W8YWW 417

It's after midnight, Tuesday. We've been to Miss Dunnit's University to view an exhibition. All the theatre arts are represented; Miss Dunnit's course is Prop Making and Special Effects. It was amazing, the talent was breath-taking. It's not just a 'proud parents evening'; the exhibition forms a part of their course and the success of it is therefore very important. It's open for a week at Northbrook College in Goring if you're interested. After we'd looked very closely at everything, we had a quick tour of the studios. Because they're students, they each have a cubicle type desk to work at, and....

this is Miss Dunnit's space! A painted and graffitied area with a large amount of polystyrene left from a previous project. The room was a shambles and all of us visitors just gazed at it in awe, some because they didn't know what to say about the mess, others because it was all ingredients for creativity and it had to be looked at, and still others because the smell of glue and resin was quite strong!
I might show you more, but I have to gather permissions first. If you're a theatre or film addict though, I would rest assured - the future is in good hands!
Share do, what you've been up to since last Wednesday's goliath 8 year anniversary...which was great fun, thank you!

WOYWW 416 That's 8 Years, then

Well done, gentle desker. Whether you've been here once in a blue moon, or every week for some time, you have contributed to what has become a great part of my life; I hope, yours too. And that's the circle of friendship that you meet when you join in here. Everyone who has ever shown us their workspace, work desk, worktop, - make what you will of the middle W in the acronym - everybody will meet warmth and support and good old friendship. It's so much more and so much less than just a work desk thing. If you're game, we'll go on with it. It remains here, and as simple as ever. No blatant advertising, we're interested in the way you work and what you're currently doing. We'll ask if you've got a toy that we need to know about, do not fear.Please, in your comment, tell me what 'pulls' you to WOYWW. The most impressive thing to me continues to be  the tidy desks. If I were Sue, for example I would spend a deal of time trying not to look at the workdesk that I publish each week, I truly think it must make her want to scream!

Today is no exception. I'm trying that 'five minutes here and there' technique. Quite frankly, it's pants. Those little bits of coloured foil....extremely essential brain food. Inspirational chocolates. Honest.

Now remember, today is RAK day. If you have an ATC to mark this huge anniversary and don't mind posting it to someone, when you link your blog here, include an * after your name. Then we'll know you're participating. The name with * before you will be in touch  for your address, and likewise, you need to contact the next person with an * against their name, for that person will be your recipient.

If you are the last * on the list, send your ATC to the first *. Easy, innit.

Do not worry about having to link twice because you forget the *, I'm going to be on hand to do some deleting where necessary. (Only I can do this, for I am all powerful in JuliaDunnit world).

Do not worry or have a guilt thing about not participating. It's meant to be fun and it's not if there is an obligation attached to it.

DO contact me via the email link at left if you'd like to receive one of my ATC attempts.

Try to remember the asterisk thingy then********!

It's high time...

My (considerably) older sister lives in Idaho.  And just in case you don't know, that's her on the right. The presentable one. I mean...what's  going on with the hair, Mrs Dunnit!  She's lived elsewhere in the US and it's been over twenty years. As with a lot of relationships, you don't know what you've got till it's gone, and over those twenty years, we've both come to love the opportunity to do nothing more grand than have a coffee and a chat. It's what you wanna do when you've got a free couple of hours or are feeling a bit blue or have news, huh. So this LO, which I did as a result of a challenge for National Scrapbook Day, sums it up really. We were on holiday together in Spain and coffee was being enjoyed on a bright morning in Cartagena. It's less the memory of the place and the coffee than it is the chat and 'normalness' of it, despite it's not being normal at all. Gotta love a coffee break. Also proves to anyone that needs proof that I'm incapable of chronological scrapbooking. Loads of other pics from this holiday have been put in scrapbooks already, but this, apparently, I was saving. I have to scrap the photo that speaks to me when I'm looking for a photo, whether it's 2 days or twenty years old. Nor do I file the LOs chronologically. I know a lot of you will be experiencing itchy teeth over my slovenliness, but it works for me. Crafting chronology bores me. There, I said it. I'm interested in your response to this - are you the same or do you need the order of time/place/age?

Idaho is my holiday destination, and a road trip via SLC to the Grand Canyon. We're pretty excited. So that's the big holiday I was talking about. And the book I had to keep listening to was 'Echoes in Death' by JD Robb. It's as you'd expect, a murder mystery. As I skim the purchases on my Audible account, it seems that murder, crime and mystery are my genre of choice for quiet and gentle crafting. No doubt that says a whole lot about me, I just don't know what. I'm a mystery.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 415

Good grief, gentle desker, we are one week away from the eighth anniversary of this visit thing. How amazing. HERE is the page that explains how we're doing a round robin ATC swap to mark the occasion. If you want to. If you don't, treat the day as a normal Wednesday!

