Flat Susan's 1st Adventure

Flat Susan rested before the start of her first adventure with an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn..... 

before flying off from Stansted to Slovenia to join me on a visit to my special friend and blogging buddy, Dolores (aka Cardarian), in Ljubljana.

I'm honoured to be the first travel companion and you can read all about Flat Susan here on the Hickydorums blog of her creator Neet and follow her travels around the world.  

On our first day we met up with Dolores's DD, Anna, who took us to the most amazing, fascinatingly different, place in their beautiful city. 

Knowing I appreciate graffiti art we were taken to METELKOVA for an alternative view of Ljubljana.

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Metelkova City (full name in Slovene: Avtonomni kulturni center Metelkova mesto, 'Metelkova City Autonomous Cultural Center') is an autonomous social centre in the centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is located on the site of former military barracks (the Slovenian headquarters of the Yugoslav National Army) and was squatted September 1993. The site consists of seven buildings and was 12,500 m².^[1] The squat is named after nearby Metelko Street (Slovene:Metelkova ulica), which is named after the 19th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, philologist, and unsuccessful language reformer Fran Metelko.

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Flat Susan really enjoyed the experience and if you follow the flagpole you'll see her ......

 right here

The sun was so warm reflecting off this fabulous mosaic wall 

  Flat Susan enjoyed the colour and vibrance of the place and here she is in the photo below.

  Anna, Dolores and Susan with me.

Anyone can express their art in any form and there are some fabulous crazy creations....

  DH Dave and Dolores

 Most of the art uses recycled materials

Every doorway is a creation in itself.

 There are cafes, bars and hostels.

 If a tree is in the way of a building the tree  stays and the structure goes around it.

 There were musicians sitting on these structures whilst they jammed.

 Time and place to meditate

So many different styles

My favourite wall and I reckon this one would make superb scrapbook paper.

Lots more adventures to come with Dolores and Flat Susan, and next one is in Italy, so keep watching!

Friday Smile!

Here's a quick chuckle, before I unpack my suitcase, to join in with Annie's Friday Smile.

We returned late last night from a wonderful, super duper, holiday in Ljubljana with this wonderful lady, the perfect hostess.

 She took us to so many lovely places in her beautiful country of Slovenia and we had so much fun and laughs. 

One of the little gifts I took her was this necklace (from Primani) with the idea that it might be used in a crafting project... but no! This lady was such fun, wore it so well, and looked just like a rather elegant female Hercules Poirrot!!! 

Thank you so much to Dolores (Cardarian) for giving us such a good time and I'll be posting lots more pics of all our many adventures very soon.

Pop over to Annie's blog to enjoy all the others joining in with her Friday Smile and start your weekend  on a happy note. Maybe you even have a smile of your own to share?!?

WOYWW 206 from Ljubljana

Greetings from Slovenia! 

Just popping in to show you WOYWW... it's Dolores and me, at her work desk having fun and misbehaving and we got together all because of this weekly show and tell of crafty desks! 

As we are off to Italy today, we are sorry we won't be able to reply to any comments and visit other desks but we just wanted to say a quick "Hello".

Here's a special little lady ready to board her plane, with me, to visit Dolores... if you go over to Neet's blog you'll find out who she is and you'll soon be able to share her epic adventure.

Just because we can't visit and comment don't let us stop you going over to Julia's and seeing all the others joining in on on this weekly worldwide blog hop so click HERE!!!

WOYWW 204

My desk this week is outside on the garden table, making an inky mess. A big mess in fact and I enjoyed every sunny, warm, moment of it. The weather has been lovely now that the cold winds have eased somewhat and it was a joy to work alongside the lovely camellia, the daffodils and scillas and other Spring flowers, which have rushed to catch up. 

These photos were taken at 9pm on Tuesday evening just as I was clearing up. I can't show you exactly what I was making as they are for gifts. Most of my makes this week have been for gifts so you'll have to wait until they are all given.

The last of the sun is still there, top RH corner!

 The previous day I started off in the garage, working on the floor, but I realised that it would be far easier if I decamped outside to the table!

Here's a view of my garage floor covered in waterproof cloths and a hint of what's in store...It reminds me that I often say that "people who don't make a mess, don't make anything"!
Does a big mess therefore mean that I make a LOT???

 9pm... amazing evening

 DH spent some time clearing the central flower bed, where our lovely apple tree used to be, and planting a bed of heathers around it's stump. The next job is to re-set those edging bricks around the path.

