WOYWW - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas !

Just to wish all the WOYWW Deskers a wonderful Christmas !

Not much Crafting this week - just keeping on top of my JYC Journal !

I organised the Wear Your Christmas Jumper To Work Day last Friday - and put my team on a three line whip not to sport festive knitwear !

This along with a raffle & other fund raising netted us £600 for our local Llanelli Hospice - so all very worthwhile - and fun for us too !

Hope you all have a great Christmas & see you in 2016 !
Love Ali xx

WOYWW - Busy Weekend - Still Journalling !

We had a busy weekend - up at 5am and away before 6 for the 3 1/2 hour journey to get to my MIL's new flat, to do what we could to help her settle in !
So we had a busy time running errands & I spent a couple of hours balanced on a step ladder putting up pictures !
It looked much more home-y after I'd finished !

Saturday night we stayed in a grim motel - mould on the bathroom ceiling & the bathroom door so damply warped it wouldn't shut, plastic under the sheets on the lumpy bed and a carpet that made me eternally grateful to have remembered to take my slippers !
We have vowed we won't be staying there again !

 So it was almost a pleasure to be back up before 6 again & on the road to Manchester ! Much Beloved had been lucky in the ballot to be invited to the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association Christmas party.- he got to meet all the players and have a shirt signed.

 I was on duty taking his photo with each of them - and praying that the photos would all come out okay - or it could have been a long walk home !!
I actually got in this one with Captain Wayne Rooney !

So with all that going on there wasn't much crafting happening as you can imagine but I am making sure that I am keeping up with my JYC Christmas Journal.

I know from creating Journals in previous years that the important thing is to write your entry for that day's page or you quickly fall behind. - you can actually make the pages at any time, so that's not the important bit to stay on top of your Journal !









A little craft shopping did sneak in !
We have a Secret Santa at work I have bought an "N" to make a "Finnabar style" gift for the lady I have been allocated !
I might have succumbed to an Andy Skinner stencil whilst I was in the store !
And a utility buy - more glue sticks !
Have a great crafty week ! Ali xx

WOYWW - JYC 2015

This week has seen me start this year's Journal Your Christmas - I have been making a Journal every December for several years now and really look forward to getting underway !

I like choosing the theme for the journal - this year I have gone with a Chalk Board themed paper set - combined with some Wellington Bear elements

And I also love how the Journal builds up each day, getting nicely plump as all the memories of this time of the year come together, preserved for the future !

Other crafting has been limited to finishing Christmas cards for the girls at Craft Club ...

These are all using Cardio tapestry style stamps in various ways ... they are very versatile and the only limit really is your own eye & imagination !

I bought some new ornaments for my Christmas Tree at Winchester Cathedral this year ... pretty glass fripperies but I love my little Angel, Reindeer & Tree !













 And my Scandi-style wall hanging is doing it's stuff - actually hanging on the wall in our hall !

Much Beloved says he can't understand why we need a bit of tatty cloth on the wall ... but I'll leave you to decide !

Have a great crafty week !
Ali x

WOYWW - Its Coming !

Well here we are in December - and after a few weeks of building up to Christmas I am allowing myself to really get in the Christmas mood !
My lovely Mum always gets me an Advent Calender and opening the first door means Christmas is on its way !

I like to take part in Journal Your Christmas - Shimelle Laine's online class where we create a journal entry for each day in December - I have a good pile of books from across the years & it is like building up an annual picture of where my life is right now - it will be interesting to look back in future years !

On my desk today are some twigs drying where I have painted them white - these will be part of my Christmas decorations !









And some die cuts I have been playing with - this was free with a magazine and I think it is really pretty !














Not much crafting got done last weekend as we had a lovely time with my parents.
We had organised a secret treat for their early Christmas present - a weekend in Reading where we took them to The Mill At Sonning which is a Dinner Theatre where we had a delicious evening mea.






Then you stroll into a small, intimate theatre for the show.

The play was Stepping Out - we had seen this with my parents about 20 years ago & my Dad has often said how much he enjoyed it.
So when we saw it was on in the run up to Christmas - it seemed the perfect gift !
It was very funny and a touch bitter sweet - and we had a lovely time together !

Hope you have a great crafty week
Ali xx

WOYWW - Bearing Up !

Well my desk is a Sleuth of Bears this week !
(yes that is the collective noun for a group of bears ! I had to look it up !)










I have been working away at my Wellington Bear Christmas cards - decoupage & layering up - the more I use this set of papers, the cuter I am finding him !

We had a great day off from work on Friday and headed to Cribb's Causeway for Christmas shopping, then on to Cheltenham for our annual Jools Holland concert !

He & the band played a lot of new material and we had a brilliant evening !

