Kool Kitty Musings

Awol

So I've been lagging a bit behind with the old CAD challenge (I will catch up this weekend, honest!) - Tuesday night I didn't get home from the gym until late, last night I was out for dinner and a movie with my friend Kelly.

We went to Frankie & Benny's - and I was starting to think I was eating in the restaurant on Kitchen nightmares the other week where there was nothing on the menu... I mean how can they not have any cheesecake and F&B's??? LOL Anyway, dinner was OK - but this:

Was just fabby! I am so going and getting the soundtrack... Loved it...

There's not much else on at the cinema right now - strangely - so not sure what Helen and I are going to see next Tuesday... Hopefully something new will be out!

Anyway, it's another late night at the gym tonight, and masterchef finale.... Not sure whether I'm going to need to do some OT this weekend... and if so it'll probably have to be Saturday as it's Mother's day Sunday... and we're off out for a nice meal at Fellini's - lovely!

Get using those kits...

I decided to pull out an old kit and use up some of the papers - this retro chic approach is getting quite addictive... old stash is new again - for now!

Anyway, here's yesterday's CAD challenge (to use bling) based on the current CPS sketch:

• Scenic Route patterned paper
• Nestabilities die cuts
• Hambly rub-on
• Papertrey Ink stamp
• Prima flower
• Doodlebug brad
• Swarovski crystals

Sketch This Card #42

Well not much to post about tonight.... Just the realisation that Marshmallow Crispies made yesterday were obviously a hit as they've almost all gone... I may try Marshmallow toffee crispies next time!

But more lethal I expect... and the opportunity to shed the weekend's calories looks a bit grim this week as I only have two evenings I can make the gym before weigh in on Thursday... eek. Not helping that I'm eating out Wednesday night either... dun dun dun...

Anyhoo, here's a card for today as the CAD challenge isn't up yet:

• KI Memories Pieces of Me patterned paper
• KI Memories alpha stickers
• Mod button

Calamities and cards

Well it's not been the best couple of days and to top it all off I managed to trip over when carrying my shopping home from Tescos today... how did I manage that? Well the heel of my boot got caught in the hem of my jeans on the other leg and I went flying, highly embarrassing but I think only one person saw it. :oS

So now I have two huge bruises on my knees, scrapes galore, totally scuffed relatively new boots, and a squashed selection of grapes... That'll teach me for going to Tescos with a shopping list of baking items... although they had no edible glitter, which I was really hoping to get because I'd decided to try out Nigella's marshmallow crispies recipe today, there is now a huge block of the stuff left to eat - I may need to start donating it! And a batch of cheese scones that came out rather flat.

Anyway I gave up trying to do anything that might remotely result in me injuring myself further and got on with card catch up!

So all the way back to Wednesday's CAD - the challenge was to use buttons:

• Basic Grey background paper (Sweetpea Alyssa no less!)
• Doodlebug buttons and rub-ons

Next, to make a Just Because card using orange:

• Making Memories double-dipped cardstock
• KI Memories patterned paper and stickers
• Papertrey Ink stamps
• Sequin braid

The next one was to use yellow for a Thank You card:

• American Crafts patterned paper
• Papertrey Ink stamps
• CK brads

Then today's challenge was to use tags:

• Basic Grey tags
• Autumn Leaves and Papertrey Ink stamps

Also had time to do this month's CSD sketch challenge:

• Fancy Pants everything except the Doodlebug bling!

Anyway, off to watch the rest of the Bourne Identity and hope my knees look better in the morning! ;o)

I bought these papers for a reason....

I just know it....

But what on earth was it? LOL

Well no matter, time to cut them up and get them on a card! The current CPS sketch to be exact. ;o)

• Kelly Pannaci papers
• Autumn Leaves, Fancy Pants, and Papertrey stamps
• Basic Grey rub-on
• Rusty Pickle ribbon
• SEI brads

No CAD challenge posted today so hopefully there'll be one up soon to catch-up with. :o)

A touch of royalty

In today's card!

The CAD challenge today was to use a crown... hm, well I was stumped for a bit as I don't really have any crowns, to my knowledge, except.... those Etcetera die-cut accents have a few....

• Provocraft die-cuts and background paper
• Target patterned paper

As simple as that really, thought this could double up as a Mother's Day card too...

