Lost. Temporarily.

this card featured in the grungy colour workshop last week.

Oh my giddy aunt.  Yesterday's disappearance of Mr Linky was my fault. I was meant to delete an inappropriate link, and because Mr Linky makes it so easy to perform the necessary admin, I was doing it whilst chatting on the phone.  Of course, I deleted the entire thing.  And of course, the tech department at Mr Linky, in a snowy part of the USA, restored it.  They are without doubt, flexible, un-panic-able and brilliant. 
I've left a comment on the particular link rather than delete it..I scare myself sometimes!  I'm going to be sticking to my strengths from now on.  Just as soon as I find one. 

What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday 195

subtitle:  Is this the most boring desk in Britain?  Even as a twofer?

Actually, it may not be..at least I achieved something by doing the accounts and getting ready for month end blah blah.
But be warned my friends, I have found the most boring craft occupation in THE WORLD

Yep. rolling my ribbon collection onto dolly pegs.  It's mind numbingly boring, even with a play on the radio and a cuppa.  I can see this being short bursts of activity over many many days.  On the bright side, I have already found ribbon lengths that I didn't know I had.  Most of the ral craft work is taking place elsewhere this week - I'm about one third of the way through a quilt for Jan and Jo's scheme and am working up some crochet from my armchair.  Neither of which I'm going to photograph until they both look like something.  You know what I mean!
I've created two pages this week, find them in the top left margin will ya - about the WOYWW crop and the Anniversary  (yeah, WOYWW4!).  
Meanwhile please, spark my desk interest back to life - show me what you're up to in your craft space; put WOYWW in the post tile, load a photo onto your blog, turn off word verification if you can and link here.  Easy.  Be reciprocal in your visiting people, at least!

A review : entirely Solicited

 Chic Maker  are a French company who design jewellery and have a monthly kit plan.  They asked me if I'd like to review one of the kits.  Moi? I said.  I don't make jewellery.  I have fingers like sausages and not a lot of patience for making stuff that is slow to show results.  And I have no tools, and absolutely no knowledge.  Oui, said Chic Maker, you should have a go.  And they sent me a starter kit (the tools) and the February Kit, which makes a multi stranded beaded bracelet.  Oh la la!  I was nervous.

The instructions were brilliant.  Well photographed, obvious and beautifully step by step.

I genuinely had no idea what the 'magnetic clasp' meant...it wasn't until I'd finished the bracelet that I realised that the clasp comes apart and has a magnet in it to hold it safely shut. That's how inexperienced I am.  And how clever the kit as proven to be!

I tackled it slowly and exactly in the order of the instructions.  I would imagine that over all it probably took me about four hours to finish, but I did it over a couple of days, as the mood took me.  I was terrified that if I rushed it and made a mess, I'd have to tell Chic Maker that they'd found the only person in Europe that couldn't do it! Remember, I didn't even know what a crimp bead was for.

It so happens that I love turquoise and to see it 'trending on catwalks' is a thrill -  even I know it's high street bound if it's being used by the fashionistas.  So I had absolutely no trouble working myself up to trying the make.  I have had absolutely no trouble wearing it  several times this week either;  let's be honest, that isn't always the case when you make yourself something.  

I loved it.  I loved the fact that when I opened the kit, I found 2 bead varieties that I would have walked past in a store: couldn't see the potential in them as beauty for sure.  And they truly work so well. Certainly a good lesson in not under-rating the plain stuff!  I liked the kit idea - that the pre-selecting had been done for me, and that there was a finished and plausible design to work to.  Apart from sausage fingers, one of the reasons I haven't tried jewellery before has always been that the range is so vast and that I'd never be able to 'design', just by adding beads to wire.  I think for me, this kit was the perfect answer.  

And as a plus, I discovered from the Chic Maker Facebook page that their blog shows another project that will make up from the 'leftovers' of the February kit.  Nice surprise.

I've walked around the idea for a week and today, I've subscribed; I figure this is going to be fun, without pressure and very do-able.  J'adore!

Well, some of you will smile...

The long spoken of, massively over-hyped, seriously put off and desperately boring ribbon storage solution is being engaged.  These are the first three to be wound.  OK - they're the only three, but hey, every journey starts with the first step.  And just look how far I'll have come.....

