Stencils...stencils and more stencils...

Hi folks...I popped over to The Papeterie at the end of the week to stock up on the most essential of all crafty essentials...my can't live without cardstock...the amazing Diamond White...300gsm high quality gorgeousness and to sit down with Charlotte to get some dates sorted out for Kath's Klub 2014 workshops.
And it looks like stencils may be taking over my life for the foreseeable future...the theme for the first Kath's Klub of 2014 will be...

Stencilling and Spritzing using Dylusions Ink Sprays and Stencils

and creating texture by introducing Embossing Paste into the mix...sounds like a day of messy inky "will protective clothing be required" fun...for more details click HERE.
Sharing the last minute banner I decided to make for Megan's bedroom with the yummy Amelia Paper Pad...New Arrival Paper Ribbons & Bows Pad and Sherbet die cut flowers from Craftwork Cards...

apologies for the bad photography...blame the dark dismal rainy "hardly gets light all day" weather....

 and a Festive Berries Glittery addition to the birthday card...

The normal peace and quiet of the cubbyhole is about to be shattered...no quiet snoozes for The Furry Boy for the next 3 or 4 days...the hunky joiners will be arriving today to work their magic on the hall and staircase...lots of hammering...singing along with the radio...tea drinking...sandwich scoffing and much hilarity may just play havoc with the crafty schedule.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

The Heat Is On...

Hi folks...yes in the words of the song..."The Heat is On"...so many jobs to tick off the list and the age old saying...not enough hours in a day nor days in a week...especially when you're distracted from the job in hand...yes I've been having a play with the gorgeous Botanica goodies from Craftwork Cards...a girl needs some fun and a change of scene keeps Mr Mojo on his toes...nothing that I can share yet so I'm falling back on my Stenciled Online Class homework...woohoo I'm half way there...Day 2 completed...

 Tracing with Stencils...

a quick easy to make clean and simple card...

 Stencil with Stickers...

inking through the waste from a sheet of alphabet stickers...overlaying with a piece of vellum and placing some of the stickers on top. I wasn't going to share this one with you because the idea that was floating around in my head didn't turn out as planned...it happens but hey ho you know me I'm a warts and all kind of a girl so here we are...another "over-egged the pudding" doesn't float my boat creation...

And it's a no worky day for me...I'm off to a birthday party...can hardly believe that my sweet little Missy Megan is 4 years old already...what better way to spend a Sunday than hanging out with the grandkiddies...fun...games and CAKE.  And talking of cake...the joiners will be back tomorrow which means I'm back on catering duties...running hither and thither between the kitchen and the cubbyhole.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

A Happy Mail Day...

Hi folks...I'm back in the cubbyhole and on a "the clock is ticking" mission to nail some more Fiskars samples for Stitches...

but this easily led astray crafty person has been distracted from the task in hand by the arrival of some happy mail...just as I was getting ready to leave for my date with the Friday girls...ding dong the postie's at the door with a parcel from Craftwork Cards...my Botanica DT goodies...well needless to say I was going nowhere until I'd ripped it open and had a good old "ooooahhhh" browse...

and now I'm very very tempted to set aside the samples and the stenciled homework...clear the decks and have a little play. I know I say this every time but this has to be my favourite favourite of all the collections...the papers are stunning and wow the artwork is mind blowingly beautiful...right up my street and it looks like Mr Willpower may have just left the building.
And woohoo...the train tickets have arrived for my trip to see the one and only Michael Buble...crikey I'm still pinching myself that little old me managed to get a ticket...yeah I'm one hot diggedy..doo diggedy mega excited...excited...counting the sleeps crafty girl right now.

and it just so happens that it coincides with the last day of the Hobbycraft Show at the SECC...so I may just kill 2 birds with one stone and pop in for a nosey and a catch up with some of my crafty buddies.

But I must dash....beautiful crafty stuff is calling.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

It's Friday...

