Autumn days

Hi friends, I hope you're all having a good week so far - I'm just adoring this wonderful weather we're having here in England at the moment. Isn't it fabulous after a mediocre summer to enjoy this 'Indian Summer' of early autumn - I love seeing the leaves turning colour and starting to fall, the conkers on the ground and all the apples in the orchards.

On Tuesdays I volunteer at my local Riding for the Disabled Centre and today it was so lovely to take some of the rides out into the fields and enjoy the warm but crisp autumn air.

For last week's Inspiration and Themes Challenge on In Love With Stamping I chose a cake from Martha Stewart:




And here's my card based on it, I think there's something quite autumnal about it :)


Recipe: (Stampin Up unless otherwise stated)

Stamps - Touch of Nature
Card - Whisper White/Chocolate Chip/So Saffron/Tea and Crumpets DSP
Other - Copic Sketch markers/Scallop Edge punch/Crafter's Tool Kit/Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Thanks for visiting today - and I hope you're enjoying these autumn days too!

Kate x

Mini Convention

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! I hope everyone's having a good weekend - mine started fabulously with a fantastic day at my downline Jenny's house on Friday. We had our own mini convention!! Five of Jen's other downlines - Val, Jane, Di, Maria and Jo, our lovely friend Jo, and myself had a fun-filled time chatting, crafting and catching up. Hi ladies!

Here's the fab card that we made (with a lot of help from Jen!), it's a double-slider card, I've never made one before, it's a fun make!

Before:



..and after:


Isn't it fun?! And how cute is that birdie - watch out for him in the new catalogue!

Here are a few pics of us at play!

Jen demonstrating:



From left to right: Jenny, Jane, Val and Diana:


And here's a pic of me and Jo, she's such a great blogging buddy of mine so it was fab to finally meet her in person!:


We also swapped cards but I haven't got around to photographing the ladies' cards (will aim to do that tomorrow!) but here's a pic of my pile of swaps. We all made enough to send on to the other ladies' in Jen's team who unfortunately couldn't make it.


Another new stamp from the catalogue called Whimsical Wings - this one is a hostess set - I kept it simple with black, white and a bit of bling ;)

Thank you so much for a great day Jen and a big hello to all the lovely ladies who were there! Hope to see you again soon!!

So today is another Stamp With Us challenge and this week it's a sketch - and a tough one (well for me anyway!) at that! Here's the sketch:


...and my take on it:


Recipe:
Stamps - Old Fashioned Christmas
Card/Paper - Whisper White/Read Red/Old Olive/Holiday Treasures DSP
Other - Copic Sketch Markers/Adhesive Pearls/Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing folder

Hmm..still not happy with it but hey ho, they're not called challenges for nothing I suppose! Don't forget to check out the other DT cards and full details on how to enter at the Stamp With Us Blog.

That's all follks! Hope to see you soon!

Kate x

More queueing

Another card made using the fabulous new Queue Up set from the new catalogue, for a dear friend:


Recipe:
Stamps - Queue Up/Circle of Friendship
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Card - Whisper White/Taken With Teal/Pumpkin Pie
Other - Copic Sketch Markers/Circle Punches

Here's a couple of cards I recently uploaded to A Passion for Papertrey:

A Christmas card using a yummy colour combo - Aqua Mist and Enchanted Evening, using the Believe set:


And my sample for our current challenge - to make a birthday card using at least one Papertrey product. For details on how to enter... and ergo how to win a Papertrey goody bag head over to the blog :)


The above card was made for my lovely stamping and blogging buddy, Jo who's birthday it was on Sunday. I hope you had a really lovely day Jo!

And finally I want to thank the equally lovely Dawn for this award - thanks so much for thinking of me hun!


The rules of this award are that I have to share 5 things that I am addicted to, and then pass on the award to 5 other blogs I love:

1)Stamping....of course! How did I live without it!

2)Strictly Come Dancing - it's back, woo-hoo! I love everything about it - the dancing, the music, the glamour and the sequins. I'm a huge fan of big band music and those fantastic old singing and dancing movies, so I love that we're falling in love with ballroom dancing again. And the latin... oh I love the latin too! One of my lifetime ambitions is to learn to dance!

