WOYWW - Something to See, Hurrah!!!

Hi everybody... Last post for me before crimble and last showing of my disreputable desk!!! Curtesy of the madame de desques, Julia de Dunnit, Le Stamping Ground de blogue... opps, got a tad oo la la then, eh!!?? So eyes down for a look see at what I am doing, and a winning SSSS tag made into a card - it really did look like a Victorian invention for something or other!!! tee hee...

 So here we are... still as untidy and dishevelled as ever but full of goody goodness - beads galore for making pressies - some for my lovely daughter and some for Freddie's sisters and niece in Gran Canaria!!!! YAY and thrice... I have a place (if blo-dy expensive) for mum to go whilst the fragrant Freddie and I get away for relative visiting and some sunshine in just a few days after crimble!!! Ah, dear readers, I REALLY need that sun and a rest from all the havoc since we got back from Egypt in September...

 There are some beautiful colours ready to use, and some super silver fillers too. I have earrings and necklaces, as well as bracelets to make, so I should have a whale of a time with them!! It's the sort of thing I can do sitting watching tv, or in mum's room.

 I have even found a watch in the same genre for the wonderful daughter... might get myself one too, after crimble... The green beads are for her, as she already has a bracelet in greens. she was very disappointed on Thursday, that she still can't drive, as one break is mending nicely, but the bone that pierced the skin is not showing any sign of healing yet, and her ligaments are still shot to pieces!! She did weep a little in frustration and shear fed-up-ness at being stuck indoors and loosing her independence!!! Poor love...

 The blues are very pretty too - I have my eye on them!!! Ok.. on to that card, made from the TIO and SSSS tag a couple of weeks ago... I too some of the elements apart and then made an easel card...

 I LOVE this stamp... what a fabulous face...

 The flying clock always makes me smile... The chap this is for has just been 67, so my idea was time flying...

 The "buttons here are the waste from the cogs. I love the texture...

And here is the whole thing, with that huge cog - it's so spectacular. I wish they did more this size and texture. So much to see and so mysterious... I realy like the finished thing - interesting to use the same elements but make them look so different...

So there you have my little offering for now. I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and a Happy New Year. I also hope that 2012 brings us ALL much better luck, health and prosperity. I know a lot of you have had a torrid time like us, so here's hoping all is more tranquil nest year...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx
PS... HURRAH it's now the shortest day!!!!!!! so we can all begin to look forward to the summer!!! Merry Yule everyone!!!!!
xx

WOYWW #132 - Metal Wonderfulness (cheating again!!!)

Hi all, and welcome to the phenomenon that is WOYWW, brought to us bloggers all over the world by the wondrous Mrs. Dunnit - sounds magical, rather like Father Christmas eh???

 I have given up on declaring time is rapidly running away with me, or that I am not ready for the festive season, or that I have absolutely NO IDEA where we will put 1 tree this year, let alone the usual 2!!! My mother's new chest of drawers is where one usually goes, and our much reduced and diminished eating arrangements leave much to be desired, being a smallish table in my (cold) conservatory!!!! So no room in there then either - rather like at the inn!!! Well, where's the crafty stuff I hear you cry, so here is a ickle bit of past history and nostalgia, otherwise known as Lin's last class at the Olney shop!!!! And here is the lovely lady herself...

 The very last class was destined to be the metal stuff I have been trying to do with her for ages but operations and holidays have always got in the way...

 So here IS my desk, just not at home!!! sorry... we have puffed out some images then filled, and left them to dry.

 This is what we were aiming for... lots of different techniques and ideas - 11 in total, apparently... this is Lin's piece, of course!!!

 I will share a couple of ideas with you... this is a die cut shape, in thin card, covered with the metal, then embossed -

 and scribbled to get this fabulous texture. The colour comes from painting over with marvellous Fresco paints from Paperartsy...

 This is Lin's piece, in situ on her canvas... distressed with some black paint and distress inks... Thanks for this great idea, Lin...

 And another FABULOUSLY simple technique is to crumple up humble tinfoil, then alcohol ink it!!! Brilliant, and so easy... it's just mounted on to some card to keep it rigid!!! Thanks for this one too, Lin...

 And her amazing flowers... how great are they... I have decided to curl over the bottom petals, and roll the top ones, instead of the way round I have it here... look back at Lin's piece to see how much better it sits like that!!!

 This beauty was done through the Big Shot - I MUST tell you at this point that my 3rd - yes no. three VAGABOND IS DEAD DEFUNCT and is NO MORE! What a pain that is, eh!! Must be a bad batch or it is just NOT fit for purpose... I wonder if Sir Tim knows that so many are rubbish???!!! So I am in the market for a new machine - any suggestions??

Anyhow, here are a few more pieces we did. They look so much better when they have been grunged eh?? So now I have to finish and put it all together... twill be easier said than done, as I am getting NO me-time to speak of just now... mum is quite a handful, and time just slips away seeing to her needs. I MUST be better at looking after me in the new year... the fragrant Freddie and I are still hoping to slip away for a couple of weeks to Gran Canaria to see his family for their crimble... that's if the care home comes up trumps!!! Cross everything you can, dear reader!!! I REALLY need the break...

