WOYWW - Production Line !

In September I am sharing a birthday family lunch with my Aunt.
We both have Big "0"'s birthdays in the same month - so rather than huddle under a duvet in despair at the prospect - probably with a brown paper bag over our heads !! - we decided why not celebrate having made it this far and get the family together for a "bit of a do" !

She has booked the restaurant & I am contributing the name place cards !

So on Saturday - when my husband's nephew came to stay so they could go to the first match of the season together - I bamboozled them into some slave labour on my mini production line !

Look at them totally focussed & beavering away, bless them !

I needed all that muscle as it was a mega Cuttlebug session - about a 120 runs through what with die cutting & embossing !







But in the end they rebelled & disappeared off to footie - leaving me to finish them off.

It was quite a production line !

Here they are all finished !

Hope my Aunt will like them too !

I did also make some birthday cards - but stupidly forgot to photograph them .. so you'll have to take my word for it !!

Anyway - have a great week & hope to see all the fun you are having on your desks this week ! Ali x

WOYWW - More Stitching than Sticking !

Well, unusually for me these days, I headed back to my sadly neglected sewing machine last weekend !

I had some practical stitching to do !
So my desk this week has these projects & a few bits & bobs of papercrafting too !

As you may recall, a few weeks ago I lost my tote bag whilst out for a walk - it must have fallen off my husband's disabled buggy & although we retraced our steps someone must have helped themselves to it ! Inside was my Kindle amongst other things - so I had to fork out for a new one.
This is much smaller & touch screen & has a light built in - so rather than buy a "flips open like a book" case like I had before, I decided just to read with it as it is - it is so much lighter I can hold it in one hand & tap with a free finger to "turn" the pages !
So I thought I would just make a little cover to protect it when travelling.
This fancy cats fabric is years old - I was making a quilt with panels & background fabrics and made a huge stack of flying geese blocks & then decided I didn't like it at all !! So it is all still piled in my fabric cupboard years later ! At least this bit has now got a home !
Then Rich had bought a new Sat Nav as our ancient one gave up the ghost !
And seeing my cover, of course he wanted one for the Tom Tom !
So this is nearly finished - just the press studs to stitch on !

I made a start stamping out pictures for the frame project I am slowly working on - just stamped so far - need to get them water-coloured up !

As you can see it has a nature theme !

At the back is a new stamp my friend Lynda got for me with a discount voucher she won by taking part in a challenge on the Crafty Individuals site - it is a lovely lily design - looking forward to using this one !







Lastly here are a few words I am cutting out - they are stamped with one of the Dylusions alphabets - I really like this font ! they will end up in my new art journal once I get them finished !


Well short & sweet this week - hope you all have a great week & looking forward to seeing all your desks ! Ali x

WOYWW - End of an Era !

Well again a quick blog post this week as I have been travelling for work for the past week - London 3 times in 6 days (6 hours on the train in total each time !) - and then I'm off to Belfast later this week !

My desk has a couple of projects on it - the photo frame is just started - have used Distress ink over the gesso and through a stencil.

Then I have suddenly thought - will the stencilled ink just blur & run - is there a way to "set" the Distress Ink - all tips welcome please !!

Centre stage is my art journal.

This is the end of an era - the final page of my faithful journal - my arty companion for the past year & a half.

I started the journal on New Year's Day 2012 - and have so enjoyed my playing & creating in it !

So this page records the end of our journey & all the happy messy inky painty & gluey times we have had together !







As you can see the cover is well handled with painty finger prints all over it !!

The little sheet on top is a clue to where I am headed next !

My sister bought me this large Dylusions art journal for Christmas - so far I have been intimidated by it's size - but now I have no choice but to move on !

So here's the very first page started off - Dylusions inks just drying - the colour on the left was supposed to be blue - but it is all looking a bit green !

I love the vibrant colours of these inks but find they are very messy & hard to control - is that just me - any ideas on being more precise with them are very welcome !!!

Anyway have a great week !
Ali xx

Gallo Organico Scavenger Photo Hunt

I have been working on my photo scavenger hunt at the Gallo Organico website !
if you want to know more about the challenge - click on the button on the sidebar of my blog - why not join in the fun !

Here are my entries so far !

1. Carmarthen Saturday Street Market

2. The Millennium Centre Theatre, Cardiff 

3. The Senedd, Cardiff - the Welsh Parliament Building

5. Sunset over Mumbles, Swansea Bay

6. My Dad having a nap on White Sands Beach, Pembrokeshire - holding my Mum's hand after 55 years married to one another !

7. A humorous sign spotted at the Garden Centre

8. The Tower at Pembroke Castle

9. A photo of something that is out of place - this lighthouse had a giant woollen scarf wrapped several times around it - how bizarre !!

10. A bench looking out over Burry Port Sands - could there be a more spectacular view from a bench !

12. A cloud in the shape of - a rooster !

13. Clematis blooming on my fence this July

14. A mosaic vase

15. A Police van on security duty outside the maternity hospital where Prince George of Cambridge was born - photo taken on the day he arrived in the world !

17. A candle with it's own lampshade !

18. Our favourite Coffee Shop - Time in Carmarthen where we often have breakfast on a Saturday morning 

19. A fisherman peacefully fishing off the Mumbles Seafront in Swansea Bay

20. A dinosaur wandering around at the National Show Caves of Wales  

So - this is my stash so far - I still have the following to find in the next month !

no. 4 - an aeroplane 

no. 11 - an animal in a zoo or nature reserve

no. 16 - a windmill

no. 21 - me with a crafty gadget or supplies