Whats on your workdesk WEDNESDAY 130

And I woke up thinking it was FRIDAY cos I had half my Thursday ladies in last nights evening class!  Talk about confused!

Here is my home desk above and my working studio below...both are organised chaos!

My studio desk 

Works of art in progress...

There is another room behind me, but I forgot to take a picture of it...

At home I am working on Christmas cards and at the studio this is the aftermath of last night and my desk in a permanent state of disarray!

So last week you got to see my chaos at home, now you get to see my creative work chaos.  If you go here, you will see my home studio tidy after 12 hours of cleaning, re-packing and organizing. Better or worse?  You be the Judge...

Now I am off to Julia's desk, WOYWW host, better late than never, today has been one of those days because of the build up to Christmas I think...

Christmas Wreath

Back in September I came across this post by the Crafty Elf where she gives a breakdown of how to make a stunning card using the Martha Stuart Punch to create a beautiful wreath on a card.  Here in South Africa, we don't get that particular brand of punches...believe me, I have looked and asked everywhere...

Today the shipment of Sizzix stuff hit the shelves at my local scrapbooking shop and I had my birthday money burning a hole in my pocket!  I bought the tattered pine cone die, holly branch die as well as the festive greenery and the Autumn gatherings strips. Oh and the movers and shapers mini reindeer and 25 set!

Thankfully my son was invited to a play date this afternoon after school, so I could have a play date with my desk and new dies!  I have had such a blast all afetnoon and evening!

Here is the card I have made using the conifer branch from the tattered pine cone and the smaller ones are from  festive greenery together with the pine cone off the same strip.  I discovered that the pinecone stamp from his Holday Wishes stamp set, fits the die rather well!  For the middle I used a scalopped circle from my eCraft cutter and the 25 from the movers and shapers set.

It was quite simple to put together and I have had such fun.  I will show you more tomorrow with the rest of the stuff I have been cutting and playing with.

A Joyful Christmas

I have had a marvelous day crafting non stop from 10:30am till now, nearly 12 hours later!  I should be exhausted, but I am feeling invigorated from all the creative juices that are just right at my finger tips!  Lovely when Mr Mojo comes to town on a day like today!  Granted, I have not been at my desk the whole time, but give or take a few minutes to go to the kitchen to make coffee and to see to lunch, I have been in my nice newly (as in yesterday - see post below) cleaned and organised craft room.

Here is what I created in just an hour.  I have an eCraft Cutter on which I cut the scallopped squares.  I first designed them in Corel Draw X4 and them imported them into its program to be able to cut them.  Basically it cuts any line drawing that is on my computer screen.  I had created this file before, so just sent it to cut and then embossed the little things with Tim's music embossing folder by Sizzix and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and lightly covered the tops of the embossed areas.

I then stamped the "A Joyful Christmas" with Jet Black Archival Ink on red card stock.  I used the Walnut stain Distress Ink round its edges and glued the music square onto the top 2/3 of the card.

I poked 2 holes right through the card, one above the other and tied the music note on with a gold and red shiny thread.

All that is left to be done, is glue them onto the white card blanks that I bought from a local stationer called Merry Pack here in Cape Town.

Working like a factory line made it easier and they took exactly an hour to make from start to finish with no breaks for coffee...

Have a wonderful week.

Bella

Before & After - You be the Judge!

Yes this is actually the AFTER shot!

I have been on a clean up mission for the past 2 weeks since I fessed up and showed you all the various piles of stuff, on, under and next to my desk for 'Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday'... hosted by Julia Dunnit over at Stamping Ground.

This post could very well be called 24 hours later...I started this time yesterday (5pm) and worked until 11:30pm and got going again in here at 8:30am this morning!  I have been at it non stop for all this time and it feels (when I look around) like there is not much to show for it, but I will let you be the judge! (Perhaps I should show you a photo of the council dustbin - it might give you an idea as to the volume that has left the room!)

