WOYWW 394.... oh, go ON then..... It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Everywhere you go...

Huzzah!  Christmas is officially here.

But first let me say - Happy Solstice/Yule to you all.  May the turning of the year bring you all you wish for the future...

 

So, back to business - it's Wednesday, which means it's WOYWW (the deets are here), and we're all getting together in the ether to show off the general mess and mayhem that is our creative spaces.  An honest look at life as a crafter, rather than just showcasing our beautiful work in glossy pics (thought we do that too!), we share the blood, sweat and tears that go into making them.

 

Although you'd be forgiven for thinking that I've used last week's photo!  Nothing has changed at the Morti Station.  The surroundings have moved about a bit and there's something that looks suspiciously like a bauble made of card to hang from the ceiling...  Pinterest....

 

I was at a crop last Saturday, in St Leonards (Dorset), with Craft Obsessions.  That's my friend Noreen on the left there.

 

 

I'm not sure why our Julia was surprised about me having Project Life on my desk a couple of weeks ago, as I've been doing scrapbooking for a while!  However, I used this opportunity to finish off one beading item that I've half shown before, and start another...

 

 

So here's the finished star tassel (Spellbound Beads kit) I shared the star of a couple of weeks ago - you can see from the pic above that it has little stars dangling from it - the pic below isn't quite so clear on that point!

 

 

And the other item I had just started above is shown finished below - a peyote stitch triquetra.  It is supposed to be one half of a pair of earrings for Lil Miss B (don't worry, she doesn't read my blog!) but they worked out to be so large, I don't think she'll ever wear them!  So instead I'm going to offer her a choice.  Earrings, or a pendant, or a brooch maybe.  Or perhaps even a decoration for her Christmas tree - her's is black with red decorations on, so it'll fit in perfectly. She loves triquetras and triskeles!

 

Following on from last week's giggle over baubles in hats, I shared on FB for Shazsilverwolf's benefit these photos of the actual "ornaments" in hats.... did I say we were nutters in this house...?

And lastly, here's another treat from Pinterest - I fell in love with these on that website, and just had to do my own.  I've not lit it, but I do like it!  It's a Liliput Lane house from my collection inside...

 

So cute!

Soooo - happy Christmas to you all.  I hope you all keep well and sane over the next week, and I'll see you back here for the Betwixtmas issue.  I might post on Xmas day, to save my own sanity, as we have all the Crumblies with us (David's parents, and my Mum!).

Happy Hopping!

WOYWW 391 - the post crop post!

WELL!

How much fun was that?  I'm not going to bore you all silly with yet another post about crop.  The measly couple of photos I took pall into insignificance next to everyone else's, and none of mine were as interesting as all the others.... However, it was an amazing day, far too much cake was consumed and it was wonderful to catch up with old and new friends, and generally have a blast.  I got the tissue box finished!

So, lets move swiftly on to this week's desk, for the rounds of WOYWW (see Mrs D for details)...

This week I'm in two places.  The dining room table:

 

And the main crime scene upstairs:

 

 

A closer look at the table reveals Project Life cards - I'm doing the first year of my gorgeous Great-Nephew's life:

 

Hiding underneath that lot is some beading I'm doing for Christmas, that I started at crop:

And really bizarrely, on the main desk upstairs, I'm casting noses!  This belonged to a rather gorgeous black lab called Shadow.  It's a bit warped where the owners might have squished the mould a bit before it set, but each dog's nose print is unique, so it's still a special thing.... I just need to finish it and mount it for them.

 

So, move along, there's not that much that's interesting here!  See you in a comments box near you.  And I'm very sorry I didn't get around to commenting last week!  oopsy....

WOYWW 188 - return of the Morti

Hello strangers!  Who am I kidding - I'm the strangest one around... as long as you don't look too closely at the rest of my crowd "to everyone else we're a normal family".  LOL  Well, I'm back after my break from WOYWW and my recuperation is still in full swing but this is the first week I've really felt like joining in.  That's if the dogs give me five minutes peace - they know someone is in the house and they do NOT like being left alone in those circumstances.  Every hour....woof woof woof woof woof.... sheesh.  Worse than kids... Anyhooo - wanted to say A BIG THANK YOU to everyone for your kind well-wishes, and I'm sorry I've not been by your blogs to say thank you personally.....

