A Big Furry Thank You

Hey everyone...it's yesterday's birthday boy...your adorable bundle of golden deliciousness...handsome devil though I say so myself...just checking in to thank all my lovely bloggy buddies for the birthday wishes...you are all so sweet so I'm sending you all great big hugs and furry snuggles...

the joiner boys will be back today so while Mum is standing by the kettle I'll be poised ready to strike and hoover up any crumbs...in fact I keep our kitchen floor so clean you could eat your dinner off it...no need for buckets and mops when I'm around. But no doubt they'll come armed with their pesky hammers and noisy drills...perfect opportunity you might think for some sofa time watching the tennis...well let me tell you the click clack of that blinking ball drives me crackers so I may just hop upstairs and snooze the day away on the duvet...better make sure my feet are clean first or I'll be on that naughty step again.

have a fun day everyone

BUDDY xxx
and a big thank you to my lovely bloggy buddy Polly for the card that arrived by e-mail this morning

The Birthday Boy...

Hi folks...today is a very special day...my sweet friend and bestest of buddies..my bundle of golden deliciousness affectionately known as The Furry Boy is...

8 years old

Happy Birthday Buddy...

hard to believe...where does time go...one minute he was a chubby little bundle of naughtiness...

a teenage "butter wouldn't melt" hooligan...

and before you know the naughty misdemenours are a distant memory and he's grown into an adorable 24/7 faithful companion...with just occasional time-outs on the naughty step...

the years are flying in and he's fast approaching senior citizenship...soon to join his Mum in that exclusive golden oldies club where you're expected to behave...to act your age instead of your shoe size...seriously...as if that's likely to happen anytime soon...whilst there's life in these old dogs...the fun and hooligan adventures are likely to continue. I'm looking forward to many more happy years together with my best buddy and a day of scoffing cake and opening parcels.

See you all soon

Hugs Kath xxx

Back to the boring stuff...

Hi folks...no crafty stuff to share today...the cubbyhole crew are back in DIY mode...with the hunky joiners due back on Tuesday to fit the stair handrail and spindles...we're cracking on to finish downstairs and all that scrambling around painting skirting boards doesn't half play havoc with the old knees...

coat one of 3 on the cubbyhole door but with another 2 doors to paint...I may have to consider giving up a couple of days of couch potato tennis viewing to keep the schedule on track...

now I could sneak off to the cubbyhole while the paint dries but there's the slight problem of the cupboard doors...

The end of this DIY adventure is finally in sight and tomorrow's a very special day.

Toodle-oo for now.
Hugs Kath xxx

From Little Acorns...

Hi folks...I'm sure I'm not the only crafter who starts off with the best intentions in the world and then oops-a-daisy before you know...you're off on an entirely different tangent.  The plan was to have another go at Tim's June Tag...my earlier effort was a quick slam bam thank you ma'am affair but then I stumbled across this bundle of Artist Trading Blocks sent to me by my lovely buddy Anne...

and who would have thought that these die cut strips could turn into such wonderful pieces of art...a real "from little acorns...mighty oaks grow" moment...I had great fun using the technique from Tim's June Watercolour Stencil Tag technique to decorate the panels and then went to town die-cutting Garden Greens and Tattered Florals

thoroughly spritzed the flowers with water before dragging them through a puddle of Dusty Concord Re-inker...scrunched them up and dried with a heat tool...

And with Federer...Nadal...Murray and Djokovic "not without a scary injury moment" through to the next round...Wimbledon is hotting up for another week of great tennis.

Hugs Kath xxx

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Hi Folks...crikey Mr Djokovic you darned near gave this old tennis buff a heart attack...I was on the verge of returning to the nail biting habit I gave up 40 years ago...3 hours of real edge of the seat stuff...the possibility of the No 1 seed going out in the second round was almost too much to bear but I couldn't help but admire Stepanek..."there's life in the old dog yet" pit bull who got the bit between his teeth and wasn't going down without a fight...who would have thought that a 35 year old veteran would be pulling off the net volley shots that he did...he sure gave Djokovic and this old Wimbledon Womble the fright of our lives...who says tennis is boring...blimey at this rate I may not make it through to the final.
But back to the crafting stuff which in comparison to the Wimbledon traumas is a much more laid back calm pursuit...just a bit of gentle watercolouring with Distress Inks on this beautiful rose from Old Letter Rose 2 and a bit of spritzing with Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold for a vintage look...check out that gorgeous shabby wood effect paper from LOTV's Antebellum Paper Pad.

