What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 547

I’m scheduling this, so this is actually last night.  Look at this lot, stuff from a Crop at the weekend, stuff from the ‘mini’ marathon, also at the weekend, stuff from not clearing up properly, stuff from another person using my desk and stuff on my desk to remind me that it needs to be posted. Are ya shocked? I am! The woolly pulley on the back of the chair is a chunky waistcoat type thing. The ground floor of the house has been very very cold recently. The child that masquerades as our plumber has finally managed to marry the old and the new in terms of heating systems and so we are comfortable again, which is quite lovely. When everything has been properly put away, I will put the sliding doors back on the cupboards. That will go a long way to making the place look a bit better. I’m sort of in the mood to make some cards for the sheer pleasure of sending some nice cards now, so I’m going to. Just as soon as I get back from being out tomorrow. Today.

Help me out will you, with this timing thing. Reassure me it’s Wednesday by linking your WOYWW post here. It will stop me panicking when I wake up tomorrow. On Thursday. Argh.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 546

My darlings and I used to complain about certain film directors using ‘darkovision’ as a lighting choice. Clint Eastwood is one. We often used to throw popcorn at the screen and moan because we were missing details because of poorly lit scenes. Well, the irony is not lost on me, as I have had to turn on overhead and desk lamps in broad daylight to take this photo!

Looks as though I’ve set up in a cupboard! It’s fine. When I need daylight I will work in the extension. So my desk shows all sorts of things. A six pack of curling ribbons propped on the iPad stand. Overseas presents need to be wrapped and posted soon and they are a timely reminder. The pink basket contains the ingredients for one of the Marathon cards, it went very well and now I’m checking and tidying and cleaning prior to using them again on Saturday.  The perfectly placed and intriguing looking white thing near the heat gun is just a screwed up wet wipe. Probably the most real art this desk has seen!  Here’s a twofer. Last night Ink Blender Gal Shopkeeper Gal and I got together around a real workshop table and did a few of each other’s cards from the Marathon. Lovely couple of hours making cards that had been prepared, die cuts ready, mounts pre-cut. Brill. 

So there we are, gentle Desker, I’m sort of desk hopping!  Show and tell do, it’s the important part of the day! 

Link your WOYWW post here please, all as usual and entirely for other people’s viewing pleasure. Thanks!

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This photo was taken last evening. My daylight hours are numbered, as you can see. And look closely, the guilty party is peeking around the wall....attention or guilt?

It al looks a bit covered up - but not intentionally. I had moved the A3 desk pad to the right hand pile earlier because I had to use the Big Shot and my ‘cutting station’ is quite narrow, and because I needed 24 cuts, I moved to my desk for space and erm, light. I’m in the process of kitting cards for our annual Christmas Card Marathon which is this weekend. You can just see the next card to be kitted - the one with the Penny Black Poinsettia at right. I see two pairs of glasses and two pairs of scissors...balance is good, huh! Newly added to the desk..the purple and blue boxes at the end. Long forgotten photograph boxes unearthed whilst moving stuff around for building. My word, I think they represent another 30 years of scrapbooking! So there you have it, not actually producing crafty stuff, but ever so productive this week. 

Please will you hold Shaz Silverwolf in your thoughts - she’s in hospital learning to breathe again. The filthy chemo has temporarily  got the better of her. She feels improved since being admitted and her wonderful Doug has enabled her to do a post. Seems like they are inter-enabling! I just hope that there’s a reasonable coffee supply near the ward. Makes me wanna put the kettle on. Take your time Shaz dear friend, and be well.

So link your WOYWW post here please, all as per. May your day be full of daylight.

What’s On your Workdesk? Wednesday 544

Ah now, hmmm. If you thought I’d dropped off the face of the earth,  I sort of had. So sorry if my name didn’t appear in your comments this week...I went off to a scrapbook retreat on Thursday morning and that was it. No routine, totally threw me out! You can tell I’ve been away, I had to tidy up!
Taken in the dark. See those vertical timbers? framing for the stud wall. It will be dark in here all the time soon. Temporarily, but definitely till next year. Anyway, in a small distraction from doing bookwork,I had a coffee and used my snowflake mould and foamy clay stuff to make twenty five teeny snowflakes. They are to go in the kits for the card making Marathon which is now at the end of next week. Really, it went from being two months away to the end of next week in minutes, frankly. I don’t get it. Anyway, they’re drying now and makes me feel as if I did a good bit of multi tasking yesterday! That ink pad there, all on its own, is waiting for me to try. It’s a hybrid. Apparently I can stamp with it and it’ll fade away so you can’t see the stamped outline after I’ve coloured. I’m cynical for two reasons -will it work and what images will benefit from not having key lines? I’m going to have to seek enlightenment before I go any further I think. So that’s me.....if there’s anything else vaguely interesting that I haven’t talked about, ask me. I’d be delighted! 

