And breathe...

Hi folks...a huge thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday...it really means so much to me that you took time to leave such positive messages for my adorable Furry Boy. I've just been going through the motions for the last few weeks...getting by on automatic pilot really and if the truth be told I did try on several occasions to share the news that rocked my world with you all but seeing it in print was just too overwhelming. None of us know what the future holds or what fate has in store for us...statistics show that 3 out 5 people in the UK will be affected by cancer at some time in their lives but you never think it will come knocking at your door. A special thank you to my colleagues at Fiskars for their concern and support and I will always be grateful to the very special buddies who lifted my spirits and got me through what was the worst weekend of my life. And now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief...my superstar "took it all in his stride" bundle of golden deliciousness is on the mend...the skin cancer was removed successfully with good clear margins and although pessimism is not a word in my vocabulary...I have to face the fact there's a risk it could recur...vigilance and early detection are key so the cubbyhole crew are putting on our happy smiley optimistic faces...thinking positive...taking each day as it comes and will be good and ready to kick it's ass again if it does.
And life goes on so I'm trying to get back to the daily routine...in the world of the cubbyhole there's always a pile of crafty stuff waiting for the conveyor belt crew to jump into action but with my first weekend at home for what seems ages...we took advantage of the glorious sunny weather and enjoyed some chill out feet up and lazing around time before we head back today to the worky stuff and finish off the projects for this month's Kath's Klub classes at The Papeterie...

and it's all about Christmas now and probably will be for the foreseeable future...Autumn is definitely just around the corner...the leaves are starting to change colour...all that gorgeous red and gold foliage to look forward to...won't be long before we're packing away the Summer Skimpies and unearthing the hats...gloves...scarves and winter woolies ready for the chilly days.

and a special thank you to our lovely buddy Polly for your good wishes and gorgeous card...

See you all tomorrow

and thanks again from me and the "milking it for all it's worth" Furry Boy

Hugs Kath xxx

Woohoo...

Hi folks...have you seen the fabulous Give-Away over at The Ribbon Girl Blog...

a Vintage Style Brooch and lots of gorgeous trims...

along with fabulous inspiration...

a gorgeous stocking from Andrea

and a stunning box from Mary...

to check out the other gorgeous makes from my lovely teamies...pop over right now to The Ribbon Girl Blog and feast your eyes.

See you all later
Hugs Kath xxx

Woof...woof...

It's a great big woof woof from me...I'm sorry I've haven't been on the blog for a while...to be honest my crafty old Mum and your favourite bundle of golden deliciousness have had a bit of a tough time lately...all because of a pesky little pimple they found on my leg.  My old pal Mark (the vet) took one look at it and hey presto before I had a chance to turn and hightail it out of there...I was booked in for surgery the very next day and he was right...it was a nasty piece of work...a Mast Cell Tumour...yes that scary Big "C" word and this all happened the night before my old Mum was due to hop on the train to Sheffield. Talk about throwing a spanner in the works and everything up in the air...there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth (not from me I hasten to add) but after lots of betwixt and betweening and reassurance that I would be in safe hands with Mark and Dad would cope with the nursemaid duties...we persuaded her to go.

What they didn't tell me was they would be going crazy with the razor again...baldy patches everywhere and that once they got me asleep the vet would be practicing his sewing skills on my leg...

nor did they happen to mention the pain in the ass headgear I had to wear day and night for 2 weeks...

the newly painted walls have taken a bit of a hammering and will require some major touch up's here and there due to my lack of spacial awareness...well if I knew what that was perhaps I could work on it. Of course I've been the perfect patient...doing what the doctor ordered and hey the stitches are out...the headgear is gone and I'm looking forward to being back to my usual bouncy hooligan self again.
On a serious note...there is a chance this nasty blighter could come back and catching it early is important so an all-over body check is now part of my daily routine...please don't dismiss any lump you find on your doggy chums...however small and innocent looking...get to your vet asap and get it checked out.
As if I haven't had enough to put up with...there's been whisperings that I'm going on a diet...apparently I'm obese...well what a blinking cheek and how rude...I will admit to being slightly CHUNKY but there's no need to be offensive and use the "O" word. The thought of being on half rations doesn't bear thinking about and I may well be popping over to your In-boxes with urgent appeals for food parcels if fluttering my big brown eyelashes doesn't work.
But now for some happy news...my old Mum is home this weekend for the first time in ages so we're off out for a "spending some time together" kind of a day...I'll be chasing rabbits and rushing around sniffing while the old Crafty Girl brings up the rear.

See you all soon...in the meantime Big Hugs & Snuggles

BUDDY xxx

When is a Tag not a Tag...

Hi folks...it's my turn again today to share some inspiration over on the Craftwork Cards Blog but first that question rears it's head again...when is a tag not a tag...when it's a card of course...

