WOYWW - Birthday Blues ?

Hi there - well birthday over & done with for another year. Had a fit of the glooms about it this year - we normally go away but it didn't work out date wise with other commitments this time & so had a normal day at the office. Did get cards & texts from family etc - so need to stop being such a grump !

DH did his best to make it a nice day with pressies (lovely Joules sweatshirt in a yummy plum colour - all chosen by him !) and cooked my supper for me. Its so nice to be cherished !

On my desk this week is Day 28 of Learn Something New - I'm dead proud of myself for keeping up & just 2 days left ! I've resisted looking at 2009's book (which didn't get finished until March this year !) but it will be fun to compare the 2 years when the month is over ! Next stop Journal Your Christmas !! I've already bought the papers I'm going to use ! Sad or what !

And some photos of our friends wedding last Friday ready to be scrapped this weekend - I made them a mini book on Sunday & posted it to them - not sure if it's their kind of thing but I enjoyed doing it & hope they like it !

So a question for everyone - storing your stamps - I am trying to stick to buying unmounted and clear stamps as just haven't the room for wooden ones (but do get tempted sometimes !!) currently have them in folders by manufacturer - some of which are bulging & so a major sort out is looming.

I can't decide whether to stick by manufacturer or to move to subject matter - florals, houses (I seem to have a bit of a thing for quirky house stamps !!), swirls, birds & animals, cutsie, Christmas etc etc - what does everyone else do ? What seems to work best ? Do you keep a reference book with images from all your stamps in it for ease of finding just the "right" image when you want it ? I've got one but its a bit higgledy-piggledy as I've added bits to pages here there & everywhere ! All hints & tips gratefully received !!

One extra picture this week - my desk at work ! I had to take card & the faithful trimmer into work to make place cards for a product presentation today - so work desk relocated this morning !

WOYWW - Packed for Crafting !

Today I am showing my desk but also my bag - packed ready for a painty evening at my local Scrapbook Club where we are making canvasses with pictures - I've done canvasses with stamping before but not used any photos - so not sure how it's going to go but should be fun anyway !

On my desk are my Learn Something New pages - day 21 yesterday and I'm keeping up !! On the other photo balanced on my trusty printer is the box I put together of pages, dates pre-stamped & black & white papers with brightly coloured stick on letters - its made a massive difference to keeping up just to have a set box of stash to dip into & the colours/ stash all defined. As someone who (maybe!!) has so much stash it's hard to know where to start - this has been a brilliant discipline & I've really enjoyed the challenge of making the book from that pre-decided collection. I think I'd take this approach again if I get "terrifying blank page & ideas deserted me " syndrome !!

You can see my wooden case I altered with Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante papers & the dress for I made traced from a chipboard shape & then the new Cuttlebug cogs folder with Vivagold smudged over to highlight it ! I did get a couple of extra dress form stamps (they just leapt into my basket at LB Crafts!) which I didn't use but I have papers left so I think I'll make another little project with them !

Well have a great Wednesday everyone ! See you next week when sadly I shall be another year older ! Birthday next Tuesday - trying to tactically ignore the date looming on the calendar !!

Duck Egg Blue Thing Going On !

I didn't quite realise it but I seem to have a real Duck Egg Blue thing going on at the moment !! A bit of a departure from my normal Pink palette !

I finished my altered box off with some Viva Gold & am quite pleased with it - not sure what I will do with it - but hey it's the journey not the destination !!

I also spent a happy painty & gluey Saturday afternoon whilst Rich was down watching the Swans at the Liberty Stadium. I had the Elvis Forever concert on iPlayer & had a good couple of hours altering the small wooden case I had bought at ArtsyCraft in May - I used the Steampunk Debutante Graphic45 papers I had bought at LB Crafts a couple of weeks ago.

I've never tried using papers on anything this big before - and for a first attempt I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out !

WOYWW - Scrap the Month !

Hi Welcome to Wednesday !

Activity on the desk this week ! I managed to scrap the lovely photo my DH took of my nephews & I when I went back home to Hastings the other weekend!

I suppose using all blues for a picture of my boys is a bit of a cliche but I think it works quite well! I have had these journalling stamps for quite a while & it's good to get a use for them !

I'm also up to day 13 in my Learn Something New Everyday book - it's not easy to keep up each day in the week - especially if I am away for work - but I had a blitz on Sunday to catch up !

Tucked off to the side are a couple of lovely new Invoke Art stamp sets that I chose as a gift from my sister for my birthday later in the month .. I'm trying to be a good girl and not use them until after my birthday !!

Feeling pleased with myself today as I managed to get a ticket for one of the ArtsyCrafty Tim Holtz classes next February - should be a fun day !

Hope you have a great Wednesday - looking forward to seeing your desks this week !

We are Family ...

Well not a crafty weekend but a good one for all that !

I went home for the weekend - my poor Dad is badly laid up after another motorbike accident - covered in bruises & not able to walk. It was awful to see him so bashed about.

On Saturday we left him tucked in his reclining chair with bad leg propped up & went for a walk in the park. Unbeknownst to us it was the "Day @ the Park event in Alexander Park & we were able to join in the fun. It's lovely to spend time with the family - doesn't happen often enough ! We had a really fun afternoon with stalls, live music, welly wanging & helterskelters & bouncy castles !