Wednesday Worktable - 27th April 2016 - Cards and Gift Planning

I'm actually posting this on Wednesday this week - yay!  (Last week's post was several days late and no-one saw it!).

I'm joining in with What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, at Julia's blog.  We each post about what is going on in our workspace and link up on Julia's post, then take a little tour to see one another's projects (and maybe marvel at how very tidy someone's desk is - or perhaps be comforted that others are just as messy as ourselves... )

This week, there are several things happening all at once, in my work area.  It's a bit chaotic actually, but I hope to bring some order tomorrow.

First of all there is this:

It's a notebook for a customer order.  All ready to be packaged up and posted - all the way to USA!  

This owl notebook seems to be very popular. I've sold several recently, which is fun.  I love the paper that is inside the cover and which has the owl on, that you can see through the little window.  There are also deer, badgers, foxes, rabbits... it's lovely.  

Then there are these: 

A couple of birthday cards.  The design is fun - I got the idea from Paula Pink, who I follow on Facebook.

It's a nice way to add interest to a card. You cut a corner (at 2cm or 3/4"), then the opposite corner (but 2cm further in), then crease the joins and fold it inside - like you can see below.  Then you embellish the bits that show on the front.  The cut-away part is also great for stamping a message, that you can see at the front also.

This is the inside of the first card... I used some glitter-glue to give the top "Happy Birthday" a bit of sparkle. 

...and this is the second card (so far).

And this one is a bit different - I cut the same corner, at 2cm and 4cm, then folded it down, over the decorated front.  I'll stick that plain bit to the front, so it makes a sort of frame.  I think this will work out very nice.  

And finally... 

A pile of leather pieces.

I'm planning leather notebooks.  James finishes school in about four weeks' time and we want to give his teachers something really nice, to show appreciation for all the hard work and patience they have put into the "A" Level courses.  

Thing is, there are six subject teachers from this year, plus a form tutor, also James' music teacher... and we might give gifts to last year's subject teachers too, which would make another three (I think!).  

This could be a bit of a Project - not to mention making a very serious dent in my leather supplies!  I think I'll have to re-think the leather notebooks for all teachers - I can make very lovely books with paper and fabric covers! 

Anyway, thank you for coming to see what I'm up to.  As I said, it's a bit crazy, but I hope to have some completed projects to show soon.  I'll be in my studio and the bindery tomorrow, working on the African Photo Album project that I posted about last week, then starting on the leather notebooks above.  So hopefully there will be something finished to show soon! 

Now you've reached the end, do hop over to Julia's Blog, to see the other WOYWW posts for this week.  

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 20th April 2016 - An African Album

I'm late, I'm late, I'm Late!!
But I still wanted to join the party, so here I am, better late than never, joining in with the "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday" feature, at Julia's Stamping Ground ...   

This is what was happening on my desk on Wednesday: 

Sorting out papers for a book commission.  The customer has just come home from a trip to Africa, where she was lucky enough to work with elephants.  She wants a photo album to use for photos from her trip - "something jazzy".  

I came up with a selection of hot, bright colours and that lovely sheet of paper with African animals. Lots of other papers too, but these are what she chose, so I won't bore you with the rest (though if you really want to see, they are in this photo album on my Facbook page, where I will be posting "in progress" photos.)

I hope to post a couple of pictures of the album, once it is in progress and/or finished, so feel free to pop back in a few days, to see what has happened. 

I also had various bits and pieces lying around, to use for making a few more cards on Wednesday evening, at our regular craft club.  No photo of those though - but I will try and get a picture of some finished cards, in case anyone is interested!

Anyway, thanks for visiting, even though I am so late in posting.  If you want to see everyone else's work desks, then head here, to Julia's Blog, where there is a list of links for the others joining in with WOYWW.  

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 13th April 2016 - Sparkly Peacock Birthday Card

Hello, I can't believe it's been almost five months since I posted on my blog!  I know I've been busy, but... well!

Anyway, I'm determined to get back on the blogging bicycle, so this week I'm joining in with the regular "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday" feature, at Julia's Stamping Ground.

I've been making lots of books, but now and then I have a break and enjoy myself making other things.  This week I'm trying to make a few nice birthday cards, so my little work table is set up as a card-making station:

Cards in Progress.

