Our Chilled Christmas Crop

What a great day … and everyone enjoyed them selves …and ate too much....well I did.

Vicki organized the whole thing … delegating some of the dishes to members. The spread was unbelievable …and have I pictures? …no …we all managed to forget as we tucked in.

I thought, however, that I would recount the menu to make you a little jealous instead…lol

The Feast

Breakfast on arrival

Either sausages or bacon in a soft morning roll

Lunch

Vicki’s Poppy Seed Chicken

Jay's Cottage Pie

Judi’s Lasagne

Angie’s Vegetarian Lasagne

Meat pie

Salad

Breads

Biscuits and Cheeses

Followed by

Amelia’s Sherry Trifle

Lorna’s Non Cheese Cheesecakes

Vicki’s Xmas Cupcakes

Jo’s Winter compote with Greek Yogurt

Yule Log

Mince pies

Oranges and apples

And just in case that was not enough …

Chocolates

and

Rhoda’s Special Scottish Tablet

All washed down with flavoured water and gallons of tea and coffee.

Were we feeding the five thousand? …no … only twenty.lol

Members were set two ‘Makes’ to bring with them …a Name Tag and a Tree Bauble.

To keep us all busy during day we also had to bring certain ‘ingredients’ for a layout … and the letters for a title which had to have the word FAMILY in it ... and then we were given the ‘recipe’ of what to do, in which order, and an hour and a bit to complete it.(Vicki’s challenge)

This is my attempt

Each member was also given an envelope containing a card blank with papers ... 1 plain 1 patterned, buttons and ribbon …everyone’s contained the same items but different colours and patterns…they could use as much or as little of the contents as they wanted and they had to complete it mid-afternoon. We could use any adhesive …glitter glue and inks but nothing else. (Jays Challenge)

This is my attempt …I used stickles on the plain card to make parcels, but it is hard to see.

My game was a Smelly Challenge … 15 smells in envelopes …I had no idea how difficult everyone would find it….but they all had a good laugh trying.

There were prizes for all of these to entice everyone to have a go. There were also raffles through out the day too and a Challenge Bag. Now this bag was full of little prizes …rather like a Lucky Dip but one member challenged another to tell an embracing story …or sing a nursery rhyme …or do 5 star jumps …etc etc.

We also had ‘Hunt the Bauble’ with a prize for the fastest …and the slowest

Everyone said it was the most relaxed Christmas Crop they had been to …and they loved it …and some actually managed to do their own cards and Scrapping too …not me …I was too busy eating and chatting …and browsing around the Angel Craft Shop.

These were the only shots I took… near the end … and everyone looks so industrious.

Take Care xx

PS ... Shhhhhh ....A month today is Christmas Day.

WOYWW wk129 ...and Xmas is coming too quickly

Thank you for all your good wishes… I am feeling so much better … and thanks for the great tips on sealing photos on a canvas…I shall be working my way through them gradually …seeing which works best for me..

This week has been a strange one as it has flown even faster and the only crafting I have managed is making my Name Tag for our Xmas Crop.

I have been planning a game for the day and will be doing a dish to take with me… trying to decide what to take to work on. …not that there will be time to do much, what with eating, chatting and doing challenges …and spending money, as Angela of Angel Crafts is bringing her shop.

I am making this a short one this week …I intend to visit as many desks as I can … apology for no actual desk … it looks the same as last week except the card has moved to give space to make the tag.lol.

Take Care xx

WOYWW wk 128 ... or is it still only monday really??

I feel that this week has flown past like the Red Arrows …mind you, part of it was spent in bed …my chest was so tight and I had no energy, so I gave in … but I feel much better now ... although the cough is hanging on…. and my ribs ache a little. I just wish I could post and not moan about feeling rough …but then what’s a little moaning amongst friends’ lol.

This is my desk on Tuesday afternoon …where I am playing with my quartet of canvases but had to stop, as several ideas were circulating but going nowhere.

I do however need some advice from some of you experienced arty but messy types out there in blog land. What do you use to seal a photo when finishing off a canvas or altered creation? I had a try with PVA but it affected the surface. Any advice would be gratefully received.

This is the desk later in the day … having put canvas to the back I am playing with a Christmas card …my first this year … ‘OMG’ I can hear you exclaim …don’t worry, DD is making most of them …but I have to create a few myself, for the close family.

I tried to photo graph the final card so many times this evening, ready to post for Wednesday but it just wouldn’t work …this will give you an idea any way …its simple… except for making the tree …an idea from a Miss Arty Class … and the letters really do not look this weird … they are actually lighter shades of the green mat.

Thank you to those who dropped by last week …sorry I couldn’t make it to the end of JD's list …maybe I should start there this week, and work backwards.

Looking forward to dropping by as many desks and tables ... as I can. ...not forgetting floors, sofas, ... and kitchen work surfaces ...or bunkers, as they call them up here.!!?