Now if you have any, you may want to put on your rose tinted glasses for this one. This is the fully extended dining table, acting as a tax office. Seriously, I have let it sit like this - or a variant of this for nearly a week.

 Yesterday, I hastened through other chores so as to get to the tax returns pronto - one being nearly finished means that the others are easier, see. But...I had been listening to a really good audio book whilst I've chored this past week, and couldn't bear to turn it off in order to concentrate. There was one hour and eleven minutes to go. So I went to my proper desk and made a couple of cards from generous scraps and then started on another couple. So here's the real desk taken at teatime yesterday. It still looks the same this morning. I have an hour and eleven minutes to make up today. Worth it though!

The 'Wake Up and be Awesome' card is a prototype from last week's workshop. Shows how they change as I fiddle about, huh! The butterfly cards will join some others that I've made up from decent scraps. We're going on a big holiday very soon, and it will be nice to have some handmade card packs to offer as small gifts when the need arises. The little plastic rose embellishments at left are a find from a garden centre near my sister's house. So pretty! Not easy to see, but there's a pile of ATCs just above the tape gun. They are for next week's swap - if you'd like to receive one from me, please ping me your address and I shall make it happen! It sounds as if I've been utterly craft prolific. I haven't really, more craft panicked. Please show and tell your work space, particularly as I'm now out of craft inspiration!

Oh, the things you say

At a workshop last night, where I was required to do no more than sit about and explain why the sample cards were wonky, two of my most often used phrases in terms of card making came up. I was being very free with my top tips. I find myself doing this when I need to justify my presence because everyone knows exactly what they're doing.

Woodware stamp, WOW embossing powder

A couple of the ladies present were relatively new to card making and of course, were taking my every word as talent and truth. One thing I can point out with absolute certainty is that when you have a pre-scored card (as in, if you buy a pack of cards and envelopes), the mountain of the score should be folded to the inside. This is basic paper engineering; that little mountain forces the card slightly open so it will stand. I can't remember when I learned this, but I do know it was from a man that printed, cut and scored a kerjillion greeting cards every year. But, it's not always an easy thing to remember is it, in amongst the 8  million other rules about keeping your fingers clean and work on the card flat and use this tape and that glue and measure this bit but do that bit by eye...so, I always show and tell. And the phrase for the tell is 'hump inside, or you'll get arrested'. It works. Probably on more than one level, but certainly as a card folding mantra, it's like having me sit on your shoulder while you're creating!

Woodware text, Marianne, Joy & Sizzix  dies, Kaiser paper

My other suggestion was to stick a piece of paper on the card despite it's being longer than the card, and flip it over and butt cut the paper to fit. Cue giggling from more than one source. I've always said it haven't I? I can't believe these particular craft customers friends haven't heard me say it before. Perhaps I had archived it as a silly thing to say, and now I can't remember archiving for that reason. Highly likely. Good tip though!

This LO is a decoy photo; I was discussing the workroom carnage caused by National Scrapbook Day with the World Traveller and she asked if I'd managed any other challenges. This was an unintentional entry into the 'longest title' category. I used Basic Grey Stickers but foiled the 'incredible' word. I felt it was appropriate for a be-slippered nephew who was trying on a super power!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 414

Whew! Skidding in with a photo that will reassure or sadden, I don't know!

It's a bit dull yet, but there's hope of lovely sunshine again today. Which is nice, because it will make me feel better whilst I set to and tidy up. Again. I've been doing a couple of scrapbook challenges that were set at the weekend to mark National Scrapbook Day. Turns out I scrap very, very slowly. The challenges were being posted at proper, do-able intervals, but there's no way I could tackle each one unless I have a fortnight off! The iPad chair is empty again (I used it for the photo), the weird picture above it is actually a cereal box. The right size this time, to make a mail holder for my friend. She will have forgotten all about it by now, so it will either be a delightful surprise or an embarrassing moment of 'I didn't really want one, just being polite about yours' thing. I'll let you know! The layout is waiting for a title. I know what I want it to say, it's just quite long and I have to brace myself to sort it out! Show and tell us what your space has been home to this week then - please!

The Favourite Technique

There's a Blog hop going on to celebrate National Scrapbook Day and you've arrived at the 9th blog in a string of 11. Each of us are hoping to inspire you and show you our favourite technique by showcasing it on a LO.

If you are following the Blog hop, you should have arrived here from Gemma's place

(thesteelenook.blogpost.co.uk). To be in with a chance of winning the Blog Hop prize you will need to comment on this post and on all the other blogs in the Hop.

