Happy Chinese New Year and check me out!

Happy Chinese New Year, the year of the dragon.  To celebrate there was some festivities in town, drumming, ribbon dancing, chopstick lessons (!) and Lion dancing.

The Lion dance is usually performed as a ceremony to scare away evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune.

We had a lovely sunny (but v. cold) day so they did it outside, they danced for at least 10 mins throwing sweets and water at the crowds as they danced, a fabulous display.

When I got back home my subscription copy of Craft Stamper magazine was on the door mat, and look.....

Yep, there is the blue Christmas card I made my hubby in full technicolour glory....how chuffed am I?  I did a chuff dance around the kitchen!  The piece was inspired by Kate Cranes piece (the orange picture in the corner) and used a stampotique stamp I bought from the artful splodger when I was at the NEC, such a great stamp.

Anyway, I'm off to stare at the magazine page for a bit longer!!!
Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

WOYWW

Right, I blame each and every one of you....you know who you are.....yep....you are guilty as charged!!!!


Last week during WOYWW as I went around various blogs, nosing at desks (and some floors!) there was a disturbing theme emerging.  Now, I don't tend to follow trends and don't even think of myself as easily led......but you lot have infected me!!!!!

What am I on about.......tidying!!!! that's what!!!!!


Blog after blog people were showing their desks.....and almost all of them seemed to have been sorting out their craft space...now, to begin with I thought 'aww, how sweet', then it started to grate.......'more tidy desks......' until finally I couldn't take the pressure any more!!!!!

I have started sorting through stash and clearing out!  
Now, I would like to put a photo of my cleared and sorted space, but as I don't own a time machine (yet) I cant.....that will take a few days to tidy.

The back left of my desk is my new (to me) £5 unit i bought at the flea market and is holding my ink pads, dye sprays and stains.  Everything else is dumped awaiting inspiration!

and behind isn't any better either!  Now, the room is so small, you cant actually fit a single mattress in there (presume it would be a nursery in a home with kids and no crafting freak) but i am so lucky to have a room dedicated to craft and my piece of heaven!

So, if you fancy a pop around desks all over the globe, check out Julia's blog here .

Happy crafting

Li'l pidge x

Cider, folklore and a UIU

Wassail, wassail all over this town, 
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree
With the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.


This weekend saw us taking part in an annual tradition down here in the West country,  the Wassail.  I have been to wassails in various parts but this was the first one in Wales (Chepstow) and each are different-this one was fabulous, so many people turned up with a kind family opening their house to us strangers with homemade cider and food.  

Its an ancient tradition of blessing the apple orchards and making as much noise as possible to scare away evil spirits and encourage a good years harvest.  Mummers dance and musicians play....a great day.

All the homemade costumes, such crafting effort and so well executed-fabulous.

All the horse skulls danced in the night as we all marched over the bridge back into Wales...and a few more ciders!!!

I did manage to get some crafting done...this is another Use it Up from my scrap box (seriously, its like the tardis....I haven't even come close to the bottom!).

The saying is stamped on cloth coloured with distress stains, the background is stamped with a dylusion stamp and then I went around the edges of the stamp with black and white inks, added raffia, a leaf and a bee that broke off a hair band I made a couple of years ago.

Such a cute bee, I must admit I do like insects, there is just something about them (so long as they are not HUGH spiders in the bath....that's just effort to remove them!).

Anyway, off to have a mooch around blogland.

Happy crafting

Li'l pidge

WOYWW

It's Wednesday again!  I swear the weeks go by quicker as I get older!  Anyhoo, on my workdesk this week is my journal page for January and at the back of my desk are a couple of tags that I made at Coven on Monday evening (a weekly get together with friends for crafting)

I have been playing with my resin again, this time I used a chocolate mould from poundland to create a domed circle pendant which I embedded a New Zealand coin and attached a metal bail on the back to hang it from.

I was pleased with the result, the only issue I have is that I tend to be an impatient crafter so having to do one layer of resin, let it dry for 24 hrs, add the coin and another layer of resin before leaving for another 24 hrs is not something that comes naturally, but I am pleased with the results.


I would also like to say a big Hello to my new follower Sandra.

So, if you fancy a legal snoop around desks from around the globe, feel free to join us by popping over to Julia's blog here

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge

A sunday quickie

Hello, only a quick post as Shelock is due to start soon!!!  Today I went to the Shepton Mallet Giant Flea Market and was VERY restrained!  (mainly because my version of a bargain is very different from the stall holders view of a bargain!!).  I did manage to get myself a cute cabinet to put in the craft room (I'll post a picture soon as its TOO dark now) for £5, 2 drawers, glass fronted shelves and a wee shelf-perfect for mica and sprays-and that was it!!!!  January is a lean month...hence the UIU (use it up) pledge.

