New Die Cut Decoupage

Hello,

I’ve been putting the first of the new products for the year up on our website today.

We have 2 new Die Cut Decoupage series. They are in stock & available right now in the shop.

There is the Art Deco Series & the Polka Dot Flowers Series….with a special offer to buy the complete set in each range.

Art Deco Die Cut Decoupage

Polka Dot Flower Die Cut Decoupage


Hope you like them

Pinterest inspiration to life

Phew! I can't believe Christmas is over. I feel slightly bloated from eating far too much chocolate, and totally ready for a new year of creativity.

Have you heard of Pinterest?

In case you haven't, it's a website for collecting links to all sorts of inspiration. A bit like the corkboard I used to have pinned up by my desk...except this is all online and so each image links back to the original source.

Pinterest is a great place to spend hours collecting inspiration...but I wanted to make sure that I did something with all of this eye candy. So, I present: Pinterest to life. I'll show you how I've used an image from Pinterest to create something myself.

Check out this image on my Pinterest board. These lovely cards are by Danielle Flanders. Simple, colourful...you can practically hear my brain whirring with ideas.

And here's my version. I used a coloured card blank, and rounded the corners of the white card front. Then I used a collection of flower stamps across the card, stamping right over the edges. I only have small sentiment stamps, so instead of putting the greeting over the flowers I used the white space at the top. I left off the machine stitching, and replaced the string with ribbon, because that made the card more 'postable'. The colours I've used are much softer and more autumnal, as those are the inks I had to hand.

I love Pinterest for ideas, but I love it even more when I can use those ideas to make something of my own. I want to spend less time reading website and more time making things. This is just the start!

Kate x

If you'd like to 'follow' me on Pinterest, you can find me here.

Playing with paper

When you own a craft shop, sometimes it's hard just to create because you love it. There are always deadlines, samples, displays to create, and sometimes it can all be a bit too much like actual work. And that's no fun. So, to combat those post-Christmas blues and kickstart our 2012 creativity, Mum and I got together with some paper, paint and glue.

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to craft with someone else. Especially someone who gets it when you squeal with glee and clap your hands because something looks amazing (we may both have done this).

I especially love it when you get useful tips. See that little dish with my glue in it? It's a milk bottle lid. Top tip, thanks Mum.

In between having fun and endless cups of tea, we have also been planning workshops for the shop in 2012. I'll let you know more once we've finalised the details.

The next time I post, it will be 2012. Happy New Year, everyone.

2011 review

Hmmm....2011. Where did that go, then? The week between Christmas and New Year is, for me, always a time to reflect on the year that has gone, and make some plans for the year to come.

For me, crafting in 2011 was about new products. Some things stay with me throughout - I think scrapbooking and cardmaking will always be a part of my crafting repertoire. But this year I definitely noticed myself trying out new products and techniques, which I'm really pleased with. I feel like I've made a great start, and 2012 will be all about learning even more. So before I come up with some plans for next year, in no particular order, here is my 2011 Top Five:

1. Promarkers. I know, I know, I'm late to the party. No change there then! But I'm so glad I discovered these little beauties. My stamps have all gained a new lease of life and I love the bright, vibrant colours that Promarkers give. I will admit I was a little bit nervous in the beginning - there are a lot of tutorials and blogs out there and I had the impression that there was some 'secret' to Promarker technique. I'll tell you now - there isn't. I'm sure there are lots of ways I can improve, but even my first efforts are pretty pleasing.

2. Border punches. These aren't new either, but this year I've moved away from just using them on scrapbook pages and they've really helped my cardmaking. I love pretty trims, and I feel a bit daft for taking so long to bring these into my cards. Now that I have, I can't stop!

3. Greetings stamps. Something else that has completely changed the way I make cards. These fabulous sets of clear stamps on an A6 sheet are reasonably priced, great quality, and really versatile. I used to either write my greeting, or look for a sticker, but these stamps give me dozens of options and look much more professional. They are absolutely the most useful stamps I own.

4. Yarn! Specifically, the Sirdar Bonus range. I first started using this last year, on my first crochet blanket. Since then, Mindy has expanded the range to include almost every colour you could need. And I'm using quite a few of them in this ripple blanket. It's also deliciously soft and has beautiful stitch definition when you crochet.

