Happy Easter Everyone...

Hi folks...I hope you're all enjoying your Easter Bank Holiday weekend and that the weather is going to be kind if you're making a trip to the nearest hill to roll your painted eggs...if not I suppose like me you can have just as much fun tucking into one of the chocolate variety or my absolute favourites...yummy Mini Eggs. Remembering back to my post on 2 January...

when I was making cute Easter Treat Bags for Papercraft Inspirations Easter Blog Party

and the Sizzix Sunday Free Project and Big Shot Give-Away

so if you would like to win a Big Shot Starter Kit along with this cute chick die...all you have to do is pop over and subscribe to the Sizzix newsletter HERE...the winner will be chosen on 2nd April so you still have time to enter.

But back to the eggs...I can assure you that they did make it into the bags minus a few taste try outs all in the name of quality control but I have no doubt by now they've been well and truly scoffed by the photographer and magazine staff...so I'll just have to go get myself some more...

I'm donning my Easter Bunny Hat today...off to see the grandkiddies to deliver some Easter Choc delights...have fun whatever you're doing and we'll see you all tomorrow.

Hugs Kath xxx

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The Cubbyhole's a Tip...

Hi folks...welcome to the cubbyhole...currently in mega tip mode...now there's a surprise...definitely a Health & Safety hazard but no time for risk assessments here...

when the kitting crew are on a mission and every available space is spoken for...

no room to swing the proverbial cat never mind a great big furry bundle of golden deliciousness...

who's not best pleased that he's been relegated to the hall...I think we're in for a very sulky face and lots of doggy sighs kind of a day but the quicker we get to it...the quicker calm peace and space will be restored in this mad crafty place we call the cubbyhole.  Happy Easter Weekend everyone...we'll see you all tomorrow.

Hugs Kath xxx

All The Time In The World...

Hi folks...wouldn't it wonderful if we had all the time in the world or maybe just be able to make time stand still...24 really isn't enough hours in one day...I'm in a real boo hoo mood...apart from all the goodies that just happened to jump into my shopping basket at The NEC...I arrived home to crafty parcels and it's feeling a bit like Christmas around here...

my DT goodies arrived from Craftwork Cards...the yummy delicious Dolly Mixtures Collection...

more Distress Paints...well a girl can never have enough of those...

and woohoo my lovely Sizzix Buddy Paula sent me some of her brand new dies to play with...

and last but by no means least some brand new Hero Arts...

Yes boohoo indeed...I'm itching to get my playing hat on but the crafty list is a-calling...so it's going to be coffee and big girl knickers until I get all the work projects nailed. See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

A little bit of crafty shopping...

Hi folks...willpower is a wonderful thing and I definitely wasn't in the queue when it was handed out. I had no intentions of going mad in the crafty purchases department at The NEC...so armed with my LITTLE list of only stocking up on cubbyhole essentials my first port of call was the lovely Brenda and David at Craft Obsessions...gotta get more UTEE...Heat It Inks and Texture Treads to feed my new Melt Art addiction...

but it didn't take long for me to fall at the first willpower hurdle when I spotted these Vintage Trinkets and reduced in price too...BEAUTIFUL AND A BARGAIN... 

next essential on the list was Stencil Tape from Imagination Crafts...yes you've guessed I tripped up again when I spotted these cool floral stencils...

time to fly by in my lunch break and say hello to this rather shy lady...

yes it's one of this old trout's (her words not mine) favourite crafty buddies...the one and only gorgeous very naughty but I do love her...Mrs Nikky Noo Na Polkadoodles and how could I resist buying some of her gorgeous stamps...how cute are those specs...

and the sentiment has my name written all over it...

I've definitely fallen by the wayside now and it didn't take much to convince myself that I just couldn't live without these masks...

and you can't go to the NEC without popping by the Craftwork Cards stand filled to brimming with lots of gorgeous new goodies and fabulous samples and the shopping pile is growing by the minute...

for the next essential on my "now totally out of control" shopping spree I had to pop by the lovely Barbara Gray at Clarity Stamps to stock up on my "can't live without" fine liner pens...

then over to David at Samuel Taylor to stock up on the "can't craft without" pearls...

