WOYWW 402, cards and a few new things....

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

Another dull day here in Kent - I really miss the sun can we please have a few days of it ? Or at least one whole day of bright sunshine!!! Please!!! That's my moan for the day!
Did you have a nice Valentines Day? We went out with our MG and had a lunch in a country side pub! Nice! At least I didn't have to cook!
Getting on with the usual stuff I have been busy up till yesterday with my Valentine's day cards and all sorts of other things.....my desk is as messy as ever - well I do tidy up almost every day but as soon as I make something we are back to square one! Huh!
So here is my messy desk...

Besides the usual mess there are a few novelties - I bought a few little bottles of enamel accents - I think they will be quite useful! Then there is a new sizzix wild flower die from TH. You must know by now that I am crazy about flowers so such dies grab my attention and end up in my stash...on the right hand side there is a pile of paper and on top of that are 2 new stamp sets - although I have lots of stamps I have virtualy non with bunnies, chicks and other stuff that would be handy for Easter cards so I got them and one is from Altenew and the other from Winnie and Walter! You will see them in detail when I make some cards with them!
Now here are 2 last cards from the Valentine's Day batch.....

I got some lovely mail art from Donna.....

I sent back a card in this colorful envelope.....I used distress inks to color the roses and then of course realised that if the postman carries it around in the rain it will turn into a big mess so I dried it properly and then put some glaze medium on it to protect it ! I did a test before hand as that could turn into a mess too but if you do it fast it works..... I know there is this TH micro glaze thing you can buy but a tiny container cost around 9 pounds so I think using the medium is cheaper!

 

And as last her is something I have been doing this morning .....just stamping and coloring but I don't know what it will end up being.....

I started here...

and ended here....

So there I think I am finished now - I have lots to do this week - 2 sympathy cards, 2 birthday cards and of course it is time to start on my Easter cards - busy times aye?

Have a lovely crafty week !
Hugs to all of you,
CARDARIAN

WOYWW 401, Operation date and beading!

My dear bloggy friends! 

I am so sorry I missed the 400 WOYWW! I did make stuff to show but when Wednesday came I was a bit down as my dear DBF got his operation date! Well we are very happy to have finally got there after almost 3 years waiting but is was a shock! To be honest we both sat in the lounge just quiet both thinking is it really going to happen or will we be sent home again but the next day after the call the letter did come and it is true! 
So that was that I will have to wait for the big 500 now !!! :-) Huh!
I must say Julia had this amazing idea - I wonder how she came up with it and it has brought together this wonderful group of ladies and we are not just crafters but we are proper friends! Thank you Julia for having this amazing idea 400 weeks ago!!!! It is lovely to be part of this gang!
Celebrations aside it is time to get back to business and that is showing our desks! I will start with my very messy desk - I am probably this weeks winner for messiness! Have a look.....

This week I made a few more cards....a less traditional Valentine's Day card....

and two more traditional cards with pink and red....

I also made some felt hearts! I started really enjoying sewing and BEADING!!!!

That is all from me this week ....I still have to visit people who visited me before but I will be going around to this weeks WOYWW gang too!
Have a lovely week and enjoy your crafting!
Hugs to all,
CARDARIAN

WOYWW 399, I am back after a long break!

Hello my dear friends!

I have been away for such a long time! It was due to me being away at home in Slovenia and after I came back I have suffered with a cold that has lasted for ages and took all the life out of me for a few weeks! To be honest I am still not 100% but with this cold weather never ending I don't think I will be for a while!
Still I am back to making things and that is why I am back ready to show you my messy desk and what I have made!
Ohh yes have you noticed the number of WOYWW - next week it will be 400! Unbelievable! 400 Wednesdays ladies have gathered and shown their stuff! Amazing! Julia our Queen has nailed it! No doubt!
Anyway we will be talking about this next week now let me get up to showing you my desk....
 As you can see that pile of a mess are some of my stamps and dies for making Valentines Day cards! Yes that is what I have been doing! I am not organized yet - I just randomly take out stuff that I need and pile it on my desk - I have to get back to be more tidy but for the moment randomness is all I can manage!

 This is the other side of the desk where at the moment my lovely pink glue gun lives - I have finally discovered a good way how to put the tape in! My advise don't look at videos just do it!  You can see a box with my sewing in it a big box of kleenex tissues and that other pink thing is my new phone which I like very much! I changed from Samsung to Sony. I am not a fan of iPhones so this is fine for me!

 

So what have I made? Here are 3 cards I will show you.....

First up - I stamped the background with various heart stamps in pink  and then put some black die cuts from My favorite things (words) and Carabelle studio (hearts) on top.....

