It's Hogmanay...

Hi folks...it's the last day of 2013...New Year's Eve or Hogmanay if you're Scottish but I'll be giving the usual Hogmanay traditions a miss...no way am I donning my coat at midnight...venturing out on a cold dark dreich night to wander the neighbourhood with a lump of coal and a bottle of the water of life to see in the New Year...this old crafty girl intends to be tucked up in bed as soon after the bells as is deemed sociable and no cleaning the house from top to bottom either...with a sanding down session of the hall and staircase planned for the end of the week ready for a couple of coats of paint before my hunky joiners return to work their magic...I can't see the point but there is one tradition that I won't be missing out on...tomorrow's big celebration culinary feast...New Year's Dinner which in our house is traditionally Roast Beef and all the trimmings...did I hear a groan from my already overloaded digestive system. So I'm taking things easy today...planning a bit of a feet-up sofa morning updating the new calendar with all the birthdays and important events for the coming year.

my can't live without aide memoire although there is still no guarantee that I won't turn up for an appointment on the wrong day.

But you can be sure that I won't get this one wrong...the first treat of the year...the grandkiddies and their petrolhead Grandma are off to TOP GEAR LIVE...thanks to Santa and woohoo I don't know who is more excited...

So whether you're out and about tonight painting the town red or like this old fuddy duddy toasting the New Year at midnight snuggled up on the sofa...ENJOY and I'll see you all tomorrow...yes the first day of 2014.

Happy New Year To You All

Big Hugs from

Kath & Buddy xxx

Shocking but true...

Hi folks...well it looks as though we've all survived the mania of organising another Christmas...yes it's hard to believe it's been and gone for another year and what is even more shocking...there are only 2 days left before we leave 2013 behind and step boldly into 2014...crikey it just seems like yesterday the world was super duper excited about celebrating a brand new Millenium and after more eating drinking and being merry it will be time to demolish all the christmas decorations that took an absolute age to put up...to be honest if hubby wasn't such a bah humbug party pooper...I might be tempted to leave them up the whole year round...one less task to do when Christmas 2014 comes around which will be sooner than you think.
And while I'm sharing shocking news...there is absolutely no way I could have eaten almost a whole tin of Liquorice Allsorts all by myself since Christmas Day...

I refuse to believe for one moment that I've munched my way through all that sugary goodness...there's obviously been some sneaky subterfuge going on...it's the only explanation...someone has been helping themselves when I wasn't looking and it looks like the culprit doesn't like these either...

But there are more shocks in store...starting off with the old barnet...we're off to the hairdresser this morning to ditch the uncontrollable bird's nest hair look after spending Christmas looking a howling banshee...well who has time to spend hours primping and preening when they're on Christmas cooking duties and Mr Mojo will be getting a short sharp shock kick up the butt on my return...he doesn't know it yet but the holidays are over and it's time to get busy with the samples for Stitches...another shocker...only 6 and a bit weeks away.

But I'm steeling myself for the biggest shocker of all when the Christmas Credit Card statement pops through the letterbox...a sit down with a cuppa blimey experience and coming to terms with the fact that it's probably going to be a "eating nothing but left overs" kind of a month but every cloud has a silver lining...looking forward to all those spending points being converted to M&S vouchers.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xx

The Ribbon Girl have a new Challenge Blog...

why don't you pop over and take part in the "Guess How Many Buttons In The Snowman Dish" competition for a chance to win a selection of gorgeous buttons.

Back to the old routine...

Hi folks...we had a fun day yesterday when the Grandkiddies arrived for Christmas Dinner No 2 and to open the presents that Santa left under Grandma's tree. As much as I love Christmas there comes a point when you're glad the festivities are over...for one thing I don't think my digestive system will cope with any more rich food or my constant grazing and lack of willpower when it comes to evening nibbling...it's currently sending out strong signals that it's time to get back to the old routine...in other words normal rations and I couldn't agree more...boiled egg and soldiers on the menu for tea tonight then.
And the freaky weather is back...looks like we will be welcoming in the New Year with torrential rain and howling gales...I don't wish the folks who were affected by the bad weather over Christmas any more bad fortune but I would be highly delighted if the weather did it's absolute worst in my neck of the woods on Hogmanay night...just enough to keep the idiot firework brigade indoors.
After 4 days of being missing from the cubbyhole I was looking forward to getting back in the crafty groove and just assumed we would zoom in...make a card for the Fiskars January Newsletter and zoom right out again...