Talking of 'the pledge', this card is actually made from wrapping paper that my hubby bought!  It was covered it LOTS of mini pictures which I cut up, mounted and stuck a random selection on the card.

I have also entered this fabric postcard in the December Cloth Paper Scissors challenge.  You had to make a postcard where there was at least 50% fabric and because I backed it with stiff pelmet vileen and calico I could actually write on it, just like a postcard.  You can check it out  here

Anyhoo-sherlock beckons....

Happy Crafting
Li'l pidge 

Use it Up and a crafty top tip!

So, one of the benefits when I work from home is seeing sights like these-goldfinches on my feeder on the garden, a lovely distraction from all my paperwork.

In an effort to keep to my Use it Up pledge I decided to make a card from only my ever expanding scrap box on my desk-now this isn't that difficult as it does contain a bit of everything!!

The Tim Holtz papers were already cut to size (hurrah), the fabric already stamped and all I needed to do was grunge it up a bit-perfect!  How did I not notice these went together and were just sat there (it MAY have had something to do with the fact I couldn't see them for the ton of stash dumped on top!!)?

This tag was also made with left over stash (but made at Coven night), the tag coloured with distress stains (I am so frigging loving this product).  Tracy brought in some mushrooms-so in an effort to get more with less I decided to cut it in half!  Is there anything that Tim Holtz scissors won't cut through??  I have even cut through one of his glazed dolls before with them!!

That's another couple of makes from old stash (the gorguss die cut above I have had for over a year!!).

Top Tip Alert!!!

If you are looking for cheap supplies and are in the UK, then I have a tip for you....poundland!!  Yep, forget the craft dept and head for the hardware section.  For £1 you get 3, yes 3 rolls of very sticky double sided tape (yards and yards of the stuff for only a quid-bargain!!).

If I come across any other bargains I'll let you know!

Happy Crafting
Li'l Pidge x

WOYWW

So, what's on my workdesk....nada....(well a ton of scraps but no projects).  In an effort to be more crafty I have actually finished off my UFO's!!  So, now I can actually start the new scrap book I wanted to do and make things for my UIU challenge (and newest member Ladyof LostTimes whose fabulous idea it was-welcome!) and play with my art journal.

If you haven't a scooby what I am yabbering on about (and let face it, sometimes even I wonder!!) then pop over to the lovely Julia's Whats on your workdesk Wednesday blog (there is a link over on the right) for our weekly legal snoop around desks all over the world (including some places that are warm and sunny..SO -jealous!!).
 

Happy Crafting
Li'l pidge

Use it Up!

The first full week at work....and boy is the week already dragging!!  Though the week has already been brightened by the first Coven meeting of 2012 (and the planning of which shows we want to attend, crafty retreats etc!)-I really miss my weekly get together for a night of crafting with the others-it was a hugh relief to see them all and put the world to rights!!

So, what's on show today?  Well, this is the card I made for my Mum's birthday (hello mum!). As ex Navy she travelled when she was younger, but she is amazing as she still travels having been to New Zealand, Peru and Romania (mainly walking and hiking up mountains!!) so I thought this Tim Holtz paper would be perfect.

 I added a triple embossed Buddhist (as we both have a fascination with eastern traditions) tag, flowers and a crystal pin-I can finally blog this as its her birthday today so it should be safe to blog now!!

As well as joining Kate Crane's 366 challenge I have also joined the UIU (Use it Up) challenge (blinkies are on the right hand bar)-you know the scene, pretty shiny crafty stash calls out to you 'help me, please save me from this imprisonment in  the shop' so in an effort to HELP the poor innocent stash you take it back to be loved and stroked in your craft room.....but alas, loving and stroking isn't enough for you!  Before long, another love comes along, prettier, more strokable stash and you begin to covet that-and your original stash becomes buried and you forget all about it!!!

Well, something like that!  So, I know I will buy stash, but in an effort to only buy things I KNOW I will use I am going to try and Use It Up!!

This is my first UIU:

The container is an old microscope slide container that I coloured with alcohol inks and stamped crows on it, some old bead trim I have had for AGES, an old button and some fabric roses I found in my button tin (didn't even know they were in there!!).  Inside is lined with old music pages and the skeleton is from Poundland (about 5 for £1) back in October with red crystals added to her eyes.  The glass jar was bought from Paperartsy at the NEC and I filled it will seeds from the kitchen (I think fenugreek)

I added a cotton reel wrapped in fancy wool as a stand and there you have it......my first UIU.

Also, a big Hello  to my new follower, Laura, from the artful splodger.  I met Laura at the NEC, she sells the most amazing stampotique and Octopode stamps (as well as many other lovely pieces).