Indoors or out, there will be so many more crafting places shown over at our lovely leader's blog, that's Julia's place at the Stamping Ground. Check it out!

Friday Smile No 15 & More Fancy Dress

The sun is still shining and I am happy for that and many more reasons. I'm back on track feeling well again and at last getting so much accomplished this week. 

I made a pale blue Merida outfit, which is in my last post, for my grandee in Brighton and I've just finished this one for my grandee in Germany so now all three will have similar dresses.

I love making the head dresses and I managed to make up a practical, soft crown with elastic at the back to keep it in place. There's also a veil to wear under it. The gold trimmings are plastic and come by the yard so cheaply but really do look so effective.

Here's the dress.... just needs to be hemmed when I check the length.... they are all growing so quickly.

There's a head band which doubles as an optional  belt and the medallion is removable so it, and the belt,  can be used with other outfits.

I also made all this!

It's a fancy dress costume ready in advance for Halloween... a witch's skirt and cape, and here's the quirky hat ...

It's Friday Smile Time, thanks to Annie, and I'm so glad she does have something to smile about after a traumatic worrying week for her and her family. After being rushed to hospital, little Sam is happily on the mend so pop over to hear all about it on her Friday Smile 

Warning! Skip the next bit if you have an aversion to rodents....

This was going to be my smile.....We spotted these two amazing creatures in the pet section of our local garden section....... I think they are more of an Eeeew....yuk! Wrinkly hairless rats..... who on earth would want one of these as a pet? Sooooooo, instead....

I thought I'd better give an "oooooh!" too, so this morning I took a pic of my lovely Camellia to share, which DD2 bought me in a tiny pot, for £1.99 in Woolworths (Ah, I miss Woolys, don't you?) about 20 years ago! I think of her with love and give thanks each time it produces it's abundance of beautiful blooms. It is now a substantial tree of about 10 feet high which is such a pleasure to see from our living room window, flowering for weeks and weeks.

Keep Smiling 

and if you haven't got one of your own at the moment, pop over to Annie's to share everyone else's.

WOYWW 203

I've been on a roll this week, catching up with blog entries of all the quilts received for the Lilly Bo Project from whilst I was on my travels. Lots of sewing related projects, but nothing inky until I get started on my WOYWW ATCs for the 4 year blogiversary.

My arty desk is still exactly the same as last week as I haven't been near it as I've been sewing in the guest bedroom.

I've been making tote bags for a batch of quilts which are due shortly, you can see them to the left of my sewing machine.

 

tote bags in progress...

I've made several head dresses for children's fancy dress wear....

some little girls will get a surprise soon....four will be going to a blogging buddy for her grandees to fulfil a promise I'm sure she will think I've forgotten!

and I also made a Merida fancy dress for the younger of the Brighton Belles and she will also receive one of the head dresses. At 3 years old she loves to wear anything that sticks out, that's sparkly, and long, so I think this will be just right. 

I'm also almost finished making a teal coloured Merida Dress to take to my little fraulein soon but here's the pale blue one, finished, which will soon be going to Brighton in the post. With the wonders of Skype I will be lucky enough to see her open the parcel.

Everyone seems to be so much cheerier since we've had some long awaited sunshine, hope you've had your share wherever you may be.

We know our lovely leader Julia has been in Spain, enjoying her share of sunshine, but is home now in time to get us organised for this week's WOYWW. For full info, all the tales and gossip, and lots more work desks pop over to the stamping ground.

Zig Zag Cards Instructions & Template

At the show in Holland recently these Zig Zag cards samples proved to be very popular and I was constantly being asked how to make them. I gave out all my template/instruction sheets pretty quickly so I promised to post details here. 

 I must apologise that I am a bit late but I'm only just getting back to normal life again after the busy hectic times over the last few weeks.

To the person who "permanently borrowed" one of my samples from the dem desk (which I willingly allowed people to deconstruct and construct to help them understand how it was made) you are most welcome, I hope it helps you and makes you happy. No problem for me as I will make another but it did mean that lots of other interested visitors could not try it out and learn how simple it is to make this card. 

I'll add the instructions at the end of this post but here are some close ups of my samples and there are also lots of photos of another one I made HERE on my post of the 28th March.

For this first one, I coloured my own background card using Distress Inks and Stencils and cut out the butterflies from spare pieces of the card.

The small front panel and greeting tag keeps the card in it's required position.

