Hello there my friends. I cannot believe it can possibly be the last day of January already. It’s my grand daughter’s 15th birthday – so please excuse a hasty post today – don’t want to miss phoning her! As I write this here on the North Wales coast it is almost midnight Tuesday. Outside it is blowing a hooley and pouring with rain. My poor garden pond is filled to the brim, we have had so much rain. But inside it is warm and snug – and I’m meeting up with you all.

So, my desk this week – still not too bad, despite my very best efforts at messing it up by working really hard – so I took the photo from a different angle…

From left to right – a magazine I found in the shop the other day with a lovely embossing folder, die and stamp set on it, baby wipes, heat gun, kitchen roll, tub of gesso with a little cottage on top, plastic boxes of embellishments, glitter glues and stickles, blue tub of foam pads, pair of specs, sanding block and fine sand paper (“Borrowed” from the garage downstairs!) and bag of sweets. At the front is my cutting mat with pile of paper for practice stamping, and generally making a mess, two A4 sheets of Thomas Kinkade images, and a couple of my own photos printed out and ready to use. Up on the shelf is the usual array of clutter necessary for creativity. All in aid of making more cards and gifts. I now have 83 cards made and ready for the hotel – I’m rather chuffed at the productivity which has been going on here!!! This impressive number means I can have my day out at the show on Friday with a clear conscience, knowing much is done and ready to take round the bay (Oh the bliss of living near the sea and being able to visit friends by travelling along the promenade!)

So that’s me this week, folks. I’ll come visit, but it may take a few days. I shall be AWOL next week. I’m travelling to Buckinghamshire – one of my grand daughters has asked to be baptised and I’m going to stay with my family – but on the way… I’m off to see LLJ and her hubby for a couple of days first. Sounds like we are going to have a great deal of fun!

Take care folks. Thank you for your visits and comments. I love reading them. God bless.

Margaret

Hello, my friends. You have NO idea how proud I feel this week – yes… I know… pride is a sin… sorry! But just look at this…

my desk this week!

Despite working really hard, making chaos, and producing yet more cards – after each session I have tidied up! Consequently, the desk looks almost as neat as it did last week. So, from the left – my CD player (I’m going through all my CDs – if I can create when they are playing, they stay – if not, they head to the charity shop – John and I had totally different musical tastes); all drawers and boxes back in their unit; my binoculars and bird book (lots of beautiful birds out there in the field opposite); green basket beginning to look delightfully full ready to visit the hotel in a fortnight, with a box beneath filled with gift boxes; my bits box of tools; paper, card, stencils all up on the shelf, embossing powders; day lamp; baby wipes, paper roll, garden in a teacup, and bag of sweets (essential to creativity);DST and glue dots on the stands up on the shelf; inks; and the very edge of that white basket (still neat and tidy). WOW! How long will it last – this frantic tidying? No idea, but whilst the urge stays, I’ll go with it – makes creating so much easier!

So, I’ve knitted, done a jigsaw, made cards, sang in the worship group (didn’t lead this week – phew – a week off), and watched some murder mysteries. And here are some of the results!

Faye Whitaker artwork this week – and some photographic images – all my own to avoid any copyright issues. I have made more – but don’t wish to bore you rigid!
So, that’s me this week. A week Friday a few of us are all going to the craft show at the Manchester arena – anyone else going? If so, do let me know, and perhaps we can have a panad together. (That’s a Welsh cuppa)

Take care each od you – thanks so much for all your visits and comments – they are so lovely.

God bless.

Margaret

Goodness me – 450?! However did we get there?? It appears we managed it somehow! So hello my friends. I do hope you are well, and full of creative energy!

My desk, which is, after all, why we are all here, is rather a before and after effort today.

Before…

Over the week it has got worse and worse as I have been making more cards for the hotel. It got to the point where, despite so many of you being polite and saying it looked busy and creative, I simply couldn’t work at it any more. I was in serious danger of losing the plot completely. You can see a white basket containing my received Christmas cards (needed to go through and sort); brown case of watercolour pencils (I’d been colouring); white tub with memento inks in and scattered around (Stamping images); stamp sets; piles of card bases and envelopes; packet of sweets, scissors; to-do list with pen at the ready; punch given me in my Christmas stocking; cutting mat; the lovely garden in a teacup given to me at the crop; and loads of other bits and pieces. What a state of chaos!

So…. I set to…. Sorry folks, but I just HAD to…

After….

The white basket has been re-comissioned! The Christmas cards sorted, and it now contains different things altogether; my mobile is sitting there with a letter for Mr & Mrs D awaiting my phone call to them to see if I needed to open and forward rapidly; my felt robin kit; bag of sweets, cutting mat and stack of paper for leaning on and making a wonderful practice mess on; the waste bin will be emptied on Thursday; the green basket now contains 50 cards for the hotel, all neatly bagged and priced. Now I feel I can work again! Most things are back in their places – not quite all – there are still two storage boxes of fancy card there on the floor. Of course, I realise that, come the weekend, all my hard work will be undone as I set to again to do more artycraftystuff!!!

