WOYWW

Hello peeps, and welcome to my desk which is once again outside (if only I could do this in the office too!!)

 

One my desk this week is some journaling I have been finishing off.

The figure (bottom right) was sprayed at the WOYWW crop (as a way of using up some left over spray) which I tore around and added to my page-finally a piece has been used from my scrap box!

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week spell out 'Convict Falls For Swinging Suspect'....now that really does sound like a potential headline!

At the back of my desk is my decorated apron...all rolled up, which is why I now have white gesso splatters on my black work trousers (note to self, if I craft before or after work I and I DON'T get changed the least I can do is put the apron on that I went to the trouble of carrying all the way out to the garden)!!

So, be brave, some are messy, some are clean, but all are creative.....and join us over at What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday hosted by the lovely Julia and enjoy the legal snoop at desks across the globe.

Happy crafting

kyla

 

Crikey Gromit its Mail Art

 Hello peeps, how have you all been keeping?  It's blooming gorgeous here in the UK...fingers crossed it lasts through July, August and September (I don't ask for much do I!).

I don't know about you, but staying indoors in this weather is too difficult...the draw of the sun means I keep moving my craft space outside.  This does mean the paper crafting is limited (after a breeze had me skipping across the garden trying to retrieve my papers!) so I tend to stick to painting (much more outdoor friendly and easier to clean up!

This is my latest mail art which I have sent to my Aunt in NZ as her birthday card.

Both the stamps are free ones from Craft Stamper and I watercoloured the background (the colour didn't come out too well in the photo) and created a mask so I could over stamp the flowers-nice and cheerful I thought.

The sunny weather also coincides with the Gromit Unleashed trail in Bristol.  80 Gromits around the city, so today we set off to see if we could find some.

We managed to find about 20 so far (all on foot and public transport), they are here all summer so hopefully I will get plenty of opportunity to find a few more.

Right, I am typing this in the garden so I think a chilled cider and the Sunday papers are now calling my name.  

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Sun, Tennis and WOYWW...could it get any better?

Happy WOYWW.

I hope if you are in the UK you are enjoying this fabulous weather...its been 3 years since a nice summer so it's well overdue and fingers crossed it lasts several weeks yet!

I will keep this short and sweet.

My desk is my garden today!  On it is some batik (my first try) I made at my friends house on Sunday (sat in her garden, watching Murray win the tennis on her laptop whilst crafting outside...what could be better?).

 

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week....'Tycoon Bites Heiress Again'!  I will definitely be looking out in the papers this week to see if this one comes true!!

So, if you fancy a legal snoop at desks across the globe all you need to do is pop over to the lovely Julia's blog (link on the right hand bar) and click away!

Happy crafting

Kyla

I finally made a card!

If you are in the UK, I do hope you are enjoying the FABULOUS weather we are having at the moment (it makes such a change from the last 3 awful summers we had, I wonder if this means the farmers can finally breath a sigh of relief?).

I thought I would blog a card I made recently.  I don't tend to make many cards these days but this one was made out of scraps from my scrap box.

When I am able to make a card like this mainly from scraps then I know my scrap box has become TOO big and I need to make a few to help whittle it down a bit!

I am going to keep this short and sweet (for a change).

Happy crafting

kyla

 

WOYWW

 This is a very quick post.  I have been away for a couple of weeks and now the full mess of my desk is on show!!!

The desk literally has my travel art kit dumped on it as I have just returned from a holiday in Malta (see previous post if you'd like to see the photos).

As you can see I am using Shaz Silverwolf's suggestions for using a poundland paint pad as a stamp cleaner....it works a treat!

 

 My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are: 'Naked Dead Wife Tricks Crazy Angel'...well I never did say they all make sense!

Finally this wonderful ATC is from jozart 

I love the idea of stamping and zentangling (is that even a word!!) over the top, so effective.

Happy WOYWW

Kyla

 

Who'd have thought there would be so many skulls in Malta!

 I am back from my trip to Malta, the post is a little photo heavy so grab a coffee and pull up a chair! 

My parents met and lived in Malta about 45 years ago so after the death of my father I accompanied my mum on a return visit.

Now, I have never been before.  All I knew was that it was going to be hot and with very little greenery....2 things that as a nature lover don't rub particularly well with me.

How wrong could I be!  Yes it was hot, and yes there was very little foliage...however, the architecture was simply stunning and I would return for this alone. 

The capital city is Valletta.  They are doing a serious amount of building work (including the city gates...which one local said to us that for the gates looked like garage doors so it was good they were making them more intricate!).

The new buildings appear to be merging well into the old.  The guide books say that the buildings are old and tatty, however I like to think of them as timeworn and interesting.

 Many of the streets are narrow and steep with lots of steps and cobbles.

 There were plenty of opportunities for photos of texture.

 Though I did get a few odd looks when taking them!

This fellow decided to join us for lunch one day.

 

 Malta is a very Catholic country and there are many beautiful churches, however, St John's co Cathedral in Valletta is worth a visit.  The floor is made up of 400 marble tomb stones from the Knights of St. John and for a holy place there are a LOT of skulls and cross bones!

 The entrance stone is amazing and has the grim reaper on it with the saying "Trample on me today and I will trample on you tomorrow"....needless to say I walked around!

Whilst others took photos of the beautiful oil artworks etc......I turned my attention to the floor and small details on the larger pieces.

 Throughout the few days I was there I noticed more and more skulls 

I also have a love of insects.....and yet again I got strange looks as I hunted this beauty down and waited, and waited even longer, for the shot!!

 Whilst my Mum was showing me her old stomping grounds I was able to coincide this with a visit to the St Paul's Catacombs.  Now, considering we were there in less than perfect circumstances some may feel a trip to the catacombs may not have been the most psychologically sounds.....but it was the most amazing place and covers more than 200 square meters!

 Back above ground and in search of interesting structure we came across these MASSIVE wooden doors! I know I am short but I felt like a gnome!

For those that don't know, Kyla is short for Michaela.  I have spent my entire life spelling it and repeating it when asked my name.....but in Malta I came across others with the same name...and even a boat!

 

 These are the fishing boats that used to also act as a water taxi when mum was last here. They are so beautifully painted.

 Whilst there were so many old shops and signs I thought I would take some more photos with the idea of making some Tim Holtz inspired backing papers but with MY images! Here a just a few I took:

 

 

 

As you can see, against all the odds I fell in love with Malta.  If you love architecture and the unusual then I recommend a trip.

Right I have the downside of returning from a holiday...a mountain of washing and ironing...and lets be honest I have plenty to distract me...but it really won't do itself so I suppose I'd best show willing and at least make a start at it!

Happy crafting

Kyla