Tomorrow night I'm having a night off from the gym again, ugh it was ghastly weather with all this freezing fog and it was just so bitterly cold when I got out the gym - I've only just returned to a cozy temperature! I will be dying for an early night soon I just know it.

Brrrr...

Well there was no forgetting it was still winter this morning, took me a good 15 minutes to scrape all the ice off my windows and even by the time I got to work my car door was still frozen (also how nice is the rush-hour commute during half term, so quiet on the roads).

The sun has just been amazing today because it's been so cold. And a magnificent and eerie sunset - just such amazing colours, but I was cooking my tea whilst it was happening so no pics.

Anyway, there was no challenge posted for CAD yesterday so looks like we had the day off!

But here's today's - to use Making Memories stash:

• Making Memories flocked paper
• American Crafts ribbon and brads
• Papertry Ink greeting

Anyway, off to watch the rest of America's Next Top Model then check out some of The Closer season 2 episodes on Virgin on Demand... I am missing my Brenda fix! Thank you oh sooooooooo much!

Finally....

Well so much for progress... all was looking fine this morning - after an early trip to the gym, I was ready to sit down and create something at midday... except first I needed to house the cards I made yesterday in their usual storage area awaiting a recipient... well that box is now full!

So off I pootled to Staples after taking some vital measurements to get a Really Useful Box that would house them all... slight detour via a few shops browsing, and finally got back at 3. Have been creating dividers and sorting out all the cards and they are now at home in their new box sorted by category... The box is a bit big since all the others were the right length and width but not the right depth to fit in bigger cards... so I've had to add some bags of envelopes and my most used card blanks in to fill up the space for a bit. Also have a load of old stash ready to give to a school craft club - lots of card blanks in colours I'd struggle to use (I kept the envelopes lol) die-cut shapes I've not used in the 5 years I've had them... that sort of stuff.

So I then ended up with an empty Tuff box where my cards used to live, which now contains a load of clear stamps I had to resort and give a less compact home to. :o)

And now, at long last, I think I'll go check out the challenge for today if it's been posted!

Oh this made me laugh this morning...

Done!

Finally, all caught up with the CAD challenges I missed.

The challenge for the 12th was to create a card based on the sketch provided:

• KI patterned paper
• Bazzill chipboard
• Banana Frog stamp

Next, the challenge was to create a card using hearts in some way:

• KI patterned paper
• Making Memories double-dipped cardstock - yay, using it at last!
• Jolee's stickers
• American Crafts foam thickers

Then on the 14th it was a free for all, with the challenge to create a card of your choice, this card is also based on CPS sketch #51:

• KI Memories all the way!

Next up yesterday's card - the challenge to make blue and green the main colours:

• KI all the way again (except the brads) - seeing a pattern here?

And finally, today's card - the challenge, to use stars in some way. I don't have much in the way of stars, but had these in a recent Poppy Ink kit, unfortunately they're a bit battered from the metal embellishments that were also in the baggie, but I'm sure it adds to the charm!

• KI patterned paper
• American Crafts chipboard stars
• Paper trey Ink greeting

That's all for today! :o)

OK, I promise I remember how to do this...

Finally a card, yes, five days late, and I have plenty of catching up to do this weekend with the other 5 CAD cards I need to do, not to mention a few sketches and oh, who knows a layout? Eeee... adventurous or what?

So back in time we've gone to the 11th of Feb, can't believe how fast the week has gone by, and the challenge was to use brown, pink and white - I ticked all those boxes... in fact I think those buttons look a bit marshmallowy - mind you that could be the lack-of-chocolate-endorphins-addled-brain talking there... still no chocs for me since Lent began... :oO

• Paper Salon patterned paper
• Sassafras Lass stamps
• Stickles
• Doodlebug buttons
• Nestabilities

On the stash front I am starting to make a list of CHA purchases I wouldn't mind having! October Afternoon seem to be scoring quite well on the list with their new stamps and apple motifs... yeah, apples must be the new owls for me.... hehe And Bambi fawns seem to be in as well... nice, it's a regular Animals of Farthing Wood theme I'm going to have on my cards in future. :oD

Also I really want my fiskars scallop border punch, like NOW...

Anyway, back tomorrow, when hopefully I'll be all caught up again!

That's it!

I cannot take it any more... I've lost 3 evenings dedicated to trying to sort out my iPod G3 Nano and why it won't play a selection of songs that play fine in iTunes, Media Player and on my iPod G3 Shuffle - yet when I copy them over, some play one time, and some don't play the next time... there's just no pattern to it!

