Kool Kitty Musings

The Jubilee celebrations are in full swing...

...in Saltburn.

Because those wonderfully creative yarn bombers have been at it again!

And I definitely wanted to get some pics before the weather changed.

I just love what these talented knitters have done for their community and I hope they remain a mystery for many more yarm bombings to come. :)

So on with some pics - the weather was a bit hazy in the evening but they've come out ok:

The centre piece of the entire creation.

My favourite knitted depiction - the crown on its regal cushion. :)

I also loved all the red, white and blue rosettes along the piece.

Corgis, there had to be corgis...

I particularly loved this one, the Queen still has her fancy ear bobs in. And the hair! Fab! There are even Hunter-esque labels on the wellies.

Of course there had to be a moment to enjoy some tea.

Loved the handbag and posies. :)

The famous outfits sported by the royal princesses at last year's wedding - including The Hat.

There had to be a horse in there somewhere. :)

All in all a fabulous display and well worth a visit! You will love it. :)

52 Cards challenge - Week 22

Morning everyone!

Hope you had a lovely weekend - at last the summer weather stuck around in these parts. Almost forgot what it was like to sit out in the garden with a good book. :)

For this week's challenge we are going for a monochromatic look - so sticking to one colour palette and using as many or as few shades and hues of that colour together on one card.

I went for white:

Bling: Prima
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Die: PTI
Other: Glitter card, 3D foam

I know this is a more simple affair than my usual cards, but I was so disappointed in the range of Holy Communion cards on offer in the local card shops, M&S didn't have any nor did Paperchase and well, I thought I could make something despite having no stash that automatically fit the bill.

Hopefully it'll fit in ok with the others this particular recipient receives. :D

Happy creating!

Catching up

I'm a bit late to the party sharing my card for Friday's Daring Cardmakers dare. This week Rein set us the task of featuring locks and keys on our cards.

Well I had the perfect project in mind, I just didn't manage to execute it until the weekend. ;)

And the project?

Well this lovely item arrived in the post this week:

The official invitation to my cousin's wedding in Poland - no doubt designed by himself since he is a very talented graphic designer. :D

It's all getting very exciting now!

So here's the card I made as official acceptance:

Paper: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Charms: Prima
Stamps: PTI, PSX
Dies: MFT
Seam binding: The Ribbon Girl
Pearls: Kaiserkcraft
Other: Sewing machine, Stickles

I hope they like it. :D

And now, on with making the next card - since the lovely weather seems to have disappeared over night.

Sunshine soirée!

At long last, the sun has returned to these parts.

It has actually been over 15 degrees all day, for the first time in I don't know how long.

The garden bean bag made a brief outing into the garden after work and I managed to get a few snaps of what has finally bloomed outside. :)

My butterfly lavender has made a come back after not flowering last year.

The white rhododendron has bloomed and survived the windy wet weather.

And my allium are finally popping up amongst the climbing roses and spindle tree. :)

{Happy sigh}

52 Cards challenge - Week 21

Morning everyone!

Loved seeing the different takes on last week's Rainbow challenge.

This week our challenge is technique-driven.

I want to see you make a card featuring a recent technique you have learned or admired.

For my technique I have used cupcake cases to create a rosette/flower element. I tried my hand at this for the first time over the weekend and liked it so much I thought I'd do another one, but with a slightly different look:

Cardstock: PTI
Die: PTI
Stamps: PTI
Impression folder: Darice
Brad: Crate Paper
Other: 3D foam, cupcake cases

I'm looking forward to seeing what techniques you share - and picking up something new to try. ;)

Happy creating!

Ending the weekend on a creative note

Well I have had quite a country-fied weekend on the music front. Caught up with Hart of Dixie and spent the rest of the time listening to new tunes and falling even more in love with The Lumineers self-titled album.

Today's favourite song:

Love it!

And all that music in the air made me feel quite creative this afternoon. I made a card for the current Mojo Monday sketch challenge (#241).