Sharing this with Annie's smiles..go there for a smile..a nice way to start a browsing session.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 194

Finished.  That's what's on my desk.  Finished the 'recipe' baskets for the grunge workshop.  Finished die cutting the spirals that will become flowers.  Finished my first ever piece of jewellery, more of which I shall brag about at some other time.  Of course, there's not a lot of tidy going on....but it's not terrible..I think looks worse from this angle because of all the stuff on the counter top against the wall.  You be the judge.  This angle does make it look as if I own the biggest ATG dispenser, huh!!  Photo taken before daylight failed on Tuesday late afternoon...(nearly 5 o,clock, hurrah!).  This post, badly written at Oh Em Gee o,clock on wednesday morning.  Yep, day out helping the worker do visits, measuring and generally being the glamorous assistant.  Yep.  Me.

Join in do - post a pic of your work area on your blog, put WOYWW in the post title then link here.  Please.  Thank You.  There's slightly more in depth instructions to be found HERE.
WOYWW Housekeeping:
Believe it or not, week 208 will be the fourth anniversary!  I know....you're all to blame and it's totally ridiculous. I wanna suggest we do another ATC swap and will create a separate page about it in the next few days.

There's a WOYWW Crop on June 1st at Burbage Village Hall (same place as last year).  Again, you don't need to commit at this stage, just wanna flag it up as something you might be within reasonable distance of that you could consider coming.  Again, there'll be a new page about it (because I can) rather than wittering on every Wednesday.  (Yah, like I never witter on.)

Colour me Grunge

The thing about saying you'll do a workshop in the grunge style is that you have to alter your personality.  No really, I truly have to think differently and adopt a 'Julia Holtz' mindset.  You know by now that I'm not one for the original grunge colours...the 'seven shades of wee wee' that were so in evidence when Ranger launched the Tim Holtz signature range.  But of course, I'm easily influenced and when the 'proper colours' started to appear, I was sold.  Or bought.  You decide. It's all just a question of layers of colours, right?  And as far as I can tell, as many colour applying techniques as you can apply to a single sheet of card stock before it falls apart.  I know, lots of you will be thinking that I'm being very unfair with that as a description, but here's some evidence:
Ink sponged on to colour white stock
Ink splattered on to colour coloured stock
Ink sponged through stencil to add shapes and another colour to coloured stock
Water splattered to take off some ink (!)
Ink applied to add further colour with rubber stamp
More ink for another colour application by rubber stamp
                                     AND THAT'S JUST FOR A BACKGROUND!

Sheeze, no wonder the scrapbook papers became so popular so fast!  Anyway, after all that trouble, you get a nice bright card and the recipient will never know the toil or the technique or indeed, the fingernails dyed to the colour of a 200-a-day-smoker. It's all for the art dahlink!
Inevitable then, for a four card workshop, that I lose the will to live and turn to scrapbook paper and some die cuts. (And Kraft paper at that whaaaa!)  And it all goes a bit 'real grunge' then:

I'm the first to accept that mounting this lot on a red card doesn't really make it 'colourful grunge', but what can a gal do...as soon as I start on the sanding and distressing, I get a bit sad and depressed and into a grungy state of mind and have to exert mental pressure on myself not to resort to the seven shades.....it's an undue influence and I'm rubbish at will power.  Ask anyone.  So there, if you're coming on Thursday, the cards are mostly colourful. Now that I've worked out that it's the distress that makes me a bit erm, distressed, I'll move on.  I think it was my beloved father who once nodded at one or other of my efforts in crafting and sagely advised me to stick to what I'm good at.  Well, Pa...just so you know, I'm working on finding that!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 193

My desk is going to blush soon - I keep revealing woodwork - call it the white space of desk-ness.  or something.  It's because I'm trying to work on different stuff each time I get desk time which means clearing up.  Interestingly, please note that I usually clear up the last  stuff before starting the new stuff.  Which doesn't mean I clear up at the end, rather at the beginning.  Making sense?  Hmmm.  So I took this photo at about 10pm Tuesday night.

See the punches?  I didn't use those for the circles, I don't I decided, have the right sizes and so used a nestabilities set.  You probably want to know 'the right sizes for what, missus?'.  I'm not really sure yet.  It's an idea sparked by a card that Sarah sent to me months and months ago..of course I don't know where it is now I need it, but hmm, something will occur.  But not today.  I'm out and about again, so please be kind when I'm late to visit.  Oh and that little card on the deckchair you keep seeing, and some ask about is this, for a 'Men's' workshop at some stage in the next couple months.

So that's my less than short work desk explanation.  Let's see and read yours too please.  Do a blog post entitled WOYWW that shows your work desk and what you're working on and we'll run around to see as soon as we can. If you need more info, have a look at the page that explains better - accessible through the link at left top of the page.
And last thing - if you fancy a day at a craft show, please have a look at  THIS post for a chance to win tickets.  And note that I lied.  Me and that LLJ will be going to Birmingham on the Friday, not as previously stated.  I can't get the hang of actual dates and days!