Enchanted Forest Colouring and WOYWW #349

Good morning fellow Deskers!

Not a Desker? You're missing out - pop over to Julia's blog at The Stamping Ground and get involved.

Just a quickie today as Mum and Dad are visiting.

Not much change from last time, except that I have finally started work in my Enchanted Forest colouring book, which No. 1 Son gave me for Christmas.

In the front right you can see my colour swatch book where I've listed all my coloured pencils, still a few gaps to be filled in, but Mother's Day is rapidly approaching, I shall drop some not very subtle hints! The pages you can see are for my Faber-Castell Polychromos, but the coloured pencil aficionados amongst you will recognise that  the pencils on the desk are Derwent Academy - I'm having to mix and match brands to get as many foliage colours as I can.

Here's a close up of my first attempt. I'm aiming for on the cusp of late summer and early autumn, when the foliage is just beginning to turn...

I've also been stepping right outside my comfort zone and trying to improve my doodling and hand lettering skills...

Still a ways to go, but I'm pleased with my progress so far.


Must dash, I'll catch up with you later. Have a happy WOYWW!

Hugs

Oh help, how does this blog thingy work - I've forgotten (WOYWW 364)

Well helloooo...

Anybody there?

Remember me? Li'l Ole Maisie (MM)?

Yep I know it's been a while (eek) but I'm back. (After some "oh help I've forgotten my password" aggravation!

I'm not going to bore you with the whys and wherefores of my long absence but I will show you my Wednesday morning desk...

Nothing much has changed, once I'd beaten the dust bunnies in to submission anyway! Still the same old set-up in front of the camera, behind and to the right it's a bit more umm, shall we say, congested, and leave it at that?

On my desk you can see my current pet project, my Bullet Journals (BuJos) (one for business and one for personal stuff). I won't say much about them here but I'm sure I'll be posting about them in the future. On the far right you can see my collage art journal, which is about the only creative thing I have dabbled with since I was last blogging regularly. Behind it is a stack of magazine clippings to be used in my collage journal. They are waiting to be filed away. More on my collage journal in another post, perhaps.

The plastic wallet with the red zip is my BuJo pack - it contains the stamps and pens I use regularly in my journals, so I don't have to keep trawling through my stash to find them.

This is a shot of one of my January Daily pages, notice WOYWW is there as a task for today!

That's all for now, I'm looking forward to catching up with you all again.

Much love

WOYWW #254

Good grief is that the time! The Minor Moonshines are on school holidays at the moment and I must confess it is all very chilled out here at Moonshine Manor - so much so that I had no idea it was a quarter to two - must go and make some lunch!

Before I do that though, here is a quick look at what is on my workdesk this gorgeous, sunny and warm Wednesday - to be honest there is more activity on the washing line today, but since I have actually managed to produce something creative this week I thought I would share it with you. (Why? go here to find out).

I've been playing in my art journal, and this is my page for a challenge over at Jennibellie's new  Journal Workshop Ning site.

Short and sweet today - just as our hostess likes it, hope the weather is lovely where you are.

WOYWW #248

Hello and welcome, fellow workdesk wanderers.

We are, as ever, hosted by the amazing Ms Dunnit over at The Stamping Ground - do go there to find out how to play along.

I'm in a bit of a creative slump at the moment, so although there is a lot of stuff on my desk there isn't really much action, but here it is anyway...

I'm working on my March Calendar Girl - a Spring themed tag - not going brilliantly at the moment - but I shall persevere. Hope your desk is more inspiring than mine - let me know you came and I'll pop over later.

WOYWW #246

Hello and welcome fellow desk hoppers! (Not a desk hopper yet? Go here to join in the fun).

It is half term here at Moonshine Manor and I have the house to myself today as Moonshine Minor is visiting Grandma and Grandad and Mr M has driven Moonshine Major to Swansea for an Applicants Day at the University. Needless to say, I am making the most of the lack of demands on my time to have a good old play in my craftroom.

I bought some mache monograms in 2011 (I know this because the receipt was still in the bag) with the intention of altering them and putting them at the top of one of the walls in my craftroom. I had never quite worked out how I was going to hang them up so I had put them away in the wardrobe of despair and forgotten about them. Some time last week it occurred to me that if I cleared all the knick-knackery off my window sill I could stand them on there as a cool, arty, mini installation. So, to get to the point of what WOYWW is all about, what is on my workdesk today is - my altered monogram project...