Hi folks...yahoo it's Friday and I'm looking forward to escaping from the cubbyhole and kicking up my heels with the Friday girls...my lovely do not craft buddies...yes there are folks out there who don't have a clue who Tim Holtz is...who think that ink is what comes in a biro...that distressed means you're sad and that stencils and paint are for using on a wall but I'm sure if they met him he could work his magic and convert them to the wonderful world of All Things Holtziness. But hey each to their own and I'm quite happy to ditch the crafting for one day and indulge in the excitement of new shops to browse...new menus to sample and what us girls love to do best...chew the fat with a good old natter.
In the meantime...I've been busy catching up on my homework for Day 2 of the Online Stenciled Class...

 watercolouring with stencils...

 and stamping with stencils...

but I'll be back to the Fiskars samples tomorrow and hey what the Friday girls don't know yet...I need some supplies and I'm in the driving seat so we'll be making a detour at some point to get some fabric from the Seattle Quilt Co and popping into Hobbycraft to buy some boxes, bags or anything that catches my eye...suitable for a bit of altering Fiskars style.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Back To School...

Hi folks...I've been back in the classroom cracking on with my Stenciled homework...having great fun revisiting my clean and simple style from way back when...mind you I had to pull out all the stops in the willpower department not to reach for the blending tool and ink the edges of my version of Jennifer's masking with stencils technique...

and woohoo...another sparkly Festive Berries glittered heart...

and the last technique for my Day 1 homework....embossing with stencils

but I need to get a wiggle on if I'm going to hit today's targets otherwise tomorrow's planned day out with the Friday girls may well be in jeopardy and if you believe that...you'll believe anything.  No way am I missing out on another Friday outing with my lovely crazy "every bit as mad as I am" buddies...I've got 2 weeks of gossip to catch up on with a little bit of retail therapy and a yummy lunch thrown in for good measure.
And I can't help myself...I've just got to share the bestest bestest bestest news...I'm currently dancing on the ceiling...super duper excited that I finally managed to get a ticket for...wait for it...take a deep breath...MICHAEL BUBLE in Glasgow...yeeehaaa

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

"12 Tags of 2014"...February...

Hi folks...the middle of the another busy "chasing my tail" week but this old crafter is never so busy that I can't sneak in a little bit of "me time" having fun with the Master of All Things Distress...yes it's time for the second tag of  "12 Tags of 2014"...

and the only thing missing from the ingredients pile this month was the hearts stencil...but nothing that couldn't be sorted out with a little bit of the old adapt and overcome.  Two of my favourite techniques from Creative Chemistry 102...the fabulous Chalkboard Technique and oh boy I love...love...love those gorgeous Festive Berries Distress Glitter Hearts...

But it's back to the work stuff...DIY and more Fiskars samples are on today's agenda...oh boy does this old crafter know how to have fun...see you all tomorrow.

Hugs Kath xxx

Stenciled Class Homework...

Hi folks... I signed up for the Online Stencil Class with Jennifer..Kristina...Laura...Julie...Debby and Shari totally forgetting that it went live last Friday...the day I was on the train heading for Leeds so I've got 4 days homework to catch up on and with the DIY stuff  and the Fiskars samples taking over my life at the moment...it's going to be a bit of a "sneak in a little play when I can" exercise.

inking with a stencil...pretty straight forward when you're mega addicted to Distress Inks and the fabulous stencils from a certain Mr Holtz...

spritzing through a stencil...not so easy peasy...well not for me anyway...I seem to get the ink everywhere and believe me the waste paper bin was full to brimming with my "OMG that's just awful" attempts...this was try number 1,042 (slightly exaggerating perhaps)...the best of a bad bunch

practice makes perfect perhaps but I have enough DIY painting on my plate at the moment without having to redecorate the splattered walls of the cubbyhole...thank you very much.
I have to say a huge thank you to my knight in shining armour...my lovely Papeterie buddy Pearl was rather worried about this little old woman...her words not mine...attempting the skyscraper cutting in so she asked her lovely hubby Keith (painter & decorator extraordanaire) to help out...blimey 10 minutes...job done...thanks a million Keith xxx

See you all tomorrow to share this month's Timmie Tag

Hugs Kath xxx

Back In The Swing...