I'm sure several people picked up the lovely stamp set from the "Simply Homemade" magazine (or the matching cutting die in "Cards and Papercraft"). 

I decided to make good use of this - and the die, which my husband kindly bought for me.

So, as you can see above, I made a pretty card with a sparkly peacock: 

The peacock is stamped in permanent black ink, onto both greeny-blue and magenta paper.  I then cut out the peacock's body and stuck it over the magenta body, before embellishing body and tail with "Stickles" glitter glue. See how shiny it is!  

I layered up various toning papers and also a little punched trim, for some added interest, then used the "Happy Birthday" stamp to make a little panel for the top.  Finally I mounted the peacock on foam pads, to make it stand out from the surface. 

I attached the whole panel to a card blank and used a kraft card window to frame it.  Then I inked the edge of the card and drew a line round the edge of the aqua and kraft rectangles, to make it look more "finished".  

Overall, I'm pleased with the end result - it's been a while since I did any card-making and it was fun, as well as looking quite nice. 

Anyway, thank you for dropping by to see what I've been doing - especially after such a long break.  I want to join in regularly again, so hope to see you all next week. 

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 25th November - Rainbow Houses and Felty Books

Good Morning All!  A contribution to Julia's WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday), at her Julia-Dunnit Blog.  I try to join in as often as I can and I really enjoy seeing what everyone else is up to - especially at this time of year, when desks start to look quite exciting!

So, first of all... I Finished the Bunting:

Here are the little houses, on two strings.  Not quite on my desk, but several of you did ask to see the finished buntings.  I won't bore you with more photos, but if you really want to see more, there is a little photo album on my Facebook page, which you are more than welcome to view - see it here!  

And on my desk?

This green felt journal was finished over the weekend.  It's made of lovely soft wool felt, lined with a holly-sprinkled cotton fabric, with golden highlights.  I embroidered the cover with red, green and gold, to make it extra pretty, then bound it with black linen thread and added a fine red satin ribbon tie.

Inside, you can see the fabric lining.  The pages are made with hand made Indian cotton-rag paper. The edges have their natural deckle, from the moulds in which each sheet is made.  

It's really nice paper, with a texture from the fine mesh that each sheet lies on as it is made in the frame. The cotton paper pulp is lifted out of the vat with a frame, over which a mesh is stretched.  It is shaken to form a layer - or sheet - and most of the water drained off.  Then it is tipped out to dry in the sunshine! 

Anyway, paper-making lesson over... I also made this, which I finished today:

A soft blue felt journal, with white and gold embroidery.  Decorated with a white felt snowflake.  I added a gold organza ribbon tie, which is nice and shimmery.  It is bound in longstitch, with ivory linen.  

The journal is lined with this fab snowman printed cotton fabric, with golden highlights.  Very Seasonal! 

The book is my favourite cream laid "Character" paper, with nice hand-cut edges.  This is such lovely paper - crisp and really good to write on. 

Thank you for coming to see what I've been doing.  I also have a photo album and some leather journal covers on the go... but I forgot to photograph them!  I'll post about them soon, so feel free to come back later in the week and see what else is going on.

Why not pop back to Julia's Blog and have a look at what else is happening this week?

Leather Notebook Cover and Pencil Case

I posted a few photos last week, of a leather Notebook Cover and Pencil Case set, that I had made.
I thought I'd just post a little more detailed description here, as I'm rather proud of them. 

The Notebook Cover and matching hand-stitched Pencil Case, in golden-buff coloured leather.  The stitching is in red linen thread, hand-sewn with a traditional cobblers' method, for strength and a good appearance.  Both the notebook cover and pencil case are lined with nice red bookcloth, to give a long-lasting, attractive finish. 

The notebooks are held in by elastic straps (these are black, but I have several other colours). 

The notebook cover will hold three notebooks, up to A5 size. 

There's a little page-minder too, to mark where you're currently working. 

It's obviously inspired by the currently popular "Midori" notebook covers.  Lots of people have these just now and, as notebook covers have been something I was "going to do" for ages, I really thought I should have a go.  

