Wednesday 29 January 2014

WOYWW 243

Good morning, good yawning!  It's Wednesday again - time for a snoop around some creative spaces.

I'm scrapping my way out of another crash (depressive low) probably caused by being ill for a few weeks and all the birthday celebrations being over.  Last week I felt so bad that I couldn't even craft and Sunday was spent on the sofa.  This week however it is all change!  I made 2 layouts on Monday and I have another in the offing.  They are all  as a result of Shimelle's class "Return to the Collection" and I am using an old Echo Park collection called For The Record 2.  You can see one of the layouts on the pile in the middle and the next one on the black mat ready to go.

If you look carefully you can see a red word near the pencil case - heart, my word for the year.  I need to get someone to take a pic of me holding the word (which I die-cut on my Silhouette) and then that picture will form part of my One Little Word project.  I'm hoping to get that done before I lose the die-cut under a pile of art sediment! ;-)
This is the first of the layouts from the class.  I'm using an old set of photos from a holiday in Greece, so old in fact that they have the negatives stored with them!
I thought the blue and white colour scheme was very apt for photos of Greece with all the blue seas and the blue and white houses etc.

Nissyross is an island just off Kos in Greece that most people visit because of the volcano.  It's not dormant (I wrote the journalling before checking my facts - rookie error!) but it is not erupting (obviously) and you can walk into the caldera if you are brave enough.  It is hot and you have to wear proper shoes and be careful where you walk but it was an amazing experience.
I've just realised that there is a black gem missing from the flower on the right so I shall rectify that but that was not the only mistake.  Can you spot it?

How about with the following picture?
Yes, that's right, in my fuggy headspace I cut too much off of the ledger paper for the inside so I had to break it up and cover the joins to make it fit!  Thank goodness I have a lot of 12x12 cardstock in colours I don't use so that I can make a patchwork on it!

I think, in the trade, that is known as a partial scrapectomy ;-)

This post is brought to you by the letters WOYWW with the lovely Julia.

Bye for now
xx

Friday 24 January 2014

One Little Word - Part 1

For my One Little Word project and documenting my 40th year, I knew I wanted something vibrant that I would love using for a long term project.  As part of my birthday present I treated myself to the Daily Grind collection by Simple Stories.  I first saw it when Sarah bought the S J Crafts shop to the local crop and I totally fell in love.  Alongside the full collection pack of papers, cut apart sheets and 2 sets of stickers, I also bought the 6x4 Snap cards, the ephemera pack and the chipboard pieces.  Having everything coordinating like this means I can keep it all together for the year and it also makes for speedy scrapping - win win!

I wanted something striking for the title page to separate it from my normal pages in my 12x12 album (instead of the conventional albums used for this class by Ali Edwards).  The dark woodgrain with the printed elements was perfect for this page which doesn't need journalling because the written parts are all to follow.  
I used the circular calendar sticker to signify the year long project and I obviously used lots of hearts because that is my word for the year.  The little woodgrain letters are part of the collection pack and I added a few Thickers for dimension.
The printables that come as part of the class are meant for specific page protectors but I wanted to make mine work with my normal size of album.  This means I have to tinker with the arrangements a bit and fill in blank pockets etc or, like here, use the printables on a standard layout.  I matted the Intentions page onto green cardstock and then matted that onto that fab speech bubbles paper.  The red frame is the reverse of the title page.
 I am really enjoying using the bold happy colours and I know this will help inspire me to keep up with documenting this project through a year which I hope will be full of positive changes.
I've almost completed the next couple of tasks which are in pocket pages so I'll share that here soon and then it will soon be time for February's prompts!  I'll let you know how I'm getting on with actually living with my word then.  Wish me luck!

Bye for now
xx

Wednesday 22 January 2014

WOYWW 242

Brrr!  It's definitely staying in and crafting weather here at Crazy Towers.  It is also staying in and catching up on the cleaning that hasn't been done since I was first feeling poorly at Christmas!  I'm feeling much better now after all your kind wishes and a course of antibiotics and a steroid nasal spray - yuk!

I've been busy in my craft room this week - putting things away and getting other things out!  Top left is the rest of the decoupage from last week.  After the super speedy card I thought I may as well make a couple more with the rest of the kit.  Central is my current album with the beginnings of my One Little Word project.  I am loving using Simple Stories Daily Grind for this - isn't that rainbow chevron paper just amazing!  I've also still got my Christmas stuff on the go in my cake stand to the right and then a new project beginning to the left.  That collection is Echo Park's For the Record 2 and I've pulled that out for Shimelle's class that starts this week called Return to The Collection.

