Busy Wednesday (WOYWW)

As the title says I am extremely busy at the moment so who knows when this WOYWW post will actually be posted and linked up, even though I have started typing it on Tuesday!  Here is my desk as it was on Tuesday morning...occupied by Alex who was making a sign using gold card and some of my washi tape and stamps.

Here is the completed sign...I think he intends to put it up in his room somewhere!

This is my desk as it was on Tuesday evening just after I had put the finishing touches to a page from my Art Journal. The pens have been safely put away in the new mug sat at the back of my desk so all you can see is my trusty mug of tea (yes, I like weak and milky tea!), the washi tapes from Alex's crafting session, some post it notes and my art journal.  Towards the back of the desk on the side of the white drawers are all my lovely ATCs on display.

Here is a close up of them with my little knitted octopi and the charm from Jo in the foreground.  I love them all, so varied and beautiful.

This is a close up of that journal page made with Adirondack colour wash inks, and distress inks for the stamping followed by glimmer mist for that added shimmer.  I am not entirely happy with it, but I guess it is only about the 6th I have ever done so there is definitely room for improvement... I think it is the writing that I don't like. That's all from me for now.  Have a nice week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Better late than never!

I am running late for Annie's Friday smiles and Rocking your world Friday.  Both of these blogs make us appreciate all the good things in life and the things that have made us smile during the past week so I didn't want to miss joining in.  The things that I am grateful for this week are Friendships...my best friend moved away a few years ago and we don't get to meet up anyway near as much as we would like so when we do it is really special.  This was a picnic lunch last week in a park half-way between where we both live.

Three children playing on a log is the simplest of pleasures and lovely to see.

There were donkeys at the park so we treated the kids to a ride...only snag was that I had to lead Alex's very reluctant donkey round the track!

This week I also bought a second hand climbing frame for Alex and put it up.

Alex was delighted by it and has been playing on it whenever the weather permits - Just look at that happy smile!    That is all from me for now.  Have a great week.
Love
Caro
x

Crafting and WOYWW!

Alex and I have both managed some crafting time this week!  Here is Alex taking over my desk on Tuesday morning while playing with the cuttlebug to make a picture of 'Alligator Man'!

For my entry to WOYWW this is my desk as it looked on Tuesday evening whilst making my Father's Day cards.  You can see distress inks, pads, craft mat, the paper that I patterned with stamps and inking effects for use as a background (see below), cards, stamps, sequin waste and of course my trusty mug of tea.

I received some more wonderful ATCs from the anniversary swap...these were the overseas ones.  Top left in blue is from NanG, top right in pretty feminine colours is from Sandra De, bottom left in bright colours is from ScrappyMo, and bottom right in gold and black is from Shaz in Oz.  Aren't they all stunning! Thank you all so much.

Here are the finished Father's Day cards.  I made very similar ones for both Dad's (mine and my DH's) as they are both into gardening and birdwatching.  The background paper on the card was made by me using distress inks with various effects, and stamping using stamps from Hero Arts (birds), Lavinia stamps (leaves and stars), Creative individuals (ferns, dragon fly and small bird) and JustRite (lettering).  The main panel was made using a sentiment stamp I picked up at a show years ago with the text layered onto different cards and then finished with either a heart brad or a button.  I am entering these into SSSS 'buttons', crafty cardmakers 'Father's Day', Kaboodle Doodles 'for your favourite guy', CCCB 'its all about him', PTW 'hello boys', Tuesdays Throwdown 'You're the man' and All Sorts 'in the garden'.  That is all from me for now.  Have a great week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Zorbing, Chatsworth and Archery fun!

It is Friday and time for Annie's smiles and Rocking Your world Friday.  There have been plenty of things to smile about this last week, not least the sun and Alex having his first ever zorbing adventure!

It was wonderful watching him fling himself around the place inside the ball... he was fairly good at staying upright for little runs before falling over again... it was very funny to watch!

For Alex's back to school treat he chose to explore Chatsworth gardens... who was I to argue!

We explored pretty much every single water feature, but Alex's favourite was the cascade which he clambered up and down actually standing in the water.

He also enjoyed the maze which was really quite challenging and the greatest of fun.

I actually had a girls night out last night (a rare treat) in which I got to do archery with the ladies from church...it was great fun and I actually managed to shoot a few bulls eyes!