I went through all the finished stuff that was on top of my cubby holes and redistributed it round the house to be more visible.  Brenda had commented this past week that if I put any more stuff on there I would not be able to see out the window, but it is not a view I am to partial to as it is the car port and garage!  Julia was also worried about it all blocking out the light, but I have stunning down lighters above my desk so I don't actually need the window, and I don't know about you, but I am usually crafting in the dead of night so don't need the window light...

I have taken all the stuff off the shelves above my computer, gone through the boxes and repacked everything.

Before

After

I took everything out from under my desk and put the stuff in the blue carry bag into the blue wheely tote as this is all my demo stuff.  Chucked out the telephone directory's from last year which were on my sewing machine and put the white box of non fire ceramic stuff in my car to go back to my art studio from where it came originally.  The frames to be decorated and altered are still in the big box, only now I tipped the side up and you cant see them!  The white plastic bag of stuff was integrated into my system on Monday already.  The pink spotty tote is new as I was given a gift voucher for my birthday and this is what I got with it as well as some embossing folders, so in theory that space should actually be open as the stuff from there is gone...reality is another thing all together!

Before

After

I emptied the large deep cupboard next to the  outside door under my desk and put the red box of "wedding" photos, memorabilia items and paper in that cupboard. As well as the large roll of red wrapping paper.

The large deep filing drawer on the right of that has been emptied and has stayed that way as I had hoped to store some of my paper in there, but it is just 1cm too short (that spoiled that plan!).

The pile on top of my shelves to the left of my desk (that only I could reach as I am 6ft tall) has all been taken away as it was really storage for stuff I never used (like the disconnected sound system)  apart from the stamp collection in the clear plastic trays which has remained as I use those and some other stuff off the other piles has joined it...

 Before

AFter

The view to the left of my desk is now one of boxes on my old bedside tables.  It was an avalanche or 3 waiting to happen, so that has been containerized.

So What Do You Think?

Worth all that time?  I think so as I can now put my inky paw on anything I please and it does have a nicer feel to it, but boy, it has taken me ages to do all of this. BBC makeover programs make it look so easy and this did not even include re-arraigning or painting!

Thanks for looking!

Bella

Whats on Your Workdesk Wednesday 129

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who is beginning to feel like there is a black hole sucking our weeks away out there somewhere.  Reading a few of the other WOYWW posts over at Julia's desk last week, there were quite a few bleats about missing weeks and "how did we get to WEDNESDAY again" kind of comments...

Here is my desk, close up and an over view.

The close up is about sticking the packaging of the Tim Holtz tag die onto the die itself.  I am a teacher and use these dies during class, so it is much easier for my students to see the image on the die and not to have to make the shape out on the rubber side.  Yes, before you ask, that is a HUGE roll of double sided tape!  It is the most useful stuff I have ever purchased!  I have a post further down my blog here with photos as to how I do the whole process so I wont repeat it again.  The pile of white card stock is pre-counted and cut pieces waiting to be made into tags for the class I am running on 17 December of Tim's 12 tags of Christmas...96 tags to go...

Then there is the overview of my desk and I hope those of you who were here last week will notice that a few of the bags of stuff under my desk have gone, namely the white one full of stash that I got from a friend.  I have integrated it into my system and now it will all be used.  A few of the piles on top have also gone as these have been filed and sorted into their appropriate boxes.

Happy WOYWW to you and now I am off to see what you have to show!

Bella

Tim Holtz Technique Canvas at the Scrapbook Factory Shop

What a wonderful morning we had!  Summer has arrived with a bang here in Cape Town today so I was very pleased to be teaching all these lovely ladies in an air conditioned venue!

I allocated 4 hours to do the canvas in, most people were finished in  just over 3 hours which allowed an hour to shop, which is always a good thing!  Retail therapy is so good for the soul!  Especially when it is inks and sprays and stamps and stains!

For those of you who were there and need instructions, here we are.  For those of you who were not there, but still would like the instructions, here they are too!

