Poor Froggie!

Well, we had a lovely weekend here, so much so that time was actually spent in the garden tidying up! I have discovered that i make a much better forewoman than gardener .......... no surprise there then!

The poor froggie in the title is not me, it is this poor chap, or chapess (I have no idea how you tell the gender of a frog! (answers on a postcard please)

No 1 Son was helping with all of the practical stuff, like trimming round the edges of the lawns where the mower does not get to and came upon this critter, unfortunately for it, he found it with the garden shears, so froggie will have to go a wooing minus a foot. It did not seem to bother him/her much though, and like the good froggie it is, sat happily for a few minutes for a photo opportunity then hopped off back under the stone he had been under.

He/she has been seen since, so no lasting harm seems to have come to him/her.

Oh RATS!,

Just as I was getting used to the idea that I was nearly at the end of my quest to have all of the Promarkers that there were to have, what to Letraset do? they go and release a whole load of new colors!

Now don't get me wrong, I love these little beauties, and I am finally getting used to the way that they work, I can even color in something that I am not ashamed to put onto a card now, so these new colors are going to cause me problems, not because I will have to try and choose which ones to have (no brainer that one!) but where am I going to put them all? At the present they are all lying quite happily in a box that a) fits my shelves beautifully, b) is not too heavy to put away when I am done so they do get tidied up and c) they all fit in the one box, bonus!

If I am forced to use two boxes I know I am going to get frustrated when I have not pulled the right box off the shelf and end up using ink pads to color in (what I did before I went down the Promarker road) or, even worse, I am going to have to rethink the box situation, which will mean buying something else, I am just not up to all this thinking!

I am going to go to my sanctuary and have a good sulk, then I am going to take some pictures for Lyn, I am sure she is worried for my stamp collection (and rightly so) Something else I have to think about, as right now, they are all a bit higgeldy piggeldy and stored in different places, but, and I know this will cause you pain Lyn, I DO know where they all are!

This is my workdesk TODAY!

I have finally remembered on the right day to do this! I just do not know where my mind has been these last few weeks, but I am missing it!

There do not seem to be enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do, let along all the things that just have to be done. I have been card making, mini book making and I have splurged and treated myself to two new cartridges for George (Cricut) from the US, so hopefully they will be here within the next couple of weeks.

If you look VERY carefully Mrs Dunnit, you will notice that I have taken you excellent advice and got myself a notebook, it is the bright pink one hiding under the instructions for the flip book, and yes, I am using it, just not all the time yet :)

Still in shuffling mode here as you can see, I will have it done sometime soon as using two tables just as storage is not the reason I decided that having two would be a good idea. I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to be a tidy crafter, but a messy madam does not really suit me either, I do like to be able to find things occasionally!

A Day Late

But better late than never I always say! Well, here it is in all it's glory, not a lot this week as I have been messing around putting things in one place, then another, trying different chairs for comfort and building more storage :) I think I am nearly there now though so production can start in earnest (she says hopefully!) I have so much in my mind that I want to do and the one thing that I didn't think about was music, I don't actually have a small CD player to take over with me, so this is going to have to be remedied today, not that I HAVE to have music on all the time, I do like the peace and quiet, but it is nice to be able to if you want to, and the evenings are drawing in now, and there is something about background music in the darker evenings.

So what have I actually got on my desk this week? I am still faffing with bright coloured card as you can see, it just does not "speak" to me. While these two pieces were sitting waiting to be used, I did two Christmas cards, had another play with my Pringles House and shuffled things around, the card is still sitting there!

I am very pleased with the extension lead that you can see lolling around in my stamp basket. I have had two double sockets fitted to the sloping ceiling so that as I need to use anything that needs to be plugged in, I can do so without having leads trailing over the floor, just right for me to fall over. Not that I would be too worried about hurting myself (plenty of padding) but I would hate to damage equipment!

Mojo, Mojo where for art thou Mojo?

Why is it when you cannot do something, or cannot have something you want to do it/have it all the more?

When the electrician was here I was raring to go, and when I thought the plumber was going to be here at half past silly this morning, I had ideas a plenty, but as soon as I have time and a space to work in, mojo goes a walking?