Oh, by the way in case you are interested, the February Calendar Girl I had on my desk last time is now finished, you can see her here if you like.

That's it from me, what's going on in your craft space today

WOYWW #244

Hello again and thank you for dropping in. You're probably here because you know all about the phenomenon that is What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday... but if not, and you want to play along, go to Julia's place for all the details.

So here we are with a new month - which for me means new blog challenges to be completed. I've been over and looked at Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014 for February - hmmm - bit of an issue with lack of supplies - so I'm still puzzling over what I'm going to do with that one. I'm hoping to start playing along with Kate Crane's Calendar Journal challenge over at The Kathryn Wheel, and of course I have my own personal Calendar Girl Tag challenge on the go too.

OK, so I've gone for the easy option, and I'm playing dressing up dolls again! Here is my desk with my February Calendar Girl in progress...

A different view again this week, taken from the back of the desk from the window end. You can see my bucket of Copics and my box of Promarkers - all stored nib down - SHOCK HORROR!

You can also see a stack of cheap exercise (composition) books in the foreground - I'm using one of these to make notes for my Calendar Girls - so that if I have a brilliant idea for, say, October I can jot it down and not have forgotten all about it when the time comes.

The cardboard tube is the inside of a cling film roll, and is really sturdy - so I'm adding it to my collection of random tubes-which-may-or-may-not-be-re-purposed-into-some-amazing-gorgeousness-one-day, and the empty multi-vitamins pot will go in my box of things-to-make-painty-marks-with.

Aside from that, everything else is either stuff that is still there from last week or being used in the current project...

This is my progress so far - I have deliberately avoided a red & pink colour palette, even though I am going with a Valentine's Day / love  theme. I'm using black and white with a hint of red, and again I'm making an effort to use up some of my stash.

You may be wondering why I have a legless girl - not a comment on too many Valentine's Day glasses of Champers! - I had a mishap with my shading on her dress and inadvertently coloured her knees a rather unpleasant shade of grey - so I've had to re-stamp and colour her legs and will have to surgically re-attach them later!

Well, that's what's happening here today - what have you got going on? Let me know you came and I'll catch up with you soon.

WOYWW #243

Hello again and welcome to another What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - the last one in January! - Can you believe how quickly time is flying by?

If you're visiting from The Stamping Ground you know all about what's going on here today, and if not - you need to head on over there and find out - YOU'RE MISSING OUT!

My workdesk is a little bit tidier than last weeks (and for those of you who visited - YES! - I did tidy up the wardrobe too (but the difference between the before and after photos is so minimal I haven't bothered to upload the after one - I think I need some reasonably priced Swedish shelving to sort the problem out once and for all!))

So here's my desk - mid project again! My Mojo is in full swing :0)

What can we see?

I've taken the photo from the back corner of my desk for a change of perspective. In the foreground you can see a pile of 12x12 patterned papers from which I have selected the most boring, plain, mid blue sheet I possess - it must have been in a stack - otherwise I can't work out what "possessed" me to buy it!

To the right of that is a little pile of goodies - an Amy Tangerine 6x6 paper stack, some Kaisercraft cardstock embellies and a gorgeous little Tim Holtz stamp (an early Easter present - along with some TH Distress PAINTS! from my lovely Mum and Dad - THANK YOU!)

Working round to the right are the freebie stamps and diary from this month's Creativity magazine which I got for £3.50 at a local craft shop (I wasn't prepared to pay the cover price (I didn't really want the diary) and hope that Creativity aren't putting up the price on a permanent basis.) In the middle of the table is a storage box which houses all my mini pigment ink pads.

On the cutting mat is my WIP (work in progress), which is my entry for The Craft Barn's latest challenge (details here if you're interested), and on the left is my trusty Cuttlebug - I am in the middle of cutting out clouds.

So that's what's happening in Maisie's world - what's happening in yours? Let me know you came and I'll swing by and visit.

WOYWW #242

My name is Maisie Moonshine and my craft room is... A MESS!!!!

Why am I confessing this? Because it is Wednesday, and if it is Wednesday then it must be time for our weekly wander around the world's workdesks, care of Julia over at The Stamping Ground. (If you want to join in the fun - go here for the deets.)

