WOYWW 525

Happy Whizzday and welcome to another edition of what's on your workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) courtesy of Julia.

On my desk you can see a finished pocket page scrapbooking layout (if that is what they are called) - a new venture to me (sorry about the glare), my mug of rather anaemic tea (sweetly made by Alex - a little on the weak side but I'm not complaining), various stickers and project life postcards piled up to the left, spare photos, and a pen or two.

This week it was my 18th wedding anniversary and Tim very sweetly bought me a load of 'Project Life' related goodies to play with as my anniversary present.  I used to do traditional scrapbooking, but found it too time consuming for my hectic life style and so haven't done any in ages.  I have toyed with the idea of pocket page scrapbooking/project life style layouts for a while as it seems to meet my desire to journal and remember events with an easy system that will make it potentially a bit quicker, and so Tim bought me these lovely goodies to try.

This is the card I made for him using a background from Dina Wakley Collage collective for the heart, and then adding to it with my own drawing etc.

I have also managed to keep up with the Index Card a Day challenge (ICAD) so here are all mine for this week.

I have played with my new toys, but in the interest of keeping it short and sweet I will show you the layouts next week... instead, here is a photo from my wedding day 18 years ago.

and one from this weekend (I have to say that Tim deliberately covered himself in ice cream for the photo!).  That is all from me for now. Have a great week everyone.
With love & God Bless
Caro
xxx

P.S. Update on Gran - she is quite happy in the room she is in at Minehead, and has been doing some physio, but she confessed to me that she is ready to die and be with Jesus and really doesn't want to linger in this state. Until her wish is granted we are hoping she will move back closer to Mum to make things easier all round (it is a 60 minute drive for Mum (or any of Gran's friends) to get to Minehead and 5 hours from me). Prayers are always gratefully received.

WOYWW 524

Whizzday already!  How did that happen?!  I guess this means it is time for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday with the queen of desks herself!  Check out Julia's blog  for the details on how to join in.

My desk is really quite tidy as I had finished for the evening when I took this picture and had tidied away all the inks, paints and brushos.  My trusty large mug of tea is empty and ready to be washed up.  The journal page is at that waiting for inspiration to strike stage - I love the colours, just don't know what I want to do with it next!

I did complete the page from last week as a reminder of the crop - the colours reminded me of the banner and the colours that many people were wearing so I went ahead with it using some things from the day and stamps that reflected thoughts from the day.

The other crafting from this week has been index cards as part of the 'Index Card a Day' (ICAD) challenge and I am posting one a day on Instagram.  These are the ones from the past week - I am keeping up with them so far! 

I will keep it relatively short and sweet and end with these photos of Alex from the Chesterfield Comic Con at the weekend.

Have a great week everyone.
With love & God Bless,
Caro
xxx

WOYWW523

Where has this week gone? It is time for another round of desk hopping and sharing the creative on-line love. Don't know what I am talking about?  Then head on over to Julia's blog and she will explain all.

My desk is relatively tidy -  just my trusty mug of tea (time for a top up) and my art journal.  I am not sure if I like the start of this page or not!  It is at that leave it and think about it stage...  In the background you can just about make out 4 WOYWW badges - these are spare so if anyone wants one please do email me (carostaton (at) gmail (dot) com) and I will post them out on a first come, first serve basis.

I had two more ATCs arrive this week from Kelly (left) and Sylvia (right), both lovely and very different to each other. The card at the top is from Kelly.

I also had two lovely memory bears made out of Dad's summer shirts from the lovely Annie - Alex has claimed his and mine is sat on my shelves. This time of year is especially hard - I doubt whether I will cope with the Father's Day service on Sunday.

At the moment my creative outlet is in decorating index cards as part of the ICAD (index card a day) challenge and here are mine from the last week or so. A complete random mixture of styles and fun.
Finally a brief update on Gran - she is much improved medically as they have sorted out her fluid and sodium levels and she is off the morphone, and she is starting physiotherapy.  However, I am not sure that she is mentally or emotionally up for the long hard struggle it will be to get back on her feet. Only time will tell - prayers for willingness to participate fully in physio would be gratefully received - at the moment she only does it when Mum is there bullying her into it!
Have a great week everyone,
With love & God Bless,
Caro
xxx

WOYWW 522 - the 10th anniversary crop edition!

It's Wednesday again and time for another round of desk hopping and snooping courtesy of Julia.

Here is my desk as it was on Tuesday evening (this is a scheduled post due to work!).  You can see a nearly empty mug of tea, my water colour paints and crayons, an index card, a stamp (swapped at the crop!) and in the background some other decorated index cards as I am joining in with the index card a day (ICAD) challenge on Instagram.  To the right of my desk is a pile of ATCs and goodies that I received at the crop.

here are the crop ATCs in all their glory - what a lovely collection of beauties, all so different and all so lovely. Thank you all so much.

In addition to ATCs people created other lovely items for us including yummy food, notebooks, a coin purse (LLJ) and a lovely coaster (Wipso) - again thank you!

The coaster came with a poem by the lovely Annie that is so heartfelt and true.