Paper, chipboard and sticker: Crate Paper
Die: Cheery Lynn
Bling: Prima
Other: Resin flower, toothpick, sewing machine, 3D foam, distressing tool, Distress Stickles

Alas the Distress Stickles are still drying despite being applied 4+ hours ago! With any luck they will be dry in the morning. ;)

And now, back to my new country playlist while I have a nice long soak in the bath and get started on a new book.

Summer shades

Well the gloomy weather has continued outside all day - not a glimmer of sun. So just to remind myself it is "summer" I decided to get using some cheery colours on my cards today.

First up I had a go at the current CPS sketch #265, but when it came to actually applying the elements I had to mix it up a little as my card looked a bit off balance. So I moved the greeting up. :)

Paper: Crate Paper
Die: MFT
Stamp: PTI
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Other: Seam binding, button, twine, 3D foam

Can't resist a little spring green with soft pink. :)

Next up I tried out the Super Circles challenge on the Passion for Papertrey blog. I thought it was time for a sunny yellow and aqua combo this time, and I wanted to use cupcake cases as my circle theme to make some rosettes:

Cardstock: PTI
Heart and greeting stamps: PTI
Background stamp: Hero Arts
Dies: PTI
Other: 3D foam

I rather like how this one turned out - will definitely have to use cupcake cases to make more rosettes... well since I am off cupcakes at the moment I need to use them one way or another! ;)

Right, time to get my tea in the oven and catch up with The Voice.

Since it's raining...

...again.

And it's cold....

...still.

I think I am definitely due a lazy Saturday.

Hard to believe this time last week I was down on the (adventure) farm with two very adventurous little girls:

There was even sunshine. Amazing isn't it? Sunshine in May...

So with this yucky cold and dark weather I'm thinking I need some therapeutic crafting time. I will be searching up some challenge blogs this afternoon I think as it's been a while since I made anything other than my cards for the 52 Cards challenge and DCM dares. :)

And to help me get into the spirit my lovely little prize from A Passion for Papertrey arrived yesterday:

So what better excuse to use it on some new projects. :)

I also managed to finally finish The Witness this morning before getting up for the day:

It was good, but now time for a return to some historical romance due back at the library next. ;)

Also lazy Saturdays are perfect for getting stuck into new music. I am especially loving The Lumineers album I downloaded after repeated listening in preview mode. I hadn't heard of them until hearing the song Ho Hey used on Hart of Dixie then I discovered the rest of the album, and yep. I'm sold. :) Think this is my summer album this year, and Ho Hey is still my favourite song so far:

Enjoy!

It's all Geek to me...

Gosh where has the week gone!?

Apologies for the lack of any scintillating updates - I've had my nose in the new Nora book and also been out for a yummy meal with friends so there hasn't been much else going on.

However I did enjoy getting my geek on last night to make my card for this week's dare set by Lythan - it's all things geeky and well, my biggest geek love is of course The Big Bang Theory. :)

Here's my homage:

Paper: Crate Paper Story Teller
Alpha: Cosmo Cricket
Stamps: My Cute Stamps, PTI
Dies: PTI, QuicKutz, MFT
Brads: Basic Grey
Other: Promarkers, 3D foam

And since in case you are sat there thinking what on earth....?

Here is a video with which to better illustrate:

Time for some Bazinga! action:

Enjoy!

52 Cards challenge - Week 20

Morning everyone!

This week's challenge is all on the theme of the....

Rainbow

And here are some pretty pics from Pinterest to get you in the mood. :)

Source: labeletterose.blogspot.fr via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: dailymail.co.uk via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: bellemaison23.com via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: tumblr.com via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: my.opera.com via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: design-fetish.blogspot.com via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: iil.around.at via Natalia on Pinterest

 

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Sarah on Pinterest

 

Here's the card I made to fit this prompt:

Paper: American Crafts, My Little Shoebox, PTI
Dies: MFT, Spellbinders, PTI
Stamp: PTI
Other: Sewing machine, 3D foam

I have a bit of a soft spot for rainbow colours - stamped, cut out, used to make an actual rainbow. They are really fun and cheery so I hope you'll enjoy playing along and taking inspiration from the colours of the rainbow. :oD

Fussy cutting anyone?

