Friday 14 March 2014

Loved and Used...at last, and therefore, a smile!

Like an awful lot of paper crafters, my problems began as a child. Remember the pocket money burning in your hot palm while you chose another notepad from the racks and racks of stationery in WH Smith? (Archivers, I guess, dear cousins...) Bliss.  My obsession has never faltered, if I can use office-y supplies in my crafting, I will. When I use them in my work, I love it! Receipt Books with the irritating and flimsy bit of carbon, date stamps, treasury tags, manilla files.. you name it, they give me pleasure.  So it was inevitable then, that the Cuttlebug folder that came straight from the school book was going to be mine.  Indeed, even way back when it was released, Shopkeeper Gal set one aside for me without even bothering to ask!  I'm so transparent.
Well, despite my love for it, it doesn't get a lot of use.  It is really not a good size for a UK card dimension, and anyway, I'm very aware that a handmade card probably doesn't need to look as though it's covered in office supplies!  So I use it occasionally and relish it.  Hence the pleasure in next week's workshop preparations.  It's a birthday book, ostensibly to use the Mother Goose range from G45.  But really it's to give my embossing folder an outing!




It makes me smile.  And so did this, found at the bottom of a coffee cup the other (early) morning whilst marking time before the bank opened!   How nice.
Linking up with my smiley face to Annie's Friday Smiles.
Have a nice weekend y'all.  

26 comments:

Squirrel x said...

It is such a comfort to know that I am not alone with my stationery fetish - I am off to share this post with OH and say "See, neerh, it's not just me". xx

Twiglet said...

That little smiley always makes me grin! Have a great weekend x Jo

MaggieC (Silvercrafter) said...

My passion started with pocket money when I was quite little. There was a shop, belonging to the local paper, and half of it was devoted to boring "to me" office supplies and the other to art supplies, cartridge paper, Lakeland crayon (now part of Derwent), charcoal in thick cardboard boxes, charcoal pencils, paint boxes and all that exciting kind of stuff. I still have a few of my favourite Lakeland crayons, especially my favourites - the bright golden yellow and the glorious sky blue. I am off now to plant up the things I bought at the garden centre yesterday and to pot on the minuscule plantlets that arrived in the post yesterday. Enjoy playing with your stationery folder with a smile on your face. xx Maggie

Annie said...

Love the birthday book Julia and if I had that coffee cup I would have to keep filling it just to expose that little smiley face at the bottom. :-)
Hugs,
Annie x

mamapez5 said...

I love the smiley in the bottom of a cup! What a great idea. I don't think I quite share you office-stationary fetish, but I do love paper, and I am glad your cuttlebug folder finally got an airing. Keep smiling. Kate x

Laura said...

Ooh yes, and coloured pencils from woolworths!
Brilliant mug - I think all mugs should have smiles in them!!
Laura

voodoo vixen said...

Aaah, the total commitment to all that is stationary... and playing post offices with that loud thump of the stamp on the envelopes... I think it is in all of us scrappy/card making peeps!!

Hettie said...

Haa Haa! Something I think alot of us have in common! I even get pleasure when each evening I get to stamp the DX post with the date stamp!
Nice looking book too. You know I love my mini books!
Hugs
xx

Karen Petitt said...

It took me a while to remember that I had a 'thing' for pretty stationery as a youngster and I still have a 'thing' for pretty note pads xx

Eliza said...

Hello sister I hear you calling, is that an echo I hear.... I think we are all in the same boat adrift with the stationery issues. You did make me smile then giggle. Especially love the smiley face. You too have a wonderful weekend. Love the birthday book.

Hugs Eliza & Yoda

Anne said...

Love that smiley face. Oh yes love all thins to do with paper and office supplies. I have boxes of stuff :-) Always need more !!!! Anne x

Sue said...

Really lovely birthday Book.

I love using things that aren't 'craft' things.

Kirsty.A said...

Ooh yes.Notebooks. I was only thinking the other day that I 'need' to go to Paperchase!

Caro said...

Notebooks definitely make me smile, I love them...although these days if I buy one for me I also have to buy Alex one or he will just nick mine! Thanks for sharing a smile. Caro x (#12)

Helen said...

yes I think we all love stationery. your notebook looks fab, and how cool is the coffee cup!

Lisa-Jane said...

I love office supplies too but I can see that that folder might be a wee bit tricky to incorporate. How bizarre! There is a Mothercare advert coming up on your blog!

Krisha said...

Oh yes! Fresh, new, clean notebooks, new pencils, erasers that haven't been chewed on, OH YES! I have to have them all, nearly go into a coma when all the new school supplies hit the shelves in the stores. Then there are the office supply stores.....oh where's my brown paper bag?......I'm hyperventilating again......LOL

Sarah (wonderstrumpet) said...

I used to walk downtown just to go to the weird office supply store and try out all of the pens.

Gill Edwards said...

I was just the same Julia. Whenever i was lucky enough to be given a WHSmiths token i would try to buy as much stationery for the value as i could and i still love it today.
Gill xx

misteejay said...

Guess where I was Friday...wandering through the stationery section of WHS on my way to work LOL

It was such a struggle not to add a couple of their pretty new notebooks to my basket.

Your coffee cup smilie made me smile too.

Toni xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm only SLIGHTLY late getting here for Friday Smiles, and I can assure you, as a mixed media artist, any paper product I find at the office supply store goes to make art. I've used pencils in piano hinge paper bag books, I've stapled rubber bands to create legs in my bird assemblages, and you name it, I've loved and wished for it.

Thanks for sharing this lovely embossing die cut and the birthday book you will soon be teaching. It's a real beauty.

fairy thoughts said...

What is it sbout stationary, we just love it .... Pretty, grungy, useful, not so useful. Handyman is moving offices at the moment you wouldn't believe the stuff he is bringing home that is bring chucked luckily he knows me do well.
Love the book BTW
Janet

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Me too! I've been in love with stationery and all things office-y since a young age. Now that I work in an office it hasn't really lost it's appeal. I got so sad when someone absconded with my "FILE COPY" stamp; I almost couldn't go on.

Judys Lace Creations said...

Ah Julia, I can identify with your stationery fetish. After all that's why I became a teacher- to get my hands on lots of stationery.Love the smile at the bottom of your cup!

Anonymous said...

I NEED that folder! Off to Ebay to look for one. I also have a stationery addiction. Imagine being in charge of stationery purchases for a team of 64 people - I was in heaven in my last full time job! Was best friends with the Viking Direct delivery guy!

Wendy L said...

Hi I live in Benijofar near Guadamar. I saw the villa on the side bar and wondered where it was. I used to be in charge of stationary when i worked, loved it too, xxx