What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 56

Gah, I'm not here today - first ever scheduled WOYWW from me! This taken on Tuesday evening...you can see sunshine - it was too hot to work in that puddle of warm light I can tell you!

I'm making cards from a pad of Papermania papers and tags and borders - impressive quality and price, really pleasant surprise. It's called 'Rose Garden' and is very pretty and pastel. And therefore delicate and somewhat outside my comfort zone!

Usual suspects - more than one pair of scissors of course, although I am impressed at my only using one reel of tape for today's card making session - there's usually 3 at least!

Scraps box at the back looks very uncontrolled to the lens, but I think the shadow makes it look s much larger than it is. I hope. Reality check due, probably! The basket at the near end is where the waiting-to-be-cleaned stamps live. Till they're cleaned. Then I put them away. The baskets at the far end are waiting to be filled with tools and stamps etc for each of the cards at this week's workshop. See, there's a method - everyhting's 'waiting' ! It's a very behind method and a bit panicked. That's why I'm not here this morning....this working lark is really interfering with my balance...I guess I'll find a routine soon. Please!

And here's an arty shot of a slight swing round - a temporary sanding wrapping and packing station was set up..it's almost over, so then can go back to using the top of the Cricut as a storage shelf!

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! Doesn't have to be paper, craft or what you think is interesting, we'll decide on that! Put a photo on your blog and then add your name and post to Mr Linky here to tell us where to find you. Be warned, we'll come and look - but it takes some time! There's a badge on the top left of this blog if you want to erm, go public as a WOYWWer.

Hesitation, Deviation, Repetition

I made this card for a workshop (Cards to 'Die' for..geddit..!). I since have copied it to the cost of two more pieces of this fab Cosmo Cricket paper - I love these colours together. I also made one in reds and blacks to send to a friend. It looked awful by comparison. I can't show you because I put it in my sale basket and it was one of the handful that sold on Saturday! Anyway, take my word for it. Or rather, my eye. Perhaps because I was so pleased with this 'original' card (and I make no claim that the idea is original, you understand), and perhaps because I managed to match inks and colours relatively well, when I tried other colours, it just looked like a poor substitute. Perhaps we card makers should avoid repeating ourselves. Obviously, if you make Wedding stationery, this wouldn't be an option, so I am naturally and as usual, making crass generalisations. As in - read 'me' for 'we'!

Perhaps I should have been less worried about the red and black version, after all, it worked well enough to appeal to a customer and who knows, maybe she would have chosen it over this turquoise one anyway. Maybe, when I hit on a 'sketch' that works well for me, I should trot out a few, repeat the idea in several colour ways. Keep my stock up and really hone the techniques? Yah. Makes sense really, but I rarely do. In fact I even hesitate over Christmas cards, I don't do well with repetition, it's not satisfying to the creative animal in me I guess. You alterers would probably roundly agree with that. But the argument against the same thing in several colours is a perennial one - how do you choose? And after all, if I struggle with choice, maybe it's right that I control the card buying customer by not making choice available! See, I can make logic. Even if I hesitate and procrastinate over making a card.

Talking of WOYWW

Remember, ages ago it was the first anniversary of the WOYWW nonsense. Remember, I set a challenge and called it - because I am a woman of enormous imagination - the WOYWW Anniversary Challenge. WOYWWAC for erm, short. I said there would be prizes, and I beetled around a few of the WOYWWers that sell their stuff and bought a handful of things; I thought there would be a handful of WOYWWAC projects because after all, it's all nonsense. And then as you know, from this post, the day after - there were finally over 100 Anniversary Challenge projects posted and each as important as the last. No 'handful' of small gifts, however beautiful, would do it. So, in partnership with Mr Dunnit, we set about simply giving everyone who had taken part a teeny gift to remind them of their efforts and participation in this big ol' blog hop. I think by now if you haven't received your easel it will be because you live overseas. I've sent all of them, except two - Joey and Candace, if you'd like one, please let me have your address!

As you can see, I've already tampered with mine - filed the letters with Glossy Accents and half a pound of glitter. Sparkly! There are three types of wood in use, no idea which one you got but they are all naked, so if you wanna 'alter', go ahead, or leave it! If you have Ash or American Oak or Scots Pine, they will soak up fingerprints etc - sand 'em clean and or varnish or wax or whatever if you need to prevent it!

So that was the criteria - take part in the WOYWWAC. However, because it's all for fun and because I hate a clique, if you're a WOYWWer and would like an easel, eme your address.

And you may have noticed a lot of us now have quite unique buttons that warn or explain away our WOYWW habits. They were made by Nicki - and she gives 'em away out of the kindness of her graphically skilled heart.

http://graphixanddesign.blogspot.com/p/woyww-buttons.html

This is the link - and I've put it in full, just in case the 'link' thing doesn't work...you can just copy and paste it. Go get one, I now have 4 and am dithering about how often to rotate them. Based on this post, it'll be WOYWW Blabber. Watch my (right hand margin) space!

Thanks Nicki, love the fun!

Altering? Bite Me.

Yeah yeah. You all thought I was going to be an old whinge bag again didn't you! I know you did so don't fib.

