Just Another Workdesk Wednesday

Hi!
Lots of stuff going on today. First I was having a play with my new toy earlier. I got this Martha Stewart punch and stamp set. The stamps slot into the top of the punch for storage and the punch matches the stamp design so you can stamp and then punch out the shapes.

It's quite a clever idea but I'm not 100% satisfied with it. After I had a play I worked out that it's easier to punch out the shapes first and then stamp over them. I tried the instructions on the packet and found it too fiddly to match up the punch to the stamped image. The stamps aren't the best quality in the world so I probably won't use them that much.

I did make a garland I think is really pretty using the punched shapes and a vintage thesaurus. All you do is just pop punched out shapes under your sewing machine foot as you sew, it's quite fun. :)

I think I'll make another one and incorporate some other bits and pieces in it, maybe some vintage postage stamps.

Other desky things I'm up to today is getting the design teams kits ready to send out. These are card making kits, I've just got the ribbon matching up to do.

These papers are lovely I will defo recommend them. They're a mix up of My Minds Eye 'Alphabet Soup' and Cosmo Cricket 'Togetherness'. The Alphabet soup papers came in two designs, boy and girl but I went with the boy ones because they're not totally boyish they're actually quite neutral I think. They've got a lovely vintagey circus thing going on which I'm loving at the mo.

I added the little robots too, I think they're really cute!
Well that's almost it just got one more thing - the brooch draw from last weeks workdesk Wednesday - if your name is Rachel M and you love lime green I've got a brooch for you....

Mail me your addy at enquiries@craftyprincess.co.uk and I'll pop it in the post for you.

Happy crafting guys, whatever you're up to today! You can carry on your Workdesk Wednesday fun on Julia's blog here, http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/
xx Leo

Indie Girl

I've been really loving playing the the new stuff from Sassafras. I've done lots of cards so far so I fancied a change and decided to have a play with the lilibee Indie Girl class so I'm all signed up and raring to go. Hopefully I'll be able to start it at the weekend. Anyone else signed up to play along?

Speaking of new Sass I'm currently waiting for loads more of the new goodies, can't wait for them to turn up so I can have a stroke I went for both the Count Me In and Mix and Mend lines as well as the chipboard. I'm putting most of them in upcoming kits. There's a September card kit called 'Circus' and then the next Quirky Kit 'Rock 'n' Roll Star' that's due at the end of next month. I added a peek of it to the CT blog yesterday......

It's going to be really fun can't wait to play myself! Those ribbons are amazingly vivid in real life, neon taffeta = super yum lol! So that's what's keeping my creative brain busy right now, what are you up to?
I'll stop by tomorrow for Workdesk Wednesday
xx Leo

Work Desk Wednesday

I missed last week so I thought I better make an effort to get something up this week. Here's what I've been working on....

 I'm making brooches from different fabrics and using embroidery. This 'L' one I've finished now,

 This one's for me obviously but I'm making some other ones that I'll maybe put in my etsy store. I'm really loving playing with needle and thread it's another fun way to 'draw' I guess but using fabric and thread.

Here's another one I'm working on, a cute little sail boat scene.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hey, would you like your own monogram brooch? I'll make one to give away. If you'd like to win one add your favorite colour and initial to your comment and I'll pick one comment out at random to win and post it up next Wednesday - it'll defo work to push me to make a post next week too!

Carry on your work desk travels on Juila's blog here.
xx Leo

EDIT - Draw for the brooch has been made so I can make it up tonight and reveal it tomorrow (Weds 25th Aug) xx Leo

A little treat = yum new goodies

I decided I needed a scrapping treat after using up loads of leftover stash this past couple of months so I made myself up a kit over the weekend.........

I really love these papers, hoping to get some more of them for Quirky Kits! I accessorised them with these cute birdie brads, some of my fave badges and some Japanese masking tape, super yum! I'm going to add a few vintage buttons and some Thickers in from my stash then I'm good to go. Now I just need to find some time to actually do some crafting for myself! Will report back when I've had a play - if I can bare to cut in to it!
The vintage holiday album from the post bellow is almost done I'll pop some piccys up of it when I do them tomorrow. I've really enjoyed making it - it's surprising how many more ideas you can come up with when you confine yourself to the contents of a kit, makes you really think out of the box.
xx Leo

Workdesk Wednesday

Eek I missed last week, almost missed this week too since we're more than half way through Wednesday but never mind. To be fair I've only just sat at my desk to do some crafty work so it made me think to take a quick snapshot....

As you can probably see I'm working on a little album, it's for the Quirky Kits design team. The album itself I made with the packaging from the kit then the pages are made using a mix up of leftover card/paper from my stash then they're going to be decorated with stuff from the kit. It'll go on the CT blog when it's all done.

One more addition to my desk since the last wdw, I made some mini desk bunting. It's being used to hang stuff from too using mini pegs.

