WOYWW #383

After a LONG hiatus, I am back again :) What a perfect day to return to Blogger - a "What's On Your Work-desk Wednesday?". Hosted, as always, by the amazing Ms Julia over at The Stamping Ground.

Want to join in and have a nosy peek at other people's work spaces? Just click  to pop over to Julia's page, and all will be revealed on what to do.

So... 

Today I am number 44...

I've recently started crafting again - since February (my last post) I have been busy - dieting! I've lost more than half my body weight, and am down to trying to lose those last stubborn 12 pounds :) I have no idea why this change of lifestyle stopped me crafting - maybe because I have been cooking a LOT - trying to eat healthily and experimenting with flavours and tastes. Anyways... back to my work desk...

 This is Tuesday night, and usually my desk remains much the same... but it's even more crowded and messy right now lol. This Christmas, I am making a lot of the gifts I shall be sharing - candle making, candle decorating, making chocolates, biscuits, cakes and also pickles and jams, gathering flower seeds from the garden and placing them in pretty jars, - even the jams and chutneys have been made using fruit, vegetables and herbs grown in my garden :) For my amazing "she's-more-like-my-sister-than-my-best-friend" Ms Lizzie, I also decided to make some decorations, and really wanted to try my hand at creating some little tree decorations. Her beautiful home is very 'up-market shabby-chic'... so I decided on a pink theme. They are far from finished - I have lace and sparkles to put on yet :)

 So  disappointed with how the silver ones look in the photograph - they look so much nicer and a LOT less 'tacky' in real life :)

 Had so much fun making the basic tree's... even if the little fabric roses ones took about two hours! Of course, I have to decorate them yet - and I have been shopping, so have lots of little things to rifle through and choose from :)

I have three more sets to make - probably three to each set. I'm looking forward to making a red-and-white Nordic themed set :) and then something in icy blues I think...

I'll try to keep up-to-date... posting once a week if I can. In-between cooking, cleaning, shopping and walking the dog every day, I'm hoping to find a few minutes somewhere :)

Have A Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

WOYWW #351

Roll Up! Roll Up! It's time for another round of....

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!

Ms Julia at The Stamping Ground is our lovely host, and if you're unsure of what's going on, just pop along to her blog and all will be revealed!

So... my desk today:

is a complete mess!

I am trying to do so much all at once, that all I have achieved is a great big untidy space :D

I have a tray on the left that's filled with things I may need right now, and jobs I've yet to finish:

The problem is that, with so much going on at once, the tray is overflowing!

My wonderful friend (I really shouldn't call her that - she's more of a sister than a friend) Ms Lizzie, bought me the Gorilla glue for my birthday on Saturday - not a strange present at all, I promise - I really wanted it. She also made me the crates and veg you see, the tray of prawns on ice, the steaks in a tray, and so many other little items of dolls house food, I am quite overwhelmed!

I have finally finished the heads for the next five dolls house figures - from 'The Village Idiot' to 'The Grumpy Old Man', I am finding it quite interesting to see what emerges from the clay lol

I'm currently making dolls house onions - well, amongst other things. I haven't been well the last few days, so I am struggling to keep up with what I'd like to achieve. 

Well, that's my overflowing workspace - what's on yours?

Oh, and just to make things easier, in today's WOYWW pick, I am number 36 :)

Have A Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

WOYWW #349

Ah, normality :) 

It's very under-rated, I think. 

After blood tests and more blood tests and fantastically funny allergic reactions to medications, it is finally less stressful to have a "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday"? post, hosted as always by the multi-talented Ms Julia :)

Today, I am number....33 for week #349

I am a little more organised today... not much - but a little :) I'm still making dolls house figures...