So, why are we here?  Oh yes - back to the old WOYWW.  If you've happened upon my blogginess by accident and are wondering what on earth I'm on about, go HERE and read Queen Dunnit's post, and then if you've a mind to - join in!

Soooooooo - my desk this week.....

Scary, isn't it?

Very messy and untidy.  You wouldn't think that I'd had not just one but TWO different visitors staying!  Mum went to my brother's for New Year, and Mr B then took her home *why brother couldn't do it, I don't know, but that's normal* to London.  The day after Mum went, my God-daughter came down from Cheshire for a couple of days but only stayed overnight because she was "homesick" (at 15? Ohhhhhkaaaaayyyyy, anything she says!) Praise where it's due though - it was her first solo journey on public transport...!

I'm digressing aren't I?

SOWWY.....

The desk, Morti, the desk!

Ok, the reason for the muddle is that said God-daughter had a go at making her first card and in the flurry to get her back home next day, we didn't tidy up.  I will rectify that later.

I have been a bit busy creatively but there's not much to show here.  I've made a couple more crochet squares, completed several weeks of Project Life (but the photos are waiting for processing, home printing just ain't cutting the mustard) as well as made a start on 2013 (I WILL get caught up on last year's by the end of this month) AND I finished the gothic tassel on Christmas Eve......

And just to finish, I thought I'd throw in a random Christmas tree shot, just for the heck of it.  Because it was Christmas, and I didn't do it before...

Hope to see you on the 'hop!

WOYWW 180

Short and sweet from me tonight as there's a lot going on in the house of Mort, and it ain't crafting, sadly...

So, it's another round of WOYWW - for the deets go here - and whilst I've not done an awful lot this week I'm working on a fairly major project.

So, here's my desk.... you can see new storage for the distress inks.  They need labels!  Something else to do, eh?  And there's a lap tray - desk no 3 if you're keeping count - and the latest project on it. 

Come closer....

No, I do not have a tiny alien or robot on my desk, it's the light catching a red bauble behind a polystyrene ball that makes it look like two glowing eyes on a fat white alien with a red head....LOL

No, closer than that....

There it is!

I learned a new word this week.  Icosahedron.  I'd always known it, so to speak, but now it's buried in my mind.  It's a twenty sided shape, which just so happens to be the shape the black bugle beads make, buried under the 20 points of this star.  I know it well, because I had to unpick the lot and restart because the instructions were wrong at the very outset.  I'm sure Spellbound Beads don't think they are wrong, but I do - there is no way to make this whole star if you make your Icosahedron with double thread....  I digress...  This is a Gothika Tassel from Spellbound Beads and I'm making it as a gift for some friends of mine.  I'm sure they'll love it.

 

Edited to add - I've updated this blog with a picture of what the icosahedron part of the star looks like.  The shape above is actually a stellar icosahedron which is a 20 sided shape with star points added and is actually a 60 sided shape, or to give it its full name, a hexacontahedron.  My brain hurts.....

 

 

 

 

Adios - see you on the hop!

WOYWW 176 - post Crop-fest....

I'm a bit late to the party this week - everyone else who went has already blogged or Facebooked their photos. I didn't actually get that many pictures - I certainly did a STOOPID thing and didn't take any pics at my house in the evening, when we played "see how many WOYWWers you can get round Morti's table....". It was 6 plus satellite family members, in fact.... I think Jan and Donna might have got a couple of pics of that though. I'll just have to beg a sneaky snaffle of those!

I expect by the time you've got here, you're fed up to the back teeth with "wasn't it a wonderful day" kind of remarks. I'll do my version later on in this post, but as we're here for WOYWW, I'll start with my desk... (scroll to the end if you're only here for the tiffin recipe).

