Don't Worry Bee Happy

Hi everyone, hope you have had a good weekend. I had a great Trimcraft demo in Gloucester yesterday, but the long drive left me exhausted!

We are a house full of worriers and last week my eldest boy was feeling anxious after a falling out with a friend. I decided to make him a card to help cheer him up:

I couldn't resist these cute bees in the Hunkydory Bee Happy Craft Stack but it was the sentiment that made me smile most. Definitely a saying us Cloweses need to remember!

Wishing you all a great week, Cathy x

Tales from Patchwork Forest

Monday is here again and it's a big week- the boys go back to school on Wednesday and I also start a new contract teaching English and maths to apprentices at a local training provider. It's only a few hours each week and is going to fit in well with my family and tutoring work. I'm excited and nervous about building my business in this way.

On Friday I shared one set of Hunkydory DT cards and here is another, this time made with the super cute Tales from Patchwork Forest Craft Stack.

There are some really lovely papers and gorgeous images in this collection, perfect for lots of occasions. I enjoyed spotting some of my cards on Create and Craft over the weekend and on Saturday the presenter, Martyn, name checked us all, which was lovely.

Hope you have a lovely week, whatever you may be doing. Cathy x

Poppy Fields

Hi everyone, September already- how on earth did that happen? Today sees the launch of 4 new Hunkydory Craft Stacks. If you haven't seen these, they are 8x8 books filled with papers, toppers and inserts. I was lucky enough to work with two gorgeous stacks and today I'm sharing my Poppy Fields samples.

I really do love the beautiful poppy designs in this craft stack and decided to make a special card, with the theme of remembrance in mind:

The picture is of my husband's grandfather, Arthur Hyde, who served in the RAF during WW2. Regular visitors will know that my sons are very interested in all things military and they both took great pride in sharing Arthur's war medals with their classmates last year. I love the fact that this craft stack can be used in this way.

This week we also thought about my Granddad when we visited the Tank Museum and my eldest son got to try on a Home Guard uniform (the guide was surprised that my son knew exactly what the uniform was as soon as he saw it!):

My Granddad used to tell us how he once mistook the Vicar's dog for a German soldier and shot the poor dog. Definitely something straight out of Dad's Army!

Thank you for dropping by today and for lovely comments. Cathy x

Magic of Christmas

Hi everyone. I've had another busy week - my mum and I took the boys to London to see Wind in the Willows in the West End. It was magical and I can't stop singing the songs. We also fitted in a trip to The Churchill War Rooms, an amazing and fascinating place, and a boat trip. I came straight back from London into another demo and some DT work but now I'm finally ready to blog again (and take a look at all of your blogs too, I promise).

Today's card is a step panel card, a new shape for me- I saw it in Quick Cards magazine and then on Jackie Trinder's fab blog so thought I'd try it at my demo.

I used Trimcraft's beautiful Magic of Christmas collection for this. I love the tartan elements in this one, especially the tartan reindeer and snowflakes. Full instructions for this card shape are in Quick Cards Issue 168.

This week is the last full week of the summer holidays and will to be a bit quieter I hope! We have the inevitable trip to the Tank Museum on Wednesday, only our second visit this year though!

Thank you for visiting today and for your lovely comments. Cathy x

Time to sparkle

Hi everyone. Hope you have all had a good weekend. We had a fabulous family day out at Longleat on Saturday. It's one of our favourite places and we were rewarded with lots of great encounters with the animals. Yesterday was a quiet day at home watching athletics on TV- apart from a quick trip out to buy a car! We have bought a nearly new Vauxhall Viva, a little car to suit all the short journeys I do.

Last weekend my Trimcraft Christmas demos started and I have lots more booked for the next few weeks. The new collections are fabulous so today I'm sharing a couple of my demo makes using one of them, Time to Sparkle.

I think this is probably my favourite of the new collections, the black and gold is so elegant. I'll be making more samples this week for my demo at The Range in Cardiff on Saturday. I'm particularly hoping to get my hands on the dies which match as they are amazing.

Thank you for visiting today. Cathy xxx

A very Pink and Blue Christmas

Hi everyone. I am finally back in the land of Blog after a bit of a break. We had an amazing time in London watching athletics. The highlight was probably watching Mo Farah win gold- although my ears were ringing for a while after that! My boys had such a great time and when we left on the Sunday night, they paid tribute to their two favourite athletes:

Today's card is another Christmas card- but this time in an unusual colour combination.

I have to admit, I am a fan of these colours for Christmas, I think it's nice to have a contemporary twist sometimes.

These papers are from Craftwork Cards Julie Loves All Wrapped Up collection and I used my favourite Tonic die (Christmas Sentiments A Very Merry Christmas).

I am stuggling to get much crafting done at the moment with the boys at home but will try to keep up with blogging and commenting as much as I can over the next few weeks. Cathy x

I would like to enter this card for:
Win and Tonic August Challenge
Daring Cardmakers Unnatural with my unnatural pink and blue tree!

Pretty cards (for a change)!

Hi everyone. A big welcome to my new visitors and a thank you to all of those who visit regularly.

This week saw the 40th birthday of one of my closest friends so I decided I needed to make a pretty card for her, using the Craftwork Cards Floral Chalkboard collection. In the end I made two- and gave her a special card from my stash instead! I did enjoy making something pretty though.

I think I prefer the top card with the extra square layer added and will be using this layout a lot.

Today we are off to London to watch three evenings of athletics at the World Championships. Before we had children, we spent many summer holidays attending championships in countries like Canada and Finland. This time we are taking the children and they are very excited to be watching Mo Farah and Usain Bolt run. We will be fitting some sightseeing in too, with trips to the Natural History Museum and Hampton Court Palace planned. See you when I get back! Cathy x
I would like to enter the first card for:
Cardz4Galz Challenge 53 Pretty Pastels