3)UGG boots - and only the real deal :) I bought my new autumn pair last week, they're so comfy I can barely take them off!

4)Chocolate! I love to finish a meal with a few pieces of really good chocolate, on the whole I manage to not scoff the lot! (Having said that I don't have much left from a shopping spree in Hotel Chocolate on Saturday lol!)

5)Keeping fit.... It's not so miuch about image as about feeling fit and healthy - I've always loved going to the gym and running and now pilates, yoga and bodybalance classes are an important part of my week. Plus it allows me to enjoy number 4 guilt free lol!

I'm going to pass this award onto the following fabulous bloggers:

1)Sara
2)Jo
3)Kim
4)Mandy
5)Emma

See you soon I hope!

Kate x

Eggplant and raspberries

The last few days have flown by and I've barely turned my computer on - my Godmother left today to go back to California after a wonderful few days of catching up, fabulous meals, laughter, family memories and shopping til we dropped!

So it's Sunday again and time for another challenge over at Stamp With Us - a recipe challenge today with the following 'rules':
-No patterned paper
-Two ribbons
-Two stamps


I'm not usually a huge fan of purple (actually any fan of purple!) but I do like Elegant Eggplant and love it with Tempting Turquoise:


Recipe: (All Stampin Up unless stated)

Stamps - Seeing Spots/Cheer and Wishes
Ink - Tempting Turquoise/Elegant Eggplant
Card - Tempting Turquoise/Elegant Eggplant/Whisper White
Other - Turquoise and Elegant Eggplant ribbons/punches - scallop edge, corner rounder, circles/Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder

Don't forget to check out the Stamp With Us blog to see the other DT creations and for details on how to enter.

Remember the Raspberry Semifreddo I mentioned, here's a quick pic I took of it and the recipe too for anyone who wants to try it. It's a big dessert - too much even for a 2 lb loaf tin so great if you're having 8 - 10 for dinner, and the best thing is because it's an iced dessert you can prep it the day before!



Raspberry Semifreddo

Ingredients:
6 eggs
250g/9oz caster sugar
250g/9oz raspberries
750ml double cream

1)Whisk the eggs with the sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water until thickened.
2)Remove from the heat and continue whisking until completely cool
3)Mash the raspberries in a shallow dish
4)Stifly whip the cream and stir in the egg mixture and mashed raspberries
5)Line a rectangular loaf tin with cling film. Pour in the mixture and smooth the surface. 6)Put in a freezer overnight. Turn out and remove the cling film.

Thanks for visiting today!!

Kate x

Baby's giraffe

Evening all, a quick post from me because I'm pooped and really need to hit the hay! I have my Godmother staying (all the way from California!) for the weekend and have spent today cleaning, shopping and cooking - including my new favourite dessert recipe, Raspberry Semifreddo, that I made with raspberries from the garden....yum! If I remember I'll share the recipe because it's a fabulous pudding that you freeze the night before.

Speaking of the delights of cooking with fruit from your garden, is anyone else loving Nigel Slater's new series? He's my favourite cookery writer and it's an absolute treat.

This is a card I made for a dear friend of mine's daughter who turned one last week:



Recipe:
Stamps - Gina K
Ink - Memento Card - Memory Box/DCWV
Other - Copic Markers/sewing machine/SU ribbon/buttons


I also just posted this card (along with full details) over on A Passion for Papertrey, I was so inspired by the new PTI Christmas releases that I've actually made a start on Christmas cards!


Thanks for visiting me today... nighty night!

Kate x

Stamp With Us challenge

Hi all! I hope you've had a great weekend! I feel like I've got a lot achieved - spring cleaning and decorating my study and bathroom. Nothing very exciting but I do find painting very satisfying! (Am I mad lol!)

Today's Stamp With Us challenge is an inspiration piece featuring a lovely bright colour combo:


... here's my card, using one of the new sets from the brand new Stampin UP catalogue out on October 1st. (Apologies for the picture quality, just couldn't get it any better than this):


I love this line of mugs (this is a super-fun set by the way!) - coloured with SU markers in Rose Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Tempting Turquoise.