Here is the evidence if you don't believe me (the other lady is another Carolyn and she shot one of the arrows - I shot the other two!). That is all from me for now.  I hope you all enjoy your weekend...I am looking forward to more fun in the sun with Alex.
Love,
Caro
x

What! Wednesday already?! (WOYWW)

Where did this week go?  I am loving the fact that it is June and we have actually had some sun... 4 days of picnic tea in the garden much to Alex's delight. 

As it is Wednesday it is time for WOYWW again and here is my desk in the process of making a card for my nephew.  Apologies for the terrible photo... the camera didn't like the sun streaming in through the window. Propped up against my mug (sadly empty) are the wonderful ATCs I have received so far from the anniversary hop... there are more to come from abroad which is very exciting.  The open drawer holds my promarkers, then there is the image I am about to colour in, the die cuts I was going to use to cut it out and some possible background papers.

This is a close up of the gorgeous ATCs I have received.  The top left gorgeous green is from Redanne, top middle vintage stamping and washi tape  from Julia (our erstwhile leader), and top right amazing stitching from Wipso.  The bottom row consists of the pink heart (and the gorgeous tag) both from Ria Gall, the stunning zentangle from JoZarty, and the stitching from Twiglet. Thank you all so much... they are gorgeous!

JoZarty also sent Alex a special ATC which he loves.... he has now decided that he wants to make them and was happy yesterday after school and this morning making a couple.

Here are the ones I sent - I hope that they have got there by now!  The background was made using my gelliplate, a stencil and a mask, and then stamping over the top and colouring using promarkers. I am entering these into SSSS 'things starting with S' (Summery colours, Stamping and Stencils).

This is the finished birthday card which loosely follows this weeks Unscripted sketch, and fits with the creative card crew 'punches/dies', Kaboodle Doodles 'for the kids' and PTW 'anything goes' challenges.  That is all from me for now.  Have a great week everyone.
Love
Caro
x

Sunny smiles!

Firstly I must apologise for missing Annie's smiles last week, but I had a good reason... my parents were in Sheffield for the first time in ages!  They collected Alex from school on Friday and took him down to the park for an ice cream and a walk before joining us at home. We had a wonderful weekend exploring Yorkshire sculpture park

admiring the various sculptures

and exploring the estate.

We also took them round Millstones Edge

which involved a fair bit of scrambling led by the intrepid Alex

before we finally found a millstone!  They also treated us by helping to clear parts of the garden, and taking me dress shopping.  It was a wonderful weekend. 

I hope you are all enjoying some sun today...Alex and I had a lovely time out in the garden after work this evening and he had a picnic tea outside.  That's all from me for now.  Have a great weekend.
Love
Caro
x

Celebrating 4 years of WOYW!

Yes, it is 4 years since the world-wide blog hopping phenomenon known as WOYWW (What's on your workdesk Wednesday) was conceived by the amazing Julia. I have joined in with it faithfully almost every week since discovering it 3 years ago. As a result I have made some on-line friends and  have enjoyed nosing around everyone else's creativity, gaining inspiration as I went. As a result I couldn't resist making up a little poem (definitely not my forte) using the acronym as the basis.  I would love to know what you think!

Here is my desk for this week's entry.  At last (after about 2 months!) those acrylic paints have been put away and the chaos on my desk consists of my smash book and the things I have been making my ATCs out of, namely prima flowers, stamps, and distress inks. The piece of orange card that has my dodgy hand writing on was the first version of the poem... scribbled down late last night so that I didn't forget it! My mug of tea is half-full but going cold as I have been side tracked by making the ATCs. My desk guardians (octopi family) are still protecting my stash for me and you can also see the lovely dangly charm that JoZart made for me and my WOYWW badge.

I have completed another page of my smash book (only 2 months behind!).  This one is of Alex's 6th birthday.  We had a family day with presents in bed, a treat breakfast and a trip to the Yorkshire Wildlife park.  I thought it would be fun to put the photos into the 6 shape and decorate the background with distress ink and doodles. I am entering this into Kaboodle Doodles 'anything goes', Cupcake Craft challenges 'boys' (this is all about a little boy!) and  All Sorts 'Happy birthday' challenges. 

For those of you who were asking how my weekend went, it was wonderful.  Alex and I had a great time with Mum and Dad.  We had some wonderful walks, they helped weed my garden and plant some new flowers, and we even managed to fit in some dress shopping. That is all from me for now.
Have a great week.
Love,
Caro
x
P.S. I do have a few WOYWW4 ATCs going spare if anyone is interested...they will be given out on a first come first serve basis so let me know in the comments if you would like one.