Some vegetarian with your grunge? Huh?

I'm not a vegetarian.  I love the idea and totally get the appeal that eating a vegetarian diet holds for so many of us.  The thought of fresh tender veg of any sort makes me happy, for sure.  Occasionally, when dining out (well, OK, pub grub), I will order the vegetarian option - specially since I launched into the diet of my life. I most often enjoy it, but also often think how enhanced my eating experience would be by the inclusion of well, bacon.  In the same way, I often look at the beautiful works that others make in the grunge 'genre' and find myself thinking that it would be lovely in colour. 
So last week I got a chance to put my money where my mouth is and did a workshop base don coloured grunge.  Not all plain sailing.  Only one of six workshopeers made the card above in it's original sample colour...most decided the Fired Brick was a bit too gruesome and opted for Broken China topped with Teal Stazon stamp images.  Nice, for sure.  Not often I offer a choice of colours, but I sort of knew it was a bit 'blood and bandages' and then the Lady Nurse emailed to say she didn't like it...well, ya gotta go with the customer, specially when they're right!  

This one didn't come a cropper though, some Evergreen Bough, droplets of one or other of the supposed mica sprays for the background and then some gentle stamping.  I say 'supposed'...it was a mica spray, but as with all my sprays, it doesn't spray any more.  Mica gets stuck in nozzle after one squirt and it's curtains for the next three years of using.  Argh.  And please don't recommend lots of hot water and a jolly good pumping.  Really -   I did say it - pumping!  Been there.  I think what I'm trying to say here gals, is that despite everything I've said, I'm loving the Distress range in colours. Because lets face it, if you can produce it in 7 shades of wee wee, think how lovely and cheerful it would be in a range of other colours.  I draw your attention here and throughout Sarah's blog actually...her work is aspirational for me, and when she gets her colour on - well, it fair makes me feel fizzy.

Over thinking Friday....

When I was a civil servant, my desk had the usual paraphernalia of stuff - pen pot, telephone, blotter, calendar, you know.  And I had three vertical stacked letter trays labelled IN/ACTION, OUT and FILE.  And it was always deemed to be a good day if the IN/ACTION tray was empty.  I've carried that office grounding through my working life to be honest.  So what about the action tray on my desk at home? Hmmm...

These initials, intended as a gift tag for a present have shuffled around the desk for about 2 years now. I think the moment has passed.

 The scissor sharpener actually has a proper home in a proper cupboard.  But I figured that if I left it on the desk, I'd remember to do the maintenance that my workshop scissors need.   Now it's hiding behind the ipad deckchair, it's kinda outa sight.....

Little oak half arches which are 'waste' from the Joinery...and there's lots of them...I have no idea what to do with them, but felt if they were on my desk, I'd get inspiration....

Half a bag of buttons at the 'murky' end of the desk...no room in the button jar for them, but I don't want to forget to use them...and apparently, I will if I put them away.

A canister, awaiting transformation into a useful pot to put things in.  I had to move it twice to take the other photos and worse - didn't even realise it qualified as another 'thing' for this list....
You get it.  The whole desk is the IN tray..I put things there because I figure that eventually, I'll get so sick of moving it out of my way that I'll actually do something to it and move on.  Not working.  I think that theory is saturated.  No doubt I'm suffering from fear of 'out of sight, out of mind'-ness too, and it is suffering, believe me.  Because I shouldn't need to have all these not-even-started and work-in-progress things on my desk to prompt me.  That's part of the problem.  I shouldn't have let myself become so accustomed to seeing them.  Which possibly means that they don't inspire me at all and waiting for inspiration will be like wishing myself thin. Pointless and disappointing without action.  Well, I guess it's kill or cure.  The weather for the weekend is not set to be good, so I'm going to go through all this surface 'stuff' and do some filing.  Without, I hope, too much of a knock on effect being caused..this is not a call to arms, I'm not hell bent on a massive re-organisation.  And you never know.  As I excavate and file, I may yet find the Dove Grey Stazon that has caused all this deep thinking.  It has a lot to answer for.
Have a lovely weekend.

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 210

Well, less of a desk today and more of an outside table and a message of thanks.  Just look at all these marvellous ATCs that I've received since the WOYWW Anniversary hop.
I devised a really clever way of making sure that I sent an ATC to those that had been promised one.  A list.

And an equally clever way of making sure that I emailed or messaged or commented my thanks for these beauties.  Another list.  But it failed, because I started to use a little symbol against names and after two days of working for Mr Dunnit, I had completely forgotten whether the symbol meant 'sent', 'thanked', 'to send'...Yep.  I'm embarrassed. 
All of these came little gifts are works of art and I am not yet over looking and admiring them - my word, you Deskers are hugely clever.  

THANK YOU.  You have no idea how much I appreciate and enjoy your art.

So now, show and tell time..my desk outdoor or indoor is actually a joinery bench this week....so show me what's on yours, inspire me huh!
Put WOYWW in your blog post title, link here and visiting is enabled.  Easy.  

Modest, *hair toss*, moi?

I read on someone's WOYWW post that they thought I was quite modest, so this should put paid to that impression for ever!

WOYWW is in print - published!!  So indirectly, it's all about me!  (I can turn anything to be about me, gentle reader - it's a spectacularly useful skill.)

This is issue 4 of Featuring Magazine.  You can find details of how to pre-order etc, on their website: http://www.featuringmagazine.com/

Well, to be honest, I'm in it, but the article is about WOYWW and the global outreach it has achieved..that is to say, the article is beautifully illustrated by some of your desks and and they really are from across the world.  There was a proper interview process to go through and I'm really delighted to tell you that very little editing has been done of my long and tedious answers, so you can read about me at my most erm, lyrical.  There were a few hard questions too - especially in view of the amount of research that Featuring had done...they know more about this blog than I do!  