The next card was made using a pad of Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe printed 6x6 papers. 

I like the effect of placing a die cut piece behind the two back points as overall it gives the card a better, balanced, shape and an added point of interest. 

It is effective to leave a little of the surrounding, lighter, area when cutting out motifs as they highlight them very effectively.

I also decorated inside and added small hanging tags inside and outside the folds.

Here's another version I made using some Crafty Individuals small face stamps and my own decorated papers. 

I love the way the little mounted pictures tumble off the edges of the card. 

Just a flash across the front with "Memories" stamped on it holds the front panels together.

Another idea...note that one side of the card is decorated and one side plain.

Here's my template for making the Zig Zag card from a piece of A4 cardstock.

Cut along the diagonal line to acquire the two pieces for the card. 

Trim off and discard the small areas marked at one end of each piece.

Score and fold along all dotted lines.

All of the lines are scored at 1 7/8 inch intervals as marked on the template.

Starting with the two longer ends, interlock the slits at the top of one of the pieces of card into the slits in the bottom of the other one.

The longer ends will form the back section of the card.

Open out the folds into the positions shown in the card samples.

Decorate according to your preference and style and there are several little details and ideas amongst my samples to play around with.

The card will lay flat when folded so shapes can be adhered to front and back when closed and this serves to decorate it and also to fix the sections together.

Be sure that any protruding motifs, eg., butterflies, do not stop the card from closing flat.

Any problems please leave me a message and I'll do my best to help.

Friday Smile!

Here's a Friday smile to join in with Annie's idea to start the weekend off happily. I'm pleased to hear that her little grandson Sam is now out of hospital and home and after all the worries Annie still finds time to SMILE so I'm sure we can too!

We are always talking about the weather in England and lately we have had a lot of it to talk about so I remembered ......

When we were in Slovenia we saw this sign outside a restaurant at the top of a mountain and my lovely friend Dolores (Cardarian) translated, telling us that the donkey predicted the weather by the condition of it's tail! I do think this one may be a little rude but only she ( and other Slovenians) will know.

Here are a couple of other weather forecasters which do the same job but will be more understandable to English speakers!!

Must admit that I have made these for crazy birthday gifts!

If you set one up in your garden please make sure it isn't near the windows incase you get windy weather.

There were dozens of versions when I looked on the net but I think I like the donkey best!!

Keep smiling and why not pop over to Annie's blog for more....

WOYWW 202

Shock horror!!! Yes it's me again and I'm back with a vengeance. 

I've been missing in action due to a whole lot of stuff going on in my life.... as it does.... but I've never missed so many weeks of WOYWW ever, ever, ever. I've not joined in since week 197 in fact! I've popped in out and left the odd comment in between all my travels and visits but it wouldn't have been fair to post and not be able to reply to responses, so I opted out for a while. 

I've been to Brighton, and to Germany, then the Brighton family wing visited us here, then we went to Holland for the big Art Specially show in Zeist. (look at the last but one post if you want to spy on the show). Amidst all this I had a nasty stomach bug thanks to the Brighton Belles sharing theirs and despite their lovely Mummy catching sick in her hands on the train (until kind passengers proffered poly bags) all the way from London to Brighton she, amazingly, escaped the dreaded lergy and I got it!

Glad to be back and missed you all! Our Boss Lady seems to be enjoying herself on hols but I'm sure she will sober up and put the G&T down for Mr Linky to set up this week's WOYWW!.....

 Ducking and diving as I say it! Sorry Senora Julia!

Check out what it's all about on her blog...here at Stamping Ground 

Now... what IS on my work desk this Wednesday?

In the wings are two nicec quirkily shaped, fabby wooden birdhouses I bought today in Poundland (other £ shops exist) and there they are poised ready to be altered.

Poundland also had quite a few crafty items in store including these micro beads... just like Accent beads but they were in the fingernails section, (wouldn't fancy these on my nails). These 12 small phials, for just £1, would be handy to provide a good range of colours and the little containers will be handy when empty.

Leading up nicely or nastily....warning... you may react badly to the following shock of a mess.......

To the dumping ground which has built up to mega mess proportions during all my "doing other things".

There's a huge pot of gouache tempura powder on the right which was reduced to 99p amidst all the guff I unpacked from my travels. 

Now, dammit! I've got to tidy it all up for next week just to show you I can and to give myself a place to craft.

Have a good week and I hope the sun is shining where you are!