Canvas:
Paint the top of the canvas in Espresso using a paint brush. Just unscrew the top off the paint either decant some, or dip your brush into the bottle.  I suggest a brush for canvas as the “tooth” of the  canvas destroys the foam applicator.  Paint the sides of the canvas with Pitch Black also using a paint brush.  Let this dry.  Lay your mask over the canvas and spray with Perfect pearl Mist in Perfect Pearl

Bird and Flourish:
Spray your square with water. Rub the square with Distress Stain.  Let this dry for a while.  Stamp your bird onto the large square of cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  Let this dry for a few minutes.  Rub over the whole bird with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and cover with clear embossing powder. Tip the excess off and heat. When it has cooled, cut out the bird.  Stick the small mask to your square and over spray with
Lettuce Color Wash. Let this dry for a while and glue on the bird.  Distress the paper edges of the square with the blade edge of your scissors and ink with Walnut Stain Distress ink using the applicator tool.

Flower:

Drag the Pearl/snowcap paint dabber randomly across the square in one direction only.  Let this dry.  Rub the whole square with faded jeans Distress stain and the Ink the edge with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Colour your flower on both sides with Broken China Distress Stain and let this dry a little till it is damp.

Layer up your flower. Prick through the centre and join it together with your brad, scruntch it up by gathering all the pettals together from below and crunching them into the middle of your flower and press down onto a table. Now open it up and glue to the square.

Zoom:

Stamp the image onto the cardstock with an embossing ink pad.  Cover with embossing powder, pour off the excess and heat from below.  Using the Distress ink applicators, rub over the square with spiced marmalade then a little barn door and finally some walnut stain on the edges.  Glue your word onto the square.

Heart:
Rub the craft sheet with a little Wild Honey and Fired Brick directly from the ink pad. NOW spray the craft sheet with a little water and lay your square into the ink.  While this is drying...trace and cut out your heart.  Cover it in tissue tape.  Put the metal heart on the jump ring, then onto the safety pin and pin onto the paper heart.  Use Walnut Stain distress ink with applicator tool on the edges of the dry square and
then glue your heart onto the square.

I cut 2 cm wide strips of card stock to lay on the edge of my canvas so that I can glue all 4 of my squares down the same distance from the edge.

Stick them down and you are done!

Whats on (and under) my Workdesk Wednesday 128!

Not much going on ON my desk, lots of piles of stuff and stash and kits and bargains under and next to and around my workspace...Time to FESS UP!  I have seen such elegant scrap rooms on line and would dearly love the cupboard space to hide all my stuff in, but I fear that is a pipe dream.  For the mean time, this works for me!

This week I have been helping a lady create an altered book for her sisters 40th, she will be back tomorrow so the decks are pretty clear from yesterdays session and in anticipation of the fact that my friend is coming to work on her wedding album again tonight...lets see how many double spreads we can knock out in a few hours.

As for the "FALL OUT" I had on my desk last week, (it is now in a white plastic bag under my desk on the left, awaiting distribution into my system) I have decided on a swap out with my friend as she is one of my official art students at my studio where I teach acrylics daily.  She is now the happy recipient of 3 free classes and so we are quits!  I liked Hels idea of making her some cards too, so when I get a gap (ja right, in which lifetime?) I will make her a few!

I have opted for a panoramic view of my workroom, taken in sections so you can see all the chaos...yes I am 6ft tall so I can reach that stuff on top of everything...

In the large brown box at my feet is my stash of cheap picture frames and some old chalk boards I am slowly renovating and decorating.

A view of my computer station where I do my blogging...

Below is my Birthday stash from my Hubby.  My friends have given me cash, so I must still go peruse the local Scrapbook shop shelves to see what I can get from them.  AAAH the anticipation....I have spent and re-spent the money in my head many times, lets see what I come home with...

 

Now I am off to Julia's place to link to the Host page for Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday 128 and go see what the rest of you have been up to this past week.

Bella

Grungy Monday27 and SSS&S Women

I am a bit short of time this week and wanted to participate in the Grungy Monday and Simon Says Stamp challenges, so I have combined them.

I followed the instructions (sort of) on Tim's blog from the link on Linda's page to do the base of the tag, then I stamped with Cobalt Archival Ink on top and used pearl paint dabber round the edge.