Ugh, so I've been uninstalling, formatting, reformatting, updating Nano software, deleting, copying, pasting, redownloading, updating umpteen files with no joy whatsoever, I even ended up burning the tracks in question to a Cd and ripping them back into the library, but then all the track tags went wiggy and when they updated they tried to put themselves under the same album - gaaaah!!

Anyway, I'm just resyncing it with playlists now - save me now because I am just not going to sit and try and work it out any longer, but why is it that it's just my favourite new tracks that won't play on my Nano - it's a conspiracy!

In other news I have had a nice browse at some new CHA releases... still dying to see the latest Banana Frog sets but I am definitely going to be after the new fiskars scallop border punch and there are a couple of other items with my name on them! But no paper - I repeat no paper!

Relief!

Well tomorrow night is PT night at the gym so I shall be able to work off some of my frustration - I just hate it when things don't work for no earthly reason... it's worse than them just not working...

And I am so behind on my CAD entries now - boohoo! This weekend, will be catch up time no doubt. hehe

Natty's no good stinking bad day

Do you ever have days where you just wish you could hit rewind and start all over again?

Today was such a day.

Took 10 minutes to scrape off about 3 mm of ice from all windows of the car, plugged ipod in to listen to some new Moby tunes en route, silence... ipod skipping the moby tracks and not playing them, great, fog all the way to work, closest park ticket machine not working so trekked to other end of car park to use the one that was - skidded on ice.

Work was going OK until this afternoon when the main PC in the office froze then refused to reboot to anything other than safe mode. Managed to finally get it to boot by disconnecting the broadband modem, but after that it wouldn't recognise the LAN connection - so no Internet and kept trying to dial for some reason despite all the settings telling it not to - thankfully my PC that shares the broadband still had net access and I was able to field e-mails and send back one of the projects due today... but it took 2 hours to sort out all these issues, received some rather annoying feedback from a previous job that needed sorting out and put me in a worse mood, and before you know it, it was after 5 p.m.

Huge traffic queue to get home, decided I'd still go to the gym but needed petrol and to get change for my parking tomorrow, card wouldn't work in petrol station, so no cash back, managed to pay on something else but wouldn't let me get cash back, then headed to the gym.

Car park packed, so parked right at the far end where there were only a handful of spaces... not relishing fighting for a machine to workout on. Got bags stuck in the turntable and held up a queue of people wanting to get in, had to wait for a changing cubicle, got changed and was stood in my bra and knickers and realised I'd left my jogging bottoms at home. Got changed back and walked back to the car and got back on route home.

Stuck in traffic again, and nipped into tescos to get some cash back - still doing well on Lent fasting as despite my need for chocolate, I didn't buy any!

Managed to get home, but driveway blocked so had to park down the street. Got driveway unblocked and parked car. Dropped bags and decided to not bother attempting anything else for the evening.

Syn free chips currently in the oven, hot water getting ready for a shower and then I'll investigate my ipod issues!

Oh and if I still have any sanity left, I may just make a card.

I hope your Monday was better! ;o)

On a lighter note, I see that Basic Grey are releasing a stamp set with their cute birds and an owl or two from a previous rub-on release... not so fussed with the butterflies though and there's nothing else I want from that release... relief!

Made to order...

I started off today's creativity very early with a couple of card requests from my brother. One for a Valentine's Day card and the other an engagement card... well, the Valentine's is for his friend's now fiancée who is from the States and presented him with a Valentine's card yesterday much to his bemusement after they announced their engagement... and so that she doesn't feel left out celebrating Valentine's day in the UK without all the US glitz I made a quick card for him to give her. :o) Together with an engagement card...

• KI Kiss Me paper and die-cut tag
• EK Success mini alpha stickers
• Heidi Grace acrylic hearts

• KI and Narratives papers
• Mod buttons
• Nestabilities
• Papertrey Ink border stamp
• Banana Frog greeting stamps

And here's today's CAD card - the challenge to create a baby girl card. :o)

• Kelley Pancianni papers
• American Crafts ribbons - hurrah at last I am managing to find something to use 'em on!
• Papertrey Ink greeting and ribbon stamps
• Making Memories pebble brad

Also I unwrapped some more of my nestabilities for playing with and have had to come up with a friendly compact storage solution - I like how Nichole heady stored them in CD cases, but that's still too bulky for me at the moment...