Mind you, having hayfever from Hell this afternoon does not help of course, but even so, you would think that I would be over in my lovely craft room instead of sitting here moaning wouldn't you? I even have lots of lovely corrugated cardboard to play with as we went to the Swedish shop yesterday to get my second Expedit unit so that the new radiator, when fitted, would fit in the space that I have allowed for it. I have been abandoned! Mojo has gone again.

I have used my lovely room though, as the picture at the top of this post shows, a cute little card using Hero Arts and Habico stamps, I saw the shape for this card in one of my too many magazines, that is something else that needs a good sort through. I don't like to chop magazines up, so I end up keeping the whole magazine if the is something in it I like. My half way through the year resolution, that I am just making now, is going to be to scan any articles that I like and pass the magazines forward!

There I have done something this afternoon, I do feel a lot better for that :)

OK, I know I am late!

I have not been a good girl, I did not post WOYWW last week, but I think I have made up for it this week! Just goes to show, you give me a bigger space, I make a bigger mess!

This is the result of making some cards and a wedding invite, far too much mess for such a small output! But in my defence (if there is such a thing) I am still finding out where things have to live, so Cuttlebug has not found a permanent home yet, and electrician has STILL not been, so no sockets anywhere near the desk, plumber not coming until Monday, so things are still a little topsy turvey, OK, OK a lot topsy turvey :)

As to the dilemma of the clear stamps Julia, I have most of them in a photo holder thingy which I will let you see, just as soon as I find it! But the most used ones are in the turquoise basket you see sitting proudly in all it's untidy glory at the far end of the table. I am going to be re-doing this system, as I find that A5 folders are working best for me ATM, by maker, and odd ones by what they will be used for. Not a lot of use if you want to display them I know, but as you can see, I do not have much in the way of wall space in this room, I am up in the Gods here, sloping eaves and all.

The only down side to this arrangement is I now have no view to distract, sorry, inspire me. It is the old apple store on the mezzanine level of an old barn, but I am happy with it, and I appreciate the views a lot more when I do come out of my hidey hole .............. eventually!

WOYWW

Here we go again, another week gone by, but such a lot has happened in the last week! I have got me a new craft room for those of you who did not know this yet!

So now I have two dining tables to work on, the tables are sort of clear, well useful things on it, the box has my Nestabilitie dies in it, I was using them and no, I have not put them back on the shelf where they should belong yet!

Here is another view of the room, pan right!

And another one, pan left!

Yes, those are LO's on the desk, and yes I have finished them :) Started on Saturday and finished before the following weekend, must be a record!

I know it is not very tidy yet Mrs D, but I am getting there, honest :)

Up too late!

Is this tonight or tomorrow morning, I am sitting here at 1.20 in the morning knowing that i should be tucked up in my bed snoring! What am I doing instead .......... blogging!

I have been playing around with my new craft room, and I even finished the LO's that i did at Saturdays crop! Did I remember to take pictures before I came into the house? Course not! As I will be taking some in the morning for WOYWW they can wait till then. A bigger desk can only mean one thing more room to spread the muddles onto ;-)

Mrs Dunnit thinks she is the queen of procrastination, but I think I can give her a run for her money tonight. Tis the cricket season and I am waiting for Mr Ffrog to finish reading the teletext review of the days play, even though he has watched it, seen the highlights and kept up with what is going on on the radio during the day. What is it about sport that turns grown men into children? Is the result going to change the more reports you get of the game/match?

You see the bed needs made up and Mr Ffrog was asked to help at 7pm and I am still waiting and childish though it may be I am not going to fight with the duvet cover myself, again!

I am going to have to go and do it hough, my eyes are closing all by themselves, and if I do not crawl into bed soon, I will wake up sometime in the middle of the night with the imprint of the key board on my forehead!

My Workdesk Today

Ok, so here is what is on my desk today. I am still in the doing cards zone, so that is one thing that is there, and yes Mrs Dunnit, I did leave the leftover bits of peel off paper there for you to see :)

The card that you can see is hoping to be a masculine card when it grows up! Looking like it might work too!

This week the messy drawers are actually closed (for a change!) The pile of what looks like papers at the top is actually my working notes! It does mean something to me, honest lol.

Other than that, not a lot different to other pictures really.

Messy ..... is Desk as promised!

Well after the fiasco that has been the last few days crafty speaking of course, all of a sudden, inspiration, albeit in the form of some magazines and a HUGE kick up the jacks from Mrs Dunnit, in the form of an idea for paper piecing, all of a sudden last night I was up and running!

