saturday!  

Is that "plastic dish for water" I can see at the bottom of my list?  What on earth will I need that for?  Absolutely no idea why I put that down!

We shall have a fishy ...

But on a card and not a little dishy!

Two cards needed for two of the nephews and as both have aquariums I remembered I got these little cardboard fishes AGES ago!  Really wanted to stick to my much preferred "tag" style of card but wasn't at all sure if grunge + fishes would work ... still not sure but I gave it a go.

Did the splodging of Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads on the craft mat and squirting with water thing and then swooshed around the tags ... just one of my favourite techniques and I love the moment when you turn the card over and see the result of all that swooshing for the first time.

I uummmmed and aahhhhhed for ages trying to decide whether to crackle glaze the tags or not ... eventually just decided to go for it and applied a coating of Rock Candy and then played Angry Birds until they dried.

I tried to transform the little cardboard fishes using my meltpot but had to admit defeat and ended up just using the UTEE and my heat gun ... managed to blow most of the coloured UTEE all over the place but think just enough colour is left to give the fishes a bit of ooomph.

One of my other favourite techniques is to emboss acetate so I put just a little on the tags and I stamped some little silvery dotty things around the edges of the tags.

I didn't want pretty, colourful, typically tropical fish so the nephews will maybe think "oh auntie" when they see their grunged-up, dark and gloomy specimens but, hey, who wants to be conventional?

Coloured and scrunched up some of Mr. Holtz's crinkle ribbon and managed not to set fire to it this time whilst encouraging it to dry with my heat gun ... gently does it!

The swirly bit on the right hand side isn't quite what I wanted but decided to leave it as it was rather than start again ... all about adjusting and adapting and tweaking as you go along, I guess, and nobody will ever know it didn't go to plan so ... ssshhhh, our secret ok!

WOYWW 257

Just a very quickie today as time is against me!

Can't show much of what I have been up to as It's A Secret but was dying some ribbon on Monday and had quite an Ooooops! moment when it burst into flames as I was drying it with my heat gun ... obviously more patience required.

I wanted it ALL to crumple and crinkle and look tatty and mangled but do you think I could get it to do any of that?  Only the two pieces at the front half-heartedly joined in whilst the rest refused to play and remained really rather flat ... so, flat ribbon it will be then!

Typical though, isn't it?  You can rummage around in your ribbon box and the one little piece you have that is just right for your project is the one all screwed up at the bottom and NOTHING will straighten it out ... then the moment you WANT it crumpled ... GGgrrrr!!!!

And the reason for showing you my workdesk can be explained HERE and is all thanks to the WoNdErFuL Julia over at The Stamping Ground.

Happy WOYWW'ing everyone!  

It's back! It's back!

Oh thank goodness for that!  It's back!!!  My crafting mojo is back!!!!!

About bloomin' time I have to say and just in the nick of time to get some stuff underway and having no idea what to actually do I just got out some items from my craft cupboard (still too cold to work out in The Hut) and started to play and once I got going there was no stopping me and it was very late to bed last night.

First of all I was asked to make a "gift voucher" by my niece-in-law whom is a very talented photographer ... someone is giving her wedding photography as a present and needed a voucher to actually hand over.  

This spurred me onto doing any sort of crafting at all in quite a while and this is what I came up with.  Thank goodness for instant messaging on Facebook so I could keep sending her photo's of what I was doing and tweaking it as we went along! 

Decided it needed presenting in a box so made one too.

Next I decided to resort to my much favoured and preferred grunge style (Tim Holtz has a lot to answer for) and do what I love and enjoy doing the most.

Just sneaky peeks for now as they are maybe heading to a certain crop that is happening towards the end of the month!

Once these are finished I need to turn my attention to making my first EVER ATC's for Julia's anniversary over at The Stamping Ground.  Stress levels are high as I've never even given ATC's much of a thought before ... have bowed down in admiration of all those I have seen on-line and in blogs and so on but they are new to me otherwise.  So, no actual idea yet on what I will make but with my newly returned mojo I am sure something will come to me!

