WOYWW 511 - Iris Folding

An early start for me on this cloudy Wednesday morning.  It is time to join in with WOYWW (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday) and you can too.  Go to Julia's Stamping Ground for the link.

I have been reducing the number of crafts that I attempt to do (and all the stash that went with far too many years of far too many crafts), but one that will always stay in my life is Iris Folding.  It is very satisfying to fold papers and stick them down. 

This is a new dolphin design that I bought recently.

The sticking down of folded strips of paper.

The finished card.

My craft room/office is getting even emptier this week, as I sort out more stash that I know will never get used (still got paints/papers etc that are sitting in drawers and never been used).  I have added a couple of decorative/relaxing items to create a nice atmosphere to work in (I am mainly using it for computer and paperwork now).

A lovely metal jug with fake flowers from The Range.

An electric wax melter from Cushty Co.  

This is just on the lowest light setting

and it is truly stunning.

Enjoy the rest of this week and remember it is the Spring Equinox today, so better weather is on its way!

Ali x

WOYWW 510 - Owls

I hope that everyone in the UK is surviving Storm Gareth.  We had strong wind and rain during the night, but it is dry this morning and not as blustery.

Welcome to the world of WOYWW (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday).  If you would like to show off your crafty workspace, go HERE to join in.

This morning there are signs that some crafting will be happening, eventually!  I have gone through my boxes of embellies to find anything relating to owls (I have 4 owl-themed ATCs to make for a Facebook trade).  Despite getting rid of a lot of stash in my huge declutter, I still have plenty of goodies to play with.

I may well get to put the ATCs together later, but business/study needs to come first (I am determined to start making my own income this year), and I am starting to get enquiries about my Pinterest Management service.  There are a lot of misconceptions about Pinterest (it is not just for recipes and craft projects!), and it is great to be able to educate business owners and bloggers.

I am working on my personal Pinterest account at the moment (I have had it for years and there were too many boards, so I am having a tidy up), but please come and follow me there (aliwadepembs) - or just add your account link in the comments there.

My health hasn't been too great recently - flare up of Fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms, and my Psoriasis is reacting to this weather too (and possibly that is due to taking HRT, as it seems that hormones are a trigger factor).  It is great to have full days to distract me from that.

Enjoy your day.

Ali x

WOYWW 509 - a bookshelf view

Good morning on this fine WOYWW (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday) - although we had a nasty storm last night and it is still blowing hard/threatening to rain.

If you want to join in and share a photo of your crafty workspace, go to Julia's Stamping Ground.

This week there is nothing happening on my crafty table, so I took a photo of my bookshelves.  Some craft books, binders with my ATC collection (many years of trading), some journals I made and other miscellaneous items.  On top there are some precious items - some I made, others created for me.

I did some crafting this week - tags for a Facebook challenge (see my previous blog post) and also a Thank You card (which was a simple digital design, so I didn't take any photos).

Otherwise I am either working hard to get my new Pinterest Management service set up - website/blog etc etc - or Spring Cleaning the house (and also tidying up the garden when time allows).  I have joined in with the really friendly cleaning community on Instagram - it turns out that I am not the only cleaning addict!  My account is @big_old_farmhouse.

Off out to a networking lunch meeting today, which is in Carmarthen, so I will be forced to visit the Range too (will have a look at the craft section, but not planning to purchase anything).

Enjoy your day.

Ali x

15 Minute Tags - Junk Journaling Facebook Challenge by The Foxy Crafters

I am a member of The Foxy Crafter group on Facebook, run by Tracie Fox (here is her Etsy shop).

She recently started a Tag Challenge.  We had 5 minutes and 4 papers to collage on 2 tags.

Here are my tags.  I used papers from my 'patterned' scrap box.  The largest pieces are from when I have used up paints left over from journaling sessions - always my favourite to use. 

We then had Part Two (running until 13th March), where we were given prompt cards and had to choose 4 at random.  I got 'rubber stamp', 'washi', 'paint' and 'distress'.

Then once we had gathered the necessary supplies, 10 minutes to complete the tags.  Each tag had to include at least 3, but all 4 had to be used between both tags.

I used all 4 on both tags.  The rubber stamp is a small leaf design.  Paint is the gold used to 'embellish' some of the papers.  Washi is obvious!  The distress is the use of a Tim Holtz distressing tool around the edges (and then grey ink on those areas).

Here are the finished tags.

It was fun having a time limit.  There is no need to spend ages on simple tags.  It was also great to be able to complete a crafty challenge with my very reduced stash in my craft room.

Still plenty of time to join in - 13th March is the deadline.  Go to The Foxy Crafters on Facebook.

