Starry Starry Night Paint Your Palette Pink & Blue

Hi all,

As I was typing the title I couldn't resist changing the words of a well known song....now I'm showing my age!

Introducing New Gansai Tambi Pearl Colors  

Anyway, back to the subject in hand. I had a little play with the lovely new Gansai Tambi Pearl Colors.  These are the new sister pack to the beautiful set of Starry Colors that I am already very fond of, yes, I have to say.....I love these colors (I'm spelling in the American way as that's what they are called)

I have found that adding a few drops of water into the palette first, helps to soften the paint.  You can use it at any consistency, for the BrushLettering above I made the palette thinner than when I paint on parchment. (You can even thin it with water to use with a dip pen)



Here's a sample of the Pearl Colors: 

Bottom is on black cardstock
Middle is on Black Parchment (150gsm)
Far Right is Clear Parchment (I'm using our new 230gsm parchment here but I have used the 140 & 160gsm too)

   

Here's a sample of the Original Starry Colors: 

Far Left is Clear Parchment (I'm using our new 230gsm parchment here but I have used the 140 & 160gsm too)
Middle is on Black Parchment (150gsm)
Right is on black cardstock

As quite often in my 'test' pieces I have used Butterflies....they just seem to lend themselves to blending colours and we all love Butterflies don't we!!

If you have received one of our business cards, you will already know that it has a butterfly on it, left purposely as an outline so you can use it in your crafting, so this is what I used for some of my test pieces.

Parchment doesn't like very much water very much, so go carefully, with very thin layers. Make sure your paint dries in between layers.

This was using the Pearl Scarlet, Red Gold and Champagne Gold

Here are a few more samples...I hope you can see the shine on them

You will find the palettes of Starry Colors here

All for now

Hilary xx

Even Storm Doris Didn't stop the Show!

A little update on last weeks adventures, it's been quite a whirlwind....literally!

All set for the 'Make It' show in Farnborough, an early ferry at the crack of dawn with forecasts of storm Doris heading our way but the boat trip across the Solent was calm.... I guess you could say the calm before the storm!

We arrived nice and early for a steady set up day, an extra pair of hands with us as my back is playing up big time but we had plenty of time, or so we thought!  Let me put you in the picture, the show is held in a temporary structure that has been in place for years but it's like an enormous marquee that is made to move when the wind blows ( it's a bit like being on a boat)

The wind howled, the girders creaked and the lights swayed....no kidding.... and then the powers that be, had a conflab and decided to evacuate the building until the wind had calmed down with the instructions 'no entry until at least 3pm'. Great! Okay, let's go for a pizza! But oh no! all the restaurants are in a complex with a multi-storey car park and the entrance too low for the van so we ended up eating chips and baked beans in Tesco.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we were back in by 5pm and out again by 10pm all set up and ready to go!

             

               ......and a few hours later........

What a fabulous show too! 

Lovely to see so many customers and friends and so many birthday wishes too....I feel very blessed.  Then I saw Mags with Dawn and Ellie, and even though she felt so poorly she'd even stayed up late to make me a birthday card. Of course, we had to take a selfie so here we all are (even though I think I look a bit the worse for wear after the previous days fiasco!) 

It was so good to see everyone.

For those of you who didn't make it to the show, for all orders over £20 we'll include a FREE Pergamano 'M' Pattern (worth £6.50) - Enter Code 'MakeIt2017'

(this applies until the weekend midnight Sunday)

Don't forget to take a look www.wightcat.com to place your order

All for now

Hilary x

What do you use for your Colouring?

We have a selection of colouring markers for you to choose from, and they all work brilliantly on all your card making and parchment as well

Not only that, but we sell them most of them individually so you can try a few first and then add to your collection whenever you like.

Tim Holtz - DistressMarkers

These are water based and double ended, with a brush tip one end and a fine point the other end.

Kuretake Clean Colors

There's about 80 different colours of these lovely 'Real Brush' pens. They are water based and actually have a proper paintbrush so you can blend these colours beautifully. Again sold individually so you can try just a few of these wonderful colours.

FaberCastellPolychromos Pencils

Of course, I can't do an article about colouring without mentioning one of our favourites for colouring. These Polychromos pencils are the BEST, they are artist quality oil based pencils, they blend well together and you can blend them with oil to make fabulous backgrounds as well.  Again we sell them individually so you can try a few first. We also sell them in sets.

Pergamano PergaColours

These are water based and double ended, with a bullet tip one end and a fine point the other end. They come in a box of 30 lovely colours.

Happy Crafting

Hilary x

Competition Winner

We are pleased to announce the lucky winner of our December competition is Julie Smy, she will be receiving a whole load of parchment goodies worth over £50.  We will be doing more competitions in the new year so watch out for them and don't forget to like our Facebook page

Perforating Grids, Multi Grids & Siesta Grids Guide

As the title suggests, there are a few different grid variations to choose from.

Generally, if you are talking about a grid for parchment craft then you would be talking about a Straight Grid. This is a grid with holes all the way over it, all at equal distances from each other in vertical/horizontal lines.