Now, where was I?  Oh yes, back to getting wonderfully inky fingers. 

WOYWW 256

Not only do these Wednesday's roll around far too fast for my liking but the bloomin' months just fly by too!  So where did April go please?

This Wednesday means only one thing ... about time I WOYWW'd AT LAST!!!!!  Been in a bit of a crafting slump and had no inspiration or desire to do any at all but my niece-in-law asked me to make her something so that has spurred me on to some sort of creativity today.

So this is my workdesk today ... bare minimum out on the table!  And the reason I am sharing this and mentioning WOYWW'ing is all Julia's fault ... slip over to the Stamping Ground to Read All About It and grab any opportunity you have to take a peek at the wonderful workdesks of your fellow crafters.  Just click the link HERE

Got to giggle ... you can see I stopped mid-sprinkle of embossing powder as I shouted out loud ... "oh it's Wednesday!"

Happy Crafting and Happy WOYWW'ing xXx

And finally ...

I mean As Finally as in the third bus to come along!  

Have shared this before but it is one of my most favourite pieces and I stitched it following, and in remembrance of, 9/11.

Have had it said to me that it seemed odd for someone in England to stitch such a design but I felt it represents the impact of that day on everyone so am happy to share it again here now.

Dreadful photograph due to the reflection but you get the idea.  It hangs on the wall in our lounge and I'd love to stitch it again given half a chance.

Blogland buses

Got to laugh really ... my blog posts are a bit like buses ... you wait for ages and then they come along in threes! 

Last cross stitch project to finish was an engagement present for my nephew who proposed on Christmas morning.   Managed to get a card made and to them on Christmas afternoon but their present is very late indeed.  As they already have a lovely home and pretty much everything they need I wasn't going to get anything but then, whilst browsing for something else, I came across an AAN design that just seemed so right for an engagement present.

Two false starts as I first miscalculated the size of the fabric I needed - maths never was my strong point - and then after getting a fair bit of the design stitched on the right size evenweave I came across a fault in the fabric and had to start for a third time.  Finally got it finished and handed over last week!

Design is called Cuore in Fiore and I loved the plain white colour on beige linen.

This was the tag I made to go on the present once wrapped.

Got four nephews - all brothers - so hope to eventually stitch one for each of these as they all get engaged ... just hope they don't do so all at once or I will be a very busy auntie!

Bakers Twine & Staples, Butterflies & Cogs

Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!
Yet again my mojo has left the building and I haven't crafted for ages now - luckily I have managed to get all my cards done for this year and now really do need to just get to it, play around and see what happens. Got ideas in my head and so much I WANT to get done but all my oomph seems to have fizzled at the moment.

So not much to post here but at least I have popped along to my dear little blog and updates on the latest cards to come off the craft mat.

Got a bit of a thing for baker's twine at the moment so have used it on pretty much all my cards for this year ... and I seem to fall back on butterflies whenever I am stuck for an idea or a theme.  Good job most people like butterflies then!

Was hoping the staples took the tweeness away from the pink and girly cards ... which are not normally my cup of tea ... but not sure it has worked!  
Next two pics are just close ups but you get the idea.

Then for the men ... well, my fall back for them is cogs and gears so these are the male versions of the pink and girly butterflies.

Hopefully flat enough to post without incurring the horrendous large stamp charges which is a pity because I'd have preferred to make them more 3D than they are.

I try to send cards in remembrance of someone's loss so stuck with the butterflies as they really do seem appropriate for such cards and went back to my preferred tag style but have found not everyone "gets" that it is not intended to be just a tag but their card.

It did seem a little cruel stapling through the butterflies but was kinda, sorta, maybe pleased with how they turned out.

So just need to get my mojo activated again and get back to getting some cards in stock to use for all those unexpected occasions that crop up ... and to play around with the few ideas I do have rattling around in my head ... maybe I will aim for Monday ... maybe.

OOOPS!!!!!

Okay ... no, of course I am not really in a mad panic making hubby's card the day before his birthday.

Of course I've had it in hand for weeks and weeks and am merely making last minute tweaks to it right now.

Yeah, right!  