not on your nelly...Mr Mojo refused to join our little soiree so there was lots of attempts which landed in the bin before we finally nailed it resulting in the cubbyhole looking like a war zone...

and I know what you're thinking...the floor isn't looking too drastic...

that was then...right this minute...it's unrecognisable under a deluge of little punched out bits and I'm darned if I'm waking Mr Dyson up at this time of night...it will keep until tomorrow...I'm off up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire...is it going to be another night of listening to the wind howling and wondering if we will still have a roof over our heads come morning.

Toodle-oo for now

Hugs Kath xxx

2013 in Cards...Take 2

Hi folks...OK here we go with my favourite cards and projects from the second half of 2013...

JULY

and it would appear that the production crew were full steam ahead in that particular month...

starting off with the gorgeous Time Flies Collection from Craftwork Cards...

 then we were in Christmas in July mode...

 I was rather chuffed with my Hobbycraft tote...tarted up courtesy of these gorgeous Fiskars Fuse flower dies...

 and last but not least...July was the month I fell in love all over again with my Melt Pot...

AUGUST
home decor for my new look kitchen...more Time Flies creations...

 SEPTEMBER
more Craftwork Cards...this time the beautiful "Christmas Post" collection...

OCTOBER
back to one of my favourite Penny Black stamps...

 NOVEMBER
and one of my favourite dies from my lovely buddy Paula Pascual...

 DECEMBER
and absolutely no apologies for sharing this one again...using the fabulous Clearly Art/Frosted Film technique from Wendy Vecchi and Tim Holtz...

Well that's it...remember if you decide to join in the fun...leave me a comment with a link to YOUR favourites and I'll pop by for a look.  The grandkiddies are coming today so I'm back on catering crew duties for another Christmas dinner...don't know if my digestive system is too happy about that but hey I'll give it my best shot.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

2013 in Cards...

Hi folks..I hope you all had a lovely Christmas...supposed to be a magical time of year spent with family and friends so my heart went out to the poor folks whose Christmas was ruined by the freaky weather...Christmas is stressful enough without having to cope with your home being under inches of water or trying to feed the family when you have no power but before we know it's come and gone for another year and we have a few days to gather our wits before it starts all over again to celebrate a brand new year.
Time to share what has become a bit of a cubbyhole tradition...searching back through the archives to find my favourite cards and projects from 2013...so make yourselves a cuppa and find a comfy sofa for what is a long post with lots of photo sharing and this old crafty girl is getting more and more indecisive in her old age...hence the not being able to choose just one per month...

JANUARY

kicking it all off was the first tag for "12 Tags of 2013"...a tradition I hope Tim will continue through 2014...

 and a card made for Fiskars with the gorgeous AdvantEdge Flower border...

FEBRUARY

Tunnel Card from Craftwork Cards using the gorgeous Authentique Papers...

and I couldn't resist including this cute little pillow box using lots of TH goodies...

MARCH

saw me returning to clean and simple with the gorgeous Spring Kit from WeR Memory Keepers...

 and one of my all time favourite Penny Black stamps...

APRIL

was the month that the DIY took over my life and nothing was safe from getting a make-over...not even a Tatty Old Book...

a canvas given the stencil and embossing paste treatment...

MAY 

was obviously a productive crafty month...so I'm sharing 3 favourites...

inspired by the gorgeous dies and stamps from my lovely buddy Paula Pascual

 Stamp Your Story from Hero Arts...

 and cute Squidgy Pins...

JUNE

saw me besotted by this gorgeous Painted Flower stamp from Hero Arts...

 another butterfly canvas

 and the end of the month was birthday celebration time...yes hard to believe The Furry Boy was 7

Enough for one day...I'll be back tomorrow to share July to December and if you want to join in the fun...I would love to see what your favourites makes are from 2013...just leave me a comment with a link and I'll pop over for a nosey.