So most of the sets are living in ziploc bags still stuck to their tacky black background sheets, but one set was taped over instead of having the sticky background. So I cut some glossy card down to size and coated it with a little Aileen's tack it over and over and am just waiting for it to dry then can store the dies on it in their relevant baggies which are all grouped together on a bookring and labelled... just need some more dies now! :oP

Card a day catch up

Right, finally all caught up until tomorrow.

Here's yesterday's card - the challenge was to create a boy birthday card only using orange, brown, green and black - bit of a struggle for me boy cards... never mind the colour limitations. LOL

• Ki Memories patterned paper and dude stamp
• Banana Frog Retro Greetings stamp - also I used the largest star in the Banana Frog Super Stars set to trace the star... alas no star dies in my stash but this did just the job!

And today's card challenge was to create a Congrats card:

• SEI patterned paper, die-cut sticker, brad
• Making Memories flower
• Hampton Arts stamp
• Nestabilities dies

Right, gymming in the morning then may get down and create something. I had fancied catching up on my reading this weekend, and managed to resist ordering Strangers in Death at amazon while it was half price. I have it on order from the Library - number 9 in the queue for the 3 issues currently out... awwww.... will I manage not to cave in! Who knows...

Also latest issue of Paper Crafts arrived the other day, had a good flick through and rather loved their feature on owl and bird stamps... oh yes!

Sketch catch up!

I forgot to mention the other day that I'd actually managed to do CPS sketch #50 and a CAD card all in one...

And today I've finally managed to sit down and catch up with the latest Sketch This Card - OK it's a bit of a loose interpretation, but it's an interpretation nonetheless!

Quite a simple one, just brown cardstock, the back of some KI paper, Hambly tree rub-ons and a touch of stamping. :o)

Right back to sorting out some photos... I am currently trying NOT to go and buy a set of Sassafras Las owl stamps on ebay at the moment...  I just really, really want them and can't believe I missed them when they originally came out... travesty! Would rather get them with some other stash at the same time... in fact I am liking one of the Sassafras Las font sets too... would go so well together!

Card a day 36

Just a quick update as I missed yesterday's CAD challenge - no energy after late gym session!

But not had time to catch up with today's challenge, always opportunity tomorrow no doubt.

And yes, the Nestabilities are being used... This challenge was to create a 4x4 or smaller card...

• KI Memories patterned paper
• Nestabilities and QK dies
• Papertrey Ink greeting

Nestabilities are in da house!!

At last, finally I could play with the Nestabilities dies I ordered a month ago... well worth the wait too... I just opened up the ovals sets for a little play when making today's card a day entry... there's definitely going to be a profusion of nested scallops come in my future cards! :oP

Anyway, today's theme was to use Making Memories stash somewhere:

• Target patterned paper
• Making Memories Kraft paper and rub-on
• Nestabilities oval dies
• Papertrey Ink branch stamp
• American Crafts brads

Late gym night tomorrow, so probably back with a new card Friday... and more Nestabilities play time! ;o)

Oliver, Oliver....

Not only is Oliver the name of my car... oh yes I couldn't think what else to call him and I knew he was a boy not a girl car... and well there was that episode of Top Gear with Richard getting very attached to little Oliver the Opel Cadet, complete with his little coughy horn... but he is also featured in this cute little stamp set from Sassafras which ticks all my owl-lover boxes! ;o)

So I finally got round to playing with this set and a mightily impressed by the quality of them, the polymer is a lot thicker than previous sassafras sets and feels a lot sturdier and the impression are really good... and without further ado, here's today's CAD - the theme to use a hi/hello greeting:

• Making Memories Noteworthy journaling page, flower and button
• Sassafras Lass and Papertrey Ink stamps
• Doodlebug sugarcoated brad
• Swarovski crystal

No Nestabilities today... so much for parcel force redelivering them... I rang and was told that my customs fee hadn't been paid for according to their system at the depot even though I'd received payment confirmation that stated they would redeliver it on Tuesday... they're looking into it but will ring them tomorrow to see what's going on... Ho-hum.

I'm fancying ice cream now...

After making today's CAD entry using KI Memories Ice Cream Parlour papers I could really go for a slice of Viennetta right now! hehe

It's not helped that Master Chef will be on soon as well... Hm... anyway today's challenge was to use 3 different circles, maybe I cheated a bit by interpreting circles as dots - who knows?