Anyone who has seen my cards will know that I don't really do fussy cutting - I tend to leave that look to dies or ready-cut embellishments. ;)

But this week on the DCM blog the lovely Jo Kill has set us the challenge to feature fussy cutting in our cards, either as a background element or an embellishment.

Well, in my mass clear-out last year I did away with quite a bit of paper that would require fussy cutting and I didn't really fancy stamping and cutting - still haven't recovered from that pirate boy I cut out!

So I raided the old Basic Grey stash zone and found my Lily Kate collection kit ready to be used.

It's amazing how difficult it is to feel inspired by old papers when they all belong so strongly to a specific collection. But it was mind over matter, and out came the craft knife and glass mat!

This is the rather simplistic card I came up with:

Paper: Basic Grey
Stamp: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Dies: PTI
Other: Stickles, foam pads, white pen

And there we have it - a rather spring-ish card to add to my card basket. :)

Dismal weather means...

The return of cold and dark evenings.

Which has in turn meant that I had made my way through my backlog of recorded TV content, got back on Just Dance 3 on the Wii for some fun and laughs, and spent less time crafting.

I have plenty of projects I could be getting on with, but little motivation right now.

Also I am back on Slimming World - day 4 - yay! And it's been a bit of a time suck this week to get meals planned and prepped for work/after work to prevent any falling off the wagon. This weekend will be a bit of a challenge as I am out for a meal on Sunday and it's a local place that does the best Sunday Roasts apparently. Wondering if I can put aside some Syns to cover a giant Yorkshire pud... We shall see. But at least I have lost some of the cake-induced flab that accumulated over our 2.5 day scrapping weekend!

Anyway, I have a lovely meringue with fresh berries and a squirt of Anchor light to look forward to. Who knew 12.5 g of Anchor light would only be 1 syn?

After pud I am hoping to finally get into the new Nora Roberts book....

Which I picked up from the library last week.

They also rang to say the other new Nora Roberts book is in...

So I have a real stack to get through on my TBR pile at the mo. :)

Well, best get to it before another evening zooms by!

52 Cards challenge - Week 19

Sorry for the delay getting today's prompt up - Typepad wasn't working for me yesterday when I was free to get my post drafted.

But here we are with this week's challenge:

Some rather nice elements, for the "garden" aspect I imagine you can interpret this any way you want. A gardening theme, "garden" in the greeting, growing/growth, items that grow in a garden.... I'll be intrigued to see what you go for. :)

Here's my example:

Paper: MME
Label: MME
Stamp: PTI
Die: PTI
Brads, Basic Grey
Other: Foam pads, Corner Chomper

That injected a bit of colour into my Monday morning. :) UK girls - enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday!

Two challenges with one card

So I never did quite manage to catch up with the prompt for this week's 52 Cards challenge, instead I have sneakily combined it with this week's colour challenge from the DCM blog. :)

Here's the palette we are using this month chosen by Keilly:

I belatedly realised that these colours were an exact match for the Noteworthy stash I have from Making Memories... shame I didn't remember that sooner!

Instead I have played with some newer bits and pieces:

Paper: MME, Crate Paper
Stamps: WMS, PTI
Dies: Spellbinders, PTI, Cuttlebug
Ribbon and trim: The Ribbon Girl
Chipboard and resin flower: Crate Paper
Other: Mulberry rose, glassine envelope, sewing machine

I had a little play with my new Prima chalk inks at the weekend and I think I have found my favourite turquoise ink - as used on the tiny tag. :D

And for the eagle-eyed - behold the glassine envelope for this week's 52 Cards prompt!

Hodge podge books...

