WOYWW#604- The early New Year Edition.

A little early, buy no certainty I'll be up to posting on New Years Day! So I want to wish all my WOYWW friends a Happy New Year, from the bottom of my heart. For all the good wishes, and all the concerns for my health, for all the times we are there for each other, you have more gratitude than you can imagine.
 On to the subject of health, and it's possible that at last we have a reason for the recurring uti's. It's odd how just speaking to a different GP can make a huge difference! I had to call yesterday, as I had an unpleasant discharge appear, and this time got to speak to my main named GP, the senior partner. As soon as I mentioned the colour/smell from the discharge, his next question was ' and you've been having a lot of uti's?' Turns out - and Annie will understand this- I have developed a fissure thats allowing fecal matter into body cavity, and thats providing the reason for all the uti's. As it happens, my oncologist had requested an appt for me with my original surgeon over something different, and that came through for January 12th. But my GP was getting in touch to inform him of the new situation, so thinks it likely that will get brought forward. So thats where we are, the solution is going to be some surgery, but will enable an end to the uti's, and let me get some strength and weight back. On that front, because I've been only able to hold down water for two or three days when it kicks in,I've now dropped to 9 stone 2lb, which is a bit further than I'd like to have gone, to be honest, but I should be able to add a few pounds to my frame once this is sorted. For scale, when you last saw me at Crop, I was in the 12 stone 5lb region!Which is around a 45 lb weight loss, so more than I'd have ideally lost. But thats for another day, and I'm sure a few custard creams and bourbons will lay down their lives in a good cause, rofl!

And so we come to .....And Finally........enjoy a last giggle of the year.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOYWW #602- The Almost Christmas Edition

 I'm afraid its a bit more enabling this week- first is a set of Christmas stamps and stencils that were free with Creative Stamping magazine. I rarely buy magazines these days,but liked all the small stamps in this set. I can use them on smaller cards, and inside bauble shapes, which is what caught my eye. It also comes with a tree and stags head stencil, and also you get the mask shapes too.

Lots of images, so was worth the cost. Normally thats why I don't buy them, the cost is too high for the use I'd get from them.

 Had lots of Christmas cards arrive, thank you all, I'll try and remember to take pictures for next week!

More stencils, this time from Lavinia Stamps, I'm very keen on stencils for adding some extra interest to backgrounds, and these are quite different from the heaven alone knows how many others I have!

I mentioned this book to Zsuzsa last week, and said I'd post about it. I bought it a couple of years ago from Amazon, and it's one of the best books I've ever bought. Some amazing ways to not only make projects, but the different ways you can treat paper/cardstock to get some spectacular results. And at the moment, a real bargain, as Amazon has it used- mine was bought used too- for less than a fiver including shipping.

On Amazon, here.

EDIT: link here  to the blog post I did about it a couple or more years ago, showing some of the projects inside.

Hopefully there will be a few more crafting posts done, as having just finished a two week antibiotic course, I'm feeling much better. One of my Consultants from the hospital is also putting me on a longer course of low-dose antibiotics, so that should really help to keep on top of the problem. 

Just to make clear from last week, the Pineapple is claimed to be a great help in avoiding/getting rid of oral thrush, which is always a risk when you've been taking a lot of antibiotics, and I've had a stupid amount! 

 Regarding things to drink to help avoid UTI's, Cranberry juice isn't recommended any more, not sure why, but my Moms practice nurse recommended her to drink a glass of Robinsons Lemon Barley Water every day. Mom had a few UTI's a couple of years ago, and since she's been drinking this, she's not had one, so I'm trying that out too. It has to be that specific drink, apparently, the other Barley Waters, or lemon squashes don't work.

 Which brings us round to.......And Finally.......

WOYWW #601- The After Zoom Edition.

 Still nothing much happening craft-wise on my desk, so looking rather tidy apart from a few new Lavinia stamps. I almost got thrown by our recent Zoom meet, and only just realised today was Tuesday!