Firstly came the daffodil cards, the first one paper pieced and the second, the "easy" one.

I always try to do one that takes a bit of thought and effort on the part of the maker, well they are there to learn something! And a second that when theyhave got over having a good whinge about the first one, is easy on the mind and fingers to do. In this one, the image is stamped, mounted and some pretty flower edged organza ribbon is wrapped round the card.

Then came the Damask one. This paper is just gorgeous, it does not take a lot of "doing" to make a classy card with it, and the Inkadinkado stamp set is divine, it is a Christmas set, but I have used it all year round as I love it :)

The "easy" one is a vellum butterfly tea bag fold. This one , with larger 3" squares for the butterfly. Most of them have done before, but it does no harm to remind them does it!? And to my way of thinking, the more often that a technique is practiced, the easier it becomes to do it, not only that, but it is a pretty card to do :)

Next, and yes, there is a next! Came the purple beauties, and if you don't mind if I blow my own trumpet here, I am rather taken with them :)

These bees are about as cute as I get, aaaaaaaand it uses offcuts! Coloured with my Promarkers ...........of course!

But the one I am most pleased with, even if I did pinch the idea from a magazine, is the flowers one. Embossed with gold and coloured with Promarkers. I like the effect of stamping outside the box, it is a technique I use a lot. There are some in the class that I know will just not be able to do this, they will HAVE to have the image centred, but is OK too. I like the effect, but I know that there are some who just cannot "get" off centre stamping, and I do want them to go away happy, that way, they will come back!

WOYWW

Nothing to show today at all :( Mojo has left home. This is not a usual photo at all, nothing on the desk at all, zilch, zip nada.

The stamps for the class I am supposed to be doing are still sitting there, the cards would just not come together, but I have turned the "signature" stamp over so Mrs Dunnit can see it :)

If inspiration should arrive anytime soon, I will repost todays failure.

Spare Time

Why is it that when I have an unexpected few hours to myself, I never know how to use them!

Take this morning for example, M, Son and two of his friends had been on a bit of a beano last night, so were all sleeping in this morning, YIPPEE! thinks me, time to myself with nothing that HAS to be done until they all fall out of bed with sore heads.

I say myself down at my desk and ................ NOTHING! Not a dicky bird. So I wandered off out to my in progress workroom, and nothing there either, well I did look at the paintbrush, and I did move a few things round on shelves, but nothing creative at all. So back into the house I wandered, sorting I thought, that always pleases me, but when I had a look, besides making something to do, as I have not really been doing anything, nothing to sort.

One cup of coffee, a magazine and a sit outside became the next thing I tried to get me motivated and do you know what? An hour sitting outside as far away from the house as I could with nothing around me but the birds was fantastic. I actually read the magazine, not just flicked through marking pages that interest me for future reading that never really gets done.

I could have sat longer, but the moaning bodies schlepped outside to see where I was, so it was time to go and start crashing a few pots and pans around, well a good fry up the morning after the night before is supposed to be the best thing for you ........... my excuse and I am sticking to it!

WOYWW

Here we go again :) I just love this!

There is definitely a bit of the voyeur about me, I just love looking into other peoples lives, even if it is just a peek at their work desks!

I also love Christmas time, when the tree is up, you get peeking into folks front rooms. Dark evenings and lights on inside the house, the tree lit and the curtains open ......... perfect! Funny really, as when I am visiting, unless an improvement or decorating is pointed out to me, I am unlikely to notice! Seems to me that being given permission to be nosey isn't good enough, I need the thrill of doing something that is just a little bit naughty :)

So, what have we got today?

Hmmmmmmm well the usual pile of inks, what would a craft table be without inks?

I am working on a journal of my holiday to Southern Ireland, I was going to make a mini book, but what should I find in a stationers in Birr but a K&Co Travel Journal! Right there in the window, just sitting there! I HAD to go in! Now don't get excited, there was not lot there, and the journal was the only one they had, The nice lady in the shop didn't want to sell it to me as it had been in the window for a few weeks and she thought it would be sun damaged, but I WANTED it! So I got it very reduced :) When I got it outside and ripped it open, no fading at all!

Two new Cuttlebug folders, no Lyn, they have not been put away yet, I need to look at them for a while longer :)

Ahhh yes, two sets of Prima stamps, just happened to jump into my hands and stick when I was getting the folders lol.

