Penny Black Saturday Challenge...Week 207

Morning folks...it's the last day of June...it's been a right old week and there's the truth...scorchio temperatures in the south...horrendous amounts of rainfall and flash flooding in the north and probably the biggest Wimbledon shocker ever...Rafa is out...still can't quite believe it and then my boy Federer took it so close to the wire last night I swear I aged about 10 years...nail biting...edge of your seat stuff...talk about skidding in by the seat of your pants and no-one was more surprised than me to wake up this morning to the sun shining...yes blue skies and just little hints of wispy clouds...can I cope with all this excitement.
And of course it's Saturday the start of the weekend and time to join in the fun over at Penny Black Saturday.  I loved all your creations for last week's challenge...there certainly were heaps of flags flying and bunting waving...the winner has been announced so it's time to pop on over and check out if it's you.

This week's challenge is...

HOT METAL

there's lots of Penny Black Saturday exciting news to share with you all this week...

firstly...we are very honoured to welcome a brand new sponsor...

the lovely Denise and Jenny from

who have very generously provided this week's prize...

to spend in their online store where you will find lots of your favourite Penny Blacks along with oodles of other gorgeous goodies for your crafty stash

and the bestest news of all....we have a very special lady...someone that you all know and love as much as we do...re-joining our little Penny Black Saturday family...

my old mucker...the lovely and very talented 

JACQUI

whoop..de...doo

The Furry Boy sends big snuggly hugs for all the lovely birthday wishes yesterday and the cubbyhole crew are getting in party mood...excited at the thought of all that cake but I need to remind the birthday boy that he needs to blow the candles out before he dives head first into the cake.  A little reminder...you have until 8pm tonight to enter the Summer Seasonal Distress Ink Give-Away...I'll see you all tomorrow to announce the winner.

Hugs Kath xxx

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Happy Birthday Buddy

Morning folks...what a week...I've been meeting myself coming back but I'll be taking some time off from all the crafty stuff tomorrow...the cubbyhole crew are having a party to celebrate The Furry Boy's birthday...he doesn't keep track of the days of the week so won't be any the wiser that I'm hooting and tooting a day early.
I can hardly believe my beautiful bundle of snuggly golden deliciousness will be 6 years old....crikey where does the time go.  He is just the sweetest boy...prone to occasional hooligan moments as you all know but I wouldn't change him for the world...he's a real larger than life character with a mind of his own sometimes but I love him to bits. Because I work from home he's my 24/7 cubbyhole companion...snoozes with his head on my feet which is a tad awkward if I'm having an "on the move kind of day"...he's the bestest ever hot water bottle on cold wintry nights...knows when I'm sad...doesn't do grumpy...sulky or nasty...believe me he's had some right old telling off's...takes it on the chin and we're be back to being bestest buddies again...us humans could definitely learn a thing or two from our canine friends...don't you think and if you don't have a dog in your life then I can't even come close to describing the wonderful bond that we share.

Mind you...when he first arrived at 10 weeks old...he came very close to being sent back for a refund...after 14 years of having a Goldie who was a true gentleman with impeccable manners and so obedient...our world was turned completely upside down by this hyper bundle of naughty snuggliness who ate his Dad's socks along with all the flowers in the garden...dug up all the plants and loved to show off his party trick of digging huge craters in the grass at every opportunity but we survived the Terrible Two's..The Tiresome Three's..The Frazzled Fours and just as he hit the 5 mark he finally began to grow up and become sensible...now there's a statement I may live to regret...we've now got a mutual understanding called COMPROMISE...I forgive his little occasional misdemeanours and he puts up with the crafty tantrums and messy cubbyhole....life's all about give and take...give him an inch and he'll take a bl***y mile.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow...BEAUTIFUL BOY
love you loads...

here's to many more happy fun years together...

  

I'll see you all tomorrow over at Penny Black Saturday and woohoo we have lots of exciting news to share.

Hugs Kath xxx

Rain...rain...go away

Morning folks...if you pop over here on a regular basis you'll know that I'm a bit of an early riser and it's very true that the best things in life are free...my favourite time of day....enjoying the first cuppa of the day with my feathered friends and...

 my cubbyhole partner for company...

is my idea of heaven but lately we've had to setttle for the "sitting on the radiator" variety due to the over abundance of that "putting a spanner in the works" ingredient....RAIN.  The word "SUMMER" used to mean  about 3 months of long warmish sunny days...time for a bit a name change I think...GLUMMER seems to be more appropriate. I'm not asking for "in the hundreds" temperatures...right now I'd settle for just dry but that doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. So with my glummer face on I'm off to load up the washing machine...unload the dishwasher and tumble dryer and any other boring household chore I can fit into the next 2 hours before it's time for yet another of those "soaked to the skin" morning strolls followed by another day in the cubbyhole watching the rain run down the window.