Heading back home on Saturday most of the rest my weekend we a frenzy of present wrapping !
I am meeting my parents for a Christmas weekend treat next weekend and as I won't see my side of the family until after Christmas it has meant having all the presents bought & wrapped a month early !

So wrapping overtook crafting !
I set up a wrapping station in front of the telly whilst Much Beloved was out at football ...
But at least everything is wrapped & ready !

Hope you all have a fun crafty week !
Ali

WOYWW Merry Christ-Moose !

Well I got to make a few Christmas things this past weekend and my desk is looking busy !

Meet Magnus the Christmoose !
I bought the kit at the NEC the last weekend and had great fun painting the pieces and making him !
I plan to add a couple of Christmasmassy trimmings - but not until I get my decorations make it down from the roof space next month !


Next were a few Christmas cards ...

These are decoupage cards in the Wellington At Christmas card making kit - I really do like this cute bear !!









And here are two cards using a technique we saw on the Inkylicious stand at the NEC - using an aperture  stencil, pearlescent white ink pad and their stamps - plus a little Stickles for glitz !









And these are using Cardio stamps ...

Here is a new stencil I am playing around with ... I thought this was a really striking image ! I have added clear sparkly Stickles but it doesn't really show on this picture ...

And don't faint but I have finally finished my Scandi Christmas Quilt Topper ! Here it is lain across my bed - it is designed to fit across the centre of the Scandi throw I have for the bed - phew so glad to be finished !

Have a great crafty week !

Ali xx

WOYWW - Crafty Day Out !

It was an early start on Saturday - up at 5.30am on a bleak, black rain-soaked morning !

I collected the rest of the girls from the next village at 6.30 am and off we set to the NEC in Birmingham to the Hobbycrafts Show.

Despite the lashing rain, we had a good journey up there and arrived just after it opened - which just as well as the time there just flew by !

Here we are on the way in .... and with a few nicely bulging bags on the way home !







We found lots of our favourite stamping stands - although we noticed some who have been there in the past were missing.

We heard that the stalls are very expensive for the stall holders - and the whole show is expensive for the visitors - the car park alone is £12 per car !!

Also quite a lot of fabric & sewing stands too.

We saw some new stamping techniques and some fun things to make - Lynda & I couldn't resist getting one of these Moose - or is it Mooses ? - each to decorate !

I love these Cardio stamps - lots of inspiration on the stand & I got a couple more of the stamp sets !

Looking forward to playing with them soon !














We enjoyed the demos too !

Here's the lovely Barbara Grey demo-ing on the Gelliplate.














 And one of my very favourite designers, Tracy Dutton from Lavinia Stamps gave us our own demo of her new stamps - and you know how I adore seed-pods !

She used inks on a small Gelliplate which seemed to work very well - can't wait to try it !











So here is my haul of new Lavinia goodies and the demo piece Tracy gave me...

Those & lots of other goodies on my work desk tonight .... stamps & stencils, a new paper-trimmer, glitter embossing powder & sparkilicious glitter plus a Christmas Chalkboard themed paper set with candi & matching ribbons I found - these are for my Journal Your Christmas next month.

And I actually did some crafting on Sunday ! 

I am months behind on our Tag challenge but I have finally finished September's entry - the challenge was monochrome & inking - I went with Blues & Lynda chose greys & blacks.

 And here is a wedding card I made for one of my team who is getting married next weekend

Have a great crafty week ! Ali xx

WOYWW - Non Stop Scandi !

Well now I remember why I drifted away from Quilting & started Paper-crafting, Mixed Media and Art Journaling - because the projects just take so long !!

I seem to have been stitching these Scandi projects for a decade !!







I have the wall panel bordered up, layered & pinned ready for quilting - and now I have to do the same for the quilt topper.


Who knows how long the quilting will take - will I make it for THIS Christmas I wonder !

On my desk I have a few of the new Fresco paint colours and a small pot I have altered to store parking metre money in in my new car - a few Lavinia stamps and some Stickles for some bling !

Saturday was Hallowe'en and we have a few young children living in the close who like to dress up & come around collecting (with parents at a discreet distance !).

So I decorated the window sill in the lounge and had a tub of Hallowe'en Haribo sweets ready (well we are partial to Haribo and there are always some left over !!).



And got out my Pumpkin table runner too !

We had stunning weather over the weekend - gorgeous sunshine, not a breath of wind and temperatures in the late teens - amazing on the 1st November !

It was better than we had in August !

The maples in my garden were positively glowing in the sunshine !



The Golden Maple is extra special as it was a present from my Dad as a tiny tree and has moved house with me - it's getting rather too big for that now !











We even walked along the beach side in the sunshine on Sunday !

It certainly didn't seem like November !

Have a great crafty week !
Ali x