Home again, home again, jiggety-jig

I went to the Make It show at Farnborough. Now before I give you a big old run down, I need you to understand that I have the luxury of a super, well stocked craft shop less than 3 miles from my front door, and others within easy access, and so I have many and frequent opportunities to stroke and consider before I buy. I realise that lots of people don't have this luxury and that's why the shows like Make It are useful. So with that as my prologue, you kinda know that I'm going to whinge! But not really. Sort of. Less whinging and more observing I think!

It takes about an hour to get to Farnborough from here; no major journey, and in getting there, I have to drive past the end of my Mum's road, which is a bonus visit, doncha think? For her or for me - you decide. Because it's relatively close, I don't really feel I'm putting myself out too much to go, which is just as well, because I wouldn't want to have had a longer journey, or taken a day off work to pay £9.50 and be ready to leave in 3 hours (including coffee). It's not an attributable fault - the number of stands was probably the same as last year, indeed a lot of retailers were in the same stand positions which is probably helpful. It fills about half the massive marquee type structure, was warm and dry and the light was very good on this lovely bright shiny day. I think actually, a lot of the reason is that there were very few demonstrations. I KNOW that there aren't many of us that need to be shown or told 'how to' exactly, but there's a magic in seeing the product in use that draws you to it...just like product loaded samples, they sure help me to buy stuff! I mean, how many of us were glued to QVC this week, just to watch? There was a stand with an end aisle 'wall' of packets of unmounted stamps - absolutely loads of 'em. No samples. No inspiration, no wow factor. And there was a stand with some potentially gorgeous kits and the samples were tatty. (Not terrible, the work was sound, but they'd been over handled, probably at a couple of previous shows) and it lets the product down. For two reasons; first because we're all looking for inspiration and as I've just said, samples really help to sell. But second....and I am totally prepared to be wrong about this -in fact reassure me - it's a bit cynical isn't it, to load up your stand with product and not include any samples or a demonstrator churning out samples. Does it smack of 'oh well, they'll buy it anyway'? Again, don't shoot me down too fast, I'm an ex craft shop owner; I know the retailers are in it for a living and a profit has to be made. But not having a passion for your product - or finding someone who does to make stuff for you - means that you ain't promoting it right, and I ain't buying it.

I didn't leave empty handed though:one sheet of American Crafts paper (to be cut up and Diamond Glazed into epoxy style buttons), one Maya Road album (no plans), one tin of clear buttons, (I have a plan for them, sort of) two rubber stamps (come on, you knew I would) and an iron on transfer (yes, there's a teeny bit of a plan). Not exactly a haul! Was I strong or was there nothing much.....the Prima papers were gorgeous, but the prices were a bit silly for me, when I consider how much stash I have to use. So that's it. Tomorrow will be very very busy, no doubt. Here's a tip. Use the words 'Excuse Me' and set a good example; I was a bit embarrassed by the amount of shoving in the aisles. If you're behind someone, they will not know that you need them to move unless you ask! And this message goes particularly to anyone who feels they're old enough not to have to worry about their manners. Wrong!

Whatever you plan, have a fab weekend. Personally I'm going mourn the end of the Winter Olympics and have to get used to not seeing so much of Graham Bell on the tv. Oh those laughter filled crinkly eyes! Oh that grown up Hary Potter type naive appearance. So like Mr D!

Lawks, forgot to credit the card: ippity stamps ( a baby sister to Unity) and the text is a clear sticker from SRM. They are delicious. Both.

Decisions Decisions

So here's a starter for hundreds - the ippity stamps have been utilised and I like them very much....well cut, neatly mounted, deeply etched. Yum. The text stamp is by Wordsworth; I'm saving the ippity texts for another day. When they suit the card I'm trying to work on perhaps!