Take Care xx

Wk 127 ….Finally, I've finished my canvas

This my desk ….not quite so much mess as last week and I'm actually working on the desk ….some bits have been filed away ….some piled on the end of my bed.

I am now addicted to playing with paint …and I find it de-stresses me.

I have just watched a card lesson on Miss Art’s Paper Crafting School …. and have jotted down some sketches of the cards …they are meant to be for Xmas cards but I think they could be adapted for birthday ... or anything really …any way I am going to give them a go …after I’ve had a play with these 4 little canvases I have just coated in Gesso. I have filed away papers for a couple of LO’sI had in mind, in to a ‘to do’ box …think they can wait as I am having such fun getting mucky.

I finished my first canvas ….at last …and here it is

These are close ups including what I did with the side..

Not everyone’s cup of tea but I’m happy with it …away to be artistic with out being able to draw.

Lastly …..Catch up on my week ….

The washing machine is now fixed and its cold enough to have the radiators on to speed the drying of our Mount Everest of washing …no I don’t have a drier …always thought they cost loads to run.

My arm is a lot better though I think I may end up with a few hairline scars … couldn't resist scratching …ankle is swelling less often …back is still reacting to stress and ceasing up.

I managed to bake a batch of large cookies …well two lots …white and milk chocolate … and plain with cherries. I totally forgot to take a picture as I was so excited with the results and the back was beginning to ache. When I remembered … there were so few left I wasn’t worth it…better luck next time as I will hide them.

Take Care. xx

NEVER catch a cat.

When Mika is peacefully sleeping on a pile of 12x12 craft boxes which sits up high, on a unit and one is in a world of ones own, gaining much needed inspiration from you WOYWWer’s out there, the last thing one expects is one of the boxes to whiz past you depositing its contents onto the floor…swiftly followed by said feline, who tries to hang on to another box and almost brings it with him while heading for the hard and uneven surface of a printer and box files on its top. Not wanting him to suffer injury ... I try to catch him but only deflect him away from the hard edges and onto a well-padded knee…big mistake. He was so shocked that he clung to the nearest object for stability …my arm …before running out of the room without even a thank you.

This was my arm this morning.

Today was not a good day either. It started last night when I discovered that shutting a cat in my bedroom …without a litter tray … is not the best idea. Wanda is difficult to see as she is a small black long hair and my floor covering is black so when I released her, I sighed with relief that there appeared to be no puddles on floor or desk …forgot to check the bed.

At 1am, after a late night catch up of peoples blogs, I rolled into bed …and rolled out even faster. She had managed to get my duvet, my sheet and all three of my pillows in one shot… I spent the night on the sofa pondering whether there was some spite in the action.

I stripped my bed this morning and headed for the washing machine …meeting Vicki with an arm full of laundry too. Kristofer had been unwell during the night. Vicki popped my load in first and I walked away gratefully … within minutes there was a loud wail, smoke and the stench of burning … the machine had shorted.

I am insured, but a man can’t come ‘til Saturday and we already had two loads waiting…. isn’t it always the way …and there are no launderettes in Fife …even if we had a car.

To cheer myself up this afternoon, I decided to bake a tea bread …a festive one with added cherries, pecans, cinnamon and a splash of brandy …I made two small ones …one for now and the other to freeze …

... really it is best left for 24 hours before eating but I needed to try it with all the extras I had added.....well thats my excuse.

I do hope tomorrow is better.

I am still making my way round as many woyww blogs as I can ...thanks to all those that visited me.

Take Care. xx

Wk 126 …For me ... when inspiration strikes ….there is no time for anything else...especially being tidy.

My desk is ….well ….a total mess to put it politely …there are other ways to describe it.... but none that didn't need a few **'s
I hang my head in shame … I came up to tidy …honest … and then create …even meant to put my clothes away …BUT … my brain clicked in to creative mode …before the much needed tidy mode kicked in.

I have been pondering about what to do with my canvas after I had added the flowers that were waiting to be adhered to its surface … suddenly a thought sparked an idea … a phrase came to mind and I had to do something with it …other wise the spark would fade and be no more…nothing stays in my head for long nowadays …so easily side tracked. I actually worked on top of the pile of boxes you see before you ...fearing that the moment would be lost if I moved them lol

I think the canvas will stay a simple, flat, design but I need to cover it in PVA and paint or ink the sides, so when I have done that I will take a photo and post it as it is difficult to see it in this shot ….I’ll probably do it later in the week. It was a canvas of Carmen’s at ‘Woopido …ings’ that ignited the grey cells in order for me to complete it …thanks for that xx

My ankle has felt better this week …but my back worse …told you I cant win ...its one or the other ...very rarely neither. lol

Thanks to all that dropped by and left comments last week …every one is so appreciated …I love reading them so much and will get round to as many as possible this week.... only managed about 40 last week ...oops

Take Care. xx