And now to the crop photos! It was my first ever crop of any description and I can honestly say that I had the most wonderful day. It was so special to meet everyone properly rather than just on-line. Everyone was so welcoming and we laughed, hugged, talked for England and even crafted a little. I can't tell you how wonderful it was!

Here is the photo of us all gathered together in the afternoon

This is Jo (Twiglet) and Annie (Wipso) who hosted and organised the day - and a truly wonderful job they did too - thank you both so much!

Some people succeeded in crafting (Helen completed a few journal pages, Sarah did some lovely colouring and there was stamping going on) but most of the day was spent laughing and chatting as you can see from this photo of Sarah, Christine, Shaz and Helen.

It was lovely to catch up with Anne again, the only desker I had previously met

and so special to meet everyone else including Margaret

Jan (photo taken by Jan's husband on a posh camera - the rest of the photos are from my phone!)

and Julia.  I can truly say that it really was a wonderful day and I spent most of it with a huge grin on my face.  It was exactly what I needed to give my spirits a boost with my Gran still so poorly.  Thank you all so much for such a warm welcome... you really are all kindred spirits and I loved every minute of the day.

Here is the proof that I did a little crafting - my first index card for the ICAD challenge (I didnt manage to finish it while I was there mind you!)
Have a wonderful week everyone,
with love and God Bless,
Caro
xxx

WOYWW521

Welcome back to another Whizzday and another edition of WOYWW courtesy of Julia (head desker)

My desk is a bit staged this week as I have been down to Somerset over the past 5 days and not crafting.  On the desk (bottom right) you can see the two lovely ATCs that I have received as part of the swap, the left hand one with the glass is from Angela and the right is from Zsuzsa (along with the beautiful images above the ATCs, and the geli print purple card and envelope to the right.  Also on my desk are some badges made from the image on my blog last week. The red and orange ATCs are some of the ones that I have made for swapping, and just peeking into the left is a sneak peak of the bookmarks that I have made for everyone at the crop.

This is a close up of the badges.  There will be enough for everyone at the crop and then if anyone else would like one, it will be first come, first served (I expect to have quite a few left over) so leave me a message in the comments below if you want one and email me at carostaton (at) gmail (dot) com with your details.

Update on Gran is that she is still very poorly and in hospital on large doses of oral morphine for the pain, and her heart and kidneys are struggling, and she is rather depressed, but stable for now.  My brother, mum and I have been in to see her everyday at different times to sit with her and chat to her, and she also asked to see our children, her great-grandchildren. In between visits our distraction was this little handful of fun - a 9 week old cockapoo!  She is called Jay-Jay and is adorable (trying to photograph her has proved extremely difficult!)

I am so excited to be attending my first WOYWW crop on Saturday and look forward to meeting many of you lovely ladies there. I may arrive a little late and will have to leave a little early as it is a long drive and I need to collect Alex on my way back. See you soon,
Love and God Bless,
Caro
xxx

WOYWW 520: Happy Anniversary!

Happy 10th Anniversary to WOYWW!  I can't believe that I discovered this loving community just over 9 years ago and took the plunge to join in just after the 1st anniversary. Don't know what I am talking about?  Then take a look at Julia's blog where she explains it much better than I can.

My desk is really rather empty this anniversary week - you can see my trusty mug of tea, my bullet journal and my mini photo printer as I am printing out photos to put into my journal.  The left of my desk is hiding the ATCs for the swap.  I am really sorry, but due to a crisis at home (my Gran is back in hospital and in a bad way) I can't remember everyone I agreed to swap ATCs with.  To make it simple, if you think I am swapping with you please can you let me know in the comments. Thank you!

As there is nothing crafty to show you I thought I would show my little keepsakes sat on top of my ink pads - mostly Harry Potter but also a Flying Scotsman Teddy and a hand knitted Octopus made by a friend. I am keeping it short and sweet this week, so have a great week everyone and I look forward to meeting some of you at the crop - not long now!
Love and God Bless,
Caro
xxx

P.S. Would there be any interest in the picture at the top of my blog today being turned into a magnet or badge for people?
P.P.S.  If anyone wants to use it for their blog then please go ahead! I assume you can download it from mine and add it to yours.

WOYWW519

Only one week until the 10th anniversary of WOYWW! For more details on what this all means check out the blog of our head desker Julia!

Here is my desk for this week showing a variety of different items that I have been using in my latest project which is something to give everyone who comes to the anniversary crop.  You can see embossing powder and heat fun, eyelets and gadget to set them, a very old and temperamental laminator and various pens and stamps.

As I can't show you my art work I can show you the state of my fingers as I started working on it!  It took several days for the colour to fade and I even had to do an interview with blue hands...

This weekend Alex went on a scouts Expedition, walking 30km over a day and a half, ending with an icecream in Bakewell

where there is a Love Lock Bridge.

I couldn't resist ending this week's post with a Bottom's up picture! Have a great week everyone.. let me know if you would like to swap an ATC with me next week for the 10th anniversary... I have several available to swap!
Love and God Bless,
Caro
xxx