Next one with a bit of gold embossing and die cuts again from My favorite things and sentiment from Lil' inker,,,,

And here is the last one with the same die cut from My favorite things but with an extra butterfly one from Memory box..... sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp...

That is all from me today.....I will be around looking at what you have been making - ha, ha maybe I can get some inspiration from all you arty folk!
Have a lovely week and get ready for week 400 of WOYWW ! Wow how great is that?
Lots of hugs to all of you, 
Cardarian

WOYWW, Cards, cards and more cards!

Hello my dear bloggy friends!

I missed out on last weeks action - guess why? Forgot it was Wednesday! The weeks just turn around sooo quick I simply can't keep up with what day it is! And as I am now retired and don't go to work it really doesn't matter except if I want to do WOYWW! So that is my excuse for last week! Back now and in full swing making cards! The mojo is up and down but I am cracking on....so here is my desk!

What you see there in the middle is a background I have just made for a card. Then there is my brand new PINK ATG gun! I have one at home in Slovenia but I decided to buy one here because I got fed up with messing about with double sided tape! Still I was messing about for an hour to load the tape into the ATG gun! Grrrrrr! At home I never had a problem but here I just couldn't get it right! Anyway it is now in use and okay! Behind the gun there is a pile of cards I have made! Still have to make around 30! And ATCs for the crop and well I would like to sew some decorations for Christmas! I see all sorts of ideas on blogs and pinterest but I just can't decide! 
Here are a few cards I have made recently.
Christmas cards first as tis' the season........ 

2 birthday cards.....

an last a sympathy card...

That is all I will show you for today! I am late posting as I was watching the gripping series Missing! Oh I wish they would show the whole series in one go - it is painful to wait a whole week to see the next episode!!! Huh! 
My dear friends have a lovely week, keep crafting and I will see you when I come to snoop around your blogs! And some of you I will see very soon at the crop - looking forward to that!!! 
Lots of hugs to all of you,
CARDARIAN

WOYWW on Thursday! My first Christmas cards!

Hello my dear friends!

I am late, very, very late! Coming on WOYWW on Thursday instead of Wednesday???? So sorry but yesterday we had a busy day and come the evening I was so tired I just couldn't do the post! But I am here now and will link up if I still can!
My desk has finally come into the Christmas spirit! I was happy to start on the cards - it was hard at first as my mind was completely blank but eventually I got into the mood! I only have 50 more cards to make so hopefully the momentum carries on for a while....:-)

To start with 2 blue - snowy ones........

Crafty individuals lovely London Christmas stamp....

Background stamp is Hero Arts, snowflake is Simon Says Stamp die!
This is a religious one I made with one of the stamps I inherited from my friend Jo..... 

And this last one is a bit modern - background is a My Favorite Things stamp and the tree is a Papertray ink die!

Thats all folks for today - I will try to come round more this week - I have been a bit busy these last 2 weeks but by the end of the week all my busy times will be over!
Have a lovely week and see you as I snoop around your desk!
Lots of hugs,
CARDARIAN

Friday smiles with my daughter!

Hello and good morning to my bloggy friends!

I don't usually participate in Annie's Friday Smiles but I have some lovely smiles to share! Recently my daughter has been here visiting with her boyfriend! We had a lovely time - went up to Liverpool to see my friend Jo and after that they stayed with us her in Kent for a few days! Every morning when I turn on my computer I have a look at the photos we have taken and it puts a smile on my face so I thought this would be great to share on Annie's Friday Smiles!
This is my lovely daughter - she has recently finished her university studies and is a professor of Spanish language and History of Art! I am very proud!

Here she is with her boyfriend who is a really nice man very kind and always prepared to help....

We stayed at Jo's and had a lovely time - the young ones absolutely loved it in Liverpool so we will probably go back again if Jo will have us...:-)

We also met up with my partners daughters and family - we had a really nice time - it was the first time they have met....we had dinner in a restaurant and also took a big family photo outside - everybody was supposed to pull a face on that one...:-)

This is a selfie we took before they left and my daughter's boyfriend managed to get us all in even Alan - my partner who was sitting in the back....

So there - these are my lovely memories and they make me smile every time I look at them! I hope you will enjoy them too!
Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to smile! 
Lots of hugs,
Cardarian

WOYWW, a tidy desk sort of !

My dear bloggy friends!

Sorry I haven't visited many of you last week - we were busy cleaning the house and trying to sort out various things - not that we are very successful ! Our boiler isn't working so I am having cold showers! BRRRR! Can't get a plumber! The garden is in a big mess - everything overgrown - we can't get a gardener! We wanted to buy a new matress - that hasn't happened yet ! So although we are phoning up people going to shops and trying to sort things out nothing seems to happen! Huh so frustrating!
Still on the crafty side of things I have done quite a bit! Not actually making much stuff - just cleaning stamps! 
Here is a box full of mostly rubber cling stamps that are clean and sorted by theme in these plastic pochets.....