I'll pop around and visit some more desks while I'm working. You can visit some yourself or carry on your travels from Juilia's blog here.
xx Leo

Quick Card

Quick card made with one of my latest card kits, details are on the CT blog. I'm mega busy doing kits things right now. I'm experimenting with having some antique linens custom dyed next weekend so I'll try and get lots of piccys of that to share. I'm not sure if they'll work or not so it'll be one huge experiment :D
Ooh and look what I picked up over the weekend......

They're from an old line from Making Memories called 'hullabaloo' but I've never seen them before so I'm off to look up to see what else I can find - these patterns and colours are so me! :)

xx Leo

Workdesk Wednesday

OK I made it back for this weeks Workdesk Wednesday!
Had no excuses really today because I've been up since 6:30am this morning working so had plenty of time to squish in a blog post. I'm totally rubbish at early mornings and I'll be totally crashed out by 7pm but hey ho.

Doing something 'fun' right now even though it is work still. I got my first shipment of new CHA goodies for the store yesterday so today I'm having a good look and sorting out what is going where. Right now I'm picking out card that will match the papers to make the August CT card kit. I'm not sure whether to go for creams or to pick out the bright limes and pinks in the papers. At the mo I'm thinking it needs the limes!

Got lots of more fun Sassafras goodies in the shipment. Want to peek at a couple? Love these glitter alphabets!

And these Whimsies are going to make awesome calenders!

Oh and I got my clear stamps sorted! If you were here when I was pondering what to do with my stuffed stamp draw then thank you for the suggestions. I went with the folder idea and got clear pockets then all the pockets fit nicely in a mag file.

They'll have to spill into another one if I get anymore - if- yeah right lol!

You can pop onto Julia's blog to visit more workdesks here, http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/
xx Leo

Yikes busy busy busy!

Been too busy and crazy here to find time for blogging of late but I'm spending the next few minutes catching up. I left off the last time with the last of my not so usual storage in my craft space. This one is Cuttlebug storage..........

It started off life as a window box but now it's Cuttlebug storage! I found it in the now defunct Woolworths. I thought it was really cute but I didn't really want it as a window box but thought it would be great for storage and it worked out nicely when I got home that it fit in Cuttlebug plates and folders perfectly!

OK so one of the reasons I'm well busy this week is that Create 10 has started and there's lots to sort out there. This time last week I near had a fit when my computer decided to die on me taking all my Create 10 classes with it! Luckily I managed to get my work back but it was a tense time! Lesson of the day, always back up what you're working on at the end of the day....

This Create 10 is really practical as well as being fun because I've written classes that explore techniques that use up scraps of patterned paper, tools that we don't use much and long forgotten about embellishments.
Here's one thing I made for class #2......
All made from leftovers and my trusty Cuttlebug :)

Anyway best get on, got to get back to being busy! I'll try and make it back for work desk Wednesday ;)

More fun storage

Thank you for the stamp storage ideas, they gave me some great ideas and I've settled on plastic pockets in a mag file, then I can free the draw just for inkpads - going to get them sorted next week.
OK keeping with the storage theme this week here's more storage snaps.

This is where everything goes that hasn't got a 'proper' home. I rescued the cake plate from certain doom in an attic clearance.

Love the pretty 50's pattern. It's very handy because it's moveable so you can take it to your desk space and also you can just chuck things on it and they look kind of pretty so it's working with the whole 'decorative but functional' thing I try to stick to. The tins are from IKEA and are full of cotton reels. The little tubs are also from IKEA they're very cute and stackable, they used to be in the children's bit, I'm not sure if they still have them there or not. They're great for little embellishment bits and chunky things like chipboard. The noteboard we made in Create 10 class last time. The jar is full of fabric and paper flowers, that was from Dunilm Mill {minus the flowers!}.
I think I'll share one more bit of storage in another post then I'll move on from storage. A while ago I found a fun way to store my Cuttlebug stuff and again I found something decorative and repurposed it, it's defo a fun thing to try.
xx Leo

Workdesk Wednesday

Hey! Happy Wednesday :-D

I'm back for another round of WOYWW on Julia's blog. Ok so here's what I'm looking at on my desk today........

I just got this fabric delivered so I was stroking. I ordered a few different ones for a kit I'm working on and I think I like them all, what do you think?

Rest is the usual clutter, got another pile of leftovers ready for making cards on the left, a little book I've got to photo for the CT blog, that's my next job after posting this!

OK so I've been running with the storage theme this week on my blog and just to prove I'm not totally organised I have one big problem that I need to share. Under my desk is a set of drawers and they've got to the not shutting stage so they need sorting out BUT what do you do with these??