Simon says stamp and show some Women only.  Now this had me going through all my stamps and I have quite a few...to find an image of a woman!  This little cameo is the only thing I could lay my inky paws on and I am glad I did a rummage through my stamps, cos I don't know about you, but I had forgotten about a few of them and now have them in the fore front of my mind for future projects.

FALL OUT! is Whats on your Workdesk Wednesday 127

Fall out!  Yes you are looking at the stuff I have been given from a friend who has done a clean out and is done with scrapping...she did two albums for her kids while she lived in the UK and now she is back in SA and does not have the space for the stuff, she has handed them over to me.  I have to put a price to the this pile and make her an offer....HELP please!  I have no idea what to suggest short of going on line to see what this all costs, but that is time consuming, and I don't have the time to do what I should be doing, let alone this!

The other thing that is now under my desk is the finished canvas with the descriptions of the various Ranger Products I use during my demos.  I think this will help a lot for people who are new to these products and can't remember all the details after 2 hours of my yacking on in the front of the room....

I am now off to peruse other desks at Julia's place where she has now moved her desk project to the floor...come and join in the fun of seeing all sorts of creative desks - messy, neat, busy, arty, sewing, knitting, you name it, you will find it over at Julia's Stamping Ground!

Make n Take morning

What a wonderful bunch of ladies came to my make n take today.  I had 17 people in the end which was a bit of a relief as 25 to 30 as they were predicting would have been manic in such a little store!

I first demonstrated each technique at each station and then divided the ladies up into groups to go and try it out for themselves.  There were 5 stations in total with about 8 basic techniques.  I had a printed sheet of instructions at each station, in case anyone got confused or forgot what they were supposed to do...

None of these ladies had ever been to one of Tim's conventions here in SA, but seemed to fall in love with his stuff.

I supplied the products to do the basics which could be used on a card or scrapbook page later.

We made a Christmas tag, one flower, an embossed foil square with alcohol inks and an embossed strip with distress ink and clear embossing powder and finally a square with color wash and Archival ink.

Here is what I have done with the pieces to make cards.

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Matilda Smith who won the R100 voucher in the lucky draw of people who purchased products this morning after the Make n Take.

Whats on your workdesk Wednesday 126?

Wasn't I just writing to you about my desk yesterday?  Well here I am again.  A lot has happened on this desk in a week I can assure you!  Doesn't look like it right now, but I can show you the fruits of my labor so to speak...

My friend came to visit again on Friday and we managed to put 3 double spreads together for her wedding album, so maybe it won't take us a lifetime to do after all.  Unfortunately I did not take any pics of the pages we did before she whisked them off home to show her hubby who was returning from a long business trip this past week-end.

Here is the box of stuff all ready for the Make n Take I am running this coming Friday at my local Scrapbook shop.  I am teaching about 25-30 people from 10am - 12pm all about Tim and Ranger's products and they are going to get a hands on chance to create with paint dabbers, distress inks, distress stains, color washes and alcohol inks.  I am also going to be using Archival inks, Adirondack inks and some distress powders as well as some clear embossing powders.  So quite a lot to get through in one 2 hour session...

Also on the Vagabond is the tag die and next to it are the packets of 12 cut tags and the piles on top of card stock ready to go through to make a total of 20 packs for the 12 Tags of Christmas I am teaching in JHB on the 17 December.

So as you can see lots of prepping and not much creating going on here.  I hope to get this all done and dusted then I can go back to doing something for my scrapbooks!

It was my sons 7th Birthday on Monday so the week-end was dedicated to his party and family time.  He asked for cash from his friends so he could go shopping for what he really wanted which was a Mario Galaxy game for the Wii and an electric train track.  So far we have the Mario game...  Not much crafting was done by me... Something to be remedied this week-end I hope!

Now it is time to do the great desk tango and hop all over the world starting at Julia's desk where she kindly hosts us all each and every week...except I see that Mrs Dunnit must have overslept, cos her desk is not up for viewing yet!