This basket is full of clean wood mounted stamps....

They are all clean and ready to use - at the moment they are in plastic bags sorted by whatever they are backgrounds, floral, faces, words.... I would like to put them on display but at the moment I have no space to do that so I am thinking...there will have to be another change in my craft room but I am not sure what to do yet! We shall see!
I have stopped doing the stamp cleaning for a while as other things are pressing! My desk looks a bit more tidy!

 
I haven't made anything for a while so I thought I would start with some ATCs to start me off - I should be doing Christmas cards like mad - I need to make 55 as I counted this morning and I haven't made 1 yet! Really worried but I guess once I start I will just carry on! 
So there that is me - a bit of a boring desk but hopefully next week I will be able to wow you with lots of stuff!
 Are you ladies watching the Great British Bake Off? So sad Selasi left - he was my favourite! Still what do you think who will win? We will find out tonight! 
Have a lovely week I will try to come round to you this week - last week was just too busy! Thank you to all that have kindly commented on my blog!
Lots of hugs to all of you!
CARDARIAN

WOYWW, more mess on my desk and 2 cards

Hello my dear friends!

I am a bit late coming on here - we have been out looking for a matress! Need a new one and ohh what a job! You go round shops laying on beds and thinking is this one softer or harder then the other one! Can't decide! And some shops have about 60 beds to try out! If you could have a sleep on there that would be ok! But you can't you just have to go from one to the other!!Huh! I hope we decide soon I am fed up with beds!!!!
Ok then I had my moan so  now  lets get up to serious WOYWW business! I have been in my craft room many hours this week but not doing any lovely crafty work - well I made 2 cards but most of the time I have been - you guessed - cleaning stamps! I am actually becoming really good at it - some of the stamps are being returned to their former glory!!! What is really bad is I haven't worked out a system of how to store them yet so they are piled on my desk with all the rest of the stuff I have been using this week sooo there is a biiiiig mess on there....have a look!

Carnige! And I had such a lovely clean and tidy new craft room! Look at it now!!!! OHHHHHHH!
Still it will be tidy again soon ! I hope!
Here are my two cards I managed to make - both birthday cards! These are not made with the stamps I am cleaning - they are Carabelle Studio stamps which I absolutely love! So modern! Lovely!

So there that is it from me! Have a lovely week! Have fun, stamp and craft!
Lots of hugs to all of you,
CARDARIAN

WOYWW - A blogging break down, but I am back again!

Hello dear bloggy friends!

I have been away for a very long time! Lots of things were the reason - I think I had a blogging break down!
It was the Brexit vote that hit me hard and then it was other things and somehow I just couldn't get up to blogging! I did try - many Wednesday mornings I sat down to write something for the WOYWW post but I just couldn't do it! We also went back to Slovenia and it was busy times there and now we are finally back and I think I can start again! My daughter and her boyfriend has been here with us for two weeks which has made me really happy! They will be leaving tomorrow but I hope they will come again soon!
Even though I didn't blog I did do my crafts! I have made lots of cards, even did some art journaling and of course ATCs which seem to be my favourite lately!
Anyway it is Wednesday and the first thing to do is to show what you have on your desk! Bare with me for a little explanation... Last week we spent a few days with my lovely friend Jo and her husband Dave in Liverpool! She has given up making cards and stamping and is now more interested in sewing and making quilts! So I inherited a huge amount of stamps that she has been collecting over the years! They are lovely stamps - some brand new but lots of them lovely but very, very dirty! Anybody who knows me knows I am not one for dirty stamps so I now have this big task of cleaning all the dirty ones. I bought various stamp cleaners but as my dear friend Jo recommended Oil of Olbas is the best for the job! And it does work miraculasly! So here is the pile I have already managed to clean....

This is how the oil works....here is a before cleaning picture...

and this is  after cleaning.....

I still have a lot to do -  a big Boots bag full and also a big box of stamps that still need to be done! And there is another box that was left in Liverpool that I will get later as I couldn't get everything in the car! It is a privilege to have been given all these stamps and I am ever so grateful - I think I will never have to buy another stamp in my life! Or will I???? :-) 
Here is a couple of my recent cards...

a wedding card....

A card and a present  for my daughters boyfriend...

and another 2 birthday cards.....

So there that is me done for today! I am now back in blogging mood so you will see more of my blog posts! In fact the next one will be tomorrow about my daughter visiting England!
A big virtual hug to all of you, have a lovely day and keeeeep craftiiiiiing!
Cardarian
P. S. Don't forget to link up to our WOYWW HQ - Stamping Ground where our queen Julia resides!