If you do catch an issue, my word, be sure to dip in and out of the real art parts of the magazine, it's amazing. If you're into journals and mixed media, you probably don't need to have this recommended to you - you'll know about it already.  If like me, an ATC is about the closest you'll get...have a looksee, it's fascinating and inspiring.  The mail art makes me want to get inky fingered - useful, use-able and gorgeous.  What's not to like!  
So that's the biggest big up of the week for me, and it's only Sunday.  Watch this space as they say..more *hair tossing* will follow, whenever I can find a reason!

The road, the paving and the intentions....

You haven't seen many declarations of intent on this 'ere blog since I started 'assisting' Mr D in the Workshop.  There's a good reason for that.  The best intention these days is to sit at my desk and be creative at some stage every week.  I'm not missing out on being creative; I am still a little bit in love with crochet, so the evenings aren't wasted.

A 'sneak' section of one of next Thurdsay's workshop grunge cards. Looks a bit blood and bandages doesn't it, it's meant to look slightly more brown.....hmmm.

Since I started  Pinterest, my life has become one long intention.   I don't consider Pinterest an addiction, some weeks I never look at it.  But oh my goodness, who had the idea of setting me up with a bunch of boards to save ideas for future projects?  My life - just make me a chain mail jacket cast from the guilt mould, would you? Especially when others start re-pinning my selections...does anyone else feel that they should actually be getting on with some of them to make your visitors feel the re-pin was a vote of confidence?  Weird isn't it, how on the one hand, I can feel no obligation to my craft, and on the other, feel absolutely terrible when I neglect it all.  It's the puritan English in me, I think.  Guilt for having stuff to use, guilt for having so much yet to do and plans for yet more things...yep, deliberately avoiding the word 'intention' again...
So here's a plan - the busier I am, the more I seem to do...a common revelation, I know.  So I've decided that this MUST include time at the desk.  I can't do it in the late evenings - too tired, not enough decent light.  I'm not 'scheduling' desk time because that always ends up being pushed back.  Rather, I'm going to try really hard to be the gal that has a couple things on the go that can be added to and thought over whilst pottering about doing all sorts.  I'm giving myself the next five days, because there's a suitable deadline for turning in samples for a workshop.   Seriously, do you think it'll work?  I will report in.  That's the very best intention I've declared so far, because frankly, it's a racing certainty that you'll have to read about it!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 209

There's some descriptive text about how why and what this WOYWW thing is, to be found here.

My desk, bathed in Tuesday's late sunshine bliss.  But, it is a bit staged.  I was just getting around to having a long hard study of the ATCs and things that I've been lucky enough to score since WOYWW4 last week, and decided I should photograph them in good light.  Rubbish idea, too much shadow and contrast; even this amateur photographer could tell that.  So then I got distracted and went outside to do something and.....never got back to them.  Maybe I'll show off about them tomorrow!  Meanwhile my desire to spend time at the old desk is being eclipsed by the need to - another Crop at the weekend.  One where I actually do more  than make tea and watch everyone else crafting away.  Apparently - watch this space!  

So share your workdesk with us will you?  Put WOYWW in your post title - make it about your desk and what you're working on and we'll try to pop round for a visit.  Same old same old then for year 5.  Yep.  Plus ca change, la meme ca change. (Insert your own reflex and cedillas please!)

Me, the Crop and My Epiphany

I know there were more of you who didn't/couldn't come to the WOYWW crop than did, and I know that any stories and descriptions don't travel well because well, mostly with these things, you have to be there, right? 

Lunch Lady Jan, the REAL Crop setter upper is third from right at back.  Smiling as always.  Visit her blog for great great photos and a proper summary.  This pic is lifted from Jan and distorted by my own fair hand.
L-R Back: Kyla, Helen,Cindy,Laura,Mary Anne, Jan, Donna,Diane
L-R Middle: Fiona, Me, Janet, Rachel
Sitting: Debs, Zoe Debs Shaz, Dolores, Sam
big old hugs to Jan's Important G for his brill photography

So let me keep it relatively brief and tell you it was a lovely day.  
And then let me tell you something else.  See, at the first WOYWW Crop last October, I had huge misgivings and well, fear, actually.  I was astonished by the interest and was a bit scared that the anonymity that the blog has always been able to offer me was in jeopardy.  If I think hard about it, and get a bit analytical, I think it was because I was feeling as if people were coming to meet me - the blogger - who is not a celebrity but a normal scaredy cat woman.  Of course that turned out to be entirely wrong.  
This time was no different, oddly.  Hot on the WOYWW4 celebration, I was again trapped by my mind into imagining that there were would be a few people who would only be coming so they could say they had.  Do you see where I'm going? Yep, fallen into believing  some of the 'fame' and flattery. What a Chump.  
So imagine, the relief and the waves of tiredness that swept over me on Saturday morning when it became apparent after about an hour that unless I shouted a bit, no-one was actually going to sit down and create anything because there was too much chatting and hugging and getting to know you going on.   By jove, I think I get it;  - you Deskers will get on with each other without fuss or bother and certainly without stalking me (!), because the WOYWW thing is totally and utterly about you and the friendships and the camaraderie that it has yielded.  
I know I should have listened when many many of you online and occasionally in person have told me of this, but it took the In Real Life crop for me to realise...Jan and I merely facilitated the meeting, the rest was about you Deskers and your inclusiveness.  It worked beautifully.  Please, come again.