Whats on My Workdesk Wednesday 204? NOTHING!

Well fellow Wednesday desk hopper welcome to my desk in Cape Town, South Africa, there is not much to look at this week, but a clear desk and work room!  I show you this now as I know from years of experience that this too will not last! (No Julia I am not trying to show you up, I promise!)

I have been very frustrated of late by what I term DESK SHRINKAGE...If I lived in Harry Potters world, I would have assumed that someone had cast a spell to make my desk shrink every time I worked at it, together with the "Bermuda Triangle spell" where I loose just about any tool (usually my scissors) while sitting still!

I have been on the look out for an "Ikea" type of "hairdressers" trolley like a few of you have and due to the fact that we do not have Ikea here in SA they are not generally available.  However I came across this folding stand in our local store called "Biggie Best" while not looking for anything particular at all, I nearly did a happy dance on the spot.  It ticked all the right boxes (except for the wheels which my DH will pop on for me some time soon so I don't scratch the floor) including being pretty.  AND it folds like a step ladder...I told the shop assistant that once this one was full, it would never fold again, though it is a nice feature...

I have moved all my "rats nests" as my Mom calls them onto my soon to be trolley and Walla,  I have a clear desk!

On my desk today you see my recent purchase of two refill cases of Theresa Collins stamp pouches so I can make more of my own stamps!  Then there are the the two boxes I made, one for finished cards and the other for card making stash filed in themes, together with a tin of more card making stash filed in colour (still waiting for foam core to be back in stock at my local store to make the 3rd one and replace the tin) and in front of these on the mini easel is the envelope with my ATC for WOYWW 208 ready to post!

To the left of me

To the right of me

I have been a member of Google Plus for a while now and while fiddling around with the options available the other day I tried switching to Google Plus Comments...BAD move!  It would seem that as I have been a G+ member for more than a month, it has deleted my Blogger comment section now that I have gone back to plain old Blogger and there is no UNDO button to get rid of the Google Plus Commenting thing, and believe me I have tried a ton of ways to fix it, but seeing as COMMENTS is not on my dashboard to click on, I cannot fix it.  So my dear WOYWW friend, please do not feel you have to become a G+ member if you are not already to be able to comment on my desk today...rather just move on to the next person.  I am trying to make a plan and if I have to create a new blog to be able to join in WOYWW, then so be it.  Google will not win!  First they tried forcing me to pay for my photo storage, now this!  If you have any help or suggestions and can't comment please email me.  belinda@acorncrafts.co.za  I would really appreciate it.

In the mean time, I am off to our hostesses desk over at Stamping Ground to see if you have joined in so I can comment on your workspace.

Bella

Test run

Still having issues with my comment box and Google+... So this is a test run now that I am back to Blogger as plain old blogger...

Google + rant!

Hi there

I tried the Google + route and have done so for about 6 weeks or longer now, trying to get used to it and what it does and how it works.  Well in my opinion it is not great.  Peeps can't find your blog if they click on your name once you have commented on their blog and last night I changed my comment system to Google + only to get a message on my bbm (Blackberry messaging service for those of you who don't have one...) from a friend to say she can't comment cos she is not on Google +!  How useless is that?  They are trying to force you to become a Google+ member...

I have now gone back to basic Blogger and have had to reload all my details, now I see the comment section does not seem to work at all, so please bear with me as I try and make things right.  Please try and comment on this post to see if it is working...

In my Opinion, Google should stick to being a search engine and service provider  not to try and become the next Face Book or Twitter phenomenon!

Edit:
I see it still has the Google+ commenting thing on, even though I have DELETED my Google+ profile...Oh well, might have to create a whole new blog or something.  But whatever you do, don't move over to the dark side!

EDIT 2:
I see there is 1 comment, though when I click on it, it does not show up!  I am now so frustrated!  Why can't I see my own comments. If you can help then please email me belinda@acorncrafts.co.za as commenting wont work cos I can't see it!

Bella

Back to Scrapbooking

Hi there, just a quick post to show two pages I have done recently.  One of my suppliers RS&E held a workshop where we made a double page designed by Glenda Viljoen.  As usual, I changed mine dramatically and have made it so I can use it for my friend who is about to pop and her nursery theme is Monkeys and the walls are yellow!

Then the pink page is one I have just finished designing for my class I am teaching at my store this Saturday 4 May.

Thanks for the visit.

Bella

What's on My Workdesk Wednesday 203? Mac Gyvered Hat box!

Hello fellow Wednesday desk hopper and welcome to my desk (and uncluttered floor)over in Cape Town, South Africa!  There was considerable interest in the box I had on the floor last week which is my Ranger kit box!

Here it is up close and in detail!  This is it closed, just to prove it can all fit!

You can see some extra holes in the top box where I changed the angles of the arms...

I can also flip it forward to get at the stuff at the back of the box in the bottom.

I needed something to be able to transport all my kit to and from the classes I teach at the different stores around town without having to pack a million different containers...I first saw a fishing tackle box and then Tim's boxes, but they were too small for the job.  I also wanted something with a smallish "footprint" when open.  I found this hat box in a second hand store and then realized that the pizza boxes fitted perfectly inside.  This was a great solution, but it meant that I had to pack and unpack the boxes to get at what I wanted.  So I found a collapsible wine rack on a sale and took it apart to get the "arms" of my shelves (pizza boxes) which I attached with nuts and bolts after calculating the engineering required to make them fit.

