WOYWW: The Nose In A Book Edition

Morning, and welcome to another nose at what is on my desk this week.  If your curiosity needs further feeding, why not pop over to our esteemed leader, Julia Dunnit, using the WOYWW button to the left, where you can see more than a hundred crafty workspaces in action.

This week, it's all about the books.

First up, Dan Price's "How to make a journal of your life".  Great for inspiration, giving yourself "permission" not to be the best artist but to draw anyway and for encouraging the reader to really see things.  I keep a daily journal as well as the 2011 monthly journal challenge pages (button to the right, if you are interested), and inspired by this book, I spent a happy evening journaling last night.  My journal looks better for the inspiration from this book.

Then I've been perusing eBay for books to provide inspiration, backgrounds and general craftiness.  Above you can see a 1950s guide to British flora, which has beautiful and clear illustrations.  Also acquired this week, a book of French songs (I already have a big stash of sheet music), a very entertaining 1950s French phrase book (the concerns on holiday were so very different) and a guide for the new civil servant.  Can't wait to start playing!

If you are in need of a little laughter this morning, then please visit the post below this for an alternative view of the Royal Wedding, as expressed in gingerbread.

Happy Workdesk Wednesday!

An Alternative View of the Royal Wedding

We ended up playing hooky again today, and ventured out in the sun to Shipston on Stour, which is on the edge of the Cotswolds.  While putting together a picnic for consumption on the riverbank (ahh...the joys of self-employment), we noticed this fabulous window display at Taste of the Country.

This is all gingerbread.  Look at the great details on the Beefeater, and the carriage, plus the tin cans behind the car.  And the shop names really made me laugh: who's for Sarah's Pawnbrokers, and Philip's Curiosities (if you enlarge this, you can see the kimono in the shop window)?

Harry's bar looks as though it might be worth a visit, and just look at those bearskins on the guards. How shocking to see that the dress is no longer a secret!

If you are ever near Stratford-on-Avon, a visit to Taste of the Country comes highly recommended.  Don't leave without a piece of cheesecake.

We've spent quite a lot of the lovely weekend outside.  And for some of the time we were even working.  Here's heavy traffic on the canal on Saturday afternoon.

Plus a crowd of amorous ducks (the drakes very keen, the duck somewhat less so).  I would have shown you the very amorous Canada Geese, but I thought they required a little privacy...  You can't quite see it here, but the swans are nesting just to the left of the picture.  I have my fingers crossed for a successful hatching, and that they bring their brood over to show them off, as they have done in previous years.

 

Hope you've been enjoying the sunshine.