What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #906

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW. We are back with Julia at Stamping Ground.

It was great to see all the posts about the lovely Sarah Brennan last week and the outpouring of affection and support for Sarah's family. WOYWWers really are awesome. 

Here's my desk and I'm afraid I have to start with the 'C' word - yes, as you can see  Christmas crafting has arrived. 

We also made a selection of 4 cards at my little craft class for October. Pretty good going in a couple of hours and a good start for my own Christmash stash.

I also have some good news to report. Still nameless, Baby Ashplant finally made an appearance two weeks late on Saturday 26th September. Mother and baby boy are doing well and were home the same day. Splodge's nose is only a little out of joint. I get the feeling he thinks the big brother/little brother thing has been a trifle over hyped!

And yes, it was the same day my son and his wife started to move in to their new house.

No wonder I'm grey.

A bit out of sorts today, hence the late post. As I didn't get in early and looking at my commitments for today and tomorrow I'm guessing I won't be stopping by your blogs until Thursday night. 

                                                    Have a wonderful week,

                                                    Love n hugs Cindyxx

What's on your Workdesk, Wednesday #905

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW on what is a sad day for all of us deskers. This week WOYWW has reverted back to Julia at Stamping Ground whilst we all try to come to terms with the sudden passing of Sarah Brennan who has been running things for the last 120 or so weeks.

I first met Sarah IRL at the Stoke crop which she hosted. I was also  privileged to spend time with her at the beautiful Trentham gardens  and later at her house for a brew and a tour of the craft shed where she crafted with the lovely Eva. She was happy, enthusiastic and full of plans for the future despite the recent tragedies in her life. 

She was a prolific crafter and organised her many commitments, mainly to Clarity, in a way that I can only look at with awe. It seems so unfair that she should be taken from us when she had finally retired and found the luxury of time to pursue her many interests.

I think we are all shocked and reeling from her passing. 

Goodbye Sarah, thank you for being part of my life however small.

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #901

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself.

Here's my desk, oops, forgot to re-orient. Christmas is calling. Haven't done a scoobie yet, I'm usually done by now.

Little man's first day at Nursery yesterday. Not even a backward glance or a hug for mum, so excited. I shall be going to pick him up today to be introduced/prepared so to speak as this will probably be my role for a couple of weeks. I will be late visiting as out today and a funeral tomorrow.

also...... I have a feeling.....

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #900

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Wow, number 900!! Well done everyone. Of course I haven't been here since the beginning, the first time I joined in was (I think!!) back in 2011. There are things on that desk that I definitely still have in my craft room. I have also  been an intermittent visitor as life, work and family got in the way. I was certainly more productive then than I have been since I retired!!  It's lovely though to still be in contact with people from back then after all this time. Thoroughly enjoyed the crops as well, and meeting people IRL. I still remember my kids warning me about contacting 'strangers'  and going off to meet up with people I'd met online. Jokes. 

We never did manage one in London. 

Here's the desk today. 

Been a busy week and flown by as usual but I have managed to get prepped for my Kraft club on Friday. I have just remembered I am booked in for a sale table at Horsenden Farm on 19th September. Slight possible date clash there, and I have no idea what I'm selling. 

Oops. Ah well, maybe it will rain.

Have a great week everyone, off to mind Lionel while Chelsey goes off to her 38th wk antenatal appt so most of my visits will probably be tomorrow. 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #899

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Yes your eyes do not deceive you, it is me. 

It's been a minute.

What a summer. I have spent most of it sitting on my deck under a gazebo, drinking iced coffee, reading and gazing at my garden. 

Don't flip out, my lawn is green because it's fake. I love it (although I have had genuine concerns about it actually melting this summer) and I feel there is enough eco goodness going on in my space to make up for a little fake lawn to look at where a real one wouldn't grow properly anyway.

My South facing craft room has been a no go area, almost consistently 34 degrees and upwards despite my best efforts. so not a lot of crafting being done. Even on this relatively cool evening it is still 25.  So my desk is empty, although the room is pretty tidy. 

The WIP box is down to 3 projects that are a little too complex for a heatwave and my scraps have been organised to within an inch of their lives. The NBU box has seen little activity but it's in my sights. Productivity is way down, although I did make this card for an ex work colleague who turned 70 in August. 

Box lid

open card

Here's a pic of Lionel, soon to be a big bro as we are awaiting a new 'Little Splodge' in a couple of weeks.  Can you believe he starts nursery in September? My son and daughter in law have a provisional date for completion on their house - 25th September - though I'm not holding my breath. There's a lot going on so can't guarantee I won't disappear again but for the moment I have a little more time.......