Stamps for class preparation, some done, some still to be worked on :)

If you look very carefully, you will also see a little Esso flame man keyring. I am still gradually sorting through M's Aunt's effects, one suitcase/box at a time, this little fella has old suitcase keys attached and has been appropriated for use at a later date :) If anyone remembers what he was called, if anything, please let me know!

As usual, if there is anything you spot that you would like to know about, please ask. What else are we doing this for if not to have a good old gawp at others messy habits!

Been too Long..........

Since my last post! No crafty pictures to show you, but I thought a couple from my holiday would be nice :)

The drive for the first day was a long one, 320 miles, but I enjoyed it, singing along to hits of the 60's, Tom Jones and Meat Loaf! Don't worry, I didn't sing in built up areas! I stopped a couple of times, once was in the lovely town pictured above, Adare, lots of cute thatched cottages and a great coffee shop!

All the way to Dingle, the town was a lot smaller than I expected it to be for some reason, but the harbour was lovely at 5.30 in the morning when this picture was taken. Dingle is the hone of Fungie the Dingle Dolphin, he has lived in the waters around the town for many years now and is very human friendly, swimming with whoever braves the waters to meet him.

And the West Coast of Ireland would not be the same without a picture of a donkey!

Next are the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, thankfully barriers have been erected since the last time I was there to stop people getting too close to the edge. There are even wardens with walkie talkies to try ans stop those who do try and jump! It gave me the collie wobbles to see youngsters sitting with their legs dangling over the edge of the cliff!

Next is the Burren, an amazing landscape. Barren rocks, or so it seems to start with, but the flora is all hidden in the cracks in the rock formations, called grikes, orchids by the dozen, miniature hazel bushes, wild strawberries and honeysuckle to name but a few, then it was on the see Father Ted's house :)

Enough for now, just a selection of a few of the places I went to and saw, and if you are not good, I will post more sometime, as I am only about halfway through my journey. So many fantastic places to see and people to meet, if you can understand them!

Now I am back I am finding it hard to get back into the swing of things again, butterfly mind syndrome. I have done the Circle Journals that I am in, and I am gradually getting some classes ready for Autumn, I have even started printing out pictures for a journal of my week away, but actually doing anything constructive is proving beyond me. Upside of all this procrastination is that I have a clean house, washing is all up together and even the ironing is done!

Anyone for a guided tour round Ireland?

WOYWW

I missed last weeks WOYWW because I went on a very last minute few days holiday to the West of Ireland, so I am hoping that this weeks makes up for it!

So, what do we see this week? Drawers lying open, I have started to use up some of the mountain of scraps that I seem to generate to make cards with, and about time I hear you say!

Stamps left out, naughty girl that I am, no I do NOT always put them back as soon as I have used them.

Pro Markers at the ready, I was actually using them, evidence is under the album :)

Guillotine not put back, as usual!

Then comes the album, boy! What an album! An auction find that Mr M bought for the postcards that were in it, and trained as I have him, he knew not to even consider throwing it out till he had asked if I would like it. LIKE IT? I nearly broke the poor man's arm to get it off him! It is a beautiful velvet covered photograph album with metal cut and scroll work on it .....fabulous! I know it will not be acid and lignin free, but I WILL find a use for it :)

The "pages" inside are thick card with arches cut out to put those lovely Victorian posed photos in. There were a few loose pictures in it, of whom I have no idea, but they will not go to waste either.

Now I must get back to sorting and titling some of the 761 photos I took while I was away!

Look What I Got!

A TOOT and a WOW for Lyn here, have you seen what she has made for me? A new header! Now I am not bright enough to work out how to get rid of the funny color background on it, but aint it FAB! She actually sent ne three new headers, so I will get around to using them all at one time or another, but his one is just so, so, so! Well you get the idea lol.

I just love it when those in the know share their abilities with the technologically challenged of us. Thank You Lyn, I love my new Ffroggie header :)

WOYWW I am liking this!

It is Wednesday again, so you and I know what that means .......... messy desk time again. This week, I think I am getting back to normal again, that and I have not been able to settle to doing any one thing these last few days so there are several projects on the go today.

So what do we have this week?

This weeks card for class, there is

only one this week as Steph has done one herself she wants to do, and it will be our last week for the summer, so tomorrow night is party night!