Text is a weakness of mine; one of the reasons I got into scrapbooking was the journalling potential. Leaving all my blether for future generations is an irresistible idea! Of course, that would imply that I have a sense of self-importance that may be slightly exaggerated. Moi? Bit like blogging really, it's all about affirmation innit. I'm sure I've mentioned before that a friend once accused me of being unable to make a card without text on the front. She was probably right; my collection of text, word and alphabet stamps is probably the one 'section' of my craft room that I would have to immediately replace after a fire; I would be lost without them. Of course, even as I type, I realise I'd need a new glass mat, guillotine, heat gun and a fairly long list of 'basic tool kit' things - which raises a whole other question. Just what is a basic tool kit? Do you include inks and stamps? How many pairs of scissors? Glue and foam pads? What do you include for colouring - or is that a luxurious extra? Is my difficulty in collating a basic tool kit list because I have so much stuff that I've lost sight of what I actually need, or is the reason I have to drag a super sized tote bag to a crop something to do with indecision? I mean, often in a restaurant I can't decide what to order before I know what everyone else is having. Is that the same? Is it indecision or nosiness? I dunno. You tell me what you think and then I'll decide.

Me and The Colonial are going to the Make It! show in Farnborough tomorrow. Anyone else? In the interest of good taste: Make It! is a paper crafts show. There may be other stuff. But I'm incredibly confident that none of the exhibitors will be of the variety that could justify the smirk on the male youth's face when I called the show by its name this afternoon. I mean, would I really put myself out for a day of smirk inducing Make It! I know this answer, so maybe I'm not so indecisive after all!

What's On Your Work desk Wednesday?

So this morning, I ran Miss D into College,

(unusual) and came straight home. Changed the sheets and tidied in the kitchen. As I was sweeping the floor (an everyday, OCD type necessity for me), I was running through the things I want and have to do today and over the rest of the week. It wasn't until I'd come in here to chuck some paperwork in front of the computer that I realised that it's Wednesday! How horrid - I hope the real life stuff that is clearly distracting me soon lets me off the hook! So here's the desk...I'm adding pages to Miss Dunnit's 12 of 16 album. The stickers are Paperchase of course.

It somehow looks tidier from above, which is probably why for the past few weeks some of you tidy natured types have been able to breathe a sigh of relief as you've clicked over to this blog!

You can just see my lovely new Ippity stamps and next to them the kitchen timer. I use this alot - frequently I start to cook something and then wander back to my desk...a loud, makes-me-jump, interrupting bell is the best reminder - the only other one is the smoke alarm!

I have one last swing as well - in terms of cupboards and well, room to swing! On the counter you can see my underused Cricut and my overused guillotine (I have an evangelising preference for the guillotine against the paper cutter style...it is I suspect, a passive aggressive thing!). You can also see a boxed up and ready to return Letterpress kit. It was loaned to me by the Shopkeeper gal. Fair to say that you wouldn't really want me to review it. Because I'm a sausage fingered impatient old whinger, the review would start and finish with 'messy'. In the sliding cupboards (ably decorated by Miss D and her baby cousins) are the card stocks, envelopes and blahdy blah associated with conducting workshops. Although, since sorting out my scrap box, I can honestly say that I haven't cut into a sheet of A4 card unless it's been to supply pieces in a workshop kit. Yahoo.

Come on then- get your camera out, point it at your desk and show us what you're working on. And what you've got. And if you want to - swing around and show us some other part of your workspace...it doesn't have to be a dedicated surface or room...part of getting to know you is seeing your space, huh? There's a (ahem) membership button in the left bar of this blog if you want to be identified as a WOYWWer. I'm thinking that since it's done no harm and forged some friendships that it's not the embarrassing, nerdy thing my husband thinks it is. So there! Leave a comment here and we'll click around and visit. And next week, I promise. I'll take my head out of my erm, kitchen chores, and sort out Mr Linky. I think the time has come.

Storage Junk

I never met a box I didn't like. The whole take-the-lid-off-and-look-inside-even-though-you-know-it's-empty thing, the potential of an empty thing to become a full thing, full of anything, something, but certainly interesting - and usually mine. Boxes are exciting. Baskets too, but the lid-less-ness can be a bit of a betrayal, non?
Anyway. Look. The Slipper Lady bought me this. I can confidently say that it was her gift of choice for several reasons. Most of those reasons are connected to the frequency and volume at which I express my opinions. Shall I break it down a bit? Might as well, you've read this far.


First: It's from Paperchase. So eventually, as a gift or not, I would have to have it. It's enshrined in the laws of Julia World.
Second: It's a useful box to put things in. And I have things. As discussed yesterday!
Third: Slipper Lady knew that the first thing I'd do was take the lid off for a looksee, so she surprised me with this note.