Don't forget to stop by the Stamp With Us blog to see what the rest of the design team came up with and for details on how to join in the challenge.

Have a great week!
Kate x

Recipe: (All Stampin Up)

Stamps - Queue Up/Wonderful Words
Card - Whsiper White/Rose Red/Pumpkin Pie
Other - Tempting Turqouise ribbon/ Markers

Inspiration piece

Still catching up with posts from last week! I was a few days late in setting the Inspiration and Themes challenge over on In Love With Stamping due to being away - I got there in the end and here's the picture I chose for inspiration:



How funky are they?! Here's the card I made based on the picture - I love the pink and yellow colour combo on the card even if I probably wouldn't wear the trainers!


This is my favourite fold at the moment! (Instructions here).

Side view:


Recipe:
Stamps - Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink - Memento
Card - Whisper White/Regal Rose/So Saffron DSP
Other - Scallop Edge punch/sewing machine/buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Pretty in Pink ribbon/Copics/adhesive gems/Nestabilities

Must get on with some work, and then make a start on decorating my study... it's a vile shade of mauve (apologies to any mauve fans!) - I don't know how I've been able to work in there (or even go in there lol!) so it's way over due for a makeover. Soon it will be a nice shade of pale green..phew!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Kate x

Stamp With Us challenge

Sunday saw another Stamp With Us challenge being set - I'm still catching up on posts so apologies for this being a few days late!

This weeks challenge is to make a Good Luck card - I kept things clean and simple:



Recipe:
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes/Sincere Salutations
Ink - Pumpkin Pie/Memento black
Card - Pumpkin Pie/So Saffron
Other - Real Red ribbon/sewing machine/corner rounder punch/red heart buttons/Circle Nestabilities/scallop edge punch

Stop by the Stamp With Us blog to see the other DT creations and for details on how to enter,

Thanks for visiting!
Kate x

Belated Angels!

Hello and Happy Monday! I've just got back from a truly wonderful week staying with my best friend in London - I had good intentions to post while I was away but had problems with my photos so I cut my losses, had a blog free week (not that I don't love you all, but it was lovely to take a break!) and concentrated on a week of fun with Ashley, her beautiful baby girl and other friends we met up with. There's nothing in the world like spending quality time with your best friend, someone who's been through thick and thin with you, who knows you more than anyone and with whom you laugh until you cry...a LOT of the time!


So now I'm back trying to catch up on a lot of admin and with several posts to catch up on too... let's get to it :)

I was so honoured when Dawny P from Papertake Weekly contacted me a while ago and asked if I would be a guest designer for one of their challenges - it's such a fabulous blog and they've recently started a guest design spot featuring a stamper chosen by one of their design team. I was so flattered that the lovely Mandy, who's work I've long admired, recommended me!

This week's challenge (ends tomorrow) on Papertake Weekly is simply called 'Angels and Fairies' - we were given these fabulous images from TAC to use - I LOVE them! (Check out the PTW blog for more info)

I chose to make a stand up card (instruction here) - I love this fold, I think it makes for a really special card.

This super-funky angel was coloured with Copics to make the Early Bird papers from my favourite paper company (Cosmo Cricket if you've missed my eulogies!).

Here's the card folded flat:


And a side view:


Recipe:
Stamps - TAC
Card - Kraft/Pure Poppy/Stamper's Select White (All Papertrey Ink)
Paper - Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket)
Other - Marth Stewart border punch/buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Pure Poppy ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/sewing machine/Copic markers

Thank you so much to Dawn and Mandy for giving me the chance to join the PTW team - head on over to the PTW blog to see the other DT creations!

We've also just posted a new challenge over on A Passion for Papertrey - this time we want you to make a card using your favourite colour, there will be no surprises I'm sure that I headed straight for my stack of Aqua Mist card, ink and ribbon!


Aqua or any shade of turquoise is a head-turning colour for me - every time I see anything in it I do a double take - be it clothes (look no further than my wardrobe, not many other colours in there lol!) , jewellery, cars or even houses - I saw a few adorable aqua mist coloured houses in South Devon last week! Visit the blog for more details on entering the challenge.

Thanks for visiting - I have several posts to catch up on over the next few days so hope to see you again :)



Kate x