The mess in the middle is a loo roll inner book I am working on for Miss K's "Year at Nursery" she is starting big school in August. The nursery t

ook photos over the year and gave all the leavers a cd with their pictures on it, so I swiped it and copied it! I love these mini books as they are good and sturdy and lots of pictures and journaling can be added. Good for a yackety yack like me lol.

If you look really carefully beside the card, there are some beads that I was faffing with, I used a lovely stamp that I also swiped, but this time from our own Mrs Dunnit, she was generous enough to share stamps with us when we were lucky enough to be able to visit her in her own habitat. It is the long skinny stamp at the bottom left beside the ink pads. You will have to peer closely though as they are tiny!

Hmm .......... what else? Yes Mrs D, I have been working on the pringles tube project, there is a little movement there, it now has a window! Been lined with pages from an old book and painted gold. Now I am trying to decide on the right stamp for the ticket collector I am going to put inside. So far all the ones I have considered have not been "right"

While I was painting the tube, I also painted the mannequin, why I hear you ask? Good question, I have no idea whatsoever!

The red fabric on the right is a mini quilt ......... ish A piece of red felt with odds and sods sewn onto it! Yes you heard me right, SEWN! I actually got a needle and thread out and did some sewing instead of reaching for the glue and glossy accents. Another project that I have no idea why I made it except that it seemed like a good idea at the time lol.

I have heard that tkmax have got Sketchers in, and as those of you who know me will know, I am a bit of a fan of them, so at less than £20 a pair, I feel the need for a trip into Lisburn this morning :)

I should not be left alone!

See what happens when I am left on my own on a hot afternoon! I go a changing the layout, size, fonts and colors of my blog! I don't know about you, but I do find some blogs hard to read, especially in the evening when the poor eyes are tired.

Not sure about what I have done, but it will do for now. The great outdoors is a calling, rhubarb to be picked and if I am not careful, I just might find myself doing a spot of gentle weeding ......... or I might not!

You see, I have 3 magazines waiting to be read, and the seats in the front garden are just calling me to sit on them with a coffee and peruse the latest wisdom and utterings of those in the know.

Seeing as I am in a dangerous mood, I thought I would include a picture of two of the Dollies, L and N, scoffing marshmallows in the German Market in Birmingham. I know I am not going to be popular for posting this one, but hey ho! It's Summer at last and I am going outside to read :)

Birthday Girl

Yesterday was Miss K's Birthday Party. This year Mummy and Daddy decided to have it in Cheeky Chimps, an indoor play park with slides and ball pits. A brilliant idea for the kids, but if you EVER have call to go to one, take your ear plugs!

And whatever else you do, do not encourage 14 children to throw the plastic balls at you lol

I am still trying to find a way of storing clear stamps that actually works for me, I have put them onto card and stored them in a file folder, but as the folder is not within reach, they have to be kept on the bookshelf, I find I really only use the ones that I have out.

So then I started using a photo file that was given to me. Great I thought, this will be a lot easier as it is a lot more portable, but still I was using the ones that were closer to hand, maybe the file was too tidy, out of sight, out of mind.

So at the moment, I am using a large square basket that they fit in loose and it is able to be stored where I can just reach out and flick through it. Not the most tidy of answers to the great clear stamp storage problem, but for now, until I think of anything else, it is sort of working for me.

How do you store your clear stamps?

WOYWW Again

Well it is that time of the week again, and no, I have not got a picture of tomorrow nights cards yet Katy, but if you look carefully on the desk you will see it :)

The postie has just been, and oh! What he brought me, Promarkers galore! I won't really have time to play with them before I go out this afternoon, but I will give it my best shot, as I also got stamped images from UKS Teamie Caryn (thanks Chick) of the sort of stamps that I have not been buying. Hers are soooooooo gorgeous, that I just have to have a go at them.

What else is there .......... well, the usual tools, inks, my huge peg that I use as a MUST remember to do something with this tomorrow, a half done project from Craft Stamper using painted and decorated Pringles tubes, a couple of cards also from UKS Teamies Lyn and Julia, my frog stamp that I use to 'sign' my cards with and of course, a cup of coffee lol.

I have really been enjoying looking into other peoples craft habits, nice to know that I am not the only messy crafter out there, not that I have shown the evidence of a marathon crafting session for WOYWW yet, but don't worry, it will happen!