See I don't know if you know my opinion about altering, but it's become a bit of a joke (well, OK, I'm the joke, my opinion is the punchline if you like.) I cannot get my head around 'altering' as a description of what goes on in loads of creative hands. Tim's 12 Tags for Christmas for example, - they aren't altered, they are certainly painted, decorated, embellished and beautified, but they are still tags. See - if you took a baked bean tin, coloured it with some alcohol inks and added some pretties and the process turned it into a small family car - I would happily acknowledge that 'altering' had taken place! Anyway, my near friends have learned that the easiest way to deal with my opinionated arrogance is to ignore it, challenge it or take the mick. Happy about that.
So dear Slipper Lady, even though Mr Dunnit was moved to remark that my lovely box was just going to be 'junk within junk', you should know that I'm pleased with the box. Storage is, after all, the second hobby of every crafter I've ever met. And I shall probably opt for your get out clause...although the desire to doodle is quite strong..! Now, I have to go teach Mr Dunnit the difference between 'embellishment' and 'junk'. Really, it's getting offensive. If he knew how much of our joint income was invested in my stash, I'm fairly sure he'd change his mind about calling it junk!

Junk

Sit still a minute while I describe somebody: enormously patient, indeed some would say long suffering. Hugely talented, kind and has the soul of a craftsman. So loving that he rarely uses my real name - he calls me 'Darling' and I just love that. So, with all these very special qualities, you recognise Mr Dunnit. And no doubt you are right now, congratulating him on finding a splendid and totally in tune partner, huh?
How come then, despite building me this lovely work room, painting it my favourite colour, fitting it with cupboards that were made around stash and basket sizes, making the work desk and putting it on massive casters so I can work anywhere (in theory), how come he doesn't even begin to get it? What I do in here, that is. We genuinely have very little in common. But all is OK everyone, this isn't an announcement of marital breakdown or anything like that..I just wanna explain it and see if we're the same as any others....
This card, for example, is all wrong for Mr Dunnit. Let's break it down a bit; there's the gorgeous and I-can't-own-enough-and-indeed-am-actually-using-it-it's-so-nice flocked ledger paper from Making Memories. The presence of any sort of prettied up office supplies serve only to improve my life. Mr Dunnit feels that it sort of loses its point once you pretty it up. And he goes deaf when I explain that's partly the point. Huh? Then there's the use of a staple. For me it goes hand in hand with the echo of the ledger paper and is perfectly fine for anchoring down one of the two flowers I've used in the last quarter. For him it's utilitarian mixed with pretty and doesn't work. This may well be the case for a lot of people, I can see that. The pale stamped ticket image (Inkadinkado), scrumpled up and added behind the main image doesn't, as I intended, talk to him about the potential for journeys and travels and romantic, as yet unknown far flung destinations. Nor does the torn book page and lace speak of the romance and mystery that go with such things. I must say in fairness to him, that I wasn't exactly in that zone myself when I made the card, I just liked the stuff and the way I added it! But hey, I can reach deep inside my creative being and fathom a reason; if an unmade bed sits in a national gallery with a deep meaning, you can rely on me to find one for a handmade card! The main image, (again, Inkadinkado) he agreed was a great one, iconic. But why didn't I cut it out square, stick it on straight and just leave it like that? Well, the answer to that is really easy - I can't cut straight to save my life and if I stick it at a jaunty angle, it will draw the eye from any other horrid design mistakes...... but of course, I told him it was simply more artsy my way. Mr Dunnit, gazing around my workspace, more in shock and awe than wonder and admiration, simply said that if those 'bits of junk' were the biggest bits I ever put on a card, it would take a while to work through all my erm, 'big junk'. By which of course, he means stash. I get it. He doesn't. That's OK. It means I don't have to share, and as a middle child, that is a lifetime's reward!

Three IS a magic number!

Meet us. The Dunnits, to you. As you know, that's not really our surname, it's my sign-a-card name, as in Julia Made it. There's a few of us using Dunnit now. Feels good.