The nice thing about making them by hand, is that there is flexibility on size.  This one is A5 size - it measures 21.25 x 17cm / 8.5 x 6.5" approx - so it will hold notebooks of A5 size, but also 7"x 5", 6" x 4", or anything in between.  
However, there is no reason why I can't make a larger or smaller version, make it tall and thin, or shorter and fatter.  I'm only limited by the size of leather I can get!  

And, as I am in charge... I made a matching Pen / Pencil Case, that will hold up to six pens or pencils. 

I made one of these for my son's birthday last year.  He's still using it and likes it very much, so I thought it might be time to put them into my shop too.  

Again, I can make them in different sizes and adjust their shape and style to suit the new owner.  

I'm very pleased with them!  

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 11th November 2015 - Little Houses in a Row!

Hello all and welcome to LizzieMade blog on a windy Wednesday!

This is a contribution to Julia Dunnit's WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday) weekly challenge, which I try to join in with whenever I can.

This morning my desk is home to a continuation of last week's project: 

Set One of the little houses for two strings of House Bunting.  Here they are, all cut, coloured and with holes punched, ready to be strung together.  

A few close-up views, in case you want to see.  I used coloured pencils in the end, to draw the roof, windows and doors and all the details for each house. 

I'm waiting for approval from my customer, then I will start the second set - which will have doors on the right hand side.  I have asked if she wants all the "left doors" on one string and the "right doors" on the other, but she hasn't said yet!  Hopefully she will be pleased with these and I'll get on with the next batch later on.  

I hope you enjoyed looking at my project in progress.  Do come back next time - I'll try to put a photo of the finished bunting strings.  

Meanwhile, why not take a trip over to Julia's blog, to see what everyone else is up to today? 

Thanks for visiting!  

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 4th November - Midori Style and Bunting!

Hello Deskers!  This is an infrequent contribution to WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday), over at Julia's Stamping Ground. Each Wednesday, Julia invites fellow crafters and bloggers to show a photo or two of their worktables, and explain what they've been doing.

I don't seem to get much time for working in my studio.  It's just been mad, this last few months (actually, make that years!).  Anyway, "stuff" does happen... sometimes.  So, just to prove it, here are a couple of photos to show something I have just finished (but it's an ongoing project!) and also what I'm currently working on:

Just completed and to be added to my online shop as soon as... 

 

A Leather Notebook Cover, with matching Pen Case 

Inspired by the popular Midori notebooks with covers and a pencil-case I made for my son's birthday last year. The nice thing about them is that I can make any size or shape and in any colour of leather that I can get!  

So, those are just completed and ready for better photos and to be offered for sale.  

Currently this is what's on my desk: 

Experiments and planning for a Commission.  

A lady who runs a student housing agency, found this post on my blog, where I showed a little string of mini bunting.  She has asked me to make her two long strings of House Bunting, to hang in her office.  These houses are 6" tall, so they're considerably larger than the mini bunting I made before. We've just agreed on what she wants and I'm about to start making the "real" bunting.  They will each be six feet long when completed.  It's great fun!

Thank you for reading.  I hope you've enjoyed visiting today.  Feel free to browse my blog, but once you're finished, do go back to Julia's Stamping Ground, to see what everyone else is doing today.

Pass The Page Blog Hop, Bloggers' Weekend 2015

I was lucky enough to be invited to join a group of other bloggers and papercrafters for a weekend away, to meet up, chat, eat cake (of course!) and craft together.  

We went to the RAU at Cirencester and had a lovely big room to ourselves, for the whole weekend. Before we went, Julie of "JSquared" blog issued a challenge for a Pass The Page.  She sent someone a photo of a scrap page she had made, so that they could create their own page, using hers as inspiration.  That new page was then sent on to the next person in the chain, who did the same - and so on.  It's like a paper version of Chinese Whispers!  

I received a photo from Alison, of "Life in the Slow Lane" - I was number nine in a chain of eleven people.  Below you'll see the page I created, using Alison's lovely layout as inspiration.  

Photo by Keri-Anne Pink of Gingerlillytea Photography.  

The two little girls are my great nieces, on their summer holiday by the sea in Cornwall.  I loved the sunset colours, which inspired my choice of this orange ombre-style paper for the background. 

