The smaller suitcase is finished, and is waiting to go to work; it will be my business card holder - amazing the number you collect after just a few weeks...and they all have a purpose....a yarn for another day! The large case awaits another layer and some detail, but there's no hurry, I wanna do it reasonably well and be happy with it. Today, I finally tidied up. It's not been the mega re-organisation or clear-out that is probably overdue. But that's OK. Everything is, for now, back in it's place; you can see that my desk is actually some sort of wood colour and you can't see every sheet of 12 x 12 that I own. New stuff has been put away and AND AND I finally put the unmounteds on EZ Mount and cut them out. Bah, that's a job I hate. I really really really miss wood mounted stamps. I think, despite the number that I own and use, I'd cheerfully give up my clear stamps if I could be promised wood mounted versions. I know, nutter. But really, I find the clear stamps are a bigger pain to store than the wood mounts - I just need a shelf for wood mounts. Clears need a laminated card and then some filing system that will sort of encourage me to a) use them and b) wash and put them back... you immediately see my point! And some of my most used and loved clears have totally lost their ability to cling to the acrylic block. No amount of warm soapy water works and it really ticks me off - their longevity is not as promising as my wood mounteds. Anyway, tidy desk means get creating, and I hope too. Just as soon as I've had some supper and conversation with himself....being in here all afternoon whingeing and moaning at the inanimate objects that needed sorting into cupboards means that I've neglected my lovelies. I'll feed them and that will more than make up for it! Two highlights from last week : meeting Chrissie for coffee on Wednesday. Winchester Cathedral coffee shop, sunshine, rows of fragrant lavender, lots of graduating students and a gossip that we could have sustained for several hours. You need to get to know Chrissie, her cards are gorgeous and precise and immaculate. And so is she. Happy Birthday for tomorrow Chrissie!
And the other: WOYWW had a record number of links. Gosh how marvellous a journey it makes!
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24 comments:
fab suitcases julia. love the blue too
great thinking
hugs June xxx
Your altered suitcases look fab! I must get me some of them. I am so with you re wooden stamps, I MUCH prefer them, despite the extra storage space they take up, and while the Wendy and Tim style unmounteds are ok, I really don't like the clear cling ones. Glad you had such a good week - already looking forward to this week's Wednesday workout!
These look fab ... I am working on some at this very moment ... and if you don't do the back and the sides ... the sky falls in and if you can't afford the ink ... well you aint got a hope of ever owning any Grunge paper :0) I like advocates of the devil ... so be my guest anytime :0)
tidying up and taking over the blogosphere all in one week...i bet you need a large glass of something sparkly
Lovely altered suitcases. And what a clever way to use the one. Leave it to you to turn it into a business card holder.
I hate clear stamps. I was given an alphabet by my neighbor who bought two sets by accident a few years ago. They were Anna Griffin and I suspect they are supposed to be quality stamps. But it was good to hear that yours won't stay on the acrylic blocks, because I thought it was just me (not being a stamper). From the beginning, yep the very first time I tried to use them, several of the letters wouldn't stick to the block. I was making a word and when the letters won't stay, it's a real pain. I put them away and never got them out again. Actually, my favorite stamps are red rubber UMs. They stick really well to my block after I place a healthy dose of Wacky Tac (a QVC product same neighbor gave me) which is repositionable on them. Of course, I have no more than a handful of stamps, so what do I know.
I also noted that WOYWW has grown by leaps and bounds. Took me through yesterday to get to everyone this week. And now I'm off to wish Chrissie a happy birthday. If I'm lucky, I'll get there before your day changes to Monday.
Don't talk to me about clears! I just pulled out a set of clear alphas to stamp a title and realised the flippin S is missing... fallen off and disappeared who knows where! I hate mounting the unmounted rubber ones too, evil job.
Love your suitcases though, great work. Brilliant idea to use the little one for business cards too.
I've never attempted to alter anything (except my husband)... it looks like a lot of work. Your suitcases look lovely, even if one is still in a semi-finished state.
I would have to agree about mounting stamps on EZ Mount. I get SO sticky, as do my scissors, even the non-stick ones.
As for clear stamps... several times I've had a stamp ready inked on the block and when I'm just about to press it onto the card, the wretched thing falls off and leaves a great inky blob on the card instead. So I have to use some Pritt Stick to glue them onto the block. Drives you daft!
It was a wonderful encounter in Winchester Julia, and thanks for the public as well as personal birthday wishes.
I've just managed to get around everyone's desks. Phew!