This photo was taken about 4 years ago. Believe it or not, we were lying on a (cold) white plastic sheet in front of a backdrop of cold white plastic at 10 o'clock one Sunday morning in our town centre. Miss Dunnit and I had been shopping the day before and had been talked into (by which I probably mean flattered into) booking a short session in this 'new' white style. Because it had been a good fifteen years since we had last succumbed to decent/professional photography, we decided it might be quite a good idea. It was mercifully quiet that Sunday morning, given that the 'studio' was the middle of the Chantry Centre, and the session was probably only 20 minutes long. Results were pleasing and it didn't cost a ridiculous amount of money (I'm guessing a special offer and lack of studio helped with that, but come on, how on earth can I really be expected to remember!). Some months later, I emailed the original photo to an online friend who had a website showing her skill at digitally manipulating photographs, She cleverly removed the bloody cow lick from my fringe that has plagued me all my life, a shadow from Mr Dunnit's face that made him look as if he was sporting a Hitler-esque moustache, and of course, had to do nothing to Miss Dunnit. Naturally. Then she did the cartoony thing. Emailed me about 50 choices. I chose. Then she filled in the background with beautiful colour, emailed me about 50 choices. I chose. And then she had it printed in about 50 kerjillion dots per inch on canvas. I chose a big one, 1 metre wide actually. Well, if you've got it...........

Mr Dunnit and Miss Dunnit were incredibly luke warm about the result. I just love it. It is in my workroom on the wall facing the doorway (no door) to the lounge, so it can be seen on approach. It makes me smile. Because it's us. But it's not. But it is. I like it so much that I remember to hoover along the top edge every time I do domestics. That's a good sign! Interestingly (no, really) most of our visitors fall into two camps - the men are very luke warm about it and the women like it and remark upon it. It doesn't matter of course,and I have no scientific evidence for my next statement, but it clearly is a girl thing, this sort of manipulation. I couldn't possibly comment about other sorts of manipulation. Now I know you can have a photo printed onto canvas easily, almost anywhere. But before you do, consider a bit of manipulation too, not from vanity - unless you too have a bloody cow lick to get rid of - but for fun!

I've told you all this because two people mentioned the picture as a result of my WOYWW photo yesterday. Sorry if I made your eyes glaze over. It's a skill. The moral is don't ask - there's ALWAYS a story!

The digital work was done by Gabi and her website was eggbean.com...but it's currently unavailable. I'm guessing that the arrival of a baby has caused a temporary halt to the business. If you're reading this Gabi, let us know!

IIWA? What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?

Good grief, half terms seems to have accelerated the week. I'm delighted to offer you a double whammy this week! Actually it comes in the form of making up for genuinely bad photos of my work space today. When I switched my camera on this morning, it told me that the memory card is locked. Well I didn't lock it - well, I didn't deliberately lock it.......And as it was empty bar a couple of photos of cards for goodness sake, why would I lock up 4 gigs of memory. Man, I'm a bit cross about that. Anyhoo, Miss Dunnit is up and around already and lent me her camera...but I am unable to refine the settings in the time I have before real life takes over this morning!
Remember on Monday I went to see The Colonial? Here's her desk. Fair to say that she works in the 'push back' style so that she has a square inch of space on her cutting mat. Works for so many. But it's a great desk..full of stuff you want to look at, I can assure you. I did not ask permission to swing, she seemed nervous at my photographing this! But of course, eventually she'll let me. Start slow and sweet....!















And mine is here..over exposed and not very exciting! The magazine has been pushed back to let me work on the glass mat - I must have been cutting with a scalpel..I use the magazine when I'm inking papers etc..saves me having to clean the mat. The faithful bottle of Primas is still there, just behind the buttons; neither have been used this week at all, but if they're in my line of vision, you never know! I've been adding some more stuff to the the 12 of 16 album; I actually cut into the A3 polka dot acrylic sheet I bought from Paperchase to make a page. I've had it 3 months, and it's getting in the way now! No doubt you'll see the pages when done - I do hate a blog post without a picture!
And here's the left hand swing again...a bit further left this time, you can still see the ribbon jar which was the edge of last week's 'swing', and I've opened the other two cupboards so you can see my papers and, on the bottom right shelf, terrible punch storage! So now you can also see where I'm sitting as I type this rubbish. It's a terrible photo, but, I guess as its not exactly the most interesting of subjects, it won't matter too much!

So, come on then - show us your workdesk/lap tray/sofa/floor - whatever surface you work on; we want to see what you've got , what you're doing and to a certain extent, where you store it all! Put a photo on your blog and then leave a comment here to tell us where to find you. Be warned, we'll come and look! There's a badge on the top left of this blog if you want to erm, go public as a WOYWWer.