But no - this time I bring you news of an altered success - and a possibly too close-up a picture of it!

Here's the altered loaf we made at the weekend whilst scoffing our BBQ lunch. Layers of barbecue grilled aubergine, pepper and red onion, added mozzarella in a hollowed out loaf basically. It's a prepare ahead thing and there's a little bit more to it - but oh my it is lovely and so worht the 'effort'. I slice it carefully and warm it slightly in a dry frying pan before erm, 'serving'. (For serving, read scoffing). But the warming thing is because I can't bear the thought of cold cooked veggies - frankly at my age, anything straight from the fridge is too cold!

So that's this week's altering triumph.

I've been doing more hearts for another sale this weekend; that Jan, she makes me work really hard! Didn't sell a single card at last week's stall, so hoping with a better display rigged up that there'll be more people and less shyness about browsing them....we'll see, huh! All the hearts went, at £3, so you were right. And just to take the taste of veggies out of your head - here's this week's batch - I've done 2 of each, all with magnets on the back rather than hangy wire or ribbon - seemed the preferred method last week. So now I have to sleep with Mr D to get some more cut out...it's OK everyone, I genuinely think the sacrifice is worth it.

Castaway - or cast out?

I bought a Castaway inkpad. It says to stamp an image (and on the lid it uses nice solid stamps by Hot Potatoes) so I used a nice solid stamp and stamped 6 different pieces of card stock. Some from Kanban, some Core-dinations, some Basic Grey and some coloured cheapskate copier paper. It stamps like a Versamark. The instructions say to leave it for five minutes and then iron it. (I know, but this time it's ART). So I did. In fact, in the end, at the tearing my hair out point, I even timed it and left it for shorter, longer and overnight. Ironing it you see, is meant to set the bleachy component of the ink working and leave you with a lovely batik effect image, almost 'in' your paper.

I can't get it to work. *almost stamping my feet*

It clearly says on the instructions that it won't work with all card stocks, particularly coated and gloss laminated stuff. I get that. But I can't get to work on any of my stock. To the point that 10 minutes after ironing, you can't tell that I've stamped anything on any of the papers. (That's why I haven't pictured them). What am I doing wrong? Anyone know? The Jacquard website says not a lot more than the instructions on the ink pad - why would it, if it works for them! I expect it's something obvious - so please enlighten me if you can. Or just tell me of your experiences with this ink. I thank you. So does my family - having to live with a crazy woman with clumps of hair missing might be the final straw.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 55

I took this photo yesterday, about
5.30pm. It was very hot sitting at the workdesk. This morning the room is in total shade and because I'm still in my nightie, I'm freezing! Contrasts. This morning the first job is to clear this desk - ready for me to begin chopping and counting stock for Thursday's workshops. When I say clear, I mean the area of my glass mat .....for in truth I'm half way through some more hearts to sell and I don't wanna put stuff away just to get it back out again! I think that's the theory behind push-back. Works for me!
Amongst the erm, stash, are two of my favourite stamps - both by Dawn Houser -(the ones I used on the tag shown yesterday - must be my fave all time designer in rubber. I think...I'm not unsure of my devotion, I just don't know if I can make the commitment of 'definitely' my favourite - I mean, what if I discovered another!! Don't ask me ever to do a list of my top 10 of anything will ya? You can clearly see the broken 'S' of the B wordI talked about last week, and good grief, one of the suitcases Jennie gave me has found it's way onto the desk...this probably signifies some sort of intent! Probably. There's also my pair of black non-stick teflon coated scissors. Love 'em. Loved them even more before I had the bright idea of sharpening them and so removed the tungsten coating from the blade edges. Foolish old woman. Still, they're nice and sharp!

We're waiting to see your work space please - photo it, upload it to your blog and use Mr Linky here to show us where - easy. Doesn't have to be papercrafts and it doesn't have to be a desk - just show us what you're working on, it's fascinating! See you in a minute or so then!

Carmen saved me....

Now, you may or may not know this about me - I'm hopeless at inky, time consuming stuff. I don't have a craft sheet (I use a piece of cling film spread over my glass mat!) and I gave away my Melt Pot, about a year after I realised I'd used it twice and hated it!

So then Jennie sends me a bunch of stuff that can be altered and I have a teeny panic attack at the enormity of the expectation. I even bought another Distress Inkpad to help. It didn't. But then Carmen left a comment. And it was all OK and so I took five minutes to play a bit.

This is as close as it gets for me - four (FOUR!) ink pads and some cut and dry foam and a couple of stamped images later, and I quite like it. It's bright and quite cheery. But that's the point isn't it - I like it. Again, thanks to Jenny for the erm, push, and definite thanks to Carmen who says it doesn't have to be grungy to be altered. I have a workshop to propose to shopkeeper gal, born out of Carmen's wisdom. We're going to call it 'Grungy, but Bright'. I think it will interest the people who know me well enough to know that it's kinda my colours but out of my 'zone'. I don't think we can go as far as Jul!a Holtz as a nickname, but hey - I like the brighter colours, and Carmen says it's OK. Good enough.