The cubbyhole crew are back at work....rather reluctantly I have to say...grumpy faces all round but with deadlines to nail...it's time to head for the cubbyhole and crank up the production line.

Hugs Kath xxx

It's me again...

Hi everyone...it's me again...your Christmas bundle of golden deliciousness...

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and the most important thing of all...I hope that Santa left you lots of goodies under the tree. I'm back to holding the fort again...oh yes my old crafty Mum rather overdid things yesterday in the Christmas feasting department...come evening she was stretched out on the sofa like a beached whale..just as well it's only once a year...let's just say it's not every night she goes off to bed with the party hat from the cracker still on her head and I'm a little bit concerned that the soup...oatmeal stuffing and sprouts are currently working their magic on her digestive system...you know what I'm saying...I'm thinking it might be a good idea for me to sleep downstairs tonight...well out of range.

Now it has been said that I'm the hooligan in this family but I'll leave you to make your own minds up on that one...check out my impeccable behaviour when it came to Santa parcel opening...patience personified with my present unwrapping challenged Dad...

But the cubbyhole crew are back to work tomorrow so I'm planning a mega snoozy day sleeping off the excesses of Christmas and I know someone else who might be doing the same.

Great big hugs and snuggles

Buddy xxx

Santa's been...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

and 

WOOF WOOF...SANTA'S BEEN

Not that I thought he would miss me out but hey for a big guy he must be super duper light on his feet...I never heard a thing and forget about the morning stroll...I'm off to get ripping all that wrapping paper...oops must remember I'm only allowed to open the presents with my name on and oh boy am I drooling already at the thought of the Christmas Feast.
Santa's on his way back to the North Pole for a well deserved cuppa so let's hear a resounding cheer for the amazing man in the red suit and not forgetting his reindeer...mission accomplished again...YOU GUYS ROCK.

Have a fun day everyone and we'll catch up with you all later.

Big Christmas Hugs and Snuggles from Buddy & His Mum

xxx

Merry Christmas Everyone...

Hi folks...I have no idea what day of the week it is...what I do know for certain is...it's Christmas Eve...I've survived running the gauntlet of last minute shopping at M&S...the cubbyhole is closed for the holidays and tonight we'll be off to bed early...snuggled up all cosy and snug and just like everyone else on the planet....excitedly waiting for Santa to arrive...

To All my lovely Blogging Buddies and Followers...we wish you a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a big thank you to all my lovely teamies and bloggy buddies for the beautiful cards and good wishes and to all the lovely folks who have visited my blog this year and left comments...we love to hear from you. We hope you all have a wonderful happy and fun Christmas with those you love...enjoy all the fabulous food and worry about the diet later and that all your Christmas dreams come true.

If you are out and about over Christmas...take care and travel safe...it's blowing an almighty hooley out there...poor Santa's in for a bumpy ride tonight.

Lots Of Love & Christmas Hugs 

from Kath & Buddy xxx

It's A Wrap...

Hi Folks...as they say in showbiz circles "It's A Wrap"...yes we are finally done and dusted with everything in the Christmas prep department...the soup's been blitzed and is cooling ready for the freezer...the Christmas bakes have been hidden away right at the back of the cupboards...yes out of sight is out of mind...just in case I'm tempted to tuck in and before I start on the final mountain of washing up...

an age old tradition that takes me right back to my childhood...

scraping out that bowl and licking the spoon...

just one last task...making a Christmas decoration for the kitchen with some cheap as chips "reduced in price packs " of teeny weeny baubles from the supermarket and what I thought would be a "grab some twigs from the garden and drape with baubles" didn't quite go according to plan...

the baubles just didn't hang right so I ended up cutting off the strings and wiring each one on to the branches...yes 50 little blighters in all...

a bit of a labour of love which took most of the afternoon but hey I love my sparkly bauble tree for...wait for it....ONE POUND...

