WOYWW

Finally I have a chance to do a WOYWW after a couple of hectic weeks...hello dear friends!

So, on my desk this week, very uninspiring, its my netbook (but look the rest of the desk is still remarkably tidy!!)!  After the best part of 3 weeks of hectic activity at work and socially (yep, I actually have a social life outside of craft!!...well I must admit it involves drink, punk gigs and comedy nights...oh and a school reunion.....of which I will remain silent!) I have finally gotten round to starting to load up my photos and finally started to print some off!!

I know!  Does anyone actually print photos anymore?  I suppose scrapbooking is the main if not only reason I print off my photos.

So I have finally printed off my photos of the gorilla trail that happened in Bristol last summer (lots of life size gorilla's hand decorated and hidden around the city) and I intend to do a scrap book of it (mind you it took the best part of 6 months to actually print them so I wonder how long the scrapbook will take?!?!

Anyhoo, if you fancy a legal snoop around desks all over the world (that STILL amazes me, after all this time!) pop over to Julia's blog here 

Happy crafting

Li'l pidge x

An overdue catch up

 I finally have some time to blog, after work (long hours not allowing me to craft....how dare they!!), trip to London (which was so fabulous) and a School Reunion (where none of us behaved like the 40 somethings we are!) I have rather neglected the blog.


So, on the crafting front, I was asked to make invites for my nephew Ethan's christening (20 of them).  I was SO chuffed to be asked, though I must admit matting an layering isn't my strong point (surely the sign of madness is being ABLE to cut a straight line on a guillotine!!) so they took me a couple of days to make, but I was really pleased with them (and hopefully the parents will too).

Now, those of you who craft know its addictive.  The idea of going away for a few days, no cleaning, no cooking, no ironing is SO attractive, but no crafting!!!  Seriously?  Are you frigging kidding me?  So, in readiness for my trip to London I sprayed some pages of my small derwent journal and did a bit of background stamping and then packed up a small zip lock bag of goodies (watercolour pencils, water brush, a few stamps and an ink pad, some sequin waste, scissors and ready stamped images and words on scrap card etc) so I could colour, cut, glue and craft to my hearts content!!  

I did this on the train up to london...some odd looks but no one plucked up the courage to ask what the hell I was doing?!

I will post a few more of the pages over the next week or so (you can't have too much of a good thing!!  lol!)

So, as a bit of self induldgence I thought I would post some of the photos I took whilst in London.


We went to the Bank of London musuem, a great trip, free and you can lift a real gold bullion bar!  Outside was this....I couldnt resist taking a photo!

We visited the British Museum (again a great free museum, apart from the Greyson Perry craftsman exhibition which was FANTASTIC!).  There are so many rooms to look round at the British Museum even on our 2nd visit we had only seen around a third of the exhibits!

This was a fabulous mask made from turquoise

and these figures were handing from the ceiling in one of the halls!

If you are ever down in London I would recommend a visit to both the museums, free and v. interesting!

Anyway, hubby is out so crafting awaits!
Happy crafting

Li'l pidge x

A couple of quick thankyou's

This is a real quick blog.  I have not been around for a week or so, not even on WOYWW, as my hubby took me away to London, yep the big smoke, for a few days for my birthday last week.

We had a blast, museums, vintage fairs and a few pubs!  Photo's will follow, but I'd like to say a belated thank you to Karen who nominated me for a blog award, many thanks Karen, but with so little time to spare I havent had time to display or link to other blogs (who knew how much time all this blogging would take!!).  Also thanks to Maritrez for my birthday card and gift that came in the post, thanks  ever so much.  Isn't it wonderful having post that isn't a bill!

Any way, I have been making, and will post some photo's soonest.
Li'l Pidge x

Embellishments for pennies

So, in an attempt to keep using up my stash (rather than saving it and stroking it) I thought I should use some of my 2 part moulding compound (especially since I have had it for well over a year and it DOES have a shelf life!!  In fact, I find that I keep the nice stash and some of it goes off-take my crackle paint, that dried up until it was a solid mass, same with my silver clay!!! These are not cheap items, so now I intend to keep Using It Up, it you haven't taken the pledge yet, pop over to the UIU blog and check out the projects we are all making in an attempt to use stuff up).

So I decided to make a mould out of 3 metal embellishments I have been saving (too nice to use....hmmm, I'm seeing a theme here!).

 Once the moulds had set I went about looking for what I could use to cast them from.  I tried UTEE but with no melt pot I tried melting it in a tin foil dish heated from a heat gun, that didn't work so I decided to use hot glue (well I use it for everything else, so why not!!).

I melted the glue into the mould and with my asbestos fingers I smoothed it out to try and get rid of any air bubbles and let it cool and set.  

When cool, I painted them with black acrylic and then used black, copper and gold waxes to add highlights and a sort of metallic finish.

Then to seal it all I added a thin layer of matt studio-medium gel to make sure the wax doesn't wear off.

And in less than an hour and for only a few pennies I have some lovely embellishments to play with!

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge

A miracle?

 The reason for the title?  Well, yesterday I decided to book a day off work and took myself off to Exeter to the Craft Fair.  Since I signed up to the Use it Up challenge I haven't bought anything, so I made a list and the miracle was I actually stuck to it...yep, this is all I bought!

A couple of journals as I only have 1 and its only just got enough pages for Kate Cranes 366 challenge.  The brown one I plan to use as a mop up and experiment book and the black one for 'projects'.  I bought a couple of stampotique stamps and another Octopode one, all from the lovely Laura at the Artful Splodger, and on another stall some fab steampunk metal embellishments and finally another distress stain as I nearly finished mine.....see, how good was I?

And just in case you haven't heard, an inch of snow in the UK so its ground to a halt (I know some of you will laugh when you see this, especially those in Canada when I see your photos of snow over the tops of your cars!!)-this was the ice on my car this morning at -7...so pretty.

Only a quick post as I am watching the Rugby as I type.....and its getting close and I keep getting distracted!!!  Oh, and a big HELLO to my new follower LouP.

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x

WOYWW and 366 challenge

Ready for the mantra?......Wednesday?  Already?  Where has the week gone?!!!

Well, after last weeks spell of sickness (me deciding to clean the craft room!!) it is now clean and tidy, yep....and after each session I put everything (apart from the scraps box which is reducing as I make cards for the Use it Up challenge) away unless it needs to be left out to allow something to dry.

I must admit, it does feel better.  As a left hander, having space for my left hand to actually move is fantastic!! 

So this week at the back of my desk is my journal for February's 366 Challenge (pop over to Kate Cranes blog here to read all about the challenge) and I am making a couple of valentine cards with red air drying clay hearts and keys (the idea being you stole the key to my heart.....ahhhhh!)

This is my finished journal page for January.  It's my first one and I must admit I have had an absolute blast doing it, and it uses up yet more scraps (hurrah!!)

This is my empty page ready for February...I wonder what the month will bring?! (well I know I will be another year older soon, but apart from that the month still holds wonder and anticipation (anticipation of cake!!).

So, if you would like to join us for a legal snoop around desks all over the world, please join us at the lovely Julia's blog here (as featured in this months Blog of the month in Craft Stamper magazine, well done Julia, well deserved as we all love doing this every week!!).

Happy Crafting

Li'l Pidge x