Still quite gutted I couldn't make it to post for week 600, but I was literally lay on the sofa, with no energy to move, from Sunday till I think, Friday. Just happy I managed to pull a bit of energy from somewhere to join the Zoom Crop. It was lovely to see so many other WOYWWers, and to 'meet' so many new faces.  So far this week I've managed to get pretty much all my Christmas Cards written,addressed and stamped, just need Beloved Hubby to drop them in a post box for me.

 Sat here at the moment drinking Pineapple juice- fortunately, I love pineapple- as I'm now on a second week of antibiotics, and it's supposed to help a lot with getting rid of/preventing thrush. And hopefully a second weeks course will finally see the uti's off completely.

Next item on the desk is a new laminator. The old one had decided it wasn't going to heat up properly anymore, so, Amazon to the rescue. This one has a fast heat-up speed, a fast release button, and probably a couple of other fancy, but unnecessary bits. £23.

Popping back to the Zoom crop, I'm sat here unsure whether I should be quietly pleased with myself, or hanging my head in shame, for enabling our lovely LLJ into purchasing a Tim Holtz product! as she showed she's bought the deckle edge guillotine. I suspect it should be the latter! So, until some crafting happens, and hopefully it will in the next few days, thats me done.

Which brings us round to.......And Finally..........

Particularly apt, in light of Kirsty Allsops comment, I thought.

This did make me laugh-LLJ and Annie, I trust your hair & make up is in order, rofl.😆😆😆😆

WOYWW #599- The Shameless Enabling Edition

 Back again for our regular Wednesday blog fest, thanks to our lovely leader, Julia over at The Stamping Ground.  Just a week until our HUGE 600th edition, and just over a week till our virtual Crop via Zoom.

 So, my shameless enabling then- a few new Lavinia stamps- loving those owls- and some of the new Distress pads in the latest colour. 

 The reason for nothing but enabling on my desk is that once again, I was back in UTI land, and then I decided to round that off with a weekend in Sciatica City. I like to get around, lol. But so far the UTI seems to have gone, and the Sciatica as well.So, fingers are being kept extremely crossed.

Next item has a bit of a back story. A set of 24 Zig Clean Color markers. I'd seen them used on some HoneyDoo cards, and also by Jennifer MacGuire, and being water based, looked fairly easy. They run out at about £1.30ish a marker, so finding a pack of 24 on E-Bay for just under £20 was a bargain. Shipped from a UK seller, so no long wait. So I thought. After having the delivery date pushed back twice, I messaged and asked if they could give me a definite delivery date. Next thing I know, I've got a refund for them, so that was that. Moving ahead about 4 weeks, and I get a package from Japan. No idea what it is, not ordered anything from there. Turns out to be the Zig markers! So, thank you, unknown Japanese company.

Which brings us round to .......And Finally.......

WOYWW #597- The Not so Tidy Edition

 Yes, not quite so tidy this week, crafting has been done. Cards for the Christmas Club Challenge, using a Sweet Poppy stencil and home-made glitter stencil paste.  Mixed in some glitter to a Translucent stencil paste. Works like a dream, you get all the glitter sparkle when it dries, but absolutely no shedding. Way cheaper than buying the overpriced little pots of glitter paste too.

Talking of Sweet Poppy, stencils have been bought,lol. A set of four aperture shapes, and a lovely leafy background, should serve for this weeks enabling.

Someone asked what the deckle edge cutter looked like- it's this. Gives a sort of torn edge look to the paper/cardstock.

And back to enabling, this is actually a follow up I forgot to do. You may remember those generic tape refills for the ATG I bought a few weeks ago, from Amazon. A pack of 12 for £25.  Well, they work perfectly. Load the same as the brand name, apply just as easily, and stick perfectly well. And as they work out to around half the price of the brand name per roll, darned good value.

So thats my desk for this weeks WOYWW, courtesy as always of Julia, over at The Stamping Ground.

Which brings us round to.........And Finally....................