There are 2 versions, fine and bold and they have different names depending on the brand of the grid. 

The only difference between the fine and the bold grids are the size of the holes, the needle you use should fit the hole nicely so when you pierce the parchment through the hole and make a perforation, it becomes a nice round perforation and every hole you make will be the same. So, if you were to use the bold grid then you will need a slightly thicker needle than the fine grid.

You will also see on the market the older type mesh grids, that are perfectly good to use although it’s more difficult to get uniform perforations because of the ‘movement’ in the mesh.

How to use a plain Grid

As you can see from the picture below, you can use a grid to make perforations in your parchment and also to emboss dots and it is exactly the same whichever grid you use. 

 If you have ever done cross stitch, counting across your pattern to work your stitches on open weave embroidery material, then you have a slight advantage for using grids as a counting method is used to transfer your pattern to your parchment exactly the same way as in cross stitch.  Saying that, it is not difficult and with a little practice you will be on your way.

To way to use a plain or diagonal grid place your parchment on the top of the grid and tape it down. Put your pattern to the side of your work so you can count the holes according to the pattern and perforate using a single needle tool .

In the following example the black dots (Fig 1) are perforations on the front of the parchment, (the white holes are just the background holes of the grid)

(Fig 2) shows where you would emboss with the PCA sun tool (Pergamano star tool) to make the circular embossed dots (on the back of the parchment) and then where you cut with the scissors to make the octagonal shaped holes shown in (Fig 3)

Then are also a multitude of various ‘fancy grids’ like the Pergamano multigrids and Siesta Grids. These are much simpler to use as they already have patterns and borders on them, eliminating the need for counting.

How to use a Multi Grid

Place your parchment on top of your grid and tape it down.

First of all you emboss the sections you would like to emboss and then turn the grid over leaving the parchment in place and perforate through the holes according to the pattern.

The example below is of Pergamano multigrid 21, available from Wightcat Crafts www.wightcat.com

It is a sampler made from the complete grid, made by my friend Maggie Byford, this is to show how the whole grid would look but also, to show how you can take parts of it for your own parchment work, not forgetting that you can make extra layers for a 3D look.

Extra samples below are from the girls in my classes, one of them used the grid to make segments to cover a box which looks fantastic. There are also a couple of cards to show how you can use it to make your own cards as well by adding glitz and glitter to give that extra bit of sparkle.

Paper Folding with Pretty Papers

I love pretty papers, and we have so many pretty papers, including parchment papers and vellums, in the shop that I thought I'd play around a do some paper folding which seems to be in my mind at the moment. I happened to be surfing around the Internet...as you do....and saw something like this on my travels so thought I'd have a go with some pretty pink flower fairies vellums. I used A4 papers for the back so its actually quite large, measuring about 50cm in diameter, but of course it can be made a lot smaller and I thnk a teeny weeny one would make a great embellishment for a scrapbook page or a card, but this one is perfect to hang in the shop window.

Merry Christmas

Wherever you are, whatever and however you celebrate.

May your Christmas season be happy and healthy.

BADFA Annual Convention 2011

The British Association of Decorative and Folk Artist Annual Convention 2011, will be on Saturday 1st October and Sunday 2nd October. Apart from the AGM on saturday evening the event is open to the general public. There will be an exhibition of members work, workshops and several make'n'takes, as long with a Trade stand from Wightcat Crafts.

The Venue is Lamb & Flag Inn, Batt's Lane, Ottery Saint Mary, Devon EX11 1EY.

New Magazine "Making Gifts"

Making Gifts

The new magazine from the publishers of

Making Cards Magazine and Parchment Craft Magazine.

Issue 1 available now from Wightcat Crafts

Order today http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/magazines3.htm

“Magic of Childhood Summer Holidays”

Most of the Schools are breaking up today, unless you live north of the border where they have already broken up.

But do Kids today have as much fun as we all did when we were kids?

Everybody says that your Childhood years are the happiest and that you should make the most of them. In some ways it is true, when you are a child you don’t have the worries and responsibilities that you do when you’re an Adult. When we were young the world wasn’t as materialistic as it is now, it didn’t matter if you didn’t have the latest computer game.

I don’t remember it raining during my summer holidays, maybe that’s because I am wearing rose tinted glasses, or maybe its because I am a child of the 60’s & 70’s when summers were long, hot and sunny and consisted of messing about with your mates.

For me it was playing the garden making tents with mums clothes horse and a couple of sheets, playing cowboys and Indians with cap guns and water pistols made from washing up bottles (those were the days of Blue Peter and Magpie), climbing trees or the garden shed which also doubled as a den. When older it was messing about along side the Canal that ran through the Village, even though it was off limits. I loved going for long bike rides all around the local villages, or cycling to Southport, spending the day riding along the seafront and the beach. Those were the golden years; I remember watching the Apollo missions, especially the Moon landing whilst on Holiday in Blackpool. Summer treats if you behaved during the holidays like going to the Farnborough Airshow or the Edinburgh Tattoo.

Life was a lot simpler, all about exploring and creativity.