Absolute mayhem - I've not yet had the opportunity to put everything away from the weekend.  There is however a new resident.  Perturbius Strop has come to live with me from Doone's house, and she's just ADORABLE!  Thank you, Donna!

I took part in the beaded tassel workshop with Janet (Fairy Thoughts), and finished mine off over the last couple of days.  Such fun!  I have always loved beading, and it's nice to try something new occasionally.

And so, onto the Crop....

Jan directing traffic in her able manner.... or telling one of us off maybe?  Heheheh

Fergus takes pride of place, dead centre of the photo between Helen (H) and Sam (Hettiecraft).  All of us beavering away at something or other.



Queuing for the amazing lunch you've already heard about!

And just to really upset you, gratuitous close up shots of the cupcakes - top one is the Physalis cupcake (like marmite, you either love it or hate it!), bottom one is the Black Forest cupcake.  To my mind, chocolate is always a winner, and these had black cherry sauce in the middle and the icing was fresh cream...... Yum!

As for the tiffin - here is the recipe as promised to many of you....

Fridge Tiffin

Put 225g of Plain chocolate, and 100g of butter in a large saucepan.
Heat gently until melted, and remove from the heat.
Quickly add a 397g can of Nestle Sweetened Condensed milk first, then 275g crushed digestive biscuits, and 25g raisins (optional). You can also add 25g halved glace cherries if you wish, or cranberries and nuts (whatever you fancy!).
Stir well until fully mixed.
Press the mixture into an 18cm x 28cm baking tin lined with greaseproof paper.
Chill until firm.
Cut into triangles and decorate with white chocolate (optional).

Yes, it really IS that easy to make.  Enjoy!  If you want the flapjack recipe, let me know.   See you on the bloghop!

WOYWW 143 - The Leap Year Day episode....

Aside from today being one day in four years that is uber special - and no, I will not be proposing to Mr B because he's already told me if do, he's saying no - there's nothing particularly interesting about my desk this week.

It's still being held partially to ransom by Lil Miss B and The Beads (sounds like a band!) but I've managed to squeeze my way on there to do a little bit of Project Life.  It's not working out too well at the moment, as the colours of the photos look fine on screen, but when I print them, they come out...well.... kinda purplish.  Need a rethink there!  I suspect the rethink will be along the lines of producing the files and sending them to Photobox as photos to print, but we'll see.  In the meantime, if anyone else has a better idea, or knows what I'm doing wrong, please shout!  I have been using "best" quality to print.....

OK, some of you asked last week to see a pic of Lil Miss B's bracelet.  Well, here's several in close up.  It really is a work of jewellery art - ever single link has a charm or bead hanging off it.  I've not included every shot I took, we'd be here all night!  Remember though, t'was NOT me that made it but some very talented Ebay lady.

Here are her finished earrings:



Well, if that whole post has bemused you, head off to Dunnit Dimensions, aka The Stanmping Ground for more info on WOYWW, and to start your blog hop.

I'll leave you with a farewell from my furbabies, Arwen and Twig, enjoying Sunday's sunshine while I did some gardening!  Funnily enough, this picture makes them look like they're the same size, yet Arwen is almost half as big again as Twig!  Perspective, eh?



WOYWW 142 - this is not the desk you are looking for.....

Hello there!

Sorry, couldn't resist the urge to warp one of the most famous movie quotes of all time... You see, this week, my desk isn't quite how I thought it would be.

Aliens have moved in.

Namely of the...um....pink variety.

I give you exhibit A:

Now, I hasten to add that I am not anti-pink, it's just not me.  I'm more of a purple girl, myself.  But Lil' Miss B is a hot pink girlie, especially when teamed with black and white (and especially with skull and crossbones with hot pink bows...think Pink Cookie) and thus this week's desk is courtesy of Lil' Miss B's Jewellery Design Studio.  With supplies by Morti.  To be fair, she's just after some earrings to match her Avril Lavigne bracelet....