Please join in, post a pic of your desk, work space on your blog and link your blog here. I need to see.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 543

How much faster can it go?!  

My lovely Jan came to visit with her gorgeous G. They were valiant in living with the upheaval. It was great to have them here, lots of light relief! I’ve had to have a tidy round and clear my desk for some re-jigging of card ideas. You can see one at left...still not right, but I have an idea. At last. There’s the usual detritus but not so much of it. The bright pink tissue paper indicates the presence of gifts and the nuvo drops are in the the basket to make moving them a little easier...I’m off on scrapbooking retreat this weekend. Also in this horrid temporary light, note the floor in the extension has been tiled. So now, that hole behind my desk which was a door will magically become a stud wall.  And finally..I have no idea why the packing tape is on the desk. How odd. Amazing what you notice in a photo!  Please chime in and show and tell, as usual, put WOYWW in your post title, it makes finding it so much easier. Link here. I thank you. 

So now can we talk?

It’s very nearly November, so sod it, I wanna talk CHRISTMAS. Specifically, cards. If you aren’t a card maker, keep reading anyway. It may help you remember why you HAVE TO appreciate and love the hand made cards you receive. Sorry to dictate your required reaction, but well, you know. Hand made.  For me, this particular year, I had to start early because Shopkeeper Gal was getting demand for Christmas card workshops earlier than anticipated. And oh boy, even with all the lovely new stamps and dies that have been released since August, it’s been like pulling teeth to get an idea onto a card!

I bought a couple of the most lovely 3d embossing folders. I went to a lot of trouble (A LOT) to fashion suitable thicknesses of shim to use them in my Big Shot. And then I couldn't think of a thing to do with them. I had - well, have - a problem with the size of the embossed images in relation to ALL of the stamps I thought would go with them. Oh boy. Bad lighting and navy card stock means you can barely tell that there is an embossed forest below and surrounding that big old silver moon. You’d think that new stuff would inspire me, it always has before. I think I’ve got early Christmas card fatigue. Seriously, in the best tradition of it being all about me, I’m worried about me! 

Shopkeeper Gal has a traditional card making Marathon day. She, me and Ink Blender Gal present 8 original cards each to as many people as want to book themselves in and they make the cards from provided kits. I can honestly say that I have never, in about 10 years of doing this, had so much trouble making 8 cards I think are suitable. I’m in a state of worry that the techniques I’m using aren't really interesting, the images I’m using are too ‘samey’ and my colours are questionable. I can’t say I’ve ever deliberately used black ink for Christmas images on a card. Not for any reason in particular, I think I just used (or overused) other colours, including the traditional. Now I see the most beautiful cards with black stamped text or images and wonder if it’s a trend that I’m missing, or if I’ve just completely ignored the obvious! See why I think I’m fatigued!  Last weekend, I allocated a whole day to making Christmas cards. For the Marathon, for friends, for our business clients, for family. I made 3 in the whole day. And I’ve since sought judgement about them from others and re-made two of them! I’ve lost it.

See what i mean about the size of the folder in relation to the stamps, or is it me?

Like magic though, I think I have the solution already. It’s straightforward innit. Do them. Do them my way and move on to whatever it is I intend to do after Christmas cards. And stop whining. Seriously. Sod it. 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 542

No sign of panic here! Shopkeeper Gal told me last Thursday that it was just a month till the Card Marathon. It made me feel a bit queasy and gave me an urgent need to get to my desk. So at the weekend, I spent way too much time making this mess and have only three cards that I think are worth submitting for others to copy. Why, another week of uninterrupted desk time and I might be ready! I think the only thing that might need explaining is the empty cotton bud pot next to my ATG gun.  It’s there because Zsuzsa had a fab project on Marit’s Dutch Summer series and I intend to copy it. It will make an excellent and useful pot to put things in, as Winnie the Pooh would say. I intend it to hold my lovely foam moulded pieces. I love a plan. 

So lovely desker, when your eyes are less sore from the shock of my desk, please show me yours. It’s all about reciprocity. Put WOYWW in your post title and link here, the one part of my week that stays routine and makes me thankful.