WOYWW - Hoppy Easter !

Finally back at my work-desk after a 12 day straight stint at work , major food show, wasted 24 hours trying to get to Germany with all flights cancelled and a stinking cold to follow !

Trying to ignore sniffing & snuffling into my tissues this past weekend, I set about making my Easter cards !

I used my new fun Chloe "Easter Critter" stamps and some papers that came free with a magazine a while ago - I really liked the happy Spring colours.


It was quite good to work with a limited colour palette and create within it - just adding some ribbons and washi tape and getting out a neglected border punch !
I got all the cards made on Saturday & posted by Sunday - and know they started arriving on Tuesday so safe to show them here !

I haven't played in my art journal in ages and being full of cold wasn't feeling especially inspired & creative but a few days ago I had seen a page on the Clips N Cuts blog and YouTube which I really liked - her page was celebrating her love of coffee but I am not really a true coffee girl .
So I journal-lifted her idea but it reflects my view  that are few occasions that can't be improved by a nice cup of tea (even if I have to have Decaff Tea as I am allergic to caffeine !)




So on my desk tonight you can see my Chloe stamps, some colouring I have done on a "Girlsfriends" stamp leant to me by a friend at Craftclub, my journal any my daily diary.

And some Alphabet stamps that came free with a magazine and the Flow book of all sorts of papers & paper-craft ideas - made to be ripped out & used in projects !

Well hope everyone has a brilliant Easter - my sister & her family arrive tomorrow for the Easter weekend - so don't expect to see much of my desk for the next few days !
Enjoy your Easter ! Ali xx

WOYWW - Spring Garden !

Well the garden has taken up all my time this past weekend - both outside & at my workdesk !

On Sunday Much Beloved headed to Manchester to go to footie and I had the day to myself - so I set to on the back garden - digging over the soil to try to make it less compacted, weeded - an ongoing battle with hairy bittercress !! - and then I had bought sacks of organic compost from the local council recycling tip which I used as a mulch.
After 3 hours of all this it was a treat to get out of the cold in my potting shed to sow some seeds - my new gloves have been a godsend in keeping my hands warm & dry these past couple of weeks ! And my new pink wellibobs have been doing the trick keeping my feet cosy too !
I have over-wintered some mitzuna, turnips and spinach quite successfully in the Veg-Trug - and on the lower right hand side you can see the lengths I have had to go to in my anti-feline campaign on my veggie bed !!

Back at my desk, I was grateful to get into the warm and work on my new garden junk journal - I made a page to capture what I have been up to and also to express how I feel about the work now being an act of faith that the garden will look something other than grey, brown and empty !











I have used rings to secure the junk journal for the moment so it doesn't matter if it gets plump with pages !

And I journaled a few pages ready to stick in pictures from this month's activities  ...

Lynda & her husband came over for supper and a film on Saturday - and we swapped the tags for our Art Tag swap - the challenge this month was stencils and recycling - so my tags were themed for March and featured flowers from tissue paper which was wrapped around some new shoes, the strip on the tag from a carrier bag & the string from clothes tags !







And I got to use some new Paperartsy stamps too !
I love the quote " to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow !

 

Have a great crafty week ! 

Ali xx

WOYWW - Finally Some Crafting !

Well after weeks of crafty inactivity I finally got to get some inky, painty action !

With Mother's Day next weekend, I wasn't happy with what I had made as my first effort at a Mother's Day card ...

Although I liked the stamp I had used - especially as Mum loves birds - but I felt in the end it looked a bit small & subdued for what I wanted to express.

So this one became a gift voucher with an IOU a meal when we next get together !






So I decided to get out my new JOFY stamps and make something a bit bigger, brighter & a bit more fun.

I went a bit JOFY mad - with the card, the inside of the card and even the envelope !
I know Mum loves her garden too ...

Although Sunday started with teaming rain & thick fog here - by 2pm it was sunny & quite pleasant so I was able to get out in the garden for over 2 hours.

I was inspired by the garden to set about making a JOFY Junk Journal which I plan to use as a Garden Journal this summer.

I like to make notes about what I have planted, how it has grown, the weather conditions and so on ..

I decided to recycle the box that my mail order of JOFY stamps and paints had arrived in to make the covers ..








  This is where I have got to so far ...

And I have been using up the dregs of paint to start a base page for the journal as I go ...

I'll start making the inside pages next ...
I always end up with random plant labels, seed packets and other sundry items that I don't quite know what to do with but want to keep as a reference - so hopefully I will be able to collect everything together in this journal.

I have my Easter cards on my mind too ... and decided to buy some Chloe stamps I had seen on TV - the bunnies just appealed to me !!




 
 
Anyway - have a great week everyone ! Ali xx

WOYWW Happy 300 ! Working Not Crafting!

Oh no I here you say - yet another of her excuses! This year has been a complete wash out on the crafting front !

And then this week I had to come up to London on Sunday ready to attend a Food Technology and Innovation conference near St Pauls, so this is my 3rd night in a Premier Inn!

I did make a Mother's Day card  on Saturday but didn't take a photo of it to show you as of yet.


So no crafty contributions this week but I have really enjoyed walking through this area up Ludgate Hill & round St Pauls Cathedral - so much history intermingled with the ultra modern.
Early this morning I went into the cathedral to have a quiet few minutes remembering a family friend who we lost a short time ago. A very uplifting way to start my day.