5. Wooden crochet hooks. Apart from being gorgeous, they are also easy to use and much lighter in my hand than the metal ones. I've also managed to develop a new technique for crocheting which doesn't make my wrist click, so I'm hoping to avoid any craft-related RSI in future.

...and, 6. Paint Fusion. I'm sneaking this in, because it's not a product I use. But Hilary has spent a lot of this year perfecting her technique and doing some amazing paintings. It's so exciting to see someone learning something new and loving it so much - and deservedly so, because the results are amazing.

What products have you enjoyed this year? I am so excited for 2012!

Kate x

Merry Christmas

Wherever you are, whatever and however you celebrate.

May your Christmas season be happy and healthy.

Working on it

This is my desk, tidied.

Gran's gift this year will be the same as last year - a selection of handmade cards that she can use for any occasion. So right now I am in the midst of bright colours, birthday sentiments and lots of flowers.

Did you make any Christmas cards? I'll be honest - mine were shop bought this year. Card making is a challenge for me (which is why it's taking me so long to do these cards for Gran) and Christmas cards were not on my priority list. I think I might have to do a batch of birthday cards for myself, that way I don't have to make any more cards for another year!

In other news - Wightcat Crafts will be the main craft supplier at the Bristol Parchment Exhibition, 24 June 2012. Exciting times!

Getting in the mood for Christmas

I think it's kind of hard to think about wintery snow scenes when we are having a fairly mild winter at the moment. (I am writing this in advance...if by the time you read this it has started to snow, I apologise!)

For various reasons, I am not doing a lot of Christmas crafting this year. But these tunnel cards are quick and easy and look lovely...I think I might break my card-making block for these!

K x

It's a family affair

Saturday afternoon went something like this...
Making: Christmas cards and samples for the shop.
Talking: to customers about embossing, and friends who like Tim Holtz-style distressing.
Drinking: lots of cups of tea.
Sharing: my crochet and Mum's painting (which deserves a whole post of its own).

Yep, I like afternoons like this!

K x

Saturdays are made for crafting

Guess where I've been today?

At the craft table

My Saturdays usually involve lying in, cleaning, shopping and visiting Gran. Today I took a break from my normal schedule to spend the afternoon at the shop. I often pop in on my lunch break, but this week I moved to a new office that's a bit further away and so I think my lunchtime breaks might be less frequent for a while. It's a whole five minutes' walk away instead of three.

But the best thing about spending the whole afternoon in the shop is that I can take advantage of the nice clear worktable, and try out some of the products in stock. Like this Hunkydory Treasure Box:

The finished product

I won't lie, there were a few issues putting this together. Mainly due to my lack of preparation and missing the bit that said 'Read all instructions before starting'. I think if you followed this wise advice, you'd probably find it a lot easier. Also, the instruction sheet has two sides. Just saying :)

The box is so cute, though, I forgave it all the trouble. It comes with everything, including a card to go on the top, and a gift box to put it all in. I'm thinking a Christmas present, perhaps....?

Thanks for sharing my Saturday!

Kate

Blue skies

Hello :)

I've been enjoying the extended summer..and every time I think it must surely be autumn now, the weather surprises me. Today I was walking around town without a coat. And it's November.

And if it's November...can we talk about Christmas? Pop by later for some crafty ideas.

Kate x

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.

Painting with Paint Fusion

I have to say, I'm loving this Paint Fusion! I have been doing decorative painting for a little while but this new Paint Fusion (by Sheena Douglass) has given it a lovely new twist and its really easy.

All you do is stamp the images first, so that cuts out the need for any tracing and drawing, and then you paint the stamped images....several stamps in each set so you can mix and match and make up your own variations.

I've had a go at most of the Christmas sets, but first I will show you the poinsettia, I think it's my favourite. I painted it in layers so I could build it up into 3D, then gave it a bit of a glitz with some spray & sparkle. Here it is mounted onto a card just as it is because you don't need much else to go with it.

Happy Painting!!

Hilary x

Scrapbook Friday: Back on black

I don't know why it never occurred to me to mount my photos on black card before? Five years of scrapbooking and I manage to miss something obvious like that.

I think I've had this background paper almost all of that five years...I know it's been in my stash a long time. I still think it's gorgeous, but no-one is ever going to see it stuck in my folder, are they?

Possibly the longest page title ever...but it is indeed, very important to take regular breaks for tea (and cake)!

