WOYWW - Trip to the North !

Well the trusty old workdesk is rather a mess this week ! Works in progress, gifts from friends & new goodies !

On the left is the clock I am in the midst of altering and also a wooden sleigh. The clock is waiting for a crackle paint layer .. and having gesso-ed the sleigh & painted the runners brown, I realised that I had no idea what a sleigh actually looks like ! So a trip to Google Images has yielded up a few ideas for me to carry on decorating this next weekend !

This past weekend, we headed North to my husband's home city of Manchester with our friends Lynda & Robert - so the menfolk could go to OldTrafford for the football. We were able to meet up with our other friends, Mary & Chris, for a lovely evening meal.  Here you can see a photo of us all together - and also the lovely Autumn ATC that Lynda made for me. We have set ourselves a challenge to complete an ATC (well one for each of us !) alternately based on the letters of the alphabet - so I have a "B" inspired ATC to create this month !

I want to show you the lovely card my friend Mary made for me. She is a relative newcomer to the world of crafting, but you can see she has a natural flair for it - and such beautiful precise matting up !! And she has become a true thrifty crafter - as she told me she hadn't written on the lovely black envelope - so I can use it again ! A woman after our own heart, or what !

When in Manchester we went to see the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Manchester City Gallery - I have this visit on my "to do" list for the past 5 years !! They have some of the Brotherhood's most famous paintings & I was delighted to finally get there !   We had a mooch around the inevitable shop - and they had some beautiful wood cut style cards. This style is becoming very popular and I fell in love with this stunning image of rabbits in the wood !

I did manage to squeeze in a quick card making session on Sunday afternoon - this is for my nephew's birthday next week - he is into his football - so I hope he likes it !

 And just one last photo (promise !) Whilst we were in Manchester we found the Paperchase Store - it was simply ENORMOUS ! It was spread over 3 floors - we were like pigs at the trough & in our element !! We went round ooo-ing & ahh-ing and obviously stroking all the lovely paper goods - well who wouldn't !!  We did succumb to  a few goodies - this Woodland Creatures paper, sticky notes & embellishments was irresistible !  

So wishing you all a fun crafty week ! Ali xx

WOYWW - Gelli Babies This Weekend !

Well the weather at the weekend was a rollercoaster of grey clouds, fleeting sunshine, deluge downpours & hailstones !
The menfolk headed off to footie on Saturday afternoon & Lynda came over for a play date !

We decided to dive in to playing with a Gelli Plate !

So we hauled the acrylic paints, brayer, stencils, paper & card down to the conservatory and had a happy few hours experimenting & getting covered in paint !

I am not much of one for experimenting on my own - it was so much more fun playing together !
We learnt a huge amount just messing around, bouncing ideas off each other and saying "what if we do this or that" !

By the end of the afternoon we each had a great stack of printed sheets to use in our journals and on projects !

Here's our creations !

This week my desk is its usual messy self !

I have a new page in my junk journal.

When I was passing through Heathrow earlier this month I wandered into the perfume section of the Duty Free Shop to have a little squirt of something fragrant, I spotted these cute fabric labels promoting the new fragrance from Guerlain - La Petite Robe Noire.

I just knew I had to grab one & create a page .. so I found this Prima doll stamp & tried some paper piecing ...










I have a page under construction - using one of my Gelli prints.

Its about how, as an adult, we tame our inner monsters to meet what is deemed socially acceptable ..

I very rarely lose my temper or even raise my voice but sometimes when I see a child have a tantrum, I secretly wonder if - when sorely provoked - it would be lovely to let the inner monster out - just once in a while !!

And also perched on the edge of the desk are a couple of Zentangle magazines - one about dangles & one a great magazine I picked up in Germany with some excellent designs as inspiration - planning to have a Zentangle play when I get a minute !

Anyway have a lovely crafty week & looking forward to seeing what you have been up to ! Ali xx

WOYWW - We've Turned Into Junkies !!

