The What Happened Next/Lucky Lucky Me photos...

Hi folks...wow...what a difference a few days of rest and recuperation make...the old body seems to be back to firing on all cylinders again and I'm feeling as bright as a button this morning apart from that deflated feeling you have when you've looked forward to something for so long and now it's over.
But it's Big Girl Knicker time and until Tim and Mario return to the UK (sooner rather than later I hope) I have wonderful memories of a very special weekend in Harrogate that I will treasure forever to keep my spirits up...

the "on our best behaviour" photo with my favourite guys...

now it's time to share the "what happened next" photos...
the "lucky lucky me" smooching with the dynamic duo photo...

the "just press the darned button" photo

the "he tried to get away but he wasn't quick enough" photo...

and the "I can never resist a special smooch with my lovely "love you lots" buddy" photo...

Tim and Mario know how much I love my District Market Subway Signs bag, my use every day, been everywhere bag which is now 5 or 6 years old, still going strong but like it's owner showing a bit of wear and tear. Sadly these amazing quality bags are now discontinued...not available to buy anywhere and I was dreading the time when this old faithful had to go to bag heaven in the sky...

so you can imagine how delighted, over the moon and absolutely gobsmacked I was that these wonderful thoughtful guys brought me not ONE but THREE replacements...making sure I'll never be without my favourite favourite "holds everything but the kitchen sink" grab and go tote.

along with a super cute Sizzix/Tim Holtz Coffee Cup Phone Charger...

and the biggest woohoo gobsmacking gift of all..I still can't believe I'm now wearing an Assemblage Ruler Cuff and not any old Ruler Cuff let me tell you. I've been hankering over this gorgeous wrist bracelet since the launch of the latest Assemblage line but they are exclusive to Joann's in the US...it's a long way to go for a jewellery shopping spree and I'm not sure the cubbyhole stash purse could run to a transatlantic air fare so...wait for it...take a deep breath...Tim very kindly gave me the one he was wearing...cool or what !!!

now you know how very very special these guys are to me...always so kind, generous and thoughtful and I'm so thankful for their friendship and the wonderful memories we share. In today's materialistic world, it's easy to forget that special friendships are the gifts in life money can't buy.

But it's time for this sentimental old crafter and her "will treasure always" ruler cuff to head back to the cubbyhole and crack on with the next project on the crafty list before I become too emotional because tears of joy and cardmaking are not going to be a good mix.

See you all soon

Hugs Kath xxx

In A Word...A M A Z I N G...

Hi Everyone...buckle up while I tell you all about my trip to Art From The Heart in Harrogate to attend the Creative Chemistry UK workshop with Tim Holtz and let me start off by giving a huge shout out to Tim, Mario and Ben from AFTH for all the hard work they put in to make this the best workshop ever...in fact it was AMAZING and then some...there are not enough adjectives to describe how much I enjoyed it.
And how lucky was I to share this fabulous weekend of fun with my lovely buddy Anne and her hubby David starting off on Saturday night with a gorgeous meal at Graveleys Fish Restaurant along with another lovely crafty friend Rachel...

and of course weekends away always involve the Sunday morning traditional Full English breakfast...

a huge thank you to my bestest buddy Anne for her kind and generous gift...a gorgeous Assemblage Black Hitch and Loop Bracelet...

I'd never visited Art From The Heart before and oh boy it's amazing...jammed packed to the rafters with loads of fabulous fabulous crafty stuff...real kid in a sweetie shop stuff and a huge thank you to Ben for the lovely Yorkshire welcome and for looking after us so well...no pics I'm afraid...I was too busy putting stuff in my basket.
OK let's get started...Anne and I attended the afternoon workshop on Sunday...the last class of the event along with a lovely group of fellow crafters and our adorable Professor was in top form...Tim really is the best tutor/educator there is...so passionate about sharing his phenomenal Distress product knowledge and inspiration with his students but it wasn't all heads down and get to work. When Tim and Mario are in the room...it's going to be a whole load of fun and oh boy we were treated to a very entertaining 4 hours of Tim's wicked sense of humour

check out our cool Aprons and name tags

Each kit contained a selection of tags pre-prepared by Tim and Mario and two sets of exclusive stencils...