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #891

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

As of yesterday afternoon my desk is pretty empty as you can see.  (Could do with a good scrub though). I wanted it to be tidy as I shall be out most of the day, tomorrow is Lionel day, and on Friday I have my craft group coming over. I won't have much time in here again until Saturday and even then hubby and I have agreed we will try and sort out our February holiday then. The only thing of any interest on it is my never ending to do list. I achieved a lot last week and half of the things left are mainly research, like check out a new iphone and try and get my headphones to connect to my i pad. 

This is the card we will be making on Friday. Rather pleased with it but it's taken ages to prep. The card itself takes very little time to put together but making up the individual packs takes rather longer, especially when you have a finite amount of the papers!!

It was our 36th wedding anniversary yesterday and we went out for a meal which was lovely though I have so little appetite these days we end up sharing everything!! Here we are having a cheeky Margarita before we left.

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week, stay cool and stay hydrated!

love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #887

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Here's the desk, still faffing about with my project for Kraft Club on Friday. It's a big group so I have kept it simple.

Managed these two cards at Craft Club yesterday.

Sorry I missed last week, with a long weekend away over the bank holiday to see my Sister and brother in laws (best BnB ever), then extra Lionel sitting over half term I actually completely missed Wednesday!

Back has been so much better (it's warmer - coincidence?) so I have been feeling more energised but sadly not in the craft room. Transferring my winter/summer wardrobes has been quite the workout in the heat. Mind you, I have now developed plantar (foot) psoriasis which is incredibly sore and painful so I'm still hobbling about. 

Ah well, at least it's not both at the same time. 

Recently I was in discussion with Angela (Radford) about a kinetic die I had seen her use. I was dithering about the purchase. She very kindly sent me samples, some cut outs and instructions. This is my first attempt. The bits inside rotate as you open it. I have a little video but of course i can't upload it. (I have of course now bought the die!!)

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #885

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Here's my desk. The WIP box has been much reduced, in fact there isn't much in there at all. The NBU (Never been used) box however is overflowing with stamps and die sets. Lots are individual but I stopped counting at 50. There is a Christmas one as well. (Hangs her head in shame).

Managed to make these from random bits in the WIP box at craft club on Tuesday. I had gone armed with several projects but forgot to double check my tool kit. No pins to unclog my glue, no paintbrush, no foam tape, no large scissors, no pencils or alcohol inks and no wipes or cloth. A lot of improvisation was called for. A couple of NBUs were called in to action.

I missed a couple weeks back there because I went on an impromptu trip to Corfu with DD and Lionel. He had a great time but it was a tad cold for me. Which is why we didn't introduce him to the rather lovely little waterpark till the last day as it would have meant one of us being in the water with him. Sandcastle's on the beach were preferable!!

Before we left on holiday I had my Kraft club meeting and we made this card. 

It was very well received and the ladies have gone off and made more with their own spin on it.

 Always gives me a buzz.

Like many of you I watched the livestream of Neet's funeral. It was a lovely celebration of her life and I was glad I made time to be there. 

RIP Neet.

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #884 - 17th Anniversary Edition

17 years!! Well who would have thought it? Certainly something to celebrate!!

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Today is our 17th anniversary and although I have not been around that long and have had some huge absences  WOYWW  has been one of the constants of my life for many years and I treasure the friendships I have made there. 

Today we are especially remembering our dear friend Neet who was recently taken from us and I have used an image that she sent me on my anniversary atc. I do have 1 more to swap so if anyone is interested let me know. 

The other items are artwork shared with me by Neet over the years - there is more, but retrieval requires climbing and the back is still playing up a bit so will have to stay where they are. I shall miss chatting and swapping with Neet very much. 

Not much else going on here, recently went on an impromptu trip so haven't been about much since my last post but more of that later. 

Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday #881

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Well, not much going on here as my continued Spring cleaning has irritated my back. I have had to mostly hand over to darling hubby to get things done and I must say he's been doing a cracking job. He really does respond well to instruction, even though I feel guilty barking out orders every morning. I just wish he could see what needs doing himself. He is off to the local 'farm' today to be fawned over by all the volunteer ladies. It gives his ego a boost. 

I on the other hand intend to have a potter at my desk, a trip to the chemist and PO and maybe start a new book. The wind has dropped so hoping it will be warm enough to sit out for a while. 

Ah, the desk. No photo. I will refer you to last week. I did however go to craft club yesterday and made these, not quite finished yet! We had a fire drill yesterday, I can't tell you how funny that was on various levels. Thank goodness it's a single storey building. 