The box lives on the floor where I can easily reach the top layer of inks or open it further to reach the stuff on the lower levels.

The last thing on my desk this week is the (now full) card stash organiser which I made out of foam core board...I have ordered more foam core to make another one as this one is now full to overflowing!

Thanks for the visit, and I will endeavour to link to my page this week, not back to Julia's!  Now I am off to see what I can see on your desk if you have linked up to Stamping Ground, HERE.

Bella

Whats on my Workdesk Wednesday 202? Cards

Well hello again fellow Wednesday desk hopper from a vacationing Mrs Dunnit's over at Stamping Ground!  Thanks for coming to visit my desk in Cape Town, South Africa.  We are in the midst of a typical winter storm (howling wind, pouring rain and stupid drivers)
so being inside is the order of the day.

This is my desk as I left it at midnight last night after making up some cards to fill the different categories in my box.  A friend of mine is taking it to work with her today to see if she can sell any for me.  I also had a last minute order (8pm) for a Mazeltov on a baby boy card for today and that is the one you see on top of the pile on my desk.

I am unashamedly showing you my desk and floor to the left of me

 and to the right of me

as my desk seems to have shrinkage issues while I work...Then I give you an overview of the whole chaos...  The empty white box like the card display box is going to hold all the stuff that was in last weeks tin created while in my "car office" as I have two tins like that and I want to categorise my bits and pieces which I have prepared so it is easier to find them when I make my cards.

That's it from me this week.

Thanks for the visit.

Bella

My April Tag of Tim's 12 Tags of 2013!

Here is a picture of Tim's tag and if you click on his name it will take you to his blog where you will find all the instructions on how to make one.

I have the Paints!  Now there is a great start seeing as this tag is all about the PAINT!  The rest is touch and go...I die cut the 4 from his Wordplay alphabet and painted it black, then did his technique. I used the Papillion set of stamps as I don't have any of Tim's new ones.  I used the Xcut Cogs die by Do Craft to make the mini cogs and painted a key instead of the pen nib and phrase plate thingy... oh and I don't have any of those corners either and my tissue tape is the butterfly one instead.  He always says go with the flow and enjoy the journey which is exactly what I did with my tag below!

Thanks for the visit

Bella

What's on My Workdesk 201? Habby Stuff

Hello my friend and fellow desk hopper!  Most peeps look forward to Friday, but I look forward to Wednesdays as Julia over at stamping Ground, hosts a massive desk hop and snoop!

Today I didn't have anything much on my desk of interest so I decided to show you my finds at the Habby store from last week...I loved the black lace and as you can see, I have tested it on the Dressmakers dummy already!  Then there is the lovely vintage looking cream lace that was the end of their roll and the already ruffled white lace (on the dolly dress pattern I got for a steal-no I don't plan on sewing...it is for backgrounds!) that I can picture on a scrap page or as ruffles on a bodice card...my mind does flick flacks when I go into shops like these and I really should have a chaperone!  I got some hooks and eyes and press-studs too, but I have been a good girl and packed them in their containers already!

Then there is the tin at the back of my desk where I have been storing all the things I have been stamping and cutting in my car office while waiting for kids to finish school or sport!  There are also some machine cuts of happy birthday etc, together with some die cuts all ready to go onto some cards.  Now I just need to make the time to sit and put all these pieces together into something coherent!

Lastly there is a cog stencil I designed and cut on my eCutter that is waiting to get inky in my art journal...

So thats my desk for the week, now I am off to see what you have put up for show on yours!

Thanks for the visit.

Bella

Distress Paint sampler

I have been playing with Distress Paints lately and thought I would make a sample for my store to show my customers how versatile this amazing stuff is, so I set about revamping a project I did with Keizercraft at a convention.

It was a MDF wall hanging and seeing as I had not decorated the back, I tested how the paints would work directly onto the un-primed surface.  It worked a treat.  Then I tried working on top of existing paint and that worked brilliantly too!  This stuff is just so pliable!

Once I had added the 3 colours (Victorian Velvet, Antique Linen and Fired Brick) and sprayed it with water I dried it with my heat tool as I am impatient. I experimented and found the one I left to dry by itself kind of over blended and was not as interesting as the ones I dried when I was happy with the "wicking".

 Fabric flower (fired brick and walnut stain)

 Paper flower (fired brick and walnut stain)

Chippies and metal.  I only half painted the key hole cover to show that it was metal. (fired brick and walnut stain)

So that is what I have been up to today!

Thanks for the visit.

Bella

What's on my Workdesk Wednesday 200? Card box and Gorguss!

Hello there fellow desk hopper from Julia's place at Stamping Ground.

Welcome to my desk in Cape Town, South Africa!  I give you an overview of the chaos and then a close up of my Card organiser I made for my office where I sell my cards.  I am also trying to make stock for a market in September which is right round the corner at the rate at which this year is going!

I have recently bought some Gorjuss stamps and some cute little fairy baby stamps which I am colouring for the cards.  (I cut off the wings so they look like babies not fairies...)  We were away for the Easter week-end so I took them with to stamp and colour while I relaxed and chatted with the family, but still felt productive.

Here are a few finished ones.

I cut her rope away and added real chain so she can really swing on the card.

That's all from me.  Now I am off to Julia's place to see what you have put up for viewing on your desk.

Thanks for the visit

Bella