For Your Eyes Only...

Hi Everyone...it's your bundle of golden deliciousness logging in to let you know I'm OK...still feeling a little bit spaced out from the knock out juice but nothing that a couple more days of pampering won't put right...

and no cone of shame either...my Mum came up with a genius idea of cutting down a pair of her old jammie bottoms to cover my "licking is a definite NO NO" wound until I get my stitches out in 2 weeks...a bit gutted they're pink but hey ho...this is for your eyes only and no-one else is going to know because I certainly won't be stepping outside with them on.

Thank you all so much for your lovely messages and good wishes...have a great weekend and we'll catch up with you all on Monday...it's going to be a busy frantic "it's all happening today" kind of day.

Big Hugs and Furry Snuggles

BUDDY xxx

Paperbabe Stamps Blog Hop...

Hi everyone...I was so thrilled and excited to be invited by my lovely sweet and very talented friend Kim Costello to take part in a fun blog hop to celebrate Paperbabe Stamps third Anniversary and to share a sampling of the new Paperbabe Stamps JULY 2016 release with you...

FOUR new mini stamp sets and THREE new subtrate kits will be available to purchase on July 30th and you can find the new products HERE once they go live...

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! 

Two prizes - 

The Paperbabe Stamps entire July's release and

a £25 gift to choose what you like in the Paperbabe Stamps online store.

Here are the details:

• Two winners will be chosen at RANDOM from any of the designer's blogs and the PaperbabeStamps Blog to win.
• Just leave a comment on any of the designer's blogs listed below or the Paperbabe stamps blog for your chance to win! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify but it increases your chances) 
• Deadline: You have until midnight on Sunday, 31st July to leave a comment.
• Please check the Paperbabe Stamps blog on Monday, 1st August to see if you are one of our lucky winners.

Kim has asked some great designers to join in our birthday hop...

Chris

Delphine

Terri

Kerrie

Keren

Aimes

Katy

Trish

Kim

Kath

Paperbabe Stamps

and if you've arrived here from the lovely Kim Dellow's blog...it means you've got off the blog bus at the right stop but if you've got lost along the way you can always pop back to the beginning and get back on track.

Kim kindly sent me the Woodland set of stamps...cute MDF words and wooden die cuts that match perfectly with the stamps to play with and here's what I made...a cute wall hanger with a fun message...

using the matching die cuts...

and cute MDF words...

but there are so many adorable images in the Woodland Set that I couldn't fit them all on to my wall hanger so I also made a set of cute notelets in a box...a great stocking filler or gift for a friend...

Now it's time for you to head to Paperbabe Stamps...the last stop on the hop.

I can't go without saying a huge heartfelt thank you to all for your good wishes and supportive messages on here and Facebook about Buddy...it truly means a lot to know you are thinking of us...I feel humbled and proud to be part of this wonderful caring crafting community and I will keep you posted about the furry patient.

Hugs Kath xxx

Here we go again...

Hi Everyone...I had a real fun day yesterday with my special crafty guests and will be sharing the results of their labours in a very special challenge on Monday...

but life has a way of every now and then jumping up and kicking you in the teeth.  We're just back from the vet this morning after finding another small lump on Buddy's leg...it could be another nasty or not...no way of knowing without waiting 2 weeks for the results of a biopsy so we've decided to have it removed immediately and he's booked in for "better safe than sorry" surgery bright and early tomorrow morning.

It's time for positive thoughts and keeping myself busy today and all of tomorrow...time to put my go-to stress buster techniques into action...CLEANING and ORGANISING are my thing so today I'll be doing battle with the kitchen cupboards and tomorrow hitting the cubbyhole for another major clear out.
And in the crafting department...I'll be back tomorrow to share what I made for a fun blog hop with some adorable stamps.

Hugs Kath xxx

What can possibly go wrong...

Hi folks...I'm in the cubbyhole bright and early this morning getting ready for a fun morning crafting with 2 very special guests...

 who are excited to be tackling their first ever DT assignment...

I'm not going to lie...I'm feeling a little nervous because it involves GLITTER...lots of GLITTER...

What can possibly go wrong that can't be sorted with a quick dust down or worst case scenario...a hose down in the shower before this "been there...done it...got the T-shirt" crafty person and her companions head out for lunch and a fun afternoon.

Hugs Kath xxx

Add some texture...

Hi Everyone...welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog...thank you for joining us for last week's "Sail Away/Nautical" challenge...we hope you can join us this week too because...

and the theme for this week is...

ADD SOME TEXTURE

I decided to decorate a canvas...a project which turned out completely different from what I had planned...

I started off giving the canvas a coat of White Gesso and tore some strips from scraps I had left over from the Prima Timeless Memories paper pad...

fixed them in place with Gel Medium to create a textured collage effect and gave it a light wash of White Gesso to soften it down a bit. I know what you're thinking...at this stage it looks like a bit of dog's dinner but sometimes you have to stick with it in the belief it will get better...

I die cut letters from card covered with scrumbled up Tissue Wrap using the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Wordplay Die...

did a little bit of stamping using Tim Holtz  Mixed Media Stamp Set inked with Potting Soil Archival Ink and added the die cut letters and some individual flowers cut from Prima Plumeria Floral Lace...

another light coat of Gesso on the letters and flowers and the addition of Art Basics Mini Art Stones..silver beads and tiny sequins from Lilac Lane's Minty Fresh Embellishment Bottle Kit and voila it's beginning to come together. At this stage I had planned to go in with some Distress Spray Stains but decided I rather liked the soft sepia look so no point in over-egging the pudding...time to quit whilst I was ahead...

I added some twine loops...a Prima Penmanship flower and leaves spritzed with Brushed Corduroy Distress Spray Stain...

created shadows around the lettering and lace flowers using the Walnut Stain Distress Marker and Detailer Water Brush...added Ranger Texture Paste through the Splotches Stencil from Mini Layering Stencil Set...

and added some buttons from my stash...

You can find all the products I used over at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp online store...just click on the links below...

Why don't you pop over to the Monday Challenge Blog and check out the amazing creations from my very talented Design Team mates and as always you all have the chance to win a $50 gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time...1pm UK time...2 pm CET to join in...

You can also follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

Happy Crafting

Hugs Kath xxx

InLinkz.com

The Naked Crafter...

Hi Everyone...don't worry I haven't been crafting in the buff only because I don't want to be arrested for offending public decency but believe me with the scorchio temperatures of the last 2 days...I've been sorely tempted...the cubbyhole's been like a sauna come afternoon so we've been going like the clappers to nail the crafty list in the mornings...knocking off at lunchtime (the joys of being the boss around here) and moving the social media and photography departments outdoors...

 but when you can't remove your fur coat...you have to find a shady spot to snooze...

Well done to all the folks who guessed what was in my "happy mail" parcel...woohoo Crazy Dogs and Mini Cats and Dogs have made it safely across the pond and have now taken up residence in the cubbyhole...

a huge huge thank you to Tim and Mario for their kind and generous hearts and also to Kristina Werner who has done an amazing job illustrating these adorable dudes...

and if like me...you've been feeling a bit hot under the collar...pop this guy in the fridge overnight and voila...you have the perfect facial "cool down" spritzer...

But two days of sunshine does not a Summer make and guess what...it looks like normal service will be resumed soon because the usual crappy weather is forecast to return today.

Hugs Kath xxx