Some of the things I have put away this week include my Christmas and birthday presents.  The Promarkers are in their new aluminium case and next to that is a very solid glass photo frame with a pic of Miss Bella in a rugby shirt and tutu!  That pink box there came inside a vanity case at Christmas filled with Soap and Glory bath stuff.  I love the box and the vanity case and the bath stuff - everyone's a winner!
The last new addition there is a pink glass cake stand which was a birthday present from a very good friend.  I put it together but it needs a little adjustment and it being glass and me being accident prone, I thought it a job for Management :-)

I'm gradually finding my feet again so I hope to be able to visit a few more desks this time on our weekly nose around crafty areas.  Why not join in?  Its fun and easy - just link up with Julia over the Stamping Ground for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Bye for now
xx

Wednesday 15 January 2014

WOYWW 241

Oh dear... this is the state of my desk after a rather eventful weekend.  I managed a few hours at the crop before I gave up with this stupid virus and came home.  I didn't even unpack the car, Management did that.  Other than the fabulous surprise party that I got dragged out to (and thoroughly enjoyed!) I've pretty much been laying flat because my sinuses are so painful that my head feels too heavy to lift for long.  I can't use a screen for long either - dagnamit!


So we have boxes of punches from the car, my Selphy printer (that Management is very cross with because they have no intentions of being compatible with Windows 8 and you can't buy a computer without that these days...), a gift bag from the lovely Paula from Artful Angels and my new aluminium case (see below) and then my Jo Malone box.  A wonderful friend bought me a Jo Malone candle and perfume for my birthday and the box smells fabulous.  It's very sturdy too so ideal for transporting embellishments to crops.

Please excuse the following photo - new lap top means new software and getting used to things again.  Its a bit different for me because I've never done decoupage before but it was an emergency.  I was so wrapped up in my own birthday that I forgot to get a card for the little girl that Louis was going to a party with!  I had fifteen minutes to find something so I grabbed a pile of stuff that was free with a magazine.


Ta da!  My new aluminium box for my Promarkers!  Management is on the case with a remedy for the floppy insides but I love it anyway!  I can carry them about too which is what I wanted.


Have you got transportable pen storage?  What do you use?  What else is on your desk this week?  Link up with WOYWW and see other creative spaces.  Hope to see you around!

Bye for now
xx

Monday 13 January 2014

One Little Word

So far being forty has been a bit of a mixed bag.  I'm still suffering with this awful cold but I think it is finally on its way out - hurrah - so that wasn't so good.  On the very very up side, my wonderful husband threw a surprise party for me!  Boy was I mad at him, making me get dressed up and go out for dinner when all I wanted to do was have a takeaway in my onesie.  He was so determined to get me out that I suspected he had managed to arrange a late dinner with someone.  Little did I know that it wasn't last minute at all - he'd been planning it for nearly 4 months!!  After lots of hugs with some wonderful people and a couple of glasses of wine, my nose stopped running and my head stopped pounding for a bit and I had a fabulous time with lots of dancing.  

Its a bit odd having a birthday just after Christmas because there's the whole healthy eating / must get fit / New Year's resolutions thing going on.  Not for me though.  I've learned that any new start type things have to wait until after my birthday celebrations have finished!  For me this year with the very extended celebrations it is after next weekend but it won't be a new start with resolutions such as "Run 3 miles every day" or "Only post on Facebook once a week".  No.  Both of those would be very silly for me indeed.  No.  
I wanted to make some big changes this year and I needed some sort of guidance and accountability without the failing side of things you get with very definitive resolutions.  I'd heard things about Ali Edwards One Little Word class before but this year it really grabbed my attention.  You choose a word to kind of "live by", something that embraces the things you want to develop.  People choose words such as flourish, patience, health, up, focus, smile etc, whatever is the area of your life or your self that you might feel needs a bit of work.  

My word is heart.

To...
live with heart
look after my heart
be true to my heart
put my heart into it
make time for love
do what I love
love what I do
love what I have
and to absolutely follow my heart

Each month we have various tasks to try help us live with our words and embrace the changes we want to make.  As the year goes on I'll be sharing more about what my word means to me and how I am living with my word and using it to help my fortieth year be the best year ever.

Bye for now
xx

Wednesday 8 January 2014

WOYWW 240

Happy New Year!  Lets get life back to some normality shall we?  The children went back to school yesterday but I am suffering with a horrid virus so it doesn't feel quite like normal yet but it is getting there.  Also I am 40 on Friday *twitch* so there are still a few celebrations to come.  I shall be spending the day in my studio, crafting for me, not making things for other people but me!  There will be lots of cups of tea too.

Don't worry that there is no tea in this picture, it was taken in a hurry this morning and I have hardly been in my studio since Christmas.  This photo is as new to me as it is to you!  Lets take a look around.


Top left is my Christmas present - a Selphy printer.  Not had time to try it out at all yet but hoping to very soon.  Sellotape dispenser, which I wouldn't be without, that it looks like Management was using for my birthday presents and couldn't "manage" to put away.  Next to my ATG gun is a Christmas card with what looks like Elvis on.  Its actually a picture of Lord and Lady Montagu dressed as Elvis. In the middle there is my Festive Planner. It is looking a bit worse for wear because it had an entire glass of Bucks Fizz tipped on it on Christmas Day.  Thank goodness for the Mod Podge!

My cake stand with my bits and pieces for Journal Your Christmas is still there and that is ongoing but I do have another project on the go too.  This year I really wanted to make some changes in my life so I signed up for Ali Edwards One Little Word - I thought it would be cool to do this for my fortieth year.  I'll be working on that on Friday, accompanied by tea and biscuits - well it is my birthday ;-)

This post is brought to you by the wonders of What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday with the lovely Julia.

Bye for now
xx