Scrapbook Friday: Late night scrapbook love

You'll have to excuse the late night photos as I prepare this Friday page for you.

It's a formula.
2 photos + whole sheet of patterned paper background + something at an angle or offset to make it interesting = a page that could be really similar to last week's but is somehow quite different.

My favourite thing about this layout (apart from Mindy, of course) is the luggage tag.
Just an ordinary tag (you could even cut one from plain card) and these journalling block stamps.

Stamp twice across the tag to make it look like horizontal ledger paper. I'll be honest here, I tried masking off the edges so I didn't get the double line in the middle...and it didn't work. I couldn't line them up straight. So I decided to embrace it instead, and actually I think it looks fine.

Then I used a brush and some acrylic paint to edge it, and tie in with the paint block behind my title. A few extra embellishments from my collection, and it's done.

Scrapbook Friday

Big foot, little foot.

Big page, little photos.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the need to fill a page completely with paper and photos and stuff. Here, though, I loved the background paper and really didn't want to cover it up. Cropping the photos to 10cm square and making fake-polaroid backgrounds was the perfect solution. The splashes of green keep the page from looking too dark.

Summer scrapbooking

I think we can all agree that we had better weather in April/May than we have done in our actual summer months. So this page of our first ice-creams of the year is kind of appropriate.

This layout uses these stamps to create the bunting, and I hand-stitched across the top using embroidery thread. In a moment of madness, I decided to create a matching swirl across the bottom of the page as well. My hand-stitching projects always seem like a good idea at the time, but at times I was stitching through three layers of cardstock, so it was quite labour-intensive.

My top tip: draw the shape you want and poke holes for your stitches before you start sewing. And make sure you make the holes big enough for your needle to go through :)

Xmas is coming with Paint Fusion

We are sure you are all starting to get ready with all your crafty bits for Christmas so we have some really good news for your today.

Sheena is launching a new set of Paint Fusion Stamps and a DVD containing 3 hours of step-by-step projects and inspiration.

It’s all up on our website and we are taking pre-orders NOW, it should be in the shop within about 10 days.

http://www.wightcat.com/crafts​/paint_fusion_xmas.htm

Hello, Just a reminder….. if you want to be sure of being included in the first delivery of the New Pergamano products due out in September we need to receive your pre-order in the next couple of days. Happy Crafting x


These are just a few of the new goodies due out, follow this link for the complete selection
http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/perg_new2011%5Bc%5D.htm

There are quite a few products including a new book by Julie Roces, Christmas themed clear stamps, parchment papers, “M” magazines & lots more http://www.wightcat.com/crafts/perg_new2011%5Bc%5D.htm

I've missed you

My presence on the internet has been quiet these last few weeks, but here in the land of bricks and mortar it's been plenty busy. How, you ask?

• We've had a move around in the shop. Our new layout gives us space for small workshops, more space for crafting essentials, and a better position for the wool and yarn. Good news all round. Say hello if you pop in!


• Hilary and Steve went to Bristol for the South West Parchment Craft Exhibition. A lovely chance to catch up with everyone, share work and show off some new patterns.


• There are some new goodies in the store...starting with a range of photographic greetings cards by yours truly :) I love design, and thought it was about time I did something useful with my thousands of photographs. The picture above is just a taster.


• We started stocking Christmas decoupage. Wait, did I just write that? Yes folks, it's true. The hottest days of the year so far must mean it's time to start your Christmas cards.


• 44 colours of Stickles glitter glue. You know I love anything sparkly.

That's enough for now, isn't it? I'll be back soon with some more crafting inspiration. Promise.

K x

Something different

Sorry folks, it's been a quiet month for blogging. I can only blame the Open University, really, because I've been working hard on my course.

Still, sometimes it's nice to forget that I have another essay due in less than two weeks and play with some paper. It's been a while since I put a scrapbook page on here so I thought I'd share this one. My cat Morpheus is, apparently, not the only black cat in the neighbourhood. I did a double-take when I saw this one sitting on my wall!

And this is a little peek into my craft space too...the page is resting against my computer monitor. Yes, my Martha Stewart punches pretty much live on the desk, I use them so much. I would like to point out I do have another table that I actually craft on, this desk is only for my PC. Somehow the craftiness just gets everywhere though! And the crazy mess on the left is my ribbon collection, which lives on 2-inch book rings that are at the moment hanging from my desk lamp. It's not neat but it makes me smile.