Yes Indeed...

Following on from this post the other day, and my love for the Penny Black cat (and indeed hedgehog!) stamps I had the following comment/question left by Kat:

"I LOVE Margaret Sherry's cats as well!! :) Lovely stamps, got several of her Cross Stitch patterns, too. :) And the hedgehogs are fab, too. Do you know if they have anything new out this year for Christmas?"

Yes they do indeed :) *big smiles*

First of all they have this one (below) which I bought a few weeks ago. Totally adore the cat hanging in the wreath LOL! :)

This also have this one (again please see below) for Christmas 2011. I have not got this one (yet!?!). I so love the cat with the presents in the bottom corner!! But that's the only cat, which is a shame. So I don't know what to do. But I'm planning another stash order, maybe even later today, so I'm thinking it's a huge possibility that this might go in my cart:
And then we come to the problem, for me. Halloween stamps. This I believe is a new set for 2011 (yet again, see below please). I always want to get the Halloween cat/hedgehog sets by Penny Black but never do. I stick to Christmas and Valentine's.

Reason? We don't really celebrate Halloween here, neither do we have the need to send any cards.

Problem? I LOVE making Halloween cards and these stamp sets really appeal to me! I struggle every year to resist them.

Can I resist this year...? I don't know...!?! We'll see...

Hope this was of some help Kat :)

Love The Cats...

I'm sure I have mentioned several times here on the blog that I really, really like cats...

Both little cats (pets) and big ones (tigers, lions... etc). And when it comes to stamping it's the same. I love cat stamps :)

My favourite ones are the cat stamps by Penny Black. I have boought the special "T For Transparent" cat packs (Christmas, Valentine etc) now for several years...

I can't get enough of them and I'm so happy everytime it's a new holiday and a new stamp set is released featuring the cat :)

...and I love stamping with them too (not just admiring them LOL)! Colouring them with Copics (and the little cute hedgehogs that often are in the stamp sets too!) make me so happy :)

Things Are Slow...

I've hardly got anything done this week because of my knee. Well, I guess that's not quite true... I have gotten things done, but I have definitely gotten a lot less done... and in terms of crafting I have not even been at my desk for the last 3 days. A bit of digital scrapping has been happening but that's about it.

Knee is getting better but slowly. Yesterday I could not feel any improvement but today I think it's a bit better. So I think it will be a slow indoors type weekend for me. Lots of hugs, Kindle and iPad :) Sounds pretty perfect anyway :)

Studio Calico...

Scrapbooking kits...

I'm not sure about you but I think it might be something that's especially tempting/good when you start off scrapping. I know I tried a few. I can't remember when it was. I mean, if it was exactly when I started or maybe a year later. Anyway I tried a few. Some I liked and some I didn't. In the end I fell for the US ScrapGoods which I think I maybe had for about 2 years. But I got tired of it. You got 2 of every paper. Something that I didn't really like unless I REALLY loved a paper...

Then I was recommended ScrapRoom. Like 4 kits in 1. This I loved!! It was a great kit. LOTS of variety :) But again from the US. I think I had this for about 2 years also. Then they raised the prices and suddenly it started getting caught in customs. After several high customs charges I had to say goodbye to it.

This was maybe... 2008? 2009? Since then I have had no kits. Until now...

Studio Calico has been tempting me for about a year now. I've been so close to signing up several times. And a few weeks ago I finally signed up for it. I couldn't believe how excited I was after I'd signed up!!! I started off with the kit that was already the current one (August) and I got this about 2 weeks ago...

*love* Greens! Yum!!

And then yesterday my second kit (now according to the proper subscriber schedule) arrived. September:

Love the woodgrain Thickers, the Amy Tangerine stuff etc.

This is fun! I'm glad I had such a long kit break, but I'm also enjoying getting a kit again. Not sure how long for. But at the moment it's big *love* :)))

Ouch...

I'm a little stuck today. I twisted my knee in the shower last week but it was fine straight after. Twisted it again 2 days ago. Fine after. Then yesterday evening my knee suddenly gave in twice with extreme pain within the same 5 minutes. Today I could manage a few steps (thought it was fine at first) and then suddenly it gave in again with lots of pain. Today I'm going to take it very easy, give it plenty of rest, not really walk, but do some gentle bending exercises.

So today I'm sitting on the bed with my laptop. Going to try and get some Creative Team work done if I can... But I haven't got my tablet here (or even my mouse) so it might be fun...!

Any suggestions for quick knee fixes please...?

I'll be back tomorrow with something fun that I have got...

A Cat Named...