And just like all those celebs...we'll be having our own little wrap party tonight...yes me and my faithful furry partner...

who's been there every step of the way and licked the kitchen floor clean goodness knows how many times will be chilling out tonight...a glass or two of something festive for me and a great big juicy bone for The Furry Boy.  Believe me I need to stock up on some fortification and prepare myself for the last minute bits and pieces shop at M&S...if last year is anything to go by...it's going to be BEDLAM.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Armageddon In The Kitchen

Hi folks...there's no getting away from it now...Christmas is coming whether we like it or not...the Christmas Menu has taken over my life...the cubbyhole's closed for the foreseeable future and the crafty crew have now taken up residence in the kitchen...

The roast beef...ham...meat loaves and turkey are all cooked...sliced with the help of my "can't live without" electric knife...the kitchen equivalent of a chain saw...the ham and meat loaves will be fine in the fridge but the beef and turkey are destined for the freezer until required...

meaning that I won't be spending most of Christmas and Boxing Day in the kitchen but the downside of the culinary marathon...the place looks like Armageddon...a scene of total kitchen gadget carnage and devastation. And if I was waiting for the dishwasher to wash rinse and dry after each prep session...I'd be here for days...so it's pull up my sleeves...fill the sink with hot soapy suds and get cracking...there's something really satisfying about doing washing up and it works wonders for the "usually mucky" crafty nails...so here I go again for the fourth time...crikey those nails are going to be sparkling...

And I wonder if the invention of all this whizzing...mixing...chopping gadgetry really is a time saver...saving time perhaps when it comes to combining ingredients but it's an absolute devil to clean all the nooks and crankies but clean them I must ready for today's mega baking and merinque making session.

My favourite part of Christmas is the spicy sweet sugary baking smells coming from the oven and the gorgeous turkey aromas while the carcass...skin and a bouquet garni of veggies and herbs are simmering away...

I know it's look like a bit of a dogs dinner at the moment but after a few hours it will make the most glorious stock for yummy Turkey Broth...in the meantime the Christmas Cakes will be getting an Arctic White frosting of Royal Icing and in between I'll be having lots of cuppas in the company of Mr Buble and the "can't move but he's right behind me" ever hopeful Chief Furry Taster.  The weather is looking decidedly wintry so I can't think of a better way to spend the day...apart from tomorrow's treat...another trip to my favourite Garden Centre to meet up with an old friend...no doubt it will be another retail therapy/latte and cake afternoon.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Festive Table Decorations...

Hi folks...here we go folks...the final Christmas Countdown...I can't help thinking it's snuck up on us all once again...hopefully you are all up to speed with your Christmas card sending and parcel wrapping and your thoughts have now turned to the Christmas Menu and decorating your festive table.  Seeing as it's my turn to post over on the Craftwork Cards blog today...I thought I'd make a table centrepiece and just to mix things up a bit go for a non traditional "woodland" theme with the gorgeous Paper Floristry Blush Rose Paper Pad...24 beautiful 8" x 8" papers (6 designs-4 of each) and 138 Die Cut Flowers...(oops...the pad is currently out of stock and not available to buy on the website but will be back again in the New Year)...

I covered a piece of chipboard with paper from the Blush Rose Paper Pad and cut a hole in the centre of corrugated card to hold the tealight holder which by the way is one I saved from one of my favourite M&S puddings....Raspberry Panacotta decorated with 2 strips of double sided tape and glittered with the most sparkliest of glitters...Platinum Stickles Dry Fine Glitter and I don't have to tell you that there was more glitter on me than on the project but hey there's nothing quite like a bit of Christmas face sparkle to spark a conversation when you head for the shops....

and then set to work glittering and layering die cut flowers...adding leaf spray die cuts from Sizzix...cones from the forest...lots of glittery sparkle and of course a sprinkling of Chunky White Frantage Embossing Powder and why not make place name cards to match...

and if I get a wiggle on I may just have time to add matching napkin rings and even some home made crackers whilst I get busy busy in the kitchen with the Christmas Menu Cookathon.
I'm all of a flutter...so excited I could crush a grape...it's the Strictly Final tonight so I'll be locking the door...not answering the bell and taking the phone off the hook....snuggled up on the sofa with a cheeky red and no doubt scaring the living daylights out of my Furry Partner if my favourite couple lift the glitter ball trophy.

See you all tomorrow
Hugs Kath xxx