WOYWW 247

The work top this Wednesday morning is rather uninteresting, with just a pile of bags for Margaret to send to Uganda, (12 so far)

 

And although today is Wednesday, that is how it has been since Monday when We left it to come to Centre Park in Cumbria with the grand children. 

Exciting view from our window in the pouring rain,

we put out bird food for the birds and she had no doubts about her identity.
For more interesting crafty blogs, visit our wonderful facilitator Madame Julia.
I love to read your comments, but as I am struggling to write this on a phone with rather dodgy wifi forgive me if I don't do much visiting today.
Chris.

WOYWW 246

Oh. dear, It's messy desk confession time again, and boy is it a messy desk I'm showing you all today.

At the front are a set of free animal stamps, that I am using to make a birthday card for my daughter. Stamped in different colours on the card. It will be finished later today. Also on the left is a wedding anniversary card for my sister, needs posting tomorrow and behind it, a card for someone in a craft group I belong to.  Nice box of inks on the right, a set of 12 Momento inks, in autumnal colours, that I bought at the craft show two weeks ago. Really nice inks to use and they were a very special price too.On the right of them is a sheet of Word art I have printed out for a couple of cards, can never make up my mind about what to use until I have created the rest of the card.
On the left at the back is a circel cutter I fell for from Create and Craft, only came this Tuesday morning and haven't had time to play with it yet, to see if it really is as good as they said on the TV.
Well for once the Lady Julia will not be grinding her teeth over my over long page, so click the link and go and visit other messier and tidier desks at the Stamping Ground where all will be explained.
Have a wonderful Wednesday,
Chris

WOYWW 245

Well  Margaret and I had such fun yesterday. She came over to my house and we had a playday using our Big shots and water colour pencils and stamps and embossing folders.

At 10.55 all that was on my worktop was a mat, my Big shot and the guillotine. Oh and a couple of drinks.That big white scary surface which isn't visible most of the time. However we dealt with that situation in very quick order.

Soon it became a busy workspace, with two Big shots, a box of embossing folders, hairspray, chalks, water colour pencils, masks, a folder full of dies and just to the right of my bigshot, some embossing after inking the folder.

We were having a wonderful day and so was Margaret's OH. He was watching the curling from the Olympics and having a whale of a time.

This was the scene before lunch, chalks all over the place, I was enjoying myself immensely, but did feel I ought to provide my visitors with some sustenance and give us the energy for more playing in the afternoon, so I plyed them with fresh bread and Broccoli and Stilton soup and Margaret had brought a yummy Victoria sandwich.
Then we had another cup of tea and ran back upstairs to play with water colour pencils. I'd had rather unsatisfactory results previously,  but with an excellent teacher I achieved results that I was very pleased with. Unfortunately my  back was hurting by this time so couldn't do a second one. Bit of a shame, but at least I know how to do it now.
So why am I wittering on about my crafting? Well, What's on my Worktop Wednesday is a wonderful institution established by the wonderful Julia over at The Stamping Ground. 

There you can see not just my worktop as it is this morning, with my watercolour pencilled poppies, but the worktops of lots of other crafters as well.
So I am off to look at all those worktops as well, and see how beautiful they all are.



Happy worktop hopping.
Chris

Random Post

Well didn't we, Margaret and I, have fun at the Machester Craft show yesterday? Free entry tickets through the post, so we just had to go, didn't we? Just as well something was free because this lot certainly wasn't and now have to find room to put it away.

Not the best photo, but in the foreground you can see some lovely stamps and chalks and embossing paste. On the left and right is some card, just love the dark red on the left, I suspect I will have problems using that as it is so beautiful I won't want to waste!!! Sad aren't I?
And at the back are some Sheena Douglas embossing folders, including the one that she used in the video doing her  Faux leather book cover. I will have lots of fun with that. To right at the back are a set of small ink pads, excellent for doing the edges of card and standing up on the left are two boxes of embelishments, a £1 each I just couldn't resist. There are about 50 pieces in each.

Lurking between the front and the back are masks, glues, storage pots and sewing thread to finish the bags I am making. We were amazed though, the show was Creative Stitches and Hobby craft and only two of the stalls were actually selling sewing thread and neither of them have much of a range.

On Wednesday I was sewing all those bags for Uganda, well I have finished eight of them, another four to make in very different fabric, when I made some important Birthday cards, but a close up of just one will show you why they use so much sewing thread.

The straps have to be reinforced with machine embroidered to give them strength as the bags may well be used throughout the childrens' time in senior school.
Well I'd better get back to putting things away, we have visitors coming tomorrow so I need downstairs tidy at least.

Chris

WOYWW 244

My desk today looks very different from what I normally show. What you are seeing first is the new desk in my study.This has been designed to allow me to have the sewing machine out permanently, instead of, as previously, having to clear the computer keyboard before I could get out the sewing machine. So there is the machine with all the clutter for making bags for Uganda. If you want to know more about it go to Margaret's blog where she explains a bit about the bags.

Making the bags themselves is very simple, it is the straps that I find so tiresome and exhausting. They are a metre and a half long and need machine embroidery all the way along to strengthen them. You can see a couple I have done the embroidery on, but gosh it is wearing stuff! I have promised to make twelve.

Behind the machine you can see my monitors with pictures of frosted foliage. I think frosting on things is so pretty that, when we have frosts I can often be found outside, early morning, in my dressing gown, trying to get the best pics before the sun has melted the icing on the plants and before I freeze to death.

Here now is my cardmaking surface doubling up as an ironing surface for the bags, but there are a few bits of cardmakings, pale blue paper and matching lace. Haven't made any cards for over a week now because of the intruding bags.
Note to self, must make time to do some cardmaking soon, grandson's birthday in just over a week.

And here is Max wondering why I am fiddling around taking pictures instead of cuddling him as is his due.
If you are wondering why I am exposing my all, in crafting terms anyway, nip over to the lady Julia, where all will be revealed.
Well I must get back to the machine and get stitching.
Bye for now and Happy WOYWW to you all
Chris