Ups and Downs...

Hi folks...yesterday turned into a bit of an ups and downs day...the down was having to cancel my trip out with the Friday girls after this "always in too much of a hurry" crafter slipped coming DOWN the stairs and ended up in an undignified heap at the bottom...the old coccyx took a bit of a battering...sitting down was a nightmare and I spent the day doing my best impression of walking around like a pregnant duck.  It seems to be easing off now so our date with Paddington has been rescheduled for next Friday.
But there was also a huge WOOHOO UP moment...the Fiskars samples are done and dusted along with the step-by-steps and after a mega bubble wrapping session...they're boxed up and will soon be winging their way to Fiskars HQ...another huge crafty task is ticked off the list...time to breathe a big sigh of relief before I tackle the "not seen a hoover for a whole week" crafty clutter tidy-up.

I've had great fun playing with the new 2015 products but Mr Dyson ain't going to be too happy about all the left behind punchy bits...

The weather's definitely taken a turn for the worse...hurricane speed winds....predicted to get more severe over the next few days and the possibility of SNOW so we (that's me and my furry partner) are planning to spend the weekend snuggled up in the cubbyhole hitting the next item on the crafty list.

Have fun whatever you're doing this weekend but take care if you're out and about

Hugs Kath xxx

Creative Cardmaking...

Hi folks...I'm sharing a few of the projects I made for this month's issue of Creative Cardmaking on sale today in a supermarket near you...the brief was to make a selection of pen holder pots and I had great fun using an old tin can...

a favourite die...

and testing my origami skills...

and it's Friday already...the first kick up my heels 2015 day out with the Friday girls...I think we may be having a cinema morning in the company of Paddington Bear and then a snuggled up at a log fire lunch followed by lots of coffee and chat. Have a fun day whatever you have planned.

Hugs Kath xxx

"12 Tags of 2015"

Hi folks...It sure doesn't feel like a whole year has passed since I was posting my first tag of 2014 and crikey here we are again...a brand new year and another exciting inspirational journey to look forward to with our much loved Professor at the helm...time to have some fun with the first tag of...

 "12 Tags of 2015"

I was thinking that this month's tag was probably going to be a "tad busy at the mo-skidding in by the seat of my pants at the last minute" affair but if Tim can find the time in his hectic "getting ready for CHA" schedule to so generously share his time and inspiration with us all...all that step-by-step photos...instructions and linking all the products takes an age...the least I could do was pull on my big girl knickers...forget the deadlines for a while and give it a go...no adapt and overcome moments this month apart from getting a half decent photo in the dark "hardly gets light" January days...

I'm so happy that the "12 Tags" tradition is here for another year...thanks to Tim and Mario...sweet...generous...hard working guys...true ambassadors for the craft industry who keep bringing us fabulous new inspirational products to play with but after seeing the 2015 sneaky peeks...my wish list has gone stratospheric...I think I'll just declare myself bankrupt now.
In the meantime...this tag needs a home and I'm feeling inspired so I'm taking another day off from the samples...watch this space.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Tradition v Superstition

Hi folks...Twelfth Night...the 5th of January is traditionally the day that the Christmas decs come down to be stored away for another year but this "never knows what day of the week it is" crafter has just realised that was 2 days ago. There seems to be a trend nowadays to shed the house of everything Christmas within days of the big day...in some cases on Boxing Day...for goodness sake...how sad is that...the true meaning of Christmas seems to have got horribly lost in this modern commercialised world. Legend has it that it is very unlucky to un-deck your halls before the 5th or to leave your tree a-twinkling after that date and if like Miss Memory here you've been caught out...you're in for a shocker...superstition suggests that if you missed the magic deadline...the decorations should be left in place all year long to avoid misfortune. Crikey what a dilemma...it would definitely be a time saver in the run up to Christmas 2015 but on the other hand...I don't know if I'm ready for a whole year of Christmas sparkle over-kill. I'm not superstitious but best not to chance fate so the "as old as the hills and a bit tatty around the edges" angel with attitude has agreed to take one for the team...forego her 11 month hibernation and take up residence in the cubbyhole to ward off any bringers of doom and gloom until it's time to return to her rightful place on top of the Christmas Tree.

And this traumatised "calendar challenged" crafty person needs a little playtime...a break from the conveyor belt of Fiskars samples...the deadlines can wait for one day...it's time to clear my workdesk and have some fun with a Timmie Tag...

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

A "Kick Start 2015" Workshop...

Hi folks...I don't know about you but I've got that post Christmas anti-climax feeling and being cooped up in the cubbyhole means I'm feeling just a little bit stir crazy so what better way to dust off those Christmas cobwebs than a get-together with like minded crafty folks to kick start the 2015 crafting year.

Why don't you come and join Charlotte and yours truly at 

The Papeterie 

Saturday 24th January

10.00-12.00am

1.00pm-3.00pm

£30.00

Project 1

transforming a plain old notebook into a fabulous 2015 diary using lots of Ranger/Tim Holtz products...

Project 2

a fabulous make using Spellbinder dies

places are limited so to book your place...call The Papeterie on 01224 802337

And for my fellow Tim Holtz addicts...it's that exciting time of the year...the sneaky peeks of the soon to be released new 2015 products have begun over on Tim's Blog...it's only Day 1 and already my wish list has gone into orbit...another year when the New Year's "cut back on crafty spending" Resolution has gone to the dogs.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Ooops...a little hiccup...