 I enjoyed most of the conference - there are always some parts that suit everyone more then others - but some good ideas to build on.
Really hoping to get to some crafty stuff this weekend!
Have a great week Ali xx

WOYWW - Holidaying Not Crafting !

Well in my ongoing litany of excuses for not doing any crafty projects - here is the old "well I went on holiday" one now !

But as excuses go it was very enjoyable !
We escaped the dreary wet cold British winter and had a lovely 10 days in sunny tropical Barbados !

We have a great mix of relaxing by the pool, wandering barefoot on the sandy beach and also seeing the sights of the island like the unique Chattel Houses, the Rum Distilleries, the famous Cricket Ground (Much Beloved's choice !) and the famous Oistin's Friday Night Fishfry. 


And watching the amazing sunsets whilst sipping a rum punch - well it is always important to embrace the local culture !

 The sunsets were gorgeous - just a ball of fire sinking into the Caribbean sea - you could almost imagine you could hear the sizzling as it sunk into the waves on the horizon !








Even once the sun had set the scenery was so lush, tropical and evocative !











We went up to the Flower Forest in the centre of the Island - a lush tropical rain forest - gorgeous trees & flowers !

And the coastlines were stunning too ...

Do you see the bus stop beside us - all the bus stops either say "to city" or "out of city" - it made us smile !

 And my morning walks on the beach before breakfast were a highlight of my day !

What an amazing view !

As we flew back into London Gatwick in be greeted by 2" of snow, drove home to tackle 10 loads of washing & back to a busy office on Monday - we were back to reality with a bump !
I will be scrapping all those happy memories as soon as I can believe me !

Have a great week !
Ali x

WOYWW - Eating Not Crafting

Well here I am for the second week running with an enjoyable weekend under my belt (literally - more of that later !) but very little crafting done !

Messy Desk this week !

My desk has clutter rather than much in the way of projects - and the one I do have I can't show you !
I have bought a new project zip up bag and pencil case from Paperchase to take some crafty bits on holiday next week ! Who could resist the tropical print ! On top you can see the back of 2 tags. These are the first of the monthly challenges that Lynda & I have embarked on this year. This month's challenge was "crackle glaze" and "tag on tag" - can't show you before Lynda sees them obviously ! But they have a January theme !



I did scrabble a little time together on Sunday when I got home from my weekend away to try to catch up on my 2015 Journal - the diary day page for the previous week harks back to the photos I showed you last week of celebrating the winter sunrise - with my rather wonky silhouette drawing !!








And the Journal Page is based on the Colour Wheel challenge for DLP.

I made up this quote as I thought it was apt for the page !

It is a bit messier than I expected but I had a bit of a barney with the Cosmic Shimmer sprays which were bunged up at the spray nozzle and then splurged !!
But hey it is all colour !!

Obsession January 2015

The reason I was away this weekend was that I was lucky enough to be invited, by the lovely ladies who run one of the ingredients companies we deal with at work, to an evening celebrating the work of 4 Michelin star chefs from Portugal. The festival called Obsession is held at Northcote hotel in Lancashire - itself famous for it's food - and features 27 days with 27 Michelin star chefs. We were served totally delicious & visually stunning food with selected Portuguese wines with every course.
Just amazed us how great seemingly simple ingredients could taste ! It featured lots of fish & fresh vegetables - so quite healthy if we hadn't been enjoying the wine quite so much !!

Our hosts had booked the Chef's Tasting Table which is located in a special room off the kitchen - so we got to see all the service being prepared & served and were hosted by Nigel Haworth - Chef at the Hotel who has held a Michelin star for nearly 20 years and is being instrumental in training young people into the industry.
We had a fabulous & memorable evening !

You can see myself (red frock!) and Helen who so kindly invited me with our souvenir menus.
Below that is a picture for any of you who are into Sugarcraft - an amazing cake designed to show the produce being celebrated at the Obsession event. A delicious salmon dish was served with chive dust !
And our favourite dish of the evening was the lobster in the centre right - totally gorgeous !

Well that was my excuse for no crafting - and I enjoyed every minute !
Have a great crafty week ! Ali xx

WOYWW - Visiting Not Crafting !

Well no crafty action on the desk this week as I was away all weekend in North Wales to visit my MIL.

We had a smooth journey there & back thankfully - which is always a bonus given the twisty mountain roads for much of the way !

 So on my desk this week are just a couple of craft magazines, my daily diary and the new Tablet I treated myself to a couple of weeks ago.




On Sunday morning we went out to the promenade to watch the sun rise .. the light was amazing, vividly bright and throwing everything on the shore into stark mono-chrome silhouettes.

Uncannily enough the topic for this weeks Journal 52 is Silhouette - so although I haven't had a chance to journal yet I have got some photos to inspire me !

We saw the morning slip from darkness to light as the tide flowed outwards ...









The sun lifted over the mountains and started to illuminate the tide line ...

We have amazing huge sandy beaches here in Wales and when the tide goes out the beach goes on forever ...

 The board-walk seems to stretch for miles out towards the receding tide ...

I decided to make myself a silhouette against the rising sun !!

Have a great week !
Ali x