and for this one I created a simple background with Tim's Lattice Stencil and Bundled Sage Distress Ink...stamped the image with Potting Soil Archival Ink onto watercolour card...continued the Tim Holtz theme by adding the feather pen image from The Chemist...the postage stamp icon from Shabby French and the sentiment from Simple Sayings...

no colouring this time...just a layer of Glossy Accents on the flower to highlight the beautiful shadowing on the rose...

I'm off to check today's tennis schedule...may need to stock up on some tranquilizers just in case...

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Anyone For Tennis...

Hi folks...Technology is a wonderful thing but only when it's working...Mr Blogger has been up to his old tricks again...playing silly beggars with our reading lists but it seems to be back to normal...that is until he decides to have another tantrum and he's also been driving me insane when it comes to editing posts...adding line spaces where I don't want them...uploading photos and then removing them when he thinks I'm not looking...so if you can't beat them...join them. The Wimbledon Couch Potato Season has begun...time to indulge my passion for all things tennis and seeing as there's no telly in the cubbyhole...we've temporarily moved our crafting station to a comfy sofa and had a little bit of playtime with the Joy Crafts stamps that Jane from Art of Craft gave me at the SECC in March...yes you did read that right...they've been sitting in the cubbyhole gathering dust all that time...

a little bit of stencilling...inking...paper piecing and applying my must-have Remnant Rubz onto the gorgeous Antebellum Papers from LOTV using the beautiful Silhouette Poppies Stamp...

I'll be back tomorrow to share what I made with Old Letter Rose 2
Hugs Kath xxx

The Fun Continued...

Hi folks...all the online prize draw parcels should be delivered to the lucky winners today but I have ONE lonely package sitting in the corner waiting to go and and it's got your name on it...

JAN SHARP....Ticket No 19

so as soon as you contact me with your address Jan...it will be on it's way...

Time to share the last project of the day at The Everest Challenge Charity Workshop...after a break for lunch and some sneaky shopping by my lovely crafty buddies...we were ready to make a start on our wall hanging and I'm sharing a nifty trick with a strip of chipboard to make sure your ribbon ties are equal in length...

and the panels hang straight...

using Graphic 45 Botanical Tee die cut flowers and ribbon

kindly donated by Personal Impressions

Once again a huge thank you to all those who came along to join in the fun...you sure did make the day go with a bang and to answer the question "would I do it again"...well on Sunday my reply would have been a definite NO but hey today is a brand new day and I love the company of my crafting buddies so that would probably be a YES.
Not sure what I'll be posting tomorrow....Mr Mojo hasn't returned from his holidays yet and with no chasing my tail deadlines to kick me up the butt...the whole Wimbledon couch potato thing is looking very tempting.

Hugs Kath xxx

Didn't we have a lovely time...

Hi folks...time to put the kettle on and grab a comfy sofa...I've got lots to share today starting off with that anti-climax feeling that The Everest Challenge Charity Workshop has been and gone...I'm still feeling a bit gobsmacked at the amount of money you all helped me raise. Thank you so much for all your congratulatory e-mails and messages on Facebook but I only donated my time...you were the ones who so generously splashed your cash and made it happen.
And oh boy did I get the best surprise when my lovely buddy Anne e-mailed to say she was travelling up to Scotland for a wee holiday and was coming to the workshop....yeehaaa was I excited or what...I spent a lovely Friday evening with Anne and her lovely hubby David...poor man barely got a word in edgewise once us two chatty crafters got going...well we had lots of catching up to do...

And check out the beautiful fabric covered notebook Anne made for me...isn't it gorgeous...