Hi folks...crikey why did I shoot my mouth off about managing to resist temptation in the "Christmas Crafty Sale" department when it was guaranteed there would be a little hiccup or two along the way...yes I've ended up eating my words...my hat...not to mention a great big slice of humble pie and remember that feather in my cap I was boasting about...well it blew away and is probably halfway to Timbuctoo by now.
I toodled over to The Papeterie on Saturday in search of 2015 calendar tabs for a Fiskars project...

but they just happened to be located on the 40% off everything Christmas Sale table...a feast your eyes bonanza of stamps...paper pads...lots of Christmas bits and pieces and DIES including TIM HOLTZ CHRISTMAS DIES and at that moment in time I knew I was doomed to failure...all hopes of resistance gone...off to join that feather in Timbuctoo no doubt...

So if you've got some Christmas Gift cash burning a hole in your pocket...I would suggest that you make your way to The Papeterie and treat yourself to some fabulous bargains. Do NOT DELAY...it's time to get your skates on because I'll be heading back over there today for a Workshop Pow-Wow and it's a well known fact that little hiccups come along when you least expect them...just saying.

But all is not lost in the New Year Resolution Department...another Fiskars project is in the bag along with the step-by-step instructions...is it too early to start polishing my halo...

See you tomorrow or perhaps later today at The Papeterie.

Hugs Kath xxx

Surprise...surprise...

Hi folks...surprise...surprise and believe me no-one was more surprised than moi...3 Fiskars projects in the bag...

and wait for it...3 step-by-step instructions done and dusted...

not that it was entirely plain sailing...it was a bit of a "dragged kicking and screaming" to the keyboard kind of experience with the accompaniment of much Moaning Minnie gnashing of teeth but it's one of those jobs that once you've started it's never as bad as you think and after all these years of doing step-by-step instructions why haven't I got my head around that thought...probably because...in my book...it's right at the top of the least loved jobs list...way up there with the other "you either like doing it or you don't" job in my life....IRONING which just so happens to be on today's list. It's desperate times when you find yourself in that old familiar "more clothes in the ironing basket than in the wardrobe" situation again.

But I'm struggling to deal with certain parts of New Year's Resolution Numero Uno...not the early to bed bit...we were tucked up and sound asleep before 11pm last night...up at silly o'clock with the birdies and off for our morning stroll long before the rest of the street had stirred.  The bit that's not going so well is...ignoring all the goodies in the fridge...all that tempting yummy cheese...left over ham and meat loaf...now I know how The Furry Boy felt on his strict "weight loss" diet.
But I have one feather in my New Year Resolution cap...so far I have resisted the temptation of all the "crafty sale" e-mails bombarding my Inbox...crikey am I running a temperature...am I coming down with something or will 2015 be the year that I finally manage to keep the New Year's Resolution that all us crafty "can't resist a bargain" folks struggle with...only time will tell.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Drastic Measures...

Hi folks...I know it's the 3rd day of  January but without consulting the calendar...I wouldn't have a scooby-do which day of the week it is...does that sound familiar and after a week of celebrating my digestive system has gone into meltdown...blame all the festive food and the "just can't resist" constant nibbling...my body clock doesn't know if it's coming or going...going to bed well after midnight and waking up to find I've missed half the day is a "burning the candle at both ends" lifestyle that this old body can't handle anymore. So it's time for drastic measures...a good old kick up the butt for starters...a return to the thrice daily "blow away the cobwebs" strolls with the Furry Boy and I'm banning myself from going anywhere near the fridge for the next week...absolutely determined to stop myself sliding down the very tempting slippery slope of over-indulgence. Number One on the New Year's Resolution List.
But will this new found resolve stand me in good stead when it comes to facing today's task...the dreaded step-by-steps...

New Year's Resolution Number 2 is to bite the bullet and face my nemesis as each project is finished or will I fall by the wayside...chicken out as I normally do and leave them all to the end resulting in one great big... lots of coffee...pulling on of big girl knickers and much sighing...session at the keyboard.

See you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx

Crafty First Foots...

Hi folks...the crafting New Year got off to a great start with a few surprise first foots...first was Mr Parcelforce on Hogmanay afternoon and not carrying a lump of coal either but something infinitely more exciting...my DT parcel from Inspiration Emporium...

and woohoo contained within...the brand new Sizzix Scoreboard XL dies from Eileen Hull...

and then the icing on the cake...Mr Tim Holtz popped into my Inbox with a tag...

the first tag of "12 Tags of 2015" and I'm so happy this fabulous annual tradition is continuing...I can't wait to play along and then I noticed I was one of the lucky winners from December...a woohoo moment and great start to the year but before I get too excited...there's the small matter of a pile of Fiskars samples to make so it's time to rally the troops and crank up that production line again.

Hugs Kath xxx

Happy New Year...

Happy New Year Everyone...

A guid new year to ane an' a'

An' mony may ye see

An' during a' the years to come

O happy may ye be

An' may ye ne'er hae cause to mourn

To sigh or shed a tear

To ane and' a' baith great an' sma'

A hearty Guid New Year

2014 was a busy old crafting year and I'm looking forward to doing it all over again in 2015...it keeps me out of mischief most of the time and even more importantly out of the biscuit tin. A big thank you to all the lovely crafty folks who have joined me for demos and workshops in the last 12 months...to my lovely bloggy buddies and teamies past and present for your love...friendship and support throughout the year and an extra special thank you to the folks who have kept me company here...I wish you all a very happy healthy New Year..step boldly into 2015...follow your heart and may all your dreams come true.

Lots of Love

and special hugs

from Kath & Buddy xxx