[Supplies: Purrfectly Fuzzy - Lliella Designs (from SSD)]

I had so much fun creating this layout! This is made with a super cute kit by Lliella Designs featuring lots of cats. Some of them instantly made me think of my sister's cat so it was very easy to know what to scrap. :)

I love cats! And I love scrapping cats. And I would love to have a cat or two of my own but a the moment (travelling to Sweden to to see my family a few times a year) it really wouldn't be practical. And I wouldn't have the heart to leave him at a cattery. I really couldn't. But one day in the future I will definitely have a cat... or two :)

BBQ Love...

Feels a bit funny sitting here blogging about barbecues today...! It's only 13 degrees outside right now and VERY grey. I would even go as far as saying there's 5-10% fog about...

Anyway I was working with some digital kits and one in particular which was perfect for barbecues so I picked out some photos from July and our only weekend here in the UK (we had some great weather during our 3 weeks in Sweden in July though!!) when it was really barbecue weather...

[Supplies: Al Fresco - Kate Hadfield, Friday Layered Papers - Baers garten Designs, Friday - Baers Garten Designs (all from The Lilypad)]

Journey Destination....

This was a difficult page for me to scrap. It was actually a challenge I picked up from a cyber crop that Shimelle held a few weeks back. The challenge was to use white, aqua and red. White and aqua? Oh yes! I'm all for that. I love scrapping with aqua :)

Red!?!? Oh dear! I'm not a red scrapper (and I rarely buy red items or clothes). If you'd given me hot pink to work with, together with the aqua and blue, I would have been very happy! But here we were... R.E.D. *deep breath*

I tried to keep aqua as the main colour...but of course I had to get the red in there. As the papers and photos were in place I was not happy. I simply do not pick red as a scrapping colour (unless we're talking Christmas of course! Then it's a totally different story). But... having added some beloved butterflies, flowers and a scalloped journaling spot and... well... I'm okay with it. Okay. Okay and happy that I took the challenge...

...but I'm keeping red for Christmas! :)

My First Work...

...as part of the Creative Team for Baers Garten Designs. *so excited*

[Supplies: Days Of School Elements - Baers Garten Designs, Days Of School Papers - Baers Garten Designs (both from SBG), Sugar Maple - Sara Gleason (from the Lilypad)]

During the summer I took the very first class that Online Card Classes offered. A great card class by Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner. So much fun inspiration and ideas :)

Monday is the start for their second class. Or Jennifer's I should say. She's holding a 2 week class called "Inspiration Showcase" which I signed up for as soon as it was available. I'm so excited and really can't wait for Monday and the start of the class...

And with that, I better go and finish my paper scrapping so I can get this desk clear and ready for the class... :)

Christmas Scrapping & Cards...

This is a layout that I did the other weekend for Shimelle's cyber crop. It was just a challenge to use some type of grid on your layout. So I decided to square-punch my photos and use them to create a grid pattern. Love grids!! :)

Anyway, this has kinda made me think about Christmas (I love Christmas!) and I was thinking about cards. Have you started yours yet? Maybe *thinking* about them? Kinda playing with ideas of designs in your mind etc...?

It's been on my mind a little lately. Every year I think there's plenty of time (and there probably really is as I'm a very organised person) but I always end up feeling a little rushed in the end regardless. So the cards have definitely started to sneak into my mind a little lately. A snowman here, a reindeer there.... and some Christmas trees are jumping about in my thoughts sometimes :)

Some *Exciting* News...!!

Over the weekend I got some exciting news. I feel so, so honoured! I was invited to the Creative Team for Baers Garten Designs! Yay! I have gotten to know Iara's amazing graphic designs as she's been guest desiging at the Lilypad for the last month or so...

Recently I have been working with the kit below. Check out the banner, the journaling spots, the graphic/ledger papers etc!! *drool* I'm in love! :)

Thank you Iara for making my day and for inviting me to be part of the Baers Garten Designs Creative Team! :)

Squirrelling Away...

I mentioned on Thursday that I was VERY tired. Why? Well for the last... soon 2 weeks I guess, I have had the most terrible neck/shoulder cramps and pains. Really bad, like agony to even try and brush my own hair or tie my shoes!

On Wednesday I gave up and went to the doctor as it just got worse and worse. Result? I got some really strong pain killers. But I also got some powerful muscle relaxing medicine to try and stop the cramps (the cramps are ultimately what causes all the pain in between the cramp attacks). And muscle relaxing... well it kinda relaxes the whole of me (not allowed to drive!!) and I'm feeling very tired/drowsy LOL! So I pretty much feel like doing nothing... I'd rather curl up with a book that trying to sit at my desk getting some crafting done LOL!

Anyway, crafting IS still being done (though sleeeeepily!) and I have just been working with a cute autumn kit by Kay Miller to make this layout...

[Supplies: Autumn Moments - Kay Miller, Pieces Of My Heart 9 - Kay Miller (both from A5D)]

A Barn With A Difference...

Very quick update with a layout today. I'm sooooooooo tired...