So, what have I been making to produce such a mess?

A birthday card for a friend which needs to go into the mail tomorrow.

Just a few of the cards made. These are all Pollyanna Pickering images. Aren’t those owlets just cute beyond words?

So there you have it – the desk of shame, the tidier desk, the finished results. That’s what I have been up to this week. I managed to visit everyone last week – but, April… I can’t leave a comment on your fun desk picture any more… I’m really sorry. I do come peep though!

Take care my friends. I’ll be round at some point during the day. Have a great week. God bless.

Margaret

Hello my friends. I trust all is well with you. Firstly, thank you so much to all who visited and left comments last week. I read them all, greatly enjoying the humour so many of you included! Secondly, I did visit everyone, but there were about three I couldn’t leave a comment on – I’m so sorry. Some google plus folk I can comment, some I can’t – the comments box comes up differently, and doesn’t allow me to comment unless I sign up for google plus. So, if you didn’t get a comment from me last week, that’s why… 🙁 sorry

So, here we are in the second week of January already. Today (I’m writing this on Tuesday evening) is the birthday of my elder son in law, and Saturday is my elder grandson’s birthday. Busy time for cards, presents and birthdays around now, as in another fortnight, grand-daughter number two has her birthday!!

But you aren’t here to listen to me wittering on… you are here to see my desk. Well, I did warn you last week – so those of a nervous disposition should look away now! Clicking on the picture will enable you to see it in all its gory chaos!

Taken from a different angle this week, as looking at it from the top really would make us all ill! Boxes out on the floor – there are two more just to the left out of shot – the desk is piled high with card blanks, scissors, glue, DST, off-cuts of paper and card, embossing powder and tray, tweezers, scalpel, essential bag od sweets – and at the right hand end…. tada!…. the reason for the chaos – a basket of cards ready for the hotel.

I struggle to do batch makes – but decided that this style of card sold really well last year, so would make 8 at the same time. Stencilled design, coloured with glittery 3D paste, mounted and sentiment added.

Bottom right and middle right are different. Just before Christmas I was in the local hospice charity shop. They had a large box of bags each filled with crafty goodness. Well – you can’t just walk out of the shop, now can you?? So, down on hands and knees, I went a-hunting. One bag, marked up at £4 had a book on book folding. Ah-ha – just what a daughter wanted, so I bought the bag. When I opened it I found two huge 3D spellbinder embossing folders! So, these are my first efforts. I trimmed the celtic one a little, as I wasn’t happy with my colouring at the point there. Coloured with waxes, I’m reasonably pleased with my first attempts.

So, basically that is me. Also on the desk, but behind the basket of cards, is the pile of songs for Sunday – yes, I’m leading the worship again this coming week. Did my prep this morning before getting sticky and gluey!

Take care, my friends.

God bless you.

Margaret

Happy New Year to each one of you

Well – here we are in 2018. I do trust that this will be a really special year for you, my friends. I hope you have some lovely plans for the year, which you will see come to pass.

My workdesk hasn’t seen a huge amount of action yet this year – but I did sit down yesterday and make lots of thankyou cards – then wrote my letters. Batch-make, I’m afraid, simple, but hopefully acceptable to the recipients! Apart from that, all I have done is put my crafty presents on the desk ready to find a home for them!

I am SO looking forward to making that robin kit! I love playing with felt! Some dies, ribbon, cord, and a punch. My family decided that Nain (that’s me – a Welsh Grandma) needed to have a stocking from Santa this year!! Filled with some lovely fun items – each member of the family had chosen one item! The three bigger dies were from Mr and Mrs D – love that wise men die! Have borrowed Mrs D’s in the past…

Told you the cards were simple! Each one was slightly different – coloured card, size, border…

Having spent a few days with my whole family, my younger daughter gave me this glorious blanket crocheted by her MIL, to send to Uganda. She had been really busy on our behalf… because…

… yes, she had also knitted this lovely cardigan for one of the children! Some months back she had asked if I had “any spare wool” that needed knitting up! Well, I ask you, fancy asking that of a crafter! Of course there was wool in my stash! So, I put together a lovely big bag of wool – and bingo! Blankets, jumpers, cardigans – all set for Uganda. Thank you Sue!!!

So, that’s me, my friends. Not really terribly active yet after a lovely Christmas break. But – I have to stir my stumps pretty smartish now! I spoke with the owners of the hotel in church on Sunday. They have a conference coming in the 2nd week of February – and would like a rack full of cards! That means at least 60… Hmm! May be buried under the usual mound of clutter by next week, then!!!

Take care my friends. God bless you in 2018.

Margaret