WOYWW #598: More random projects

Every time I go into my craft room with the intention of tidying up, somehow I always end up making an even bigger mess! Blame all the scraps lying around - I touch them and instead of throwing them out I start thinking: hmm, what can I do with these? This was exactly the case with these wooden shapes that come with stretched canvases to tighten them (I never knew what they were used for until I looked it up!) Anyway, when I put them together, they resembled little houses, so that's what I made out of them. I stuck the shapes together and decorated them with the altered scrapbooking papers I'd made earlier. Here's the proceedings shown in my desk shot, taken earlier this week:

I used my gelli prints for another random (unplanned) project and covered these cylindrical containers. They're great for storing my foil and tissue paper tubes.

Next, I used bits and pieces of leftover scraps from other projects to produce yet another grid. Yes, I'm definitely addicted to grids! 

So there you have it, my random scrap projects. I'm getting very excited about the 600th WOYWW two weeks from now and our Zoom Crop the following Saturday. Find out more on Julia's post here. If you're vain like me (and who isn't?), here's a little trick to make yourself look good on camera, even first thing in the morning without makeup. It smoothes your complexion and even whitens your teeth! Go into settings, then click on Video and tick 'Touch up my appearance'. You can adjust how much enhancement you need - I used maximum LOL! I wish I could do this in real life - takes a decade off you at least! This works on the PC desktop - not sure about mobile apps. 

I tried to get Oreo in the picture as well but he wasn't very co-operative and wouldn't look in the camera, so he just comes up as a black blob. He got a bit annoyed because I was trying to get him to do something against his will. He's sulking now somewhere after letting me know in no uncertain terms that he wasn't happy - he even bit me! Not seriously, just to put me in my place. You can't just boss a cat around, right? I hope he will willingly make an appearance during the crop and it would be great to see all the other WOYWW pets too!

Thanks for visiting today - I'll be doing my rounds later - hope to see you all soon! xx

WOYWW #596: More gelli prints, grids and a journal page!

I'm still on a creative high following all the inspiration in previous weeks. I literally can't stop creating! So, I'd better get down to business and show you my desk for WOYWW and all the makes that poured out of me in the past week. Starting with my desk, I'm still hooked on gelli printing with alcohol inks, inspired by Birgit Koopsen. This time, I used my 6X6" gelli plate with a new stencil I picked up on Amazon that was a perfect fit. 

Here are my prints, pulled with copper and gold acrylics, which gives them a lovely shimmer. The second photo is a simple mop-up of my stencil on deli paper and the third was an experiment on Yupo, but not a gelli print.

I also developed a crush on washi tapes so I had to get some new ones to add to my collection and also acquired this drawer unit to store them (I think I saw it on Sarah's blog first and have been coveting one ever since!):  

On top of this unit, there's a new grid project on the left and I made another two after that! This is such a fun way of creating, I have to keep making them! It was originally inspired by Laly Mille, but I think I managed to put my own stamp on it. Here are the three squares I created - they're all on my gelli print clean-up-sheets just on ordinary printer paper, which I then attached to some cardstock:

And if that's not enough, I've also made a journal page - or rather finished one that I had started some time ago. My alcohol prints came in handy! (That's a picture of Catherine of Aragon as a child, by the way)

Cat news: I had to break up a confrontation between Oreo and the neighbour's black cat who invaded his patch. They were staring at each other making that stupid noise they do just before a showdown. I stood right next to Oreo and negotiated with the invader, who reluctantly and veeeryyy slowly moved away, admitting defeat. I hope he won't be back for a good while - or perhaps ever if he was sufficiently traumatised by the experience.  I locked Oreo in the house for a couple of hours just to be safe before letting him out again. There hasn't been any problems since, but I'm on the look-out! Nobody messes with Oreo - he's under my protection! I hope the message got through! He posed for a portrait for me this morning:

That's it for today! Thanks for your visit. I look forward to visiting as many desks as I can today and during the course of the week. Happy #596!

WOYWW #595: Tablet, Squares, Grids and More Gelli Prints

Hello dear Deskers! I've got loads to show you today, so I'll cut to the chase. My deskshot was actually taken last week before I set out to work on my new projects, but I wanted to show you my new toy - call it an early Christmas present! 

I bought a Fire HD 8 tablet on Prime Day for just £44.99! - it was an impulse purchase and I never realised how much I needed one! It will not replace my well-loved 10 year-old Kindle, but it's so much more than an e-reader! I can finally follow artists on Instagram (the app never worked on my phone); I can use Zoom (will be joining the Crop!); I can watch videos on the exercise bike (otherwise I would get bored out of my wits pedalling away for hours); and I can play games as well. OK, so I got a little hooked on the Harry Potter Puzzles and Spells game - it's great just don't spend any money on boosters!

Also on my desk, some new alcohol inks. I played a little over the weekend with the same stencil I did last time. Here are the fresh prints (the colours used were denim, cranberry, rust and patina) and I also realised I get nice results if I pull them with a metallic paint like gold or copper instead of white! 

Now onto my main projects this past week: I took part part in Laly Mille's Artist Soul Retreat free workshop. It was fun seeing some of you in the FB group! The first workshop taught us how to make an inspiration journal, kind of like a mood board, gathering elements that inspire us. These are just temporary arrangements that keep changing as you remove and add bits with masking tape. I will definitely continue with this practice as I found it very useful. Here's my first spread:

Then in the second workshop we used our elements to create abstract landscapes. Mine don't actually look like landscapes, but I was still very happy with them. I might have another go at this as it was a such an enjoyable process. 

The third workshop prompted us to create a canvas with a grid. This was my first time working in grids and it was an real eye opener! I will definitely use this technique more often! 

I was so inspired by this method that I ended up creating something similar on a piece of scrap paper - it was just a piece of my gelli print clean up sheet, ordinary copy paper. I started playing with it and before I could stop myself, I  ended up with this:

Just don't ask what "Zimbabwe leather products" have to do with this - I only used that postage stamp for the visuals LOL! So there you have it - a very creative week indeed - and I feel so energised and inspired! Just before I go, here's a photo of Oreo I took yesterday - I think he looks so funny with that expectation on his face "Let me in"! Of course, I let him in straight after taking this photo!

That's it folks - hope to see you around! If I can't visit everyone back today, I'll do so during the course of the week. Happy WOYWW everyone and don't forget the virtual crop on December 5th! 

Finally one that I can easily attend!