Would it all fit in my suitcase...well just...but I'd forgotten I still had to find space for the left-over workshop bits and pieces...

requiring a "sit on it and hope that the zip holds out" persuasion session...crikey you don't want your suitcase to burst open and see your dirty laundry spinning round the baggage carousel...do you. Mind you it could have been a lot worse...thank goodness I was working and limited to quick sprint "before the show opened" shopping sprees otherwise right now I could be sitting in the bank manager's office trying to explain myself or facing a bread and water diet for the whole of April. Strangely enough there was no-one at the show selling extra hours in the day so this little lot is on the back burner for the time being...with workshop projects to get ready for The Retreat at The Papeterie which is just a week and a bit away...it's back to work for me.

Hugs Kath xxx

Shiver Me Timbers at The NEC...

Hi folks...it's hard to believe that a week has gone by since I was sitting on the plane in slightly chilly Aberdeen waiting for the de-icing man to do his stuff and get on my way to what I thought would be warmer climes at The NEC...

but I can't begin to describe how cold it was when we landed in Birmingham...for someone who lives hundreds of miles nearer the Arctic Circle and is used to the cold...I was ill prepared for the biting icy blast wind...it never occurred to me to pack my Nanook Of The North cosy winter jacket or suitable footwear..shiver me timbers and no mistake and the halls at The NEC weren't much better...with all the doors standing wide open to allow the retailers to unload their stock it was teeth chattering shivery...setting up the tables and chairs...unpacking the tools box and sorting out workshop kits isn't easy when you're still dressed in outdoor gear and reluctant to remove your cosy gloves...nothing else for it but to have frequent trips to the lovely and warm on site restaurant for mugs of hot chocolate to fight off the hypothermia...

by the time I got to the hotel I was chilled to the bone...time to wallow in a hot bath until circulation was restored...normally I find my room too warm and turn off the radiator...on this occasion I had the thermostat bumped up as far as it would go and even enquired about a hot water bottle...I might have known that was a request too far for the lovely "nothing is too much trouble" staff at The Hilton...Health & Safety...burst bottle...wet bed and scalded guest put the scuppers on that. But worse was to come on Thursday night...the wind was so bad that my patio door rattled all night and I'm darned if I could find the gap that the wind was whistling through and Friday morning brought an even bigger surprise...a snowy winter wonderland...

and a slippery slidey stroll to work...

with my lovely Fiskars teamie Hina and believe me I would have mugged her for her cosy Nanook Of The North Coat and boots if I thought they would have fitted...

and you would have thought that once all those crafty folks had packed into the hall...things would have improved...not a bit...so it was time for drastic measures...they do say that layers are the way to go so I tucked my shirt into my 2 pairs of knickers and wore 2 pairs of socks along with pop socks...at least my feet and bum were slightly warmer than the rest of me.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom...there's nothing like lots of fun and laughter with crafty buddies to help you keep your chin up...it was great to meet up with friends Enfys and Carol again...to finally meet my bloggy buddy Anne and my Fiskarette buddy Pia from Finland who brought "woohoo" CHOCOLATE and to spend a fabulous fun Friday wintry evening squashed on a comfy sofa with my Fiskars teamies...Hina and Rachel...my bestest crafty buddy Enfys and the lovely Sue and Julie from Craftwork Cards....missing them all already.
I'll be back tomorrow to share my "had no intentions of buying anything apart from stocking up essentials" "had to sit on the suitcase to get it closed" crafty purchases.

Hugs Kath xxx

It is what it is...

Hi folks...it is what it is...isn't it...is the theme of this month's Art Journaling Class from Shari Carroll...

or in my case...what you see is what you get or everything is not as it seems...

I have to confess to making an utter cock-up when it came to the decorating bit...the flowers I originally used were too big and then I threw caution to the wind and outlined them with a black pen...sacre blue...what was I thinking...note to self...position your embellishments before glueing them down and don't be tempted to over egg the pudding...maybe I should practice a little of what I preach instead of rushing in like a bull in a china shop but no way was I starting all over again so there was nothing else for it but to do a bit of careful prising off and come up with a cover-up solution...hence the reason for the over abundance of flowers...have I learned my lesson...probably not but on this occasion I think I may have JUST got away with it.

But the crafty list is calling so I'll see you all tomorrow to share some snowy "shiver me timbers" pics from the NEC.

Hugs Kath xxx