Clear stamps and inkpads? I've tried putting them in a folder with laminated pages but they just peeled off and got lost so I now I just keep them in the packets and chuck them in the draw but it's too full now - soon I'll have to resort to not buying any more - shock horror! Please help with your storage ideas, someone must have a great idea I can borrow ;-)

xx Leo

Fun things to do to keep your creative space looking... well.... creative!

Following on from my previous post about storing stash I just wanted to share some fun easy ways of dressing up your creative 'junk' to make it slightly more eye appealing. I'm not a total neat freak, (honest!) I think it's easier to make stuff around you look pretty so that it can be left around but looking decorative, I guess kind of like a purposeful decorative object but it's more of a practical one. Ok examples....
Plain, (used to be) white mag files. I have a load of these around to keep things in. They're functional but they can also be pretty just by adding a lick of paint.......

I love these colours - I added a couple of new ones recently to add a summery vibe, (yellow and pink). They're Dulux 'Grecian Spa', (turquoise), 'Banana Dream', 'Sexy Pink' and 'Chocolate Fondant' if you were wondering. You can change how your space looks by adding a different colour every now and then. Practical but decorative too, why not? Have fun with your organising!
OK so how about stuff that needs to be out all the time? Like say desk clutter, maybe the trusty old glue stick it's functional - yes but it's fairy uninteresting on the eye.

 Just by grabbing a couple of decorative tapes and a scrap of paper you can make it all prettified!
Tada.......

Now it looks super cute, even when it's rolled on to the floor, which is usually what happens in my case. Clutter doesn't have to be boring!
Once you have a look round your space for things you can 'craft up' it can get fairly addictive, maybe you can see something now that could be spruced up? Go on have a play!
I'll leave you with an oldie but a goodie. It's something I've had now for a long time and I think I have blogged it before. If you have a load of threads and needles, maybe you just keep them handy for sewing a quick button on a card etc. then this is an idea to keep them organised but in a cute 'prettified' way.....

It's made from a jam jar, an empty clean one , of course! Make a padded top for it by stuffing a ball of fabric with, well stuffing, I think I used cut off bits of felt for mine. To make a ball just cut a circle of fabric out, sew a running stitch around the edge of it, fill the middle with your stuffing and then pull it tight. Glue this to the top of your jam jar lid. Glue a length of ribbon or trimming around the edge of your lid. Tada! That's all there is to it. You can then use the top for your needles and the bottom for your thread. I can't tell you how handy this is and it's another one of those things you can leave out without it looking too much like junk.

There is one area of my creative space that I've not got sorted out yet - it's my ever growing stash of clear stamps. I might have to share on Wednesday.
Happy crafting!
xx Leo

Work Desk Wednesday.....

Hi!

Got super secret Create 10 class stuff going on on my desk at the mo which I can't share much of, just a ickle bit of a peek.......

So I thought I'd share peeks of storage stuff instead. This is how I store my scrapbooking stuff, it took me a while to figure out a good way of organizing it because I have to fit other stuff in here too and it doesn't always stay organized but I've found if you have a sort out around every month it keeps neat and organized otherwise it just tends to grow out of it's space! So if you're working in a small space that's defo a top tip to keep it manageable.

OK so this is a long tall unit, I got in in a sale in Tesco I think it was about £19. It was just the right size to fit in the space I had for it.

Top shelf, scraps of fabric and photos ready to scrap...

Next shelf, papers and cardstock. I try and only keep a small amount at a time. The sweetie jar is just there as a quirky 'book end' they don't actually get eaten!

Then there's the space for other organised bits and pieces and my current scrapbook album. It's almost full this one so it'll be moving soon.

Then finally there's a shelf for ribbons and other bits. The basket was packaging for a prezzie I got, it just fit in that space so I could re-use it.

So how do you keep organised in a small space? Maybe you've got a top tip to share?

Peek at more 'workspaces' today on Juila's blog here.

xx Leo

'Office Tabs' Tutorial

I've noticed this fun little office style stationary is eeking through into ready made scrapbook embellishments just recently.

I think they're really cute but my mission since this May has been to use things I have already so I took a good look at some 'office tab' embellishments and worked a way to make some from leftovers.
All I used was paper and card leftovers, a corner rounder and my paper trimmer......

Cut a piece from the scrap paper that measures 3x2.5 inches. Score and fold it in half along the longest length.

Cut off two corners from the folded edge.

Round off the top corners with your corner rounder.
 

Tada, really simple right? You can then have fun decorating them up......
 

I've given it a texture with an embossing folder then cut a shape from more card and cut a tiny heart from a tiny leftover piece of American Crafts Dear Lizzy fabric paper. The stamp is from a Banana Frog set called 'Documenting'. Everything I had hanging around on my desk. I've recently been rediscovering my dies and punches. I never really used them enough before. It's fun to dig into your tools to see what you can make from scratch.
Here's another one.....

Same stamp set and a flower that's been hanging around my desk for ages!
 