Well I was missing in action last Wednesday,as I was working on our company's exhibition stand in Anuga - the largest Food Trade Exhibition in the world - held in Cologne in Germany.

It was a completely exhausting week - I could barely put one foot in front of the other by this time last week - let alone blog !!
And I hurt in places I didn't know I had places after a week on my feet - I am strictly a desk jockey normally !

I found it amazing to be working with my colleagues from all over Europe - walking out onto the stand to hear them holding meetings in French, German, Dutch, Czech, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Italian - the list went on - was a huge buzz !

Before I set off on the Saturday morning I was determined to make sure my birthday thank you cards were in the post - so I had a concerted effort to put a few little cards together !

My DH was star & got them off in the post for me as I headed to the airport !







This Saturday after a couple of nights sleep back in my own bed I was feeling vaguely more human !
Which was great as my friend Lynda & I headed off to Wantage to the Stamp Attic for Kate Crane's Junk Journal workshop.

We were clutching a bag of junk - cardboard, old cereal boxes, envelopes, clothing tags and so on which we had been advised to collect over the previous month !

It was worth the 260 mile round trip ! Wendy - who runs the Stamp Attic check out her website here (http://www.thestampattic.co.uk/index.html) - was a smashing hostess, the workshop was fun & creative - and Kate was great in sharing her techniques & tips - and we were teasing her about being very strict about us keeping the busy workshop room neat & tidy ! !

So we had a fab day covered in gesso & paint !

And brought home our Junk Journals ready to play in !
Here's us with Kate (she's in the middle !) proudly clutching our journals !








The best part of all was having a friend to go with who enjoyed the day as much as me ! Thanks Lynda !

Have a great crafty week !
Ali x

WOYWW Summer Over - Milestone Passed !

Well hello fellow WOYWWers !
I have been AWOL for the past 2 weeks on holiday - so no crafting to post about !
We had a lovely time out in Spain - glorious sunshine each day !
We reluctantly had to close down our little Spanish house ready to sell it which was very sad - lots of blubbing from me I'm afraid! But all our packing up, trips to the local Cancer Support charity shop, giving of things to our friends & arrangements to ship some belongings home to Wales went well & we have our fingers crossed that the sale will complete safely in a couple of week time.

My birthday celebrations went well - I managed to eek them out for a full fortnight & I enjoyed myself all round !
We held a fun lunch out with my Mum's side of the family before our holiday - with my Auntie celebrating her 80th along with me on my 50th !

When we got back from Spain Mum & I had a great day at Haguelands Farm in New Romney, Kent - meeting my sponsored Alpacas in the morning & then trekking with an Alpaca in the afternoon - they are such adorable creatures - as you know I have a huge soft spot for them !

We had a lovely pizza out with my parents and sister & her family on the Friday night - I do miss spending time like this with them living so far away !

On my birthday I had fun opening my cards & presents and we had a lovely meal out at Webbes of Rock A Nore - great fish restaurant !











I had some great cards - all displayed on my windowsill here now we are back home !

And some beautiful handmade cards - this lovely Steampunk inspired card from my friend Lynda










This lovely delicate & intricate card from my friend Jan in Spain

.. and my Auntie had this lovely card made for me too

My desk is chaos this week - too much dumped on it post holiday !!

So I even had to move a few things to my desk chair to show them to you this week !










Here are the lovely goodies that my sister, friend Lynda & DH bought (and made) me !

And the project I took to make on holiday - this is Seaside Girl - a Tilda kit I bought at Hobbycrafts - I made a few swaps & changes to the clothes designs - and I haven't had time to finish her face but I am happy how she came out.
Being a Seaside Girl myself she just called out to me !








And if this looks like a pile of junk - that's exactly what it is !
Lynda & I are going on a Junk Journal course with Kate Crane later this month & we have to collect junk !
Never a big issue for a hoarder like me !!










And I just wanted to share the gorgeous flowers that my lovely husband, parents & sister gave me for my birthday - with a Sapphire & Opal theme for my birthstones !

Anyway - its great to be back & looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to !!
Have a great week ! Ali x