I passed my page on to Ruth. If you'd like to see what everyone made and follow the whole chain and its progress, go back to Julie's blog and follow the links all the way through! 

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday August 26th - Leather Notebook

This is my contribution to WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday), over at JuliaDunnit's Blog. Each Wednesday, Julia invites fellow crafters and bloggers to show a photo or two of their worktables, and explain what they've been doing.
So, my mum's house move is over with - she's been in her new home for three weeks now and things are slowly getting sorted out and back to "normal".  I haven't had much time for blogging, or making things really, but this week I wanted to join in again and I even have a couple of projects to show off!

Julia has started on her Christmas cards, over at Stamping Ground... But I'm still working through the Wedding Season here, also a couple of personal projects. 

This was my desk in the morning: 

A bit tidy, I know, but this is only the little folding table.  I daren't show you my large work table - you might run away screaming and never return! 

So, on the table we have a leather cover for a little pocket notebook.  You can see the outline for the name and a butterfly to be painted onto the cover, plus a little pile of lined paper, for the pages. 

This is the lining on the other side of the leather.  A really pretty screen printed Indian paper.

And in the afternoon...

Finished Leather Pocket Notebook! 

This is a gift for my mum-in-law to give her friend, Sandra.  I made a similar notebook for Mum's birthday, which Sandra thought was lovely - so I promised Mum I would send her one as a present for Sandra, who is a lovely friend to her.  I hope she will be pleased with it. 

Also, you may remember the Honeymoon Album I showed in progress last time? 

Ta-Dah! Finished!

A label on the front... 

Large pocket, inside the Front cover... 

Two smaller pockets inside the Back cover. 

The book is on its way to America right now.  I've shown the customer some photos and she is very pleased, so I'm happy too. 

And finally (is this too many photos? Hmm...)

I've been making scrapbook pages, for the first time in months! 

This is for my niece - these are her two dear little girls, playing in the cornfield, by the windmill on a warm summery day! I want to add a little bit of journalling, but haven't decided what to write - I may ask my niece what she wants it to say, as this is for her to keep. 

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So, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed seeing what I've been up to.  I'll try and join in again soon! 

I hope you'll come back and visit again.  When you've finished browsing around on my blog, do return to Julia's Stamping Ground, to see what's going on elsewhere this week. 

Wednesday Worktable - Wednesday 5th August - Pockets!

This is my contribution to WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday), over at JuliaDunnit's Blog. Each Wednesday, Julia invites fellow crafters and bloggers to show a photo or two of their worktables, and explain what they've been doing.
I haven't been posting much recently, as my mum is about to move house (tomorrow!).  She's elderly and disabled, so... guess who is doing all the work?
Anyway, I have found a spare few minutes and thought I'd post about what I've been up to (and my mess!)

If you fancy a lot of photos and something to "ooh" and "aahh" over, try my previous post, about a lovely day out at the DotComGiftShop Press Event in London.  Lots of pictures of gorgeous new, shiny things to covet...

And then, here is what I have been working on, since returning from holiday:

My main work-table hasn't really changed... it's still scary!  But my small table has had a variety of projects going on... 

Pockets! 

These are for a travel-themed album, that a lady wants for her daughter, who gets married in September and is going to Europe for her honeymoon.  She wanted the album to have some pockets added, to hold mementos, leaflets, tickets etc.  

I've made three bellows-style pockets in white paper, with a blue bellows section at sides and base and fold-over flaps.  

This is the album itself:

Travel Themed Large Photo Album 

Side-on view of the pockets, to show you the blue details.  

I'm hoping she will approve of these, so I can fix them into the book and get it into the post asap!

And just to tie up a loose end or two: 

I finally bound all the notebooks that were ready for sewing, when I posted mid-July. Then I set up a Notebook Sale album on my facebook page - some have sold already, so I'm a happy Lizzie! 

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Thanks for reading, I hope you like to see my various book projects - I haven't really had time for many other things recently, but soon I hope to do a little bit of scrap-book page making (everyone say, "Ooooo!").    

I hope you'll come back and visit again soon. When you've finished browsing around on my blog, do return to Julia's Stamping Ground, to see what's going on elsewhere this week.