The good news is that my craft room is a mess because I have been working on a project - Mr Mojo has returned to the building! ;0) So here is my desk in all its post project glory... (sneak peek to follow, finished project to be posted soon).

On the cutting mat you can see the aftermath of my project - DIs, blending tool, scissors, foam pads etc, etc. On the floor is my stamp catalogue and various boxes and files with stamps in. Sitting on the cubbies on the right you can see five mache tissue box covers which are waiting to be altered (future Christmas prezzies!) The rest of the table is taken up with random stuff which needs to be put away. The purple box houses my Christmas themed stash and is waiting to be tidied back into the wardrobe/craft store. I say waiting because it needs to go in here...

...and as you can see here needs a massive tidy-up too! Hmmm - maybe tomorrow...

Anyway - enough of my slovenly habits! Here is a sneak peek at my finished project...

Any guesses?

And finally - in case you were wondering why I have pipe lagging in my wardrobe/craft store - it makes great insides for felt cakes like these...

That's all from me for now, please do let me know you stopped by so that I can return the favour. I hope you have a happy and creative day. Oh, BTW, I'm off to a mixed media art class at my local Hobbycraft store tonight - I'll let you know how I get on.

Belated Happy New Year and WOYWW #240

Hello, welcome and a very Happy New Year to you all!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to stretching your creative wings again.

It is Wednesday so it is, of course, time to join Julia over at The Stamping Ground and show you What is on my Workdesk this Wednesday...

Today I am mainly doing my Tim Tag for January 2014.  Only just started on the background - and having to think of some workarounds, so progress is slow.

Bet your desk looks a tad more interesting - let me know you came and we can compare notes.

Oh by the way - if anyone has any blog challenges they can recommend please let me know in the comment box - I would be very grateful - I REALLY need to kick start my Mojo!

WOYWW #236

Hello again fellow Deskers - a very quick post from me as we are running LATE this morning.

This is what my desk looks like - still in the dark this morning...

A close up and sneak peek at a card I'm working on...

The wreath I was doing last week - all finished...

and in detail...

Got to go - VERY LATE now. Catch you later!

WOYWW #235

Hello again - it's me - I'm back... I've missed my adventures wandering around the Wednesday workdesks (you can join in by going here).

Apologies for being AWOL for the last couple of weeks - I've been sewing my little fingers to the bone and didn't have a very interesting desk to show you.

It will be my last, and favourite, craft fair on Saturday 6th December. Favourite because it is a Victorian Market and I have THE most beautiful costume to wear (thanks Mum!) It is in St Lawrence's Church in Gnosall and the atmosphere is fabulous. All the stall holders dress in costume and there are various entertainments throughout day - I'm really looking forward to it.

I've decided that I've got enough stock to last the day so I've tidied away all my work stuff and, as you can see, I'm indulging in a little Christmas crafting for myself...

I've broken out the Molly Blooms Christmas stamps and I'm playing nice! This is going to be the Holly Wreath featured in last year's Christmas Carnival pack. I'm hoping to make a few decorations to "Christmas up" my craft room - I've got some fairy lights up already (I do like a twinkly light!) but I could do with some more festive bits and bobs.

That's all from me - let me know you came and I'll try and catch up with you later.

WOYWW #231

Good morning and welcome fellow Deskers!

Just a quickie from me today... I had a VERY successful craft fair on Saturday - THANK YOU for all your good wishes - they definitely paid off! As a result I am now sewing full out to re-stock for my next venture - a Victorian Market in December. Consequently my desk is awash with felt and embroidery floss and NOT a very interesting sight. Soooo... I thought (and I hope Julia won't mind too much) that I would post pictures of my stall on Saturday as I know many of you have been intrigued about what I have been creating with my bits of felt. So here it is...

All designs copyright © Maisie Moonshine 2013

Thanks for popping in - I'll catch up with you later.

WOYWW #230

Welcome to another What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, hosted by the effervescent Ms Dunnit  over at The Stamping Ground. Go here to join in the fun. This is the day when we wander about the ether world and have a good old mooch around the work spaces of fellow crafters all over the globe, getting inspiration, support and friendship along the way. If you've not tried it - give it a go - you won't be disappointed.