Chrissie
there is absolutely nothing crazy about loving wood,
your suitcases have come on leaps and bounds - and will be useful too - Form and Function is so very Arts and CRafts!
hope you and family have a lovely Sunday Tea,
and that major reorganisation?
hahhhhaaaa
I will beleive it when I see it.....
these cases are amazing! that colour is divine!
so happy that woyww is blooming, you must be a very proud lady and rightly deserved, hugs m xx
So many of us getting to meet in real life aren't there. I met a new blogging friend on Friday. Had been commenting on each others blogs for months only to find she lives under 10 miles away! :-) How lovely for you to meet up with Chrissie...she's one very talented card maker.
A x
Lots of work put into those suitcases and great use for the little one...what do you intend for the bigger one?
I'm not an expert stamper so the clears are a god-send for when I don't quite get it right but I do have some lovely artist wood mounted ones that I adore - just tend to stamp onto a panel rather than risk mucking things up LOL (probably haven't used any of my clears enough for them to lose their stick. Can't be doing with cutting stuff out, stamps or EZ mount so am not likely to suffer those problems.
Toni :o)
Hi Julia
fab looking casesm i know what you mean about the clear n red stamps, hate sticking ezmount on them. Glad you n chrissie had lovely chat n meet, shoulda shouted im not far from there! lol, maybe best to keep quiet eh! lol, sue,x
I love what you are doing with the cases. That blue is gorgeous.
I tidied my desk and shelves this weekend. I am debating showing how much space I have created by taking a pic of me lying full length across the desk ala car showroom model... obviously minus the bikini.
NOT minus the bikini as in nekked you understand. *shudders*
oh loving these suitcases,hun have not known you long hun but tidy you oh cant wait too see what you will post on wednesday hun ,hugs cheryl xxxxx
I love what you have done ..and are doing ... to your cases ... business card storage idea brilliant.
Now for Clear v Wood ...I find clear much easier to use but have to agree about the stickablity. I feel it must be my fault as a couple of good sets have no stickability after 2-3 uses. I am also devistated by one particular make that I spent a lot of money buying their alphabets and shapes. Thought it was an investment for future use but after not using them for a while I dug out a couple of sets for a project ...to my horror the letters ripped into two as I removed them ...this was not an isolated occurance either.
Oh. I Love the Suitcases. I Love Them. Do I always say that? I feel like I do. But I. Love. The. Suitcases.
Winchester Cathedral Coffee shop sounds like my sort of place, and ick to cleaning and sorting. I am sorry. I've decided to completely ignore the calamitous mess I've made lately. Ugh. I cannot imagine your torture. I hate tidying.
Amy
Great suitcaes :)))loving the colour, and so so glsd you used them . Now just to find you somethig else to alter ..hehe
Have a good week
Hugs x
You've been busy. Are you converted to this altering lark now?
** Kate **
Loving your suitcases hun... i have some still in packaging awaiting... erm... attention LOL good on yer for tidying up... my room looks like a bombsite at the moment, don't spose you have a spare minute??? ROFL x
love the colour you have used on your suitcases, I like clear stamps and tend to leave them in the packs they come on, I have actually taken all my wood mounted ones apart and use rock a blocks and repositionable spray.
The cases look fabulous Julia, I love the colour :-) Good on you getting stuff tidied, I'm still thinking about it. How great meeting up with Chrissie.
Thank you for the lovely birthday card, it's very much appreciated; I leave mine up for a week :-)
Anne xx
Oooh you have done your suitcases - they look fab - mine, of course, are still sitting atop my printer (nowhere else to put them) with just a coating of gesso on - maybe one day. I agree with the stamp issue too however I have well over a 1000 stamps so the wooden blocks werent working for me anymore - I used to have my stamps in about 10 shoeboxes -very inconvenient - so now I have unmounted most of them and store them in ring binders - some on eazy mount but most I have sprayed with a tacky glue - works for me - at least I use some of them now and I am a bit sad and love little organisation systems so I have them all filed by theme, make etc. Good job on the tidying up too - at least you wont have to do it again for a while now!
Big congrats for a number of things - an update on the cases - looking gorgeous and fab blue - the tidying of your workspace (yes, I saw last Wednesday's photo!) and the debates about wood v clear and to ezmount or not to ezmount.
My crafting friend has a love/hate relationship with my wood/clear - she lovres furtling through the drawers with the mounted and hates my clear storage system and moans when she can't find what she wants in the drawers. No me, the only thing I furtle through is my stamp card index and then know exactly where to find the stamp(of course ... ! ) I afdmit to being tempted to ezmount the unmounted, but then I would have to change my storage system.
So, a question to the expert of this lovely blog ..... what is the benefit of ezmounting stamps rather than just using pritt stick with the block and a stamping mat?
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