Emma takes tea at Buckingham Palace with HRH

Emma has gone for tea with the Queen this afternoon, no really she has. She was invited by her brother Simon, father of Alpha Male, who in turn was invited to the garden party at Buckingham Palace as a result of his recent charity work. They certainly made a fine pair and I was remained once again why Emma Stubbs Hunk deserves the status of the Muse of White House. The purple satin shoes so complimented the electric purple lycratastic leggings, her main piece being a delicate dress I made especially for such an important occasion. She accessoried with pearls galore and a mighty corsage fit for a Queen. I was also reminded of our trip earlier this year to see psychic Linda Lancashire, you can catch up on it here. She told Emma she would go on a date with someone called David and visit a stately home, both of which she has done this week!! Kat x

Camille's new blog

My favourite model, guitar buddy and daughter of my muse has gone and got herself a blog. I think an interesting tale will unfold  of a teenager's life and its many highs and lows, its really a great way for anyone to express themselves and their feelings. I am looking forward to seeing how she uses the opportunity but I will complain if she spends too much time doing her own thing as I need to lean on her daily for various random tasks. Good luck Camille and hopefully your creative mind will flourish within the unknown quantities of cyber space, Kat x

http://thecamillieo.blogspot.com/

Craft Fair

Today was the craft fair and coincidentally, one of the hottest days of the year so far. Emma and I were hardly rushed off our feet with our ramshackle collection of Katrytoshka clothing, bespoke bags and hand painted accessories but it was a fantastic opportunity to mingle and observe the aura of happiness people seem to adopt when the sun in shining. Afterwards we gravitated to Emma's croft for a bit of sun worshipping. I have posted a sneak preview of 'the Icon Van' aka 'the Latitude Van which Emma hopes to complete soon if her busy life permits a spare second, it sure going to be a beauty!! Kat x

Emma Stubbs Hunk painted stones

While preparing for tomorrows craft fair I discovered some stones Emma had been painting this week. Had to document them as their gorgeous and any she doesn't sell tomorrow she'll probably give away! Kat x

Catch up

Hello everyone, hope your all well. It feels like ages since I've blogged, (only a week actually!) My trip to Germany was fabulous, its great when you can go somewhere and feel like a child the entire time. I spent every moment with my grand parents, eating lots of German food and working on a blanket project with my Oma. I also gave a lot of thought to wifey week and how to incorporate it into everyday life, hopefully my return will signal a change for the better in the work/life balance. I have bought another caravan and trying not to be too obsessed about working on it. Attempting to create more family time sure is difficult as I have a craft fair booked for Katryoshka this Sunday at Heart of the Country Village, Lichfield, Staffordshire, would love to meet if you live nearby! There'll be clothes, Emma's painted accessories and lots more, Kat x 

Katryoshka June give-away

Just before I disappear to Germany I want to inform you of this months Katryoshka give-away. One lucky person will receive an Emma Stubbs Hunk archive print featuring one of her earlier acrylic on wood paintings. They may choose from either the elephants, the zebras or the brown and white cows. Each print is on card and measures 67cm x 35cm. They are limited edition and make create a quirky feature wherever you display them. As usual you just have to be following the blog and 'like' us on Facebook ,just search for Katryoshka, to have a chance of winning this exciting prize. The winner will be drawn in couple of weeks so good luck to all! Kat x

Dam those demons

Today was not a good day. It was brought abruptly to my attention that my creative obsessions are having a negative effect on my personal life. For me, I struggle without the boundaries of having a job or young baby to look after. All my life I have worked hard until I sold my clothes shop just before the birth of my first child  Anya. Then as a stay at home Mum of two, my days were always full of baby chores and sewing was squashed into the gaps in between. However, since I have moved to White House my kids have become more independent, Anya has started school, and I have been able to spend more and more time on my recent 'work'. The problem is you don't see the demons coming when your so obsessed with the next new idea. The adrenalin as the seed is born, the tedious, mind numbing but strangely calming middle stage as you graft to develop the idea and then the final, completion stage where you stand back and feel the rush of accomplishment and validation at what you have achieved. Each project has become bigger and more elaborate than the last and although I don't spend much money, I don't make any either so to others my 'work' is going nowhere and only serves to take time away from the people who need me the most. Don't get me wrong my kids always come first but then I have to say next in line I love to indulge a strong creative urge leaving housework and husband maintenance falling to the wayside. I am about to go to Germany alone to visit my Grandparents for five days and on my return I am going straight to Southport to by a wild horse (more of that later). Then I have a new caravan in my drive waiting to be pimped but in the meantime serious decisions need to be made about where my priorities lie and how I can become a better wife without compromising my creative desires. Its a dilemma, how can something so powerfully life giving be such a destructive force. Kat x

London baby!