Hi folks...I'm back in the swing of all things crafty...3 days off seems to have boosted the old energy levels again...I'm churning out the Fiskars samples for Stitches at a rate of knots frantically trying to keep up with Mr Mojo...

and even managed to sneak in a magazine project in between...

and complete the dreaded step-by-steps without the usual tantrums but the floor is back to being littered with all the pesky punched out debris...

 and my desk is a midden again...

but the hunky joiners will soon be back on site and the DIY jobs are a-calling so I donned that ever so flattering face mask and sanded down the staircase...oh boy that is one messy job...why don't specs come with built in windscreen wipers and as for my hair...stiff as a board and now the colour of driven snow. I was tickled pink on my return from Leeds to see that hubby had been busy with the paint tray and roller...woohoo the paint job on the walls of the downstairs and upstairs halls has also been ticked off the "jobs to do" list...leaving the tricky bit...the staircase wall. Circus acrobat I definitely am not...balancing on a ladder way up high is an adventure too far even for this intrepid crafty person so I'm off to see if I can hire some sort of platform contraption...something safe to stand on while I twist my neck this way and that...head flattened against the ceiling...that body contortion exercise commonly known as "cutting in" and then a dash across town to pick up the new doors...hinges and handles.

And just to confirm that I currently have rocket fuel flowing through my veins and a jet engine strapped to my back...I've managed to make a start on my homework from the fabulous...

which has left me wondering if the 3 days off a week routine is the way to go...less time means less faffing around.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

The Lucky Winners...

Hi and a very good morning to all my lovely bloggy buds from your "not looking as gorgeous as usual" bundle of golden deliciousness but I'll tell you all about that in a mo...first things first..

 

time to announce the lucky winners of the Craftwork Cards goodie parcels...

The Amelia Bundle will soon be popping through the letterbox of...

REBECCA (21)

and The Jacob Bundle will be heading for the crafty space of...

LOUISE (89)

All you need do girls...is get in touch by e-mail with your addresses and I'll be popping off to the Post Office and putting them in the safe hands of the nice man from Royal Mail.

But back to my problem...crikey has someone left the big tap on up in the sky...it's been rain rain and nothing but rain for more than a week...OK we did have some sunshine yesterday...about 2 hours worth and then guess what the heavens opened again...I'm in a permanent state of wet and even I'm getting fed up of the wet dog smell not to mention "She Who Must Be Obeyed" bumping her gums constantly about my muddy footprints on the floor.
And silly me for thinking that after snuggling up on the sofa with my old Crafty Mum...drinking coffee...eating cake for 3 days...this was our new routine...crikey how wrong was I...it's all kicked off big time...the cubbyhole production line is going at full tilt and that means there's debris everywhere and we're back on the DIY trail again...oh yes if I'm not dodging bits of paper and those dratted 3D foam pads...I have now paint splatters to contend with...the nice joiner lads will be back soon so there's lots of this...

this...

and this...yes the cubbyhole has no door so no chance of any peace in there either

I may have to go upstairs and snooze the day away on the comfy duvet...oops better make sure the paws are super duper clean first...see you all soon.

Big Hugs and Furry Snuggles

Buddy xxx

Penny Black Saturday Challenge...February

Hi folks...we're into February already...can you believe how quickly January flew in and hey it's the first Saturday of the month and that means it's time to play along with this month's challenge over at Penny Black Saturday...

FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL

of course it could be a Valentine card or just a birthday card for someone special in your life

As always there are fab prizes up for grabs from our very generous sponsors so we look forward to seeing what you all make for this month's challenge.
The Furry Boy will be joining you tomorrow to announce the lucky winners of the Craftwork Cards Goodie Give-Away bundles and I'll be back on Monday hopefully with some crafty makes. In the meantime enjoy your weekend whatever you've got planned...according to the boffins at The Met Office we're in for rain...rain and more rain so if you have any sense...snuggle up cosy and dry in your crafty space and get creative.

Hugs Kath xxx

The papers I used are the Colourwash Patterned and Embossed Cardstock from Craftwork Cards sanded to show the gorgeous patterns...they are not on the website yet but I'm sure they will be very soon.

InLinkz.com