So, for my scrappy weekend away I decided to take along a couple of Jenni Bowlin hodge podge books that I liked the look of and intended to use for heritage projects. Well I always like the look of "alterable" things but I'm not so great at envisioning how the finished article should look. In the end I used the pages more as backgrounds that got rather covered up - since they looked a bit out of place when not covered up so much... lol

But this is what I made:

Here are the pics a bit bigger - I still need to work out a way to add accents to the stamped letters, it was enough of a challenge to stamp some of them without getting lost in the consonants!

So yes, this is a Jenni Bowlin hodge podge book combined with Crate Paper Story Teller and some bits and pieces from Crate Paper's Portrait line.

Well, it is a mini book after all - the journalling would never fit in here and would make it as heavy as a phone book, but I can happily report that most info is now recorded on Ancestry by my dad - a lot of great information has recently come to light.

My Great Grandmother Maria Lukasiewicz née Tustanowksa photographed in Sternberg - then in Austro-Hungary.

My Grandfather as a toddler - the prominent family hairline was already in evidence! This photo was taken in 1911 in Lwow or Lemberg if you wanted to know the Austrian name.

Here he is as a young boy - the back of the photo is just as interesting as it is a rather sweet postcard he wrote to his Uncle Romuald in pencil (without a date). This uncle was sadly later shot in the Mednoye-Katyn masacre.

Here we are back with Great Grandma Maria and Great Grandfather Michal Lukasiewicz some time in the 1920/1930s(?). The Lukasiewicz hairline once again on display. The genes must be very strong as I think my Uncle Mark is a dead ringer for Michal Lukasiewicz... minus the moustache!

Judging from the necklace I think this must be from the same photo session as the previous photo of Maria.

We only have photos of two of my Grandfather's three sisters - this is Renia.

And Alicia, who I remember meeting sometime in the early 80s and remembering she had a very high-strung Dachshund that chewed everything within an inch of its life. Glad to say the Lukasiewicz hairline is not passed down on the female side!

My Grandfather after the war having made his way here via Kazakhstan, Italy and who knows where else.

Nice to use that protractor and postage stamp chipboard since he then trained as a graphic designer and indeed designed postage stamps (among a lot of Disney artwork for Waddingtons) for such far flung places as Bermuda.

And his wedding to my Grandma in good old the good ol' West Riding. Here ends that particular Polish adventure...

My weekend looked a bit like this...

So in the run up to my scrappy weekend away I was adding the finishing touches to my packing, the star attractions for my planned projects arrived in the post:

The remaining bits and bobs of Crate Paper's Story Teller and Pretty Party lines. I planned to get at least 2 mini-books made.*

*I always seem to be good at the big thinking, not so hot on the "doing".

Come Friday morning I was packed and ready:

...for what must have looked like a 3 month expedition rather than a 3 day weekend away.

Considering the monsoon weather forecast I didn't think I'd need to pack these:

There was a moment where this was consumed:

Which could have adversely affected productivity, it certainly affected the speed with which I could stamp the individual letters of Polish names! Polish Countdown must be a barrel of laughs... can I have a consonant please Carol, and another.... and another... and another....

But it was probably why I never got round to using these:

We did take a break from scoffing cake and shuffling paper on the Saturday afternoon and even managed to see some of these:

Plus have a moment in the sun:

But then it was back to work in order to actually finish, ok... mostly finish the one and only project I got done!

There are just a couple of little finishing touches needed then I'll get it photographed. :)

The thing I learnt this weekend (apart from the realisation that yes, you can indeed have too much cake) which I shall pass onto any other Crate fans, was not to use Staz-on, chalk ink, dye ink, Versafine or pigment ink to stamp onto the new shiny Journaling stickers.

NO INK dries on these stickers; I went through an entire arsenal of inks trying to find one that worked - nada, zip, zilch.

The only thing that works is a journaling pen. :o( I really wish these stickers were still matt as you could stamp away to your heart's content, but shiny stickers... do not like.