WOYWW #620: Embossed teabags and other things

I almost didn't write this post, thinking I can skip one, but I seem to be addicted, so here I am again for WOYWW #620 nearing the 12th anniversary! Hopefully, short and sweet this time around. I didn't have much time to play this past week but I still managed to keep up with my challenges. This desk shot was taken last Saturday - I was running late with my 100-day teabag project, so I opted for something simple and white embossed some stamped images directly on the surface of the teabags showing off their natural stains. At least that TH stamping platform wasn't completely wasted on me! 

This also tied in with this week's challenge in the Mixed Media Emporium FB group (although I didn't know at the time) which was "insects" so I was able to use my trial pieces for a journal page. 

And now for some enabling! I wandered into my local Works rejoicing that they are now open again and picked up these two puzzles - I couldn't choose between them, so I had to buy both! I'll keep them for next winter - something to look forward to! They're gold foiled, which makes them quite special, though it will be tricky gluing them together. I think some super gloss ModPodge might do it, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. 

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Remember the snowy tree from last week? Here it is a week later in full bloom buzzing with bumble bees! Looks like spring has finally arrived (again) and it wasn't even frosty this morning! 

See I can do short and sweet! See you in a bit! xx

WOYWW #619: Clock faces on teabags, leaf prints with alcohol inks and snow in April!

Lots of photos today, so I'll cut to the chase. A bird's eye view of my very messy desk - it's getting to the point where it's no longer serviceable, so a partial tidy-up will be required, leaving enough scraps lying around for inspiration. We all know what happens if I clear my desk completely - it stifles my mojo, but an unmanageable amount of mess has the same effect, so it's kind of a fine balancing act between the two extremes. This photo shows my desk while I was working on my next batch of tea bags for #the100dayproject. 

And here are the finished pieces - I decided to use some clock faces for these. They might look familiar to some of you as they were leftover prints from my 2019 ATC swap and a perfect size for my tea bags. 

I've also done some gelli printing with alcohol inks for the Mixed Media Emporium FB Group challenge. The theme this week is Leaves/Flowers. I first wrote about this process here where I used alcohol inks on a gelli plate with stencils. It's pretty much the same process with skeleton leaves. If you click on the photos, you'll see the definition of the veins in more detail! 

What's with all the snow on Monday? Did you get any? Thankfully it disappeared by mid morning  but I was in a bit of a shock when I woke up and saw this:  

Happy WOYWW! Nice and sunny today! xx

WOYWW #618: Dragonflies on teabags and faux eco-dyeing

Brrr, where's Spring gone? We've been cruelly plunged back into winter and it looks like it might stay unseasonably cold for the rest of the week. I even had to wear my wooly hat yesterday - I never needed it in the winter - or perhaps just once. Got the central heating on full blast today.  However, I'm not here to moan about the weather, but to show you my messy desk for WOYWW #618: 

This photo was taken sometime at the weekend (when it was still nice and warm!). I was working on my teabags for #the100daychallenge on Instagram. This lot features dragonflies. I did a trial piece and then went on to do seven more for days 57-63. Here they are: 

These actually look better individually than all together, which is not always the case:

I had a little play in my journal too - no plan, just random arrangements of scraps (I won't get upset if you think the before looked better than the after). 

The weekly challenge in the Mixed Media Emporium FB group was 'trees' to tie in with April's theme 'nature'.  I tried my hand at faux eco-dyeing. I'm not even sure if that's a thing but I put together ideas I'd seen on YT and came up with a technique involving some cuttings (amongst other things), distress oxides and an iron. I've got some interesting results, but further explorations will be needed, so at this stage it's purely experimental. 

Oreo visited me in my craft room earlier this week and I just had to take this photo, which gives you a different perspective of my desk... he's still sporting just a single eyebrow whisker but doesn't seem too bothered about it. (I have since discovered the missing one in my son's wardrobe where he likes to snooze!) 

...and I caught this sunset a couple of nights ago:

Happy "Spring" - it can't be far off now! xx