I used some tags from the Kraft Tag Pad matted and layered horizontally and vertically onto white cardstock to create cute little tag cards...a great way to use up the scraps of  paper you might have left over from the gorgeous Christmas Box Collection...

 and some of the die cut flowers back to front to create a white backdrop for their patterned cousins...

and rounded the corners of the insert section from one of the Polaroid  Flower Frames and gave it a little bit of Christmas sparkle with a glue pen and some Glamour Dust

finally scoring the tags and fixing them together...

It's looking like it's going to be a bit of a sunshiney weekend according to the boffins at the Met Office so if they've got it right...enjoy what may be the last days of Summer while you can and I'll see you all soon.  The Furry Boy will be joining you tomorrow with the latest tale of woe to befall the cubbyhole crew.

Hugs Kath xxx

"12 Tags of 2013"...September Tag...

Hi folks...I'm joining in this month's fun over at "12 Tags of 2013" with plenty of time to spare before the end of the month deadline...

being last minute twice in a row would have been so rude not to mention the fact that I was itching to play with my new stencils...a great tag as always from Tim...love the layered look you get working from light to dark...

and when is a tag not a tag...when it's a tag book of course...the perfect way to store the stencils and I don't even have to remove them from their storage when I'm in a "get inky" mood...

 the "Layering Stencil" logo comes from the stencil packaging and looks rather cool on my Tag Book...

Can't quite believe it's the end of another week already...the weather's turned decidedly chilly...the central heating's on...the nights are drawing in and would you believe snow has fallen on the hills already...winter's on it's way and I'm looking forward to lots of cosy crafty days in the cubbyhole playing along with our adorable Professor...yes Tim will be back soon with...

If you haven't signed up yet...what are you waiting for...a chance to sit in on a week of fun Master Classes with the Duke of Distress...I'll be there waiting for the classroom door to open on 7th October...why don't you join me.

I'll see you all tomorrow over at Craftwork Cards Blog to share some more Christmas Post makes.

Hugs Kath xxx

Autumn Retreat Day 2

H Folks...time to share Sunday's fun day of crafting at The Papeterie...kicking off with a repeat of Saturday's Melt Pot canvas project...

followed by some quick and easy Hero Arts cards made entirely from white card-embossed-coloured with Distress Paints and Inks-stamped and finished off with glitter and bling...not forgetting that Christmas isn't Christmas without snowflakes...

and the last project of the day...just having fun with The Melt Pot...

A huge thank you to Charlotte and her team for all their hard work organising this event and to all the lovely folks who came along to The Retreat...making it 2 fun filled fabulous days but sadly all good things come to an end and before you know it's time for everyone to head home with their mega shopping expedition purchases...goodie bags and fabulous raffle prizes...lots of "where there's a will...there's a way" suitcase packing skills required...I hope you all had a safe journey home.  I was feeling rather sad that it was all over but also looking forward to putting my feet up for a chill out evening in the company of a delish M&S Dine-In Meal...mind you I very nearly had to kip down on the sofa when the old body seized up completely until a glass or two of the old vino (WD 40 for this creaky old body) came to the rescue and seemed to loosen things up just enough for me to head up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.

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

Hugs Kath xxx

A Box and a Bowl of Cornflakes...

Hi folks...a rather strange blog title today but all will be clear in a mo...I'm back to share the last project we made on Saturday...decorating a box with Bo Bunny Papers...Distress Paints...Tim Holtz dies and stamps and this time I did remember to get the camera out...

and the finished article...

And time doesn't half fly when you're having fun...before you know all 3 projects are done and dusted and it's time for me to head home to get my jammies on and put my feet up and chill...after my greedy "stuffed fit to burst" lunch my gourmet supper consisted of a big bowl of cornflakes and a yogurt while hubby demolished the curry "for 2" I'd made the night before. See you all tomorrow to share what we made on Sunday.

Hugs Kath xxx

Crafts Beautiful Christmas...

Hi folks...the best laid schemes o' mice an men gang aft agley in the words of Rabbie Burns...just when I think I've caught up and am on top of the all the work stuff...hey presto more pops into my Inbox but I'm not complaining...it keeps this crafty person out of mischief and the old brain ticking over but it does mean playtime is on hold temporarily.
Now that we're well and truly into September and with an Autumn chill in the air there's no denying that Christmas is just around the corner so I'm sharing a couple of projects I made for a Fiskars Feature in Crafts Beautiful using the gorgeous "Christmas In The Country" Papers from Papermania and the Fuse Creativity System...

My favourite snowflake makes another appearance

and a Snowflake Treat Box which is Project Of The Month over on the Fiskars website...

I'll be back tomorrow to share my workshop makes from the Autumn Craft Retreat at The Papeterie.

Hugs Kath xxx

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