I hope everyone in the UK is surviving this horrible weather, Storm Freya, that is hitting us right now.  I will definitely be glad to stay in my craft room this week.

I am actually going to continue with my crafting and make a Thank You card for some friends who hosted a wonderful dinner on Friday night.

Ali x

WOYWW 507 - A Special Treat From Spain

It is definitely afternoon here in Pembrokeshire (after 4 pm indeed) and I would apologise for being so late to the WOYWW party (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday - a global tour around crafty workspaces), but I have been concentrating on business/study.  Time to prioritise boosting our income, so our plans to spend more time in Spain can become reality sooner. 

If anyone else is even later than me, then you can join in HERE.

I have been absent for a few weeks whilst enjoying the Spanish sunshine.  I was intending to blog last week, but it was my birthday and after the typically-Spanish very long lunch with friends I really did not have inclination to start typing.

Firstly I have done a bit of crafting after our return.  Here is the cute rock I painted, and the new paint pens (cheapies from Amazon) that I was trying out.

Now to the Spanish treat.

I finally visited a lady that I had 'met' on Facebook.  Barbara lives in a village, Sagra, that we had considered as a possible future home.  She also has similar health issues to me, has rescue cats and, most importantly, has a craft room!  I knew that she made dolls, but it has been many years since I last took an interest in dolls/teddy bears (I used to collect bears, visited the toy/bear fairs around the country and read the magazines) and I had not realised how talented she is.  I took several photos of her craft room and some of the contents.

(One of the Singer sewing machines that she uses.)

(Her main workdesk area.)

(Some of the beautiful lace that she has neatly stored in boxes. 

A lot of it is handmade.)

(I loved how she groups together items of a similar colour.)

(She creates the heads, bodies, wigs and clothes

for these stunning dolls.)

(The outside and inside - spot the cat! - of one

of her 'upcycled' storage cupboards.)

Her organisation is incredible - everything sorted into plastic 'Really Useful Boxes'.  

I hope that we can arrange for her to do some workshops to create simple dolls suitable for complete beginners.  Lots of ladies in that area will love that, and of course you are all welcome to join in and enjoy a Spanish crafty holiday.

I will take more photos of her collection of dolls next time we visit.

Ali x

WOYWW 504 - Sparkly Dragonfly Wings

I have something to show off this week, so am joining in with WOYWW - What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday.  Click HERE if you would like to join in too.

I was missing last week, as I literally had nothing on my crafty table.  A combination of studying and being busy with 'other stuff' meant that crafting had to be put to one side.

However, on the Friday I went to the latest workshop at the local craft shop.  It was mixed media this time and we made a decorative dragonfly plaque.

Here it is - with really sparkly wings (Glitter Kiss by Cosmic Shimmer on acetate).

The plaque base is a MDF photo frame, and we used Distress Oxides to colour it.  The amazing stamp is from Pink Ink Designs (available HERE at a good price).

I also treated myself to some Rock Art supplies from Amazon - these cheaper paint pens that have good reviews and also a set of dotting tools.

We are off to Spain again in a few days, so it will be later in February before I get the chance to try them out.

I don't think we are due to get any snow at all here in the far west of Pembrokeshire, but I hope that everyone else in the UK stays safe and warm.  A good excuse to do some crafting!

Ali x

WOYWW 502 - knitting

Good morning from a damp and grey Pembrokeshire.  It is just over 2 weeks until our next trip to Spain, and I am counting the days! 

If you would like to join in with the global crafty workspace hop that is WOYWW (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday), then click HERE.

I found a local knitting group last week.  We meet on Thursday afternoons at the local 'Mens Shed', which it turns out welcome women as well.  The annual membership is £5 and then you can attend any of the classes/activities.  They do a general crafts meeting on Wednesday mornings, but I haven't found the energy to think about attending that too yet.  Perhaps when we come back from Spain.  You can knit whatever you like, so I started my first project with big needles (20 mm this time).  I fell in love with the super chunky yarn in one of our local haberdashery/yarn shops, and it had a pattern for a snood with it.  It knitted up so quickly (which is brilliant for me, as I am a very slow knitter) and is finished already.  I just need to sew the edges together, pin it out etc, and then I can wear it tomorrow to the next meeting. 

In my photo I show my next project, which uses tiny needles in comparison.  I did start last night, but was struggling with the Bramble Stitch, which I had never tackled before.  It got late, so I unravelled it and will watch a YouTube video before starting again later. 

I tend to only do yarn crafts in the winter, but will try to continue throughout the year this time with the encouragement of a weekly 'Knit n Natter'.