And in a vain attempt to bring some summer cheer...I'm sharing a card I made from the  "Pretty Little Prints" Project Kit from Craftwork Cards...fingers crossed that the adorable ALFIE BEAR and his butterfly chums can coax the sun out from behind all those clouds...

oops...sorry Alfie...have just noticed the shocking hair cut I gave you...

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

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What's On My Workdesk Wednesday

Morning folks...it's Wednesday already and time to join in the fun over at Julia's place aka WOYWW... I'm taking the lady herself's advice and keeping it short...sweet and to the point today...basically because I'm up to my eyes in crafty stuff...my back is right up against the wall and if I had the time I'd be rushing out to buy the biggest pair of big girl knickers I could find. So what's on my workdesk today....

my DT Project Of the Month Kit...Pretty Little Prints

from Craftwork Cards...a great value for money kit...

love the gorgeous papers...pretty little prints indeed...

the fabulous embossed papers and nesting frames...

were just crying out to be inked with the old blending tool and Distress Ink pad...

and isn't this Candi just absolutely yummy.

But I need to get a bit of a wiggle on...some new toys have arrived for me to play with...

Happy WOYWW everyone...see you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Edited to add: I'm not linking up to WOYWW this week...I always feel so guilty when you lovely folks pop in and leave me a comment and then I fail miserably in the returning the favour department.

Inky fun Tim Holtz Style...

Morning folks...first of all I need a big big favour...my lovely buddy "mon ami" Sylvie from Fiskars France needs your help...she is completing a Masters Degree researching papercrafting and blogs and would really appreciate if you could spare a few minutes to complete this questionnaire...
Time to share some pics from the Tim Holtz Masterclass Workshop at The Papeterie on Saturday afternoon...well done to all the lovely crafty girls who joined me for a fun session getting all inky and messy with Tim's fabulous range of Distress products...this was a mega technique fast paced class but my super duper group of crafty stars absolutely rose to the Art Inspires challenge...embraced their imperfections and hopefully enjoyed the journey in true Tim Holtz style...

 creating their very own unique interpretation of each technique...

and here's what we made...

making 5 tags using lots of different techniques in the space of 2 hours is a big ask...we did run over by about an hour and only managed to do the rosette flower for the last tag...

Tim Holtz Masterclass Take 2...using Alcohol Inks...Acetate...Metal...Reinkers and a few surprises thrown into the mix just for fun is scheduled for 28th July at The Papeterie...only 3 spaces left so if you want to come and along and play Tim Holtz style...call Charlotte on 01224 802337.
Thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday about the Distress Marker Demo cards...I did have quite a number of e-mails asking if the markers can be used for detailed blending and shading colour work. I have to say that is not my forte at all...I leave that to folks who are much more talented than I could ever hope to be but to prove the point that these really are all singing and dancing markers...look no further than the gorgeousness created HERE by my lovely buddy BEV. 

See you all tomorrow over at WOYWW...crafty parcels have arrived in the cubbyhole...looks like the crafty production line is going to be smoking for some time to come.

Hugs Kath xxx

Fun with Distress Markers...

Morning folks..have you got the Monday morning blues...I can't say I blame you after the horrendous wet weekend we had but I was all cosy and snug over at The Papeterie on Saturday doing what I love best and thanks to all the lovely folks who came along and sat patiently watching while I played with Distress Markers and gorgeous stamp sets from Creative Expressions designed by the lovely and very talented Sam Poole...

I set myself a challenge to make the demo cards entirely with the Distress Markers...no ink pads Distress or otherwise and no patterned papers allowed so all the stamping...colouring and background effects were created using these fabulous must-have very versatile pens and once I started I couldn't stop playing so prepare yourselves for a Distress Marker pic fest...

I couldn't resist sneaking in a little bit of Perfect Pearls misting...

I'll be back tomorrow to share what we made in the afternoon Tim Holtz Masterclass Workshop...lots of messy inky fun

Hugs Kath xxx

Edited to add: if you live in my neck of the woods...Charlotte at The Papeterie has a fantastic deal on the set of Markers...honestly folks...a price that will match or better in lots of cases anything that you will find online.

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