What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 667

I bet this week has felt like an eternity in the Ukraine. I know that we are all affected by these events and that we all feel completely helpless in the face of the suffering and displacement. There are plenty of channels of news, plenty of OpEd and commentary to read. This blog is not that place. Greater and more eloquent minds can inform, educate and comment. If you want political commentary, please click away and search appropriately. Don’t email and complain that I have nothing to offer you. That’s just absurd. 

The Wednesday spot on this blog has become a place to lift and support fellow readers. We may and can disagree fundamentally with each other over all sorts of things, but please, not about what WOYWW is. 

So, to the root…..

You find me being a grown up! I’m working on the service for my Mum’s funeral and as you can see from all the scribbling and crossing out, I’m being a good editor and a cr@ppy writer!  I’ve been walking around this for a while and felt the urge to get it done this afternoon, so put it off by tidying, then I rang my sister and we chit chatted about stories to include and then, and then, and then…I started writing. It’s ok, as you can see, it pours out of me, the trick is definitely in the editing. I read it out loud and when it starts to go on, gets repetitive, over explaining or plain drivel..I cross it out. Simple. Messy but effective! The orange tub at right is a container for microwaving popcorn in. It’s not fab, to be honest, but I persist because it’s such a useful snack. And, for the sheer pleasure of bragging for two weeks in a row, here are the blending brushes that on some screens, didn’t make it into the picture. (That’s bizarre isn’t it, probably a photographer or uploading error. Who knows, I certainly don’t!)

Aren’t they delicious. And AND they came with an ingenious cleaner thing. I’ll show you that at some point…first, I’ve got to get over the beauty of these beauties and make them need a clean! 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 666

I’m not superstitious, but the week number did make me do a double take! Not as much as my desk will make you start though…..

Will you look at that! Tidied! Whilst clearing the surface, I found several images that I’d stamped as test runs and decided to employ them. I’ve managed to acquire a handful of 4” square cards and envelopes of different colours. There’s one of each of about 10 colours, so I’m colouring the images to match the card and then using random scraps and stuff to embellish. As I have about 12 March birthdays and some of them involve men, these will work nicely. New to the view at far right is my set of blending brushes and their clever holder. These were part of a Christmas gift from Kathy and I’ve only just been brave enough to use them…game changing, I can’t show you of course, because my make was so lovely that I got smug and sent it without photographing it! There will be more though, without doubt!

Thank you for your kind words about the loss of my Mama, what a lift you are. Please forgive my appalling lack of comments last week, I visited, but somehow just didn’t have the oomph to talk.

So, give it another go this week, show and tell on the Workdesk and life front, let’s see what you’re doing, please! 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 665

Welcome Spring!  Well, that’s what the calendar tells me. Wet windy and grey as anything, but spring it is! It is noticeably light for longer every day, so there is a positive. 

What a week. Europe in a situation of war that I never imagined was possible anymore, I’m sure that you’re all as moved as I am by the pictures and news coming from Ukraine. It’s frightening and disturbing; whatever your worries or connections, believe me, I’m holding you tight in my thoughts.

Meanwhile, I took a photo yesterday in daylight. The daughter of a friend is to be married at the weekend and I’m doing the last minute thing because I’m seeing her this afternoon and really want the Bride and Groom to know that we’re celebrating their joy. Seems only days ago that the Bride was one of the little bodies in the back of my car on the school run!

Of course I haven’t actually cleared the desk off to make a nice white card, but it’s getting to the point of topple on the left, so that’s the next ambition. The top of the pile shows a box of acrylic goodies from Bramble Fox, stuff for use in my scrapbooking, so I hope you’ll see them soon-ish. The beautifully decorated box on the right of my little guillotine is filled with ATC blanks -  a gift from our Debbie which I use regularly. The little guillotine is new, a great little cutter which saves quite a lot of room on the actual desk, very easy to sling about! 

A lot of you will know from my slightly ranting post on Facebook that my dear Mama died last Thursday, completely overcome by almost eleven years of Alzheimer’s. So Wednesday takes a different shape yet again as I won’t need to rush out this morning! Please share and tell, you are always a welcome distraction! 

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 664

Another late posting, sorry! I’m out of routine - came home yesterday after 2 days of cropping and felt secure that it was Sunday! 

Anyway… here’s a desk shot from our sojourn in the country:

Really not too bad. This is largely because over the course of the five days we had planned, there were only ever 3 of us scrapping. Work and family stuff kept one or other of us away for some of the time and oh, it got complicated! 

This was my space yesterday after we’d had a cooked brunch. We packed up and vacated at about five, so this was my penultimate LO. It was a slow process getting back into it, but I have at least for now, rediscovered the pleasure in scrapping. Even though we’ve had two daytime crops this year, I felt as though I’d completely forgotten how to, or if I even wanted to! We all agreed that  we’re better at social scrapping, so because we’ve all got far more kit than is decent, we will just have to go on having twice yearly weekends away! 