Can tick of pretty much all of them, apart from The Beatles. Was never a fan. Oh, and I didn't drive, lol.

And we all know the truth of this one, I'm sure. 

Christmas Card Club Challenge #23- Use Stencils.

Hello ladies, and here we are with Rachels choice for this Challenge, to use Stencils.

My stencil is from Sweet poppy, and is called Mistletoe Tree. I made my own glitter stencil paste, using Translucent paste and mixing in a pale green glitter. This is a really good way of glittering stencils, as you get all the glitter, but because it's mixed into the paste, there is no shedding. It's also way cheaper than buying small pots of pre-made glitter paste!

The sentiment is back to me using up my peel off stash, added to a thin die cut label. 

 I added a few half pearls to some of the design.

 And thats my contribution for this challenge.

Not sure how many cards I have now, but suspect I'm well into next years supply!

WOYWW #596- The Tidy Edition!

 

And indeed, tidy it is, this Wednesday, our regular meet up over at Julias place, The Stamping Ground, to bare our desks to the world. 

Cleared everything away and gave it a clean, along with the desk behind the desk too.

The reason for nothing at all on my desk- yep, I'm back in UTI land again, and since Friday, I've felt pretty much like crap, just been lay on the sofa either reading or colouring. But, the antibiotics seem to have kicked in now, so I'm starting to feel human again.  It's a real nuisance, but having a catheter and no bladder sensation means that my first indicator is back pain, which is normally the last symptom people get, when it's actually become a kidney infection. But, I had a chat with my practice nurse, and she's given me some dip sticks and explained what I'm looking for, so hopefully by regularly testing, I can pick it up earlier. Fingers crossed.

The other desk, still some stuff on there,but it's all sorted into 'stuff to do' piles now.

This is the wall next to my desk, with my rotary trimmer, large guillotine and an assortment of scoring boards, along with a glass mat. Stored handy for use, but not the most practical storage solution, I keep knocking the guillotine over with my chair. And the reason for showing this? I have a new thing to store, lol.

I saw these demoed a while back- a deckle edged guillotine- and it went straight onto my must have list. I use deckle edging quite a lot, either on layers, or card bases, and often for my inserts. Which was how I did my shoulder in a while ago, as my rotary cutter takes a bit of pressure to get clean cuts, and I haven't dared to cut any since. So, this will be a game changer, for sure.

I think it'll end up being stored on the desk behind the desk, rather than on the floor!

Something I've meant to mention a few times, and always forget, Shoshi, I am visiting and reading your blog, but I'm blocked from leaving comments again,lol.

And so, that just leaves.....And Finally......

Thanks to Ann in Spain for posting this one on Facebook.😀

WOYWW #595- The Snowman Edition

 The desk- and this is probably the tidy half!  It's WOYWW day again, so lots of desks to visit, thanks to Julia over at our home base, The Stamping Ground.

 I was making some more Christmas cards, this time featuring a snowman. Here I've just added a bit of colour, and am going to add some Puffy Stuff to his hat.

 

 

 

 This is the desk behind the desk, otherwise known as the place to dump everything I've got out, lol.I really do need to clear it off and put it all away. Soon.

 

 

 

  

 

 

This snowman is a very, very old stamp. The company was Funstamps, and it used to be wood mounted. Pretty sure I probably bought this back when I first started stamping, which is more years ago than I want to recall! He's probably my favourite snowman stamp, he looks so cheerful.

 

 

This one is much newer, bought it last year. By a company called Two Jays.

The finished cards are in the post below.

 I kept them simple, just added some colour to the scarves, and a little blue ink added to ground them. Added a sentiment from Phill Martins Stately Christmas Sentiments, and that was it.  

  

Which brings us round to .......And Finally........as it's nearly Halloween, I've added a couple of funnies on that theme.