So if you want to try and capture some of the “Magic of Childhood Summer Holidays” why not spend a few days at the Beach. I can recommend the Isle of Wight which has some of the Best beaches in the UK. There is Appley (Ryde) only a stones throw from Portsmouth, or Yaverland & Sandown just a short train trip from Ryde, or Gurnard & Cowes if you are travelling from Southampton. If you have time to stay longer then there is Alum Bay, The Needles or Bembridge. Not to mention all the beaches along the back of the Wight between Ventnor and Freshwater ideal for surfing. If the beach isn’t for you then there are Adventure parks at Robin Hill and Blackgang Chine, or the breath taking countryside of Tennyson & Mottistone Downs. If it Grand Houses that you prefer then we have Osborne House, home of Queen Victoria and we even have a Castle at Carisbrooke where King Charles I, spent his last days.

But the best place to visit is Wightcat Crafts where you can explore and let us bring out your creativity.

I have but together things that means Childhood Summer Holidays to check it and see if you agree.

Kannikar Sukseree Brushstrokes Workshop

Sadly today is the last day of Kanny's workshop here at Wightcat Crafts. I know all the Ladies that have attended over the last three days, would all like to Thank Kanny for the enjoyable time they have had.

Its Kanny's Birthday tomorrow and ladies have a little surprise for her, but cant say what it is until later.

Here is a photo of todays workshop, we will post some more later

Parchment Fairies 2009

Fairies 2009 the fifth book in the Fairies series from Japan will be released this weekend.

If you want to be one of the first to own this must have book, then pre-order it today from Wightcat Crafts by clicking Fairies 2009 Pre-Order

UK Postage

With immediate affect Wightcat Crafts have reduced our UK Postage to Zero

Yes Zero

All UK orders are now Postage Free

July 4th Newsletter

Hi

The newsletter this week doesnt seem to want to behave and has blocked the links in it. Sorry if you have been trying to click on the links

The link to view the newsletter online is

http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/newsletter.htm

The link to the special offers page which includes the Christmas Decoupage and punches is

http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/offer.htm

The page with all the Christmas Patterns and books is

http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/xmaspatterns.htm


Hope this helps!!

Pergamano Multigrids 1 & 2

The new shipment of Pergamano Multigrids is due in this week.

To find the grids on our website Click Here

'Twas The Night Before Catmas

'Twas The Night Before Catmas

Twas the night before Catmas
When all through the house
Not an animal was stirring,
Not even the mouse.

The kittens were snuggled
And tucked in their beds,
While visions of craft goodies
Danced in their heads.

Their stockings were hung
By the craftroom with care,
In hope that Father Catmas
Soon would be there.

Out on the rooftop
There arose such a hissing,
I knew Father CatmasWas having trouble parking.
I jumped on the couch,

Stuck my nose to the curtain.
"Here he is!",
I purred"It is him,
I'm certain."

What to my deep blue eyes
Should appear,
But Father Catmas himself
In his Cat sled gear.

He purred and he purred,
But through the kitty door he went,
Then stopped and smelled the air
As he picked up a scent.

The cat cookies we left him
Were by the back door.
The kittens had baked them
Not an hour before.

He went about his work
With never a sigh,
Filling the stockings
With goodies piled high.

He waved at me
With his mighty paw.
Although I was hiding,
'Twas my little nose he saw.

Out the kitty door he went
In oh such a rush,
Jumped on his cat sled
And yelled out, "MUSH!"

The Wightcat Craft team
Were raring to go.
They hated 'stand stay',
Especially in the snow.

I could hear him purring
As he disappeared that night,
"Merry Catmas to all!
OK team, turn rrrrright!"

So much fun

I keep meaning to share the fun we have in our workshops, and for one reason or another, I haven't managed to yet - no camera, no batteries, forgetting to take photos until everyone has left...

For May, though, I managed it, mostly. Which is quite fitting as I think it's a year since we began the process of scrapbooking and cardmaking workshops (Mum, correct me if I'm wrong). In that time my style has certainly changed, and so has everyone else's....it's been fascinating to see everyone grow in confidence, try new things, and enjoy the process. Scrapbooking is more than just about the pages - it's about the memories and stories that we share. And in the same way, the workshops are more than just about making something - we chat, we share ideas, we share our stories, we share our stash. I think (and hope) that everyone enjoys the projects that we make, but I know for sure that everyone enjoys the chance to spend some time together, doing something fun.





Don't forget that next month our workshop is on 16th June, and I will post a sample of the project so you can all bring the photos you need :)

Kate x

April Oriental ATC Swaps

We had a fantastic number of entries in our April ATC Oriental Swap, which is now completed hopefully all those that entered should have received their swap now.

Visit http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/atc-swap2.htm to see more

May Newsletter

The May Newsletter is now available see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wightcat_crafts/

ATC Reminder

Don't forget, if you haven't made your ATC's there are only 2 weeks left till the end of the April ATC Swap. Everyone is welcome to join us and if you would like more information about the Swaps have a look at our website www.wightcat.com or email me on crafts@wightcat.com
Hilary