Thank goodness he is upstairs decorating as I just had one of those "oh my goodness!!!" moments when I realised his is the one very few cards I have left to make for this year.

Better get on with it then!!!!!

He is getting some *S*N*O*W* chains for the Land Rover for his birthday and they haven't arrived yet so am just making a quick silly tag to represent them ... absolutely nothing like the real thing but I've a rotten cold and couldn't come up with a better idea!

Shall stick some *S*N*O*W*flakes on it and a little tag that says "present following".

No time to even get out my large craft mat and just grabbed the little one when he went upstairs and am making do in the smallest workspace possible but needs must and he WILL get his card in the morning.

Back again already

Thought I'd get some other stuff on here ... this is primarily my crafting blog (not that I have any other blog I hasten to add) but it's a great place to record other stuff too.

I have taken to going out.  Had a pretty rotten time since losing my precious mommy seven years ago but the absolutely overwhelming grief began to lift last July and that, coupled with my discovery of a silly little blue pair of lace-up canvas shoes has really seen things turn around for me.  

From going out of the house once every 6 or 7 weeks or so and walking no further than from the door to the car and back again I am now walking several times a week around my beloved Earlswood Lakes and today even ventured into the wood there for the first time!

The absolute hight spot of all this has been .... THIS :

And this is our little feathered friend feeding from hubby's hand (I take a slightly better photo' than he does!!!!)

I have come to love these lakes and woods and didn't think for one moment I would ever get to the stage where I say to my husband "will you take me to the lake please?" ... it has been a long time coming and nothing is stopping me now!

Walking here is restoring my soul and I really do feel the dark days of the last seven years are now behind me.

The guilt of  "moving on" has been enormous and equally hard to deal with but I feel I can now grieve and live at the same time and I shall end this non-crafting post with a quote that really helped turn things around for me.

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” 

 (Rose Kennedy)

Time slips by

So just where does it all go then?  A newly retired hubby seems to have both slowed time and also speeded up its passing in equal measure and it is a huge adjustment period for us but I wouldn't have it any other way and love having him home.  Well, most of the time ... his constant humming is driving me potty but guess I'm not going to stop that now!

Have been busy crafting away but forgetting to take many photos as usual ... simply hopeless!  

I was asked by a friend to make a "special" Valentine card so decided to adapt the Christmas hearts I made and the large - VERY large - Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die replaced the poinsettas very well and I used his choice of colours. He liked the result and now I just hope the recipient does too when it is opened tomorrow.

Then whilst I had very red inky fingers I figured I'd better make hubby one too ... not quite as "Moulin Rouge" as this one though and more to my own style.

One of my favourite things to do is emboss acetate and I kinda liked how this turned out.

Oh I really don't like how all my photo's just appear in a long line like this!  Must get it sorted out but it will mean bothering someone to help me and I do so hate being a bother.

I finally have most of my cards for this year made ... hundreds of them! Which is great news in a way as Crafter's Block came a-calling and I was struggling for weeks and weeks.   I now have loads of ideas for my Christmas cards and tags for next year though so just hope I don't forget them and end up stuck again!

Just got a few special ones to make ... not that they are not all special, of course, but you know how there are always one or two that are for a Big O birthday or an anniversary or wedding or something.

Then when they are all done and safely stashed away I can PLAY and ExPeRiMeNt and just mess about really.

Oh yes, remember I just said how I love embossing acetate? Well, I have been searching and searching for over a year now for a large dove die I saw but which has been "out of stock" at my favourite on-line shop for over a year now and extensive searching for it was so frustrating as nowhere seemed to have it anymore.  Quite by accident whilst browsing for something else on ebay there it was!  I nearly fell off my chair and had to blink twice and pinch myself to be sure I wasn't imagining it ...needless to say I ordered it straightaway and just had to use the packaging the moment it came to see the result.  Can't wait to get time to play around with this further.

So, yet again I leave my dear little blog with the promise to return more often, take more (and better!) photo's of my messing around and keep a better record of what I spend much of my time doing.

Really I will.

Honest!

Yeah, right.

xXx