and guided by the Master of Distress himself we created our technique based tags using Distress Spray Stains, Paints, Crayons and Distress Oxides...

and the attention is all in the detail...self adhesive technique labels were also included to fix on the back of the tags, a Worn Cover with page pockets for storage and a self adhesive Exclusive Label printed on sticky back canvas, each one hand cut to fit by Mario...

and then it was treat time...special extra goodies to take home..

this beautiful Wallflower Tote...

a District Market Notebook and Noble Gent pouch

and last but no means least an Assemblage Lucky Charm necklace...

and guaranteeing that each and every workshop ran smoothly was this guy...the amazing Mario, King of BTS and Kitting, Chef Extraordinaire, Expert Parcel Shipper and Sweetheart all rolled into one...

he looked after us all so well...nothing is ever too much trouble for Mario...he made sure we all had the best time...how lucky were we to have our very own personal shopper/workspace tidier-upper, maker of coffee and tea and dispenser of lots of hugs.

After the workshop...Tim and Mario hung around for a few hours chatting with everyone, posing for photographs, signing aprons, bags and books and if you visit my blog on a regular basis you'll know how much I love these guys. ..they truly are the nicest, friendliest, kindest, most generous, down to earth genuine guys and I think that each and every attendee at the Creative Chemistry UK workshops fell in love with them too..they are great ambassadors for the craft industry and have that rare ability to make everyone feel special. A picture is worth a thousand words and spending time with special friends are what wonderful memories are made of...

But before I go...I know that lots of folks were very disappointed not to get a place at this event...Tim has said that he will be back but in the meantime I would recommend you sign up for Tim's Creative Chemistry Classes online...click on the links for more info...

Creative Chemistry 101

Creative Chemistry 102

Creative Chemistry 103

honestly they are also amazing... the next best thing to sitting with Tim in his studio taking a one-to-one class, packed full of techniques and product information, you have lifetime access to all the class videos, you can pause, rewind or refer back to them at any time and once you have completed each class, you can print off the instructions and store your technique tags in Worn Covers just as we did at the workshop...

I use mine on a regular basis...my very own Tim Holtz Distress easy go-to reference library right there on my bookshelf.

I'm hoping to get back to work today but I'm still on Cloud Nine, dancing on the ceiling, high from all the excitement but I'll be back tomorrow to share the "lucky lucky me-what happened next" photos.

Toodle-oo for now

Hugs Kath

Simon Says...Heavy Metal

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

and the theme for this week is...

HEAVY METAL

I decided to create a traditional red and green Christmas card but with a heavy metal twist using Idea-ology Metallic Kraftstock and a bit of gold embossing...

I began by stamping the gorgeous Sparkles background inked with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger Gold Embossing powder randomly on to white card

I coloured the card with Distress Oxide Candied Apple, spritzed with water, dried and overstamped here and there with Merry Christmas from Sparkles and Merry Christmas with Candied Apple.

I masked off a section of the Idea-ology Plaid Layerng Stencil with washi tape, coloured Studio 490 White Embossing Paste with a drop of Peeled Paint Distress Oxide reinker and applied randomly on the background.

I die cut the Tattered Poinsettia from Classic and Metallic Kraftstock and used the matching Texture Fade to add texture...

I highlighted the texture with Distress Paint Black Soot and crumpled up each die cut...

before fixing together with an Idea-ology Yuletide brad...

I added Idea-ology Tidings Design Tape and a fragment tapped on to the Versamark ink pad and heat embossed around the edges with Ranger Gold Embossing Powder. I inked part of the Merry Christmas sentiment from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Great Outdoors with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger White Embossing Powder on to a scrap of green Classic Kraftstock and fixed behind the fragment with Glossy Accents.

I  sprinkled the background with Ranger White Embossing Powder and heat embossed from underneath to create a snowy effect. I added 3 Yuletide brads and die cut the word "Merry" from white card using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Retro Christmas Thinlits. I finished off by attaching the panel to card covered with Gold Metallic Kraftstock.

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

and if you use Instagram...

please add #sssmchallenge to your entry uploads so we can see them on there too

I look forward to seeing what you create this week...

Have Fun and Happy Crafting

Hugs Kath xxx

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