 

366 Challenge

Wow, 2 posts in one day (don't get used to it..its like a leap year.....only happens once every 4 years!!).  So, a day crafting (yep, you guessed it, no housework or ironing) and surfing the net,which is where I came across this link and their 366 challenge-I was intrigued, I had been a big fan of Kate Crane's work for some time and when I saw this (a small piece of art/journal every day in 2012) I couldn't resist.  I had already made a January page with wee squares as I had seen some on blogs, but never knew what you put in them.....words, pictures?  Well, thanks to the flickr group I now know you can put whatever you fancy in them!!

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So, the page I made is bright and cheery....January is bleak enough as it is, so I thought I would add a splash of colour (neither yellow or orange are colours I have an infinity with, but somehow they just felt right-odd isn't it?).

If you pop over to her page be ready to be amazed by some stunning work.

Now off to carry on watching Sherlock Holmes.......loving the new series!


Happy Crafting
Li'l Pidge

Sew little time....

Morning all, just a quick post as its Sunday so a day packed full of housework, ironing, cooking and maybe some crafting (oh who am I kidding....we all know as soon as I go upstairs to get the ironing the craft room will call me and before I know it, it will be getting dark and the only way I will realise is because I need to put the light on in there!!!).

So, this is a card I made for my mum-in-law (my Mum's is this week so I will post that after she has opened it!!), she is a great seamstress (spelt?) so I glued some tiny shirt buttons to the stamped button card and wound some thread around the holder, stamping a stitched border around the edge.

So (or should that be 'sew'...sorry, a poor pun, but one I couldn't resist), I'm off to 'iron'.......

Happy Ironing!!
Li'l Pidge
 

1st WOYWW of 2012

The first WOYWW of 2012, I hope you all had a wonderful time, if you had time off, I hope you had the opportunity to spend some of it crafting.  

So, on my desk is proof that I DID NOT make a new years resolution to keep my craft room tidy (why make one you know you will break on day 1).

 

 I can't show what I am making as its a card for my Mum's birthday but yes, it does involve a glue gun (I seem to use this an awful lot these days, not sure if its an addiction of whether embellishments are just getting too heavy!!).

Anyhoo-I hope you all have a crafty 2012 and please pop over to Julia's blog (link on the right) for a nose around desks and crafty spaces (and sometimes floors!) from all over the globe.

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

So, who feels like this today?

Happy New Year to one and all, 2011 was a mixed year, lots of crafting and some great Coven trips, some wonderful weddings and the birth of my new nephew.  It was also tinged with some sadness, pain and working TOO many hours....so bring on 2012.....I am ready and waiting!

Now, down to business.  This is a card I made for my cousins 21st which was new years eve, I made it with my new octopode stamp I bought from the Artful Splodger when I was at the NEC a few months back (such a nice bunch at the stall....I went back 3 times...mainly to chat, though I did buy a 'few' bits and pieces).

 I coloured the hare in with pro markers, adding a 21 to his hat...

 I added a blood shot eye and a little glossy accents on the beer froth in his glass.......how many of you are feeling like this today?!

This is the Christmas card I made my hubby this year.  I stamped it with a stampotique design onto a vintage book page, adding a grunge party hat, some distress stains smeared around the edges and some sequin waste dabbed with picket fence stain and used this to stamp onto the card, adding a few circles made from a bottle cap dipped in distress stains also
 

 Time off work has allowed me to spend some time crafting (woo-hoo!!) so I played with my new resin kit I got for Christmas. This is totally new to me, so I thought I would have a play and see what I could do.

I started by measuring the resin and hardener (windows open as its hazardous AND with a face mask on....I thought I looked like a doctor or dentist, hubby suggested mad murderer!!)

 I wasn't sure what to use as measuring cups, they need to be small and disposable.....then I found in poundland 40 plastic shot glasses ready for the party season...perfect!
 

 I then set out my moulds (the blue one came with the kit...the black ones were chocolate moulds from poundland) and bits and bobs.

Once poured then the waiting game begins.  Now, I CAN be patient....honest....but waiting overnight for each layer to set is something I will need to work on (or find a work around!!)

 These are my first 2, the one on the left is embedded with angelina fibres and different glitters the one on the right, just glitter.

Then I decided to embed some watch parts in the resin and backed it with a page from a dictionary (the word was 'time' I thought it was appropriate).

 So for a first proper attempt I am really quite pleased, only a few air bubbles (micro ones around the diddy cog)....now I just need an excuse to wear it.
 

I hope that 2012 is great to you all and that after the 'plink, plink, fizz....' of today that you all have a great new year.

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x