.... which I am VERY sorry to say I wasn't responsible for (not enough Christmas hours in a day, y'know?) but which I have referred to recently as having been broken.  Well, I didn't end up contacting the lady who made it - instead I attached a lobster claw clasp, figuring that for her tender years, it would probably be up to little more punishment.  Thinking about it, you can't tell from the photo above why it's an Avril Lavigne bracelet - it has lots of tiny pictures of her dotted around it.  And Lil Miss B being an AL junkie..... suffice to say she loves it.

No siree, this week I had hoped that my desk would be tidy, and it would have some arty farty interesting work on it.  But no.

So instead, witness Exhibit B.  For some reason I feel moved to show you the states of under and beside my desk.  Yup.  The previously tidy surface is belying What Lies Beneath (ooh, another film reference, go me!) and as you can see, I'm also a push it back, push it to the side, push it under girl.  Ho hum.

I don't think I've shown this side of the room before... I can honestly say I am not responsible for all the stuff on the shelves!  At least, oooh, one or two boxes belong to the family, like the big RUB on top, which is filled with envelopes of varying sizes for the domestic use of.

I have done a little crafting this week.  It was my Goddaughter's 15th birthday on Monday, so I made and sent this card to her.  I think she liked it - I did one similar last year with purples, and the figure was sitting down.  I love Kenny K's digi stamps.

Bless me, nearly forgetting myself.  In case you've arrived here from some distant planet, or indeed QVC (nudge nudge, wink wink), you're probably wondering why I'm flashing my stash.  And my desk.  Etc.  Well, head over to Dunnit Dimensions and all will be revealed.

Meanwhile, from me and Wiggy here - catch you on the bloghop!



WOYWW 134 - or.... WWUYCT

Welcome to the Betwixtmas WOYWW - and on this occasion, I'm also calling it WWUYCT, or What Was Under Your Christmas Tree?

For newbies who don't have a clue what I'm on about, the deets can be found HERE at Dunnit Dimensions.

I had a bit of a fail this week.  I had every intention of visiting everyone who visited me on last week's WOYWW, and didn't.  I simply didn't get on the computer.  I also intended to post on Christmas day, but we went for a Xmas Geocache, and were out for 4 hours, finding 18 Geocaches on a six mile walk.  It was an epic success, and made our Xmas, I have to say. 

Yes we're sad, but how many of you managed to get an 11 year old to walk 6 miles on Christmas Day without complaining, and more to the point, having only opened TWO presents???  An equal success, because it wore out some of her bounce, made Christmas last all day, and then into the bargain, the originator of the Cache ring watched us do part of it from his home, and came out halfway through to ply us with Mince Pies!  Yay!  Can I just add that Lil Miss B is as "into" Geocaching as we are, so it was no hardship for her, she enjoyed it as much as we did. 

Well, onto the main point of my blathering.

My desk this week, as you can see, is clean and pretty tidy.  All ready for the next bout of creativity. 

My fingers are itching.  Amongst my lovely presents was a signed book from Spellbound Beads on beaded baubles, and a kit of the Emperor Bauble (this will be my third bauble from SB themselves).  Having not actually done the last one I bought (The Romanov), I feel I should complete it before starting the new one.  And I feel confident to start it because I actually finished the Charmed Stocking on Boxing Day, and it now hangs on our tree after its photo shoot (see below).

As for WWUYCT - here are the gratuitous present shots:

Yes, that's a lot of presents, mostly for Lil Miss B!

I had lots of lovely craft stuff in addition to the bits mentioned above - Distress Inks, TH's scissors, 12 x 12 papers, peeloffs in attractive borders, Shapeabilities fleur de lis accents..... I could go on....

 So, I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, coupled with good cheer, laughter, plenty of love, light and happiness, and generally a joyous time.

I'll leave you with one last chuckle though - on his wish list, Mr B had asked for a new memory stick, a 4GB "peg".  Lil Miss B gave him this - a fridge magnet to clip his notes to.....

Catch you on the hop!