Hello my friends. I trust this finds you well and enjoying the beginning of Autumn in the Northern hemisphere, or Spring in the Southern. I’m writing this on Tuesday evening, as my desk won’t change now until tomorrow, then will link with Julia at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ There you will find artists and crafters from around the world baring their desks for fun!

I received an enormous box of cards from Julia during the week specifically to divide for sale by the charities at church. Thank you SO much. They joined the large pile Shazsilverwolf gave me at the crop. I’m thrilled to tell you that most of Shaz’s have already sold to the benefit of our charities – thank you Shaz; and many of Julia’s have already been shared out between Parental Care Ministries, Shevet and the local hospice. They are so beautiful – I know they won’t hang around on stalls!

Many thanks indeed for all your lovely comments last week. I couldn’t believe that so many of you wished I had showed the gory mess which had been my crazy workspace, and not just the tidy desk after the clear up. However – always aiming to please… this week I have taken shots from before the tidy up and after! I have had a week in which there has been much time spent upstairs on my landing space, working hard to get the last cards of the season for the hotel, two dozen for Shevet Achim the second charity we support here at church, and a couple of dozen Christmas cards for myself. Now, a government health warning – these photos are not for the faint hearted!

Not quite 12 inches high this week – but bad enough, and because it is impossible to see what is really there… well, just for you, I took photos at intervals along that length of worktop…

A large pile of Christmas stamps – I couldn’t decide which to use, so hauled them all out, a pack of pens for colouring once the stamps were used, ruler, DST, acrylic blocks, scissors, bone folder…

…Specs, peel offs, paper pile for scrap stamping, inks, glitter glue, pearl drops, pile of Christmas papers, baby wipes, boxes of candi, more stamps left out after the cards for the hotel were made, the lovely calligraphy piece Shaz in Oz made for me, a roll of washi tape, oops – that knife still doesn’t have the blade covered…

…Heat gun, pile of card blanks, inks, ink dusters, embossing powders and tray, envelope of yellow scraps, a hidden guillotine, a mixed pack of gold card…

…And as for the floor! Drawers all out – card blanks, stamps, distress inks, more stamps, Christmas bits, ribbons…

So you see, my workspace is most definitely used, gets messy… then…

… receives a hefty sort! This was taken an hour later. Relief fills my heart – and so it is all ready for tomorrow’s effort. Uh oh – just spotted I didn’t put the ribbons away – oops! Do you know? I have walked past that spot about a dozen times since tidying – and not seen them there!

I’ll do my best to get around to everyone before the weekend. I shall then be MIA the next two Wednesdays – it’s half term holidays here in Britain and so I shall spend time with the grandies – then pop in on Mr and Mrs D. I’ll see you when I return.

Take care. God bless.

Margaret

Hello my friends. I trust this finds you well. Thanks to everyone who visited and left comments last week – yes, this week has indeed been less manic, thank you! The cottage pie went down a storm, fed 45 people – and resulted in three “proposals” of marriage! (Keep still, my beating heart!) Talk about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach…

Anyway – on to my desk this week

This really does show the calm AFTER the storm! I had been working on a dozen cards (not yet photographed!) as samples for a lady who would like to buy some to sell on for Shevet Achim – the second charity we support here at church. I was trying to vary the styles, so the chaos which ensued was unbelievable. The desk was piled nearly 12inches high with card blanks, ribbons, washi tapes, scraps of card, dies, stamps, ink pads – it really was bad! – the floor, currently housing just two neat piles, was strewn with four drawers, and the green cutting mat had about 6square inches of workspace left! I couldn’t carry on – it had to be sorted – and I could not inflict major heart attacks on your good selves by showing that.

So, now, ready for today, there is a Christmas pile down on the floor waiting for me, guillotine, a little pile of different coloured card scraps I have been using up, pack of C6 card blanks, peel offs, various tools, DST, metal ruler, pile of paper for test stamping on, and an ink brush. The green pyramid is a 3D fabric Christmas tree – unfinished – John bought for me the kit – on the desk in the hope I do actually finish it in time for Christmas this year! But before the Christmas makes, I must do another dozen cards for the hotel – they close in four weeks for the winter, but are full until then, so…

In between attempting to make more cards, I’ll be around to visit you all, and gaze in awe at your neat spaces or your busy spots. I had a comment last week that for anyone with eye problems the text was quite hard to read – so I am trying something different – let me know if this is better or not.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Margaret

Hello my friends. I’m writing this latish Tuesday evening, thinking about my desk – or should I say desks, in the plural. It has been a crazy week, hardly time to breathe – but before I show you… thank you so much for all the birthday wishes that came last week across the ether and all the visitors who left comments! I had a good day – a bit of retail therapy, coffee and cake out – well, actually, hot chocolate as I don’t do coffee, more pieces put in that jigsaw from last week, a bit of craft time, with the present Mrs D bought me, and TV. Thursday morning found me down at church with yet more soup and a completely manic time – loads of visitors to “The Bible Comes To Life” exhibition, and they all came in for lunch as well as our usual step inside crowd! None of us were quite sure which way was up by the time we had finished for the day. I had planned to meet up halfway across Britain with Chris and hubby – but hubby was suffering from having three teeth extracted – so we didn’t do that – I finished the jigsaw instead! – Yes – finished it – all those sky pieces from last week – YAY!! Then suddenly it was Sunday and our worship group were playing so I was behind a microphone, then buying all the ingredients to make a giant cottage pie for our church family meal Wednesday evening. BUT – I found time to have a fun filled craftathon on Monday – never went out the front door, and succeeded in making over 2 dozen Christmas cards.

So, my desk has moved around the house – upstairs, downstairs, kitchen… here’s the evidence!

Top left – the real desk – the aftermath of the craftathon. Goodness only knows why the green mat is empty! It hasn’t been all week… Second down, left – the floor desk! Yes, drawers out, waste bin over flowing. Top right – mince and lots of vegetables, all cooked and cooling, awaiting the potatoes which are in those two giant saucepans – and no, folks, they aren’t mine – they belong to the church. My biggest one is only about half that size. Third down on the right – a half made blanket – relaxation in front of the TV of an evening.

The second collage of pictures – at the top, my pile of made cards, and the two at the bottom – my efforts with Chris and Adrian’s present – a box of twelve brushos. WOW!!! I really enjoyed my self – The “love” card is brushos spotted onto card then sprayed with water and allowed to do what they wanted. The “hope” card, the water colour paper was soaked then the tiniest bit of powder sprinkled on top. I made some other small sheets of colour as well – cut one up to make the word “Joy” on the Christmas card in the picture above. I have a sneaky feeling that all this effort describes my style perfectly – clean and simple!!

So that’s me this week folks, here on the North Wales coast. I had an email from Shaz in Oz to say she was safely home after her world trip – I imagine she is still sleeping off the effects!

I’ll be around to visit over the next few days – I do come see you, Kathryn – it’s just that I can’t leave a comment – sorry.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Margaret