Have a fabulous week and don't work too hard on those preparations... it will all come good in the end... Thanks for stopping by, and commenting, you KNOW I LOVE to hear from you all...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx
PS ... WOOO I was top three AGAIN at Simon Says Stamp and Show... I am THRILLED, probably even more than the first time, cos there are so many wonderful entries each week!!! Thanks everyone for your support!!

WOYWW - Art!!! Something crafty to Look At - About Time!!!

Hi Everyone... back again at the end of a week that flew at the speed if light, or so it seems!!! No sooner have I paddled mum to the loo than it's time to GO again!!!! Tee hee!!!!

Seriously folks, it IS that time of the week when we bare all for art's sake and show our desks/workspaces/rooms/etc for the rest of the crafty world to peruse!! All that courtesy of the arch-desk-keeper Julia at Stamping Ground, and I finally have stuff to show and share that is arty and extremely untidy, but very welcome in my eyes!!!!! I have my crafty'oom AND a piece of work to show you - a tag for TIO and SSSS some elements of time.... HURRAH!!!

 Well here it is then.... it all it's "glory" !!!!some new papers from Kanban, a new toy - the circle pro, my box of masks, new scor tape and stamps and all my usual chaos!! Just finished my TIO time tag...

This view is just inside the door, to the right of the desk, and looking to the cluttered floor!!! Drawers pulled out and used as a shelf for some stamps... how slutty is that?? All those bits of paper on the floor, and such clutter!!

and this is from the door to the left - the box about to fall off the shelf is my kit from Laura Denison... It's SO yummy, can't wait to start,  but time is VERY short just now, as mum is keeping me on my toes!!!

So this is what I made today - first piece for a while...

 The TIO challenge is to make a tag with the theme of the film Time Changer - which is Victoriana/Steampunky/Hugoesque (Jude Law's new film) ... my ickle clock is flying away!!!

 The concept here was time changing/travel so the lady is morphing into the top hat man!!! all helped by the cogs and wheels and the time pieces...

 This is a view of the whole tag, set out on a fave sheet of paper from DCWV Tattered Time. It's a huge clock and cogs... I LOVE it!!

 This clock is from a Kanban set, modified by taking the central piece out and distressing it then raising it above the rays and adding a central shiny brad...

 Those of you who follow me or visit often will know I LOVE texture and this tag is just full of it... I used some clear ep on many of my images, and some of the cogs are beautifully textured...

So there we have it again - full frontal... I had a great time making this and hope you like it too... why not find a little bit of time to do non- Crimble stuff and join us at TIO!!?? Please leave a comment, I am craving some crafty chat just about now!!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - Follow-up from Last Week!!

Hi everyone, followers and WOYWWiggers!!! It's THAT time of the week again when the crafty bloggers of the world unite to bare all... steady!!!  only in their crafty spaces/rooms/floors/desks/suites etc... all courtesy of the lovely Julia, desky-in-chief at Stamping Ground... and where has the time fled to this week, again... ???

I am fast running out of time to get mum's room ready... however, we are doing ok and are nearly there!! Here's my workspace this week, then... mum's room

 This corner is opposite the door into the room, and this lovely new screen will make personal stuff a bit more private for mum. It is very pretty and it's something I have thought of buying for my conservatory for a long while...

 This is the far corner of the room, with the new chest of drawers and mum's tele on top.  I think we shall move the drill etc before she gets into bed, LOL!!!

And here is the far corner at the other side of the window, with her easy chair from home... we went up there Sunday and it was VERY odd, to say the least...ah well!!!  I think we shall have to move the drill boxes when she wants to sit down... ok, it's wearing thin eh!!??

But I am still reeling a little from the burning of the horse box yesterday... if you are interested in the latest tale of woe, see the post below, or click here... sad. sad day, and the boys are still really upset. Jay made a list of all that was lost and took it into school to discuss with his teacher - victim support rang us today, we were referred from the police - perhaps it would do the boys good to have a chat to someone neutral about their loss...

Anyway, I have to go today, and pay for the van windscreen to be mended from Sunday's trip, as we had a stone chip it and they are making me cough up £145!!! It has made it a VERY expensive trip to get mum's stuff!!!! Oh well, bring on the next bad thing...

Please send calming, healing vibes for shattered nerves and hacking cough!! I know everything will be ok, but it's getting very difficult to trust and keep the faith... there is a purpose but I can't see it just now!!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx
PS - I WILL do crafting soon, I promise, meanwhile don't stop coming to visit, please. xx

Just When...

Just when you think things can't get much worse... they get worse!!!! I must have inadvertantly killed loads of robins this year for all the disasters that have occurred!!!

So what is it this time I hear you shout... come on tell us - well, early hours of  yesterday (Sunday/Monday) morning, our farmer called us to say the horse box, our old but much loved lorry, was ablaze!!! We dragged on clothes and drove up to the farm to find the lorry completely burnt out and steaming gently. The firemen were just finishing dowsing it down. It had taken 3 tenders of water to put it out, and there had been more than 1000 degrees of heat at the fire's height!!! There was NOTHING left in there... not even the steering wheel!! The partitions were warped and twisted... and no sign of ANYTHING that had been inside...