• KI Memories patterned paper, tag and alpha stickers.

I'm off to do a little tidying on the blog and also have earmarked the first challenge over at Random Chaos to try this weekend with any luck. Am really fancying doing some sketch-based LOs as well now that the first one of the year is out the way!

And tomorrow is the big day - my Nestabilities are set to be delivered! If they're not, I'll be gutted! :oP

Creative Sundays...

When the weather is really nothing to talk about there's nothing better than a day of leisure, especially if it's a Sunday!

I started off the day by reading Born in Shame (last book in the Irish Dreams trilogy) from cover to cover this morning and then finally got dressed around lunch time... LOL

Then after re-homing all my stash I'd packed for the crop I got busy catching up on the CAD challenges I'd missed the past few days whilst watching Save the Last Dance 2.

Anyway, here's the first one - February 1st's challenge was to create a card using flowers, I twinned this with the CSD product challenge #2 to use Basic Grey:

• Basic Grey patterned paper
• Heidi Swapp chipboard flower
• Bling crystals
• May Arts ribbon
• Papertrey Ink greeting

Then yesterday's card is twinned with CPS sketch #49, the theme was to use ribbon:

• Crate Paper patterned papers - card blank made from the orange paper, the green already had the reverse of the scallop edge cut from it when used on a LO ages ago...
• Apricot satin ribbon
• Kopp Studio Designs tag and rub-on
• Papertrey Ink greeting

And last but not least, today's CAD challenge was to use Basic Grey, so out came the Mellow 6x6 pad from the class at Whim-so-Doodle - I am determined to use it all up! ;o)

• Bazzill scalloped cardstock for the card blank
• Basic Grey patterned papers
• Queen & Co. felt ribbon
• Papertrey Ink stamps

Hopefully back tomorrow with more card making, gym in the evening but dentist's in the morning first thing... gah... all on a Monday - LOL if it wasn't bad enough that it was just plain old Monday tomorrow!

The first LO of 2008!

OK, brace yourselves... it's nothing special other than being the first layout for the year, but here it is:

I used the January poppy ink kit for everything except the journaling stamp and the alpha is from the December kit. And the owl is apt as the photo was taken outside the owl-ery (as Gill called it) at Krakow zoo!

Here it is - I relly love the chipboard keyring birds from Maya Road - they're all so cute!!

I also used the left-overs to create Thursday's card a day card on the theme of luuuuuuuuuuuurve... ;o)

• Bazzill cardstock to make the card blank
• Sassafras papers
• Narratives die-cut heart sticker
• Hambly rub-ons
• Making Memories flower and button

Right off to bed now!

Success!!!

I have actually scrapped a layout - oh my this requires full tooting celebration as I have been in layout drought for some time... I think the last one I did was at Gibside in September... :oO

Shocking eh?

Well I'll try and take a scan later, but am a bit tired now after all that cake... yes... cake... at the crop... and not a single regret regarding the scoffing off it! And then if that wasn't enough, I got home and decided to make up for missing the Polish equivalent of Mardi Gras on Thursday and made these - Polish Faworki... and have eaten quite a few and am well and truly stuffed now. hehe Back to the diet tomorrow!

Anyway, will go and vegetate for a bit before doing anything as strenuous as switching on the scanner! ;o)

Crop packing...

...will hopefully not turn out to be for nothing!

If the weather holds off Angela and I shall pootle up to the Durham crop in the morning. I have packed 1 huge tote and 2 artbin satchels... the usual then.... but just taking along 4 poppy ink kits, some other bits and bobs, the bug and er... stuff... All with the idea that I'll actually do a layout this time!

Haven't got the energy to catch-up with cardmaking tonight, especially after I've packed! I've been and burnt off a good few calories at the gym. Let's just hope I still have the use of my arms tomorrow. It was also a preventive measure as there is talk of cake being at the crop tomorrow... a lot of cake... including mars bar cake. So if I am to syn, it'll be cancelled out just a teensy bit!

Alas my emergency adhesive orders did not arrive, so will have to wing it and nip into the scrapbook shop if the post doesn't arrive before I leave tomorrow.

Still no sign of the nestabilities order, shame I fancied playing with them tomorrow...

Anyway off to watch the rest of Evan Almighty and conk out. :o)