 

Christmas Card Club Challenge #22- Snowman/Snowmen

Hello ladies, I'm finally here with Margarets choice for this challenge, Snowman/Snowmen. I wanted to keep these simple, just the snowman and a sentiment. I had to be quite firm with myself, as I have a tendency to start adding scenery behind, lol. The first snowman is from a company called Two Jays.All I did was add a little colour to his scarf and carrot nose, as well as the holly on his hat.

 I also added a little patch of blue to ground him.

 The sentiment is from Phill Martin, a set called Stately Christmas Sentiments.

The second set of four is using a really, really old stamp called Scribble Snowman,from a company called Funstamps. I've had him more years than I can recall, and he used to be a wood mount, and I do think he's fab. Again, just added a small amount of colour to his hat & scarf, and some grounding. For the fur on his hat I used some Inkylicious Puffy Stuff. It's a thick liquid in a bottle with a nozzle, and when heated it puffs up. 

You do have to be careful not to overheat it, and with my first one I did just that, and scorched the puffy stuff, and the cardstock! But it was a simple fix to cut him out then stick onto a fresh piece of cardstock. And that's why I'm not confident enough to work directly on my card base, lol.

 

WOYWW #594- The Christmas Stocking Edition.

 

Here we are again, back at The Stamping Ground, with our much loved leader, Julia, for another Wednesday desk hop.

Long shot of the desk, covered in half made cards, stamps, inkpads and assorted other odds and ends.

The sheet of clear stamps are all HoneyDoo Christmas stamps, used for the cards you can see. The pack of fancy card at the front was bought last time we went to the NEC, sort of oil on water finish to it. I'd used some for the bells, and some baubles I'd also stamped. Like an idiot, I stamped in Versafine, which totally will not dry on shiny/coated surfaces. So I redid the bells, and haven't got round to the baubles yet.

Here are the Christmas stockings, cut down to fit on a square card base, and matted ready.

The Holly & bells, I stamped the bells again onto gold paper, with gold pigment ink, and heat set with gold EP. Matted onto gold card.

Also discovered, via a bit of You Tube searching, why I was having so much trouble colouring & shading. I'd been working from light to dark, which to me seemed logical, when in fact you're supposed to work dark to light, and going over the previous section with the next shade. So, you learn something new every day,lol.

These stamps on the left Julia are the ones I was telling you about. I also added a Birthday background stamp- lots of words and phrases for birthdays. Saw a sample done with it stamped in black onto an ink blended background, and thought it would make some quick birthday cards, just add a die cut sentiment. Or you could stamp in Versamark, heat set with white EP, then ink blend over that, so a few options.

Speaking of sentiments, I picked this up in The Range. I have a few friends who don't celebrate Christmas as such, so thought this will be useful. I think it was about £3.50.

So thats my desk for this week, and my regular enabling provided- you're welcome,😀.

Which brings us round to ..........And Finally.............

WOYWW#593- The Paper Piecing Edition.

 

And just like that, it's Wednesday again. Cannot believe how fast these weeks are flying by. As always on Wednesday, we meet up at Julias place, The Stamping Ground, for our weekly desk-fest.

Here is the start of my paper-piecing of the Christmas Stockings from last week. I stamped the image onto cardstock, then coloured the parcels and holly. Then I stamped and cut out the stocking part, using blue and red card. You can also see the small pieces for the heel, toe and  top, which I'm planning to cut out of some glittery felt I picked up in Hobbycrafts sometime last year.

This is it, it's not overly glittery, in fact I may give it a blast with some Crafters Companion Spray & Sparkle I have on my shelf- and in fact, you could make your own using plain felt & a spray.

And here is the first one put together. I used pinking shears to edge the top, and cut it a little longer than the pattern piece, so it would definitely cover the join.

 I've got another 6 to do, then I have the Holly & Bell images I've coloured to do, and the baubles. I'm sure they'll appear next week.

 So thats my contribution for this week, which brings us round to......And Finally.......

I have to admit, it wouldn't be wine for me, I can't bear the stuff! But G&T, or Jack Daniels/Southern Comfort and Coke, and I'm your girl!

This made me laugh, a lot!