I have my much-needed coffee (cold, as always lol) and an almost-finished pack of Mrs Crimbles gluten-free macaroons. I swear there is some left in the pack. Oh, okay... there's just ONE left in the pack - but they are delicious :) 

Actually, the figures I'm making at the moment aren't for my dolls house. I have a slight problem with creating faces - I have little or no control over what faces 'appear' from the clay. So here I am thinking about the legs for my "Come Give Grandma A Kiss" figure, and all the limbs for the head of the smoking man figure (his cigarette is safely stowed away with my eyeballs).

Poor Miss Havisham still has no clothes, but at least she is complete :) The Woman In Black, Mrs Lovett, and Jacob Marley's Ghost all have their  head and limbs all finished, and need putting together and wigging where needed, before being clothed.

 My one-in-a-million amazing mum quickly crocheted me a little shawl for the kissy grandma - perfect in a bright pink to match her lips and nails :)

And finally, the eyeballs I have to make before starting any figurine... I am useless without my eyeballs lol.  They are stuck onto double sided sticky tape, along with any other tiny bits and pieces I don't want to lose. This is where the smoking man's cigarette is stashed :) All the cat hairs on the sticky strips aren't really important - the cat just likes to add to the collection for me every now and then :)

Well, that's it from my desk this week - and from my newly-tidied craft room. My desk is now in front of the window - bright sunlight (when shining) all day, and a lovely view to my garden (which is in dire need of mowing and sorting!).

I am now going back to listing items for sale on a certain well-known auction site.

Have a wonderful Wednesday - and the rest of the week!

Update

I missed out on the last WOYWW (see previous posts) because I was at the doctors - for AGES! They took my blood and my blood pressure, gave me more advice, sent the bloods to my rheumatology doctor and sent me on my way - who knew it would take so long?! 

So, seeing as there is no post showing my desk this week, I thought I'd post a quick update. I'm afraid it's all dolls house related again - You can follow my progress with my new project here at

Adventure Into Miniature.

I am making a terrible mess with Fimo clay - trying to create figures for the dolls house. Once again, I am using so many of the tools I had bought for scrapbooking - embossing tools being the favourite at the moment - brilliant for strategically poking little round holes in the clay.

I've also found a little skeleton in my 'Halloween and Stuff' drawer that will become... well, let's keep that a secret for now - suffice to say that Mum gave me a book to read, and one of the tales in that book will have great bearing on one room in the dolls house.

I have an early birthday present from my darling Hubby - a mini table circular saw. My daughters other half makes guitars, and he is SO good at this - search Matt Dennison on Facebook and you'll find him - he is in a screaming metal band named Deference - Matt is the incredibly handsome one - my daughter has great taste lol. Anyways, seeing as Matt often needs tools, I offered him the use of my new gadget whenever he wants... which he seemed really happy about until I said the little saw was "Sooo cute!". That kind of put him off I think.

My desk right now is strewn with pokey tools, blades, black paint, tools, doll bits, Fimo clay, hair, hair stuck in Fimo clay... you get the picture - it is kinda messy. Oh, okay... It is Very messy lol

WOYWW #345

Yay!!! for another Wednesday, and a little blog-hop around to nosey on other people's work spaces.

For information and how to join in with "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday" (WOYWW), just take a visit to Ms Julia at The Stamping Ground, and all will be revealed :)

This week, I shall be number.....31 - every time I write that sentence I think of "Stars In Their Eyes" lol

I usually photograph my desk in the early hours of Wednesday morning - those dead-of-the-night hours when I just can't sleep. Usually not a lot changes - but my trusty white lamp with the magnifier broke (not so trusty!) and I lent my large crafting mat to ..well, er... Matt, actually (my daughter's other-half) - so that's missing too.

I spent most of this week making a fireplace 'topper' for the 'Miss Havisham Room' in my dolls house. It's not good. In fact, it looks awful! I ripped out the ceiling paper too, and have decided to use some of my scrapbook papers - both for the ceiling and the walls (which is on my desk).