Saturday was spent in an enjoyable fashion, visiting my sister Annika in London with Alpha male, Camille and kids. First we gate crashed the Tracey Emin retrospective at the Hayward, which left me more bemused than ever by the career of this controversial British artist. Having always admired her ability to address subjects we normally try to hide or keep under wraps, I left with a sense of there being somethinmissing, a little too one sided perhaps. Her quilts were amazing, especially Hotel International, the quilt containing her thoughts and expressions about her childhood growing up in Margate where her father ran a large hotel. The business collapsed and the family became very poor so it documents a difficult time in her life. There were classic comedy moments when we were all watching one of her films entitled 'Love is a strange thing'. The kids were especially drawn into the tale of Tracey walking in a park and meeting a talking dog until the dog said 'fancy a f**k, Trace?' Que exit the Stubbs family at great speed. The next film had a similar effect where she described the first time she was asked to hold a man's balls, the kids were most displeased at another early exit. Soon Alpha male had removed himself and the kids from the gallery so I got a few minutes to take in the things I was most interested in including some fabulous appliqued antique chairs.

The second half of our visit consisted of a walk down Brick Lane and a meal at Pelluccis, a highly original, very retro 'East End meets Italian' cafe. Pellicci's has been warmly welcoming customers since 1900 and the venerable marquetry-panelled interior is cramped; sharing Formica tables is to be expected, nay, relished. Annika is a regular and is greeted with great warmth by various Pellucci family members. The food was excellent, both in value and taste and I highly recommend it as both a cultural and a child friendly experience. Easy to find you just head east down Bethnal Green Road from the top of Brick Lane. What a fantastic day, Kat x

Downstairs toilet

The view from my downstairs toilet, featuring............everyone past and present, (just wanted to share it with you!) Kat x

Bavarian Rose tutorial

This afternoon, in between boring paperwork and housework, I wanted to share with you a painting design that I have been obsessing about. It currently adorns various White House tables and caravans amongst other things and, as of this afternoon, a cheap £3 guitar I bought for my daughter at a boot sale. I call the Bavarian Rose as I first saw it on a traditional wooden beer tent in Germany last year. I photographed it and have been reproducing it ever since. The design is easy and all you need are a few acrylic paints, green, red, white and black and a soft smallish rounded brush. You can paint any surface with the right base coat and I find a primer and satinwood works well on both metal and wood. If you want to paint a previously laminated surface like kitchen cupboards use ESP, a fantastic watery primer that stinks but allows the paint to stick. Have a go as it looks good anywhere and works in any colours too, Kat x 

First use your brush to paint a rounded square shape, slightly larger at the bottom. You can draw an outline first if that helps.

Next paint some circles around the lower half of the shape overlapping each other. Also paint some teardrop leaves, you may need to do a couple of coats so their not too transparent.

Next mix a lighter green by adding some white and do some stokes on each leave to add dimension. Also paint a pointed oval on the top of the rose.

Now its time to add white accents again in the form of simple strokes. I add a small amount of red to the white to create a pinky hue on the rose. When you use a soft rounded brush it will do the stokes for you, also outline the black oval and paint three small white dots inside it.

Finally add some buds using the pinky white and voila, a simple, rustic rose ideal for embellishing anything really. Just add varnish if you want to protect it or its going outside.

Quick Getto Hen update

Just a quick update on Getto Hen and her chick. See previous post here if your not familiar with their story. As you can see from today's picture the as yet to be named chick (ideas welcomed), is growing to quite a size and the pair still manage to out wit the fox every night. You go girls!! Kat x

Zealands break

Just returned from a fabulous week away in South Devon. Every year we stay at a small holiday home named Zealands a magical place that has been regularly visited by five generations of Stubbs's. The family connection is that it was rented by the father of Margaret Stubbs, Alpha Males grandmother,in order to court her mother. Once married they lived nearby and raised their own three children but still kept Zealands on, adding bits on to the original building over the years. Its rustic and homely, five minutes from a beautiful South Hams beach and has a wonderful child friendly piece of wilderness for a garden. Alpha male and I were joined by the muse and her youngest son, Ja for the weekend. The muse dressed fabulously the entire time and has inspired me into making a collection of dresses but more about that I've started making them. We also had other wonderful friends and family staying throughout the week, each bringing a new dynamic to the communal experience. To summarize..there was walking, drinking, no internet or mobile signal, swimming, laughing, playing, some shopping and lots eating of seafood. Kat x

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