I hope you’re all safe and relatively undamaged from the chain of storms that have crossed Britain, I was unaware of the flooding until I was at home watching the news last night. I feel deeply for those affected - again. 

Tell us all then, let’s see what you’ve been up to whilst our backs were turned! Please put WOYWW in your post title and link here. Thanks!

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 663

This is late in the publishing, sorry. No reason specifically; well, the usual problem..me. I typed the post, and then went to get a coffee, doodled about the kitchen, did a test so that I can report a negative result this morning and visit my Mama. Then came back to see who I could visit from the list…only to discover that I hadn’t actually posted. Argh! Too busy thinking about the next thing, must remain present!

I’m looking forward to a weekend away with The Coven. That means scrapbooking. And that means getting my stuff together. I’d like to take as much as possible to satisfy lots of ideas and use lots of lovely stuff, but I want to be economic with the space I take up…after all there will be five of us and that amounts to a lot of stuff!

I’ve already sorted two boxes of ‘stuff’ and chucked out some odd die cuts, marked, creased and damaged tags and such, and decanted bits and pieces, so now only have one box of ‘stuff’. Isn’t it amazing what you keep for years and will never use. I also have a small( and getting bigger) bag of bits to give to a local MIND group who often make cards, so it’s been a worthwhile effort. This photo shows part of my basic scrapping-away-from-home method. I loosely match photos to papers…sometimes three or four sheets, to give me some er, artistic license when I finally stop chatting and eating long enough to make up a LO!

And on my right…a very busy worktop that will pay off when I finally commit and pack the car up…bits and pieces on there that I MUST take with me. They need to stay in my line of vision, you probably understand by now quite how forgetful I am! What with rushing about sorting this lot, making sure my favourite comfort clothes are clean and ready to pack, cooking a few treats and shopping for ingredients for supper when it’s my turn to cook, it’s all added real flavour to my week! The forecast from today in the UK is pretty hideous, high high winds and lots of wet. Take care. Take my advice..stay in and create! But please show off last weeks desk work first, I would offer to remind you to do it later, but I’ll forget.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 662

I think because I have tons of stuff to do, on and off the desk, I’m allowing myself to be easily distracted! Procrastination comes in many forms, doesn’t it. You’d think wouldn’t you, that I might procrastinate by tidying up or unpacking after crop. Neither. I’ve been searching through my clear stamps and deciding that the storage is fine for me, but not very ordered, so that’s to go on a to do list.

I don’t know if you can tell but there are two pairs of glasses visible, almost entwined, and there’s another pair in the fabric holder at left. And there’s another pair in my scrapbooking kit to be unpacked. So many! Proof though, that I return to my desk a lot and that I take a pair of readers with me, just in case I sit down and do something!  You can see too that I’ve rummaged sufficiently to find the clear stamp set that matches the die that’s been lurking on the desk for months.I assumed it would be the same size as the stamps and therefore be really useful. Alas it’s not and will have to be a stand-alone asset. That’s the problem with me and impulse purchasing….!

The big die cut at the back of the desk is from a rack of postcards at Paperchase…no idea for it’s use, but couldn’t leave it in the shop. 

I’m sorry I didn’t get around to every desk last week, it usually takes me a few days but last week just got away from me….must put time management on my to do list too.

Join me then  please, in the show and tell of the week! Put WOYWW in your post title and link here. Easy innit.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 661

Argh! And Ouch! No, don’t worry gentle Desker, there hasn’t been a break in. It’s just me being last minute, untidy and not able to get back to it in good time. And I’m nothing if not honest about it all, although I don’t imagine that’s actually doing your eyes any good!

There are layers to be excavated that sort of tell the story of my week. Sort of. The wrapping paper at left was for a new home present for a friend who I went to see yesterday. So that is pretty much the last thing I did at my desk; despairing at the mess, I just wrapped on top of it all!

Under the paper is a real pile of clear stamps that I am planning to play with. Amongst them is a set that includes the image you can see that I’ve been colouring in, just trying it out as it’s a new set for me. Gifted by another stamper friend. I love them all, but so far am not sure what I’m doing with them! The brush pens are from Arteza and to be completely honest, I’m not actually getting on very well with them. The brush tips are really fine and my eyesight seems to miss the really fine end until it’s over the line or mixing with another coloured area. Ugh. Believe it or not, I think they may be too good a brush for me! I’ve invested in a different strength pair of readers - my prescription lenses aren’t up to it, I need magnifiers! So I’ll try again, am incredibly averse to giving up on this set of pens! 

So what's on your desk or your craft mind this week? I’m going to a crop this weekend and could do with your crafty inspirations! Show and tell, please!