I am trying to complete the whole house on a minimum budget - making things where and when I can, with whatever I already have in the craft-room. Hence, the upturned glue bottles in a dolls house bath that needs mending (I trod on it, broke the taps, and swore rather loudly). I keep them upturned so I can eke out every last bit of the glue inside. I need to get my money's worth! On the right is my 'What I Am Using Now" box... just bits and pieces that get in the way as I'm crafting, but that I use often - they stay sort-of tidy in my box. One cold cup of tea and a few bits and pieces scattered over, and this is my desk :)

Did you notice my little pressie? The green sleigh was a gift from my dearest friend Ms Lizzie - isn't it the cutest?!  She's also made me some miniature books for the 'Woman In Black Study' room - but forgot to pack them last time she paid a visit, so I'll show those when I get a chance to photograph them.

Apart from my desk, I have also commandeered the dining table...

I am just using a wood dye to stain lots of bits and pieces of wood I have lying around... from lollipop and cocktail sticks to a wooden fan - I thought I'd get them ready for a few projects I may work on for the dolls house. I shan't share right now - because if it turns out as bad as the fireplace topper, I certainly won't be showing any of it off!

Apologies for a long-winded post... but here's hoping your Wednesday ~ and the rest of the week too ~is a massively happy one!

WOYWW #344

Ah, the pure bliss of getting back to normality with a weekly peruse of desks, hosted by the ever multi-talented Ms Julia at The Stamping Ground.

I'll quickly get to my desk before a quick round-up of the seasons events...

I shall be number... 47 for this weeks "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?"

My desk - as of the very early hours of Wednesday - is actually organised. It's still a mess - but it's an organised mess :)

After finishing the floor of the dolls house kitchen (made with card... I am forever the paper crafter at heart), I decided to make a start on the walls - high wooden tongue-in-groove type walls with a whitewashed top half (or quarter... whatever it turns out to be). The pine had to go - I just wood-dyed everything in a dark oak. The wall panelling is made from lolly sticks - though between me and Ms Lizzie, I think we've bought up all popsicle sticks in Southampton - there seems to be a shortage!

 Originally, this wood was going to be the flooring - but seeing as I didn't have enough lolly sticks to do a whole floor, I changed my mind :) I will have lots of utensils hanging off the narrow shelf, and hopefully, a mish-mash of plates and crockery too. Even the poor stove didn't get away with being left as is... I tore off the backing shelf and the stove pipe to be replaced with a longer pipe straight to the ceiling - the plan is that the fixings to the ceiling will be made from buttons from my stash.

 

Behind the oven, a 'tiled' background - with wood surround - those are leftovers from my 1:24th scale house build - waste not, want not!

And so onto the past few weeks...

A busy Christmas season last year, with my  oven conking out on me Christmas Day, with a final flourish of "Nah, can't be bothered" kaputedness on Boxing Day... I had a meal to cook for 11 on the first day, and 7 on the following. I then had my grandchildren visit on the 27th with my mum-in-law and brother-in-law... What a mess! But I did it - I succeeded without my oven.

My son named me "The Shaven Grinch" (which makes a change from Alzheimer's McGee I suppose)... Why? ... you may ask. Well the tradition in my home is that the Christmas tree goes up on the 1st of November... and it is down by 26th December. Come Christmas Day evening, those decorations came down quicker than My Aunt at the Boxing Day Sales. My son was spending Christmas with us, and he had a little nap early evening... when he went to bed the tree was up, two hours later, my son woke up and the house was back to normal with no signs of Christmas anywhere. "You stole Christmas, Mum!" my son cried - and then came up with the new nickname. Apparently nobody can destroy Christmas as quickly as me - though my oven did try :D

 

My new cooker was installed on Sunday with an impromptu roast at 7.30pm to celebrate being able to cook again :)

 

Apart from that, I have done very little - apart from think a lot about the dolls house. What I am enjoying more than anything right now, is using paper-crafting to make a lot of the little things - like rusty enamel jugs, books and furniture.

 ... and those floor tiles for the dolls house kitchen, of course :)