It's a fun creative thing to try anyway.
xx Leo

Work Desk Wednesday

My desk today...............

Looking fairly tidy for me! Mostly due to the fact I've not been using it much. When it's amazing weather it makes you so much more thankful for WiFi!
I've got a pile of papery leftover bits with card blanks and a photo ready to be played with. These camera necklaces I've just been photographing and adding in my Etsy shop, (here if you want to have a look). These were really fun to make and a nice break from making paper things. I'm going to make a fun initial one for myself. I love having a nosy on Etsy so if you have a shop leave a link in your comment and I can come and peek!
More desks to nosy at on Juilia's blog here.
I'm supposed to be posting more boys cards but I've totally lost them, looked everywhere. I think what I've done is put them in a 'safe place' but crikey knows where that is! It can't be just me that does that. I'll keep looking and they'll probably turn up.

OK edited to add a close up photo, they're made of layers of felt with seed beads and lots of tiny hand stitching :) xx Leo

Man Wrap

Man wrap comes in one colour 'manilla' because basics will do just fine, is easy to use and comes with minimal decoration.

Actually joking aside this is one of my favorite ways to wrap up prezzies with brown paper and bakers twine. I got my dad an extra prezzie, a book about one of his heroes David 'Bumble' Lloyd. He's the 'off his head' one on the Sky cricket commentary team. He is rather funny actually, I'll be tuning in to hear his shenanigans on Tuesday when England play Australia. Hopefully the England cricket team will put in a better performance that the football team!

Another 'man' card to share

A fathers day card for this year.

Used Tim Holtz 'Woodgrain' texture fade for the background edged with an edger punch. The stars were cut on my Cuttlebug and then inked to colour them in silver and brown. Some of the stars have patterned paper in the middles of them. To finish the title has been added using American Crafts chipboard Thickers.

xx Leo

Work Desk Wednesday & birthday card

Here's what's on my 'work' desk this Wednesday :)

I'm working on a project with one of my Quirky Kits, this one's already gone and sold out so I need to hurry up and get going working on some ideas. It's basically just scrapbook pages I'm making but mini ones in 3x3 size and then popping them along side each other in a page protector. The embellies I made looked all squashed inside the page protector so I decided to stick them over the top instead. Anyway it's a work in progress.
Check out more workdesks on Julia's blog right here.

I've also made another 'boy' card. I'll upload the one I've done for fathers day tomorrow when I can get 5mins and I've got a couple more men/boy card ideas to share. With this one I finally made use of those candy canes! It's for my bro's birthday. I thought I'd go for fun bright circus colours and picked out colours of the candy cane. It's not your typical 'mens' card but I figure it's a birthday card - it should be fun and bright!

It's a mix of Basic Grey, (papers) October Afternoon, (papers and alphabet stickers) and Cosmo Cricket, (tag and alphabet stickers) goodies. Candy canes from my local newsagent, ribbon from Ribbon Oasis.

xx Leo

Let's hear it for the boys week #1

These next few weeks I have quite a lot of 'boy' occasions to make cards for. I bet my card draw isn't the only one lacking in suitable cards for men so I figured why not devote a week, {or at least 3 or 4 days worth of a week} to cards/gifts suitable for those funny bloke folk.

Today to share I've got a prezzie I've made for Dad for fathers day. I made him one as a Christmas gift a couple of Christmas's ago and he really liked it so he's got another one......

It's a minibook for music and lyrics. I made it from old denim jeans and stitched paper and other fabric strips on top then grunged it all up with paint and spritzed ink.

Because it's made of fabric it also folds up so it can be stuffed in a pocket, something I think that's much appreciated by the bloke folk since they don't tend to use handbags....

Next project to do - cards, one for a birthday on Sunday and another to go with this gift. Hmmm.....

xx Leo

Just a note

I've been making more note cards this week. I'm still limiting myself to using what I have already but it's actually a much easier way to craft because there's less time thinking about what to pick out. I'm also reusing packaging to make the note card bases and I've got a pile of off cuts for the purpose too. I love the nice dark kraft colour of this packaging though too. For inspiration I turned to this weeks challenge on the American Crafts blog. This week the challenge is to pick something inspirational from the American Crafts blog and scraplift it. That's not much of a challenge really as the blog is full of yum stuff, check it out here, http://www.americancrafts.typepad.com/
I picked out this project and this project and here's what I came up with.....

I used lots of lovely American Crafts papers from my stash leftovers a piece of the lovely Dear Lizzie Fabric too and Thickers. There's also a fun Cosmo Cricket tag, I think it's from the Girl Friday line and I think it works with the American Crafts Dear Lizzy and Letterbox lines really well? After that I made two more...

Used some Flair and some miniMarks on the one on the left and another one of those Cosmo tags mixed with more American Crafts papers.