 Hope you are all well, have a good crafty week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - WOYWW #880

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Now where did THAT week go? Sorry didn't get round to everyone and most of those I did were very late. 

Not much crafting getting done, but we did have a well attended and productive card class here on Friday. Here are my samples - we had a go at layered stencilling and then jazzing it up with splits and eclipse style finishes. 

Here's my desk this morning:

Yep diddly squat apart from my workings out for the card I'm hoping to make when we meet again in a couple of weeks.

Hope you are all well, have a good week and love n hugs from me, 

Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - WOYWW #879

Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself.

Tag from crop

Here's my desk, pretty boring, but the do it or bin it box has been whittled down again. Turns out a lot of it was projects leftover from a crop - last year? The year before? Just need putting together. Quite a few other bits that had ended up in there actually just needed putting away. Don't worry, I still have at least one more pile to deal with after I've done with this one.

It's been a week, with Easter and extra childminding taking huge chunks out of it. So not much to report on the crafting front. Hopefully have something more to show next week, especially as my plans to visit my sister in law at the weekend have been cancelled as she is not well. Toying with the idea of catching the Picasso exhibit at the Tate instead. 

Today I have to finalise bits for my craft class on Friday, my sister is popping in for lunch during her lunch break, and it is forecast to be 24degrees - really hope to get all the washing done and spend some time outside!!

And just because I can......

Easter Sunday

Yesterday jut before he tipped all those balls out

As an aside, now that I've woken up and the world isn't yet in pieces and the blue skies are working their magic, i'm feeling like I want to get a lot done today.

I hope to be around early for once but not gonna promise. 

Have a good week, love n hugs,

Cindyxx

WOYWW #878 What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself.

Back again after our little trip to Rome. As you can see my son and DiL Both completed their runs - a first for Ryan. 

We had a very stressful 'journey' as BA had oversold the flight and we were put on standby - didn't even know we were going until 15 mins before take off. I felt quite ill on the flight and  that lasted until we got home so although we got out in the daytime I was just too exhausted to go out. Didn't manage to hit all the main italian food groups (Pasta, pizza, gelato and tiramusu) but we gave it a shot.

We made it to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps- here's hubby right in front of  Trevi. We accidently got there early (apparently it doesn't open till 11 - who knew?) and had no problem getting a photo and viewing the fountain (without paying or queuing).

We had booked a wine tasting event and that was very enjoyable. Didn't do a lot else really. Walked along the Tiber (the most boring river in the world) which was very pleasant and uncrowded!! 

I seem to have been busy with gp stuff since we got back and haven't done much. The box of do it or bin it suff has been completed. Unfortunately I immediately filled it up and it's even worse than before!! Hre is my desk at craft club Tuesday afternoon. I was trying to use up these sweet characters from way back when using some random bits of card as there are only a few scraps of the original papers left. 

Hope you all have a good week and a Happy Easter Weekend. 

Love n hugs, Cindyxx

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #876

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

I was pretty late getting around last week. I think we should accept that as the norm as I always seem to have stuff going on on Wednesdays now.

Not much has changed but I have been working on reducing that do-it or bin-it box. Should be able to clear that quickly now. TBF a lot of it was just putting papers and stuff away away but I made a few bits too despite a distinct lack of crafting time.

So many birthday cards to send out! April isn't much better either but then its fairly quiet till August.

I'm off to Rome on Saturday as my son and his wife are both running the Rome Marathon. Not exactly sure why we are going but gives us a chance to look around and give them some moral support. Not sure I'll be posting next week as will only just be back Weds. 

I really need to find time to do some ironing. Haven't done any since October and half my wardrobe is in the ironing basket. Seasonally quite sensible as I am only just starting to look for some of those things.....

Have a great week, love and hugs Cindy xx

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #875

 Morning deskers, welcome to our weekly Wednesday Blog Hop WOYWW,  now being hosted on Sarah Brennan's blog. Here's the link for that lovely lady - Sarah's Craft Shed - pop on over and join in, see what it's all about and join in yourself. 

Here's my desk, quite tidy for now - the pile on the left is my do it or bin it pile for the next couple of days, not starting any new projects till that is dealt with.

I did manage to prep a card for last Friday. Went for a simple z-fold and everyone really liked it. Here are my samples. My photos have all gone a little yellow!!

Other than that life has been gently busy as I've been touching base with friends who I haven't seen for weeks and dealing with the huge number of birthdays that occur in March. Not least for my little Splodge (getting bigger by the day) who was 3 on Monday. How the time does fly!!

Anyway already behind schedule and meeting up with another good friend this afternoon. Have a good week, love n hugs Cindyxx