There had been some pieces of show equipment in there, obviously. The season was not finished when we came home from Egypt, but we had to stop and not do the last two shows because of my and Miranda's broken bones!!! Well, things can be replaced, but we cannot replace the rosettes that Freddie, Miranda and the boys worked SO hard to earn

For example, this was our BESTIST day, with a haul of 4 firsts!! That was a SUPER day, and at the edge of the photo you can see just a fraction of the others we won this season... we can never replace them... and how did all this happen you may be asking??? The fire chief said it was arson!!!so someone cut the door to break in and set it aflame, for some reason... The boys were devastated, and so were we adults. Mindless violence and vandalism...

So now the fight starts with the insurance company, to recoup some of the things lost and get enough back towards another lorry, cos we are not giving up!!!!!!! Burnt lorry and my mum will NOT get in the way of us having great family times with the horses we love...

Please send some positive healing and protective vibes to help us have nothing more horrid happening, cos I am rapidly going under!!! Have got a chest infection just now and started taking the happy pills yeserday, to try and get my act together!!!

Love and light

Frankie

xx

Finally, Fragrant Freddie's Fab Birthday!!

Hi all... as promised, finally that birthday card for the fragrant Freddie's birthday. I have never done a double tri-shutter before and it was so interesting...

I am posting this as I NEED a break from the brick walls at the end of each phone call I have made this morning!!! Not least of which to a van hire company, who seem to have no humanity at all!!! They want the van back by 8.30 on Monday morning, or else they will charge for another whole day... even when I said that Freddie has to be in work before they open at 8 and I have to take the boys to school at the same time that they need the keys!!! Total intransigence - oh well... I am trusting the Dao and just going with it, and something will turn up...

So that card... get a cuppa and sit a while as there are quite a few photos... well there was a lot to decorate... hurrah!!

 Tim Holtz and Kanban... + some bundled twigs to distress... I made it 8x8, which is a size I love to work with...

 This is the first layer, just inside the left front, with letters from DCWV Tattered Time stack - I LOVE that paper!!! I have a kit, from the wonderful Laura Denison, I am about to start on, which uses that stack... amazing!!

 This is inside right, with his age and homage to our fabulous balloon ride in Egypt - onwards and upwards!!! Of course, I made this when I thought things were going up!!! Nothing feels up just now, but I know it will again soon...

 The papers at the back and beind the wooden "love you" letters, are stamped by my own fair hand with a variety of stamps and techniques... fun to do.

 This is as full on open as I managed to photograph... it's a great fold this one... I shall try it again.

 Here is a close up of that stamped paper... with the ghost of a lady, lurking!!! Freddie only noticed her 3 days later!!! She is from a cube by Stamp Addicts and I have used her a lot lately - she reminds me of the cogged-haired lady in the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante stack...

 This is the intriguing back view of the folds, with one of the dangly watches showing...

 The previous 2 photos are of the back of the card.... I made a pocket and put a journaling ticket in it with my message to Freddie...

So there we are, full circle. He LOVED it and was mystified how it was made... I made him an oriental "thank you" card but forgot to take a picture!!! Still, he will bring it home and I will show it you then. His workmates were also astounded as to how it was made and I may get some commissions in the new year, as so many of them were impressed, not only with this one, but with the decoupaged oriental one too...

Well, dear friends and followers, hope you are not too bored, and thanks so much for coming over for a peep. Thanks also for all the wonderful words of compassion and support you have all left, to help me get through this difficult time, preparing for my mum to arrive next week. I am by turns angry, anxious and upset with all the stuff to do, and all the obstacles people want to put in the way, but I expect I shall cope in the end!!! Thank goodness, too, for the fragrant Freddie - he is just a total good egg!!
Love and light
Frankie
xx

WOYWW - Cheating Again!!!

Well, that week went by  like the clappers which means I only have another and two days before mum is whisked off in a puff of smoke and lands here in her new home!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those who are in the dark, please see my previous post. Yep, mum is coming to live with us... eeekkk, frightening...!!! So what do I have for your delectation this week, chez Julia at Stamping Ground...?? well it's this...

 And the cupboard was bare!!! We have stored the stuff in the boxes and the men are coming on Wednesday dinner time to take the furniture etc off to storage. The top, middle cupboard is a booze cupboard, with a dropleaf door... the booze is now relegated to the garage!!! Gulp!!

Standing in the doorway, this is the view into the room, with yet another empty cupboard... to your right, but out of shot, is the previous cupboard...  So this is my workspace this week, getting the room cleared and making room for new stuff, coming on Thursday... Those eagle eyed amongst you will spot my Misty "Fluffy" cat - the grey one of the kittens I thought would die cos of his poorly back legs... just look at him!!! Big fluffy lump!!! He thinks he is staying in here, but I am about to disabuse him!!!

Well that is it for today. Not much crafting done, I'm afraid, but I WILL get to it soon, when I have done a few more phone calls, filled in more forms and sorted more stuff!!!... please keep sending those great vibes to keep me going, I can feel them and really appreciate it...
Love and Light
Frankie
xx