Now rest your weary hopping limbs a minute while I explain my favourite technique. It may come across as a cheat to you, but it appears on every single one of my LOs in a staggering variety and it's only thanks to this Blog Hop that I've even noticed that it's a technique. Or...question of the day...is it a format?


It's a single photo and paper. Layers of it, to be precise. Before I can do anything else to a LO, it appears that the photo must matted and placed on any number of colour contrasting layers. If you visit my blog ever again, you'll see it, almost monotonously, it really has been a bit of a revelation for me!
I know it's not rocket science, and I certainly won't hold you up on this Hop as there's no need to make notes or check out another new-to-you product. This is the least technical thing - just add more paper. Scrunch it, smooth it, distress the edges, just add more and make it show!

Once you've finished here, staggered by the majesty of my creativity, leave a suitable rude comment,  and hop on over to Julie's place - jsquaredscrapspot.wordpress.com

If you lose your way or fancy meandering through from the beginning, start here at lovely Fiona's blog: fiona-staringatthesea.blogspot.co.uk. If you're familiar with my blog, or indeed a Desker, you will recognise Fiona immediately!
When you have completed the Hop, return to the Blog Hop thread on Facebook at For The Love of Pretty Paper and leave a comment to let us know that you've been all the way around the Hop. Visitors who leave the same comment (or a comment deemed to be the same by the Organisers) will not be eligible for the prize. The closing date for Blog Hop entries is Monday May 8th at 10pm. The prize can only be posted to a UK address. Good Luck!

Preparing....rather unusual in these parts...

I have been flitting between my desk to make stuff and the dining table to do book keeping this week. It's tax return month and there's a lot of brain strain involved. So the card making has been a great reward. However, this evening is the beginning of an online crop type party to mark National Scrapbook Day on Sunday. For the first time ever, I'm going to have a crack at some of the challenges; I've actually ring fenced the time. So I thought it would be prudent to start with a clean and uncluttered desk.

As you can see, I've finished excavating! I'm going to try the 'clear up as you go' technique tomorrow, in order to well, stay in order. And possibly so that I can wander round my home for pleasure rather than in search of a pair of reading glasses!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 413 (edited number!)

Well Deskers, it's rapidly approaching. The eighth anniversary of WOYWW. If you want to be involved in the ATC swap, there are details in a page listed at the top of the blog. Even if you don't want to be involved with the whole ATC thing, please join in on the day, it will just be another Wednesday show and tell!
And in that tradition:

I took this late last night. Quite proud of it because it hasn't yet become a nightmare to tidy or work at. And this is after a massive clear up on Monday because I'd been scrapbooking. I've had a really nasty eye infection (now under control, thankfully) and consequently have lost a week. Now I can see out of both eyes, I see deadlines! Here you can see the germ of an idea that will be a workshop sample for next week if I get it together. The pens are re-branded Wink of Stella; can't stop using them! My trusty iPad was on the deckchair but I used it to take this photo. The green basket at right is meant to hold acrylic blocks and other stuff creeps into it very easily! Including an A5 trimmer which in turn has become a holding point for finished cards. I'm not quite over the Crazy Birds yet - I don't know if you can see it but there's one on that card on top! So, fair to say I'm slowly getting it back. I still need your inspiration though, so please contribute a link to your working space.

National Scrapbook Day....ok, weekend.

For the Love of Pretty Paper is a Facebook group that I belong to. Started by a fellow paper addict who has run with it and turned it into a scrapbook resource and very friendly forum. Very refreshing because selling isn't allowed. Which really means that posts are interesting instead of pushy. Anyway, enough about my feelings for the sales ambitious. Sarah asked if anyone would be interested in creating a page and blogging about it for next weekend, National Scrapbook Day. (And back to the politics..I think it might actually be International.) Because I like the Facebook Group and feel that I don't show much support of all the hard work it creates (causes?), I volunteered.
Well Sarah totally caught me out and accepted. And because she's organised and surrounded by amazing scrapbook page makers, she asked about a week ago for 'sneak peeks' of our pages. And that is the lovely, fresh looking collage of vignettes that you see above. Of course, it doesn't include a sneak peek from my page. At the time, and I must stress AT THE TIME, I hadn't quite got around to it.
I have since spent a happy wet Sunday at my desk, and I have four Layouts to choose from. Which is a miracle to be honest. I've discovered that when you're making a page for deliberate public screening, it makes you completely unable to stick paper to paper in any pleasing way at all. So now all I have to do is decide which of the LOs is better, photograph it artfully and post it next Sunday. It's a blog hop, so there will be plenty of opportunity for inspiration, thank goodness. Now, who wants a bet on how many times I change my mind about the LO I'm going to feature?