So the burning question is "what is on my workdesk today?" The answer is - not what there should be!  I should be sewing like a loony (for a craft fair on Saturday) but I got a bit side tracked by a new challenge letter for the altered dictionary challenge I'm doing with The Craft Barn...

I bet it's a bit more exciting on your desk today. Let me know you came, and your WOYWW number, and I'll pay you a visit later.

WOYWW #229

Hello again and welcome to another WOYWW. (Confused? Go here, meet our lovely hostess Julia and join in all the fun). I'm sorry I missed you last week but I was just too busy to make it in to the craft room.

I wanted to say thank you for all the lovely comments I got on WOYWW #227 about my WIP (work in progress) Halloween tag. It was lovely reading all your positive comments about the window idea. The tag is now finished and if you are interested you can see it here.

So - what is on my work desk today?

Well, today I am mainly making monogram keyrings. I'm over half the way through the alphabet now, but crikey, these little beauties don't half take some time to make! My first craft fair this season is on the 2nd November so I need to get a hustle on!

That's it from me - but what's on your work desk today? Leave me a comment with your Mr Linky number and I'll try my best to come and visit you too.

WOYWW #227

Hello and welcome, how lovely to see you again.

The Moonshine Family seem to be all over the place at the moment with visits to University Open Days at the weekends, so I'm a bit behind with my crafting. (Still haven't stared my Dictionary J page which needs to be finished by Saturday and I haven't even thought about how I'm going to work around my TOTAL lack of TH supplies for the October Tim Tag.)

To tell the truth I've been a bit side tracked by the October challenge over at Our Creative Corner so that is what I'm playing with at the moment...

The challenge is a Halloween tag with texture, so it's out with the texture paste again. The tag on the left is my prototype, but I'm liking how they're both coming on.

I thought I'd also post a shot from the "back side" of my desk. In the foreground you can see a silicone chocolate mould, which I'm planning on using for some Melt Art embellies, the makings for some felt key rings for my craft stall and two empty olive buckets for storing stuff, on the left you can just see my dictionary which is sending out "work on me" vibes and the rest is the paraphernalia for my tag.

That's all from me, short and sweet today. Thanks for stopping by and I'll catch up with you later.

Quick update - lots of comments about the windows on my tags - they're cut with the Small Gothic Arch die from Poppystamps. MMx

WOYWW #226

Hello and welcome to the first WOYWW of October - that's OCTOBER people! Even if you're not a Christmas fan you're going to have to start thinking about it soon!

(Wondering what WOYWW is? go here to Julia's place for the low down)

Not such a fun week here this week, I'm doing some "admin" and trying to tidy up a bit. I have a big pile of stamps which I just haven't got round to cataloguing (I'm an ex librarian and old habits die hard!) So I thought I'd get those done and clear the decks ready for my next Dictionary Challenge page and my October Tim tag....

That was the plan - but in reality it is all taking rather longer than anticipated!

So this is the organised chaos on my desk today...

I did three hours yesterday but the pile doesn't seem to be getting much smaller - I'm hoping some of the stamps at the bottom of the heap are ones I didn't file away after use and have already been catalogued!

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday wander around the workdesks of the world and I hope to catch up with you soon.

WOYWW #225 (Updated)

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday at Moonshine Manor.

First, a confession: my photos for this week's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday were taken on Tuesday - but I do have a good excuse Julia honest!

(If you're wondering what all this is about go here to find out!)

Today (that's today Wednesday not today Tuesday) I am spending the morning delivering part 2 of a "workshop" to a friend who wants to learn how to get more out of her stamps and ink pads. So my desk is set up ready for inky fun and games.

We are hopefully going to finish a Tim Holtz inspired tag we started last week and then, if time allows, have a play at altering some dominoes using the tissue paper and floor polish technique. (Below are samples I made a while back when I first came across the technique).

So that's what's happening here today, looking forward to catching up with what's on your workdesk this week later on. Have a fun day.

We HAVE had a fun morning and I thought you might like to see the "after" shots...

We played nice at wrinkle free distress, heat emboss resist, watercolouring with DIs and yes, we did have time to play dominoes too. LOVE playing dominoes. This is the YouTube tutorial I watched. Check out some more of Racho113's stuff whilst you're there - she's AMAZING!