And before you know it's Saturday morning and time to rock 'n roll with the nicest fun happy smiley crafty folks...

caught unawares deep in concentration...

making the first "White on White" project of the day...surprise surprise not an inky edge in sight...

all materials kindly donated by Craftwork Cards

and after the first of many coffee breaks we moved on to Project 2...

covering the pages of the tag album with beautiful Graphic 45 "Botanical Tea" papers

 layering up the gorgeous die cut flowers

all kindly donated by Personal Impressions

along with ribbons and ink pads

And if you're still with me after that mega pic-athon...you'll be relieved to know that I'm quitting while I'm still ahead but will be back tomorrow to share what we made after lunch...

Hugs Kath xxx

Winners and Woohooo News...

Hi folks...the winning numbers for the online Everest Challenge Charity Prize Draw are...
19 - 15 - 57 - 225 - 222 - 14 - 235 - 6 - 114 -118

I have e-mailed 9 of the lucky winners but due to a malfunction in copying e-mail addresses into my Address Book...might have known it was all going too swimmingly...I have been unable to contact

118 Tracy O'Neill

can you please get in touch Tracy with your address and I'll be hot footing it to the Post Office with all the prize draw goodies...

I'm so sorry if your ticket wasn't pulled out of the hat...I would have loved to send you all a prize to thank you for your wonderful support and generosity in helping me raise...

£404.00 
for such a worthwhile cause and with the
£720.00
raised at the workshop
the grand total donated to the  Justgiving Page is an amazing...

£1124.00
thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart
 because none of it would have been possible without...

YOU
and the "way beyond my expectations" support and generosity of...

Jan and the team at Personal Impressions

Sue and Julie at Craftwork Cards

for donating the workshop project kits
  Personal Impressions

Tim Holtz and Mario Rossi 

Diane Grimshaw at Practical Publishing

Mary and Andrea at The Ribbon Girl 

and my lovely buddy Enfys 

for the fabulous raffle prizes 

and last but not least

Charlotte at The Papeterie for donating the use of the workshop space

and her wonderful staff for putting up with my constant "can I have this...can I have that" demands

and Doreen for titillating our taste buds at the workshop with her absolutely yummy  home bakes

I make no apology for saying once again...

THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU

So much for the "chillax jammie day" but hey ho now that prize draw goodies are parcelled up that's one less job on the list...just need to steel myself for the dreaded "least favourite of tasks" sorting out the workshop materials...

Hugs Kath xxx

Woohoo and Breathe...

.Hi folks...what can I say...where do I start...yesterday was just the best woohoo fabulous fun day...a big thank you to all the lovely crafty folks who came along to The Everest Challenge Charity Workshop and helped raise loads of money for a very worthwhile cause.  I'll be sharing all the news...fun pics...workshop projects and total monies raised later in the week.

the perfect way to end a wonderful day...happy smiley crafty folks with their Workshop Raffle prizes and they were only too happy to share the love by picking the winning tickets for the online Everest Challenge Prize Draw...I'll be contacting the lucky winners by e-mail today so if I happen to pop into your Inbox...you have these lovely crafty folks to thank for choosing your ticket. 

But...TODAY'S gonna be a "take a deep breath...can't believe it's over" kind of a day...a lazing on the sofa chilling out jammie day with an added special treat...I'll be joining my lovely buddy Julie Hickey at 5pm for..

and believe me you are going to love "The Magic of Christmas" Collection
Toodle-oo for now
Hugs Kath xxx

I love London...

Morning folks...it's my turn to post over on the Craftwork Cards Blog today...stand by your beds because the minute I saw the "Love London" Paper Pad...I was smitten...36 sheets of 8x8 beautiful papers with a fun and fresh London theme...Craftwork Cards in-house designer Steph has done it again and as it sold out very quickly on a recent Create and Craft show...I suspect you all agree...

Time to share what I made using just the papers from the pad with the addition of some alphabets...punched hearts and sentiments...I love all the familiar London icons on the papers...perfect for cutting out

 puts me in the mood for a trip to London for a "shop 'til you drop" girlfriends shopping expedition...

and of course not forgetting the guys...

I'm off on a little trip today...not to London I hasten to add...just a quick drive across to The Papeterie to join lots of lovely crafty folks for the Everest Challenge Charity Workshop...

it's guaranteed to be a day of fun laughter and naughty antics and I can't wait.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx