Have you seen this page?

My first published page - in this month's Scrapbook Inspirations magazine (page 82). It feels like such a long time ago - the photos are of our holiday last August, I created the page in October, and I answered the call for publication about 3 months ago!

It's a really simple way to show off several photos - none of them were enough for a single-photo page. A good tip for holiday photos (of which I had about 500) is to go through and arrange them according to topic - so although these pictures were all taken on different days and in different places, they all came under the 'transport' heading, which made planning my pages much easier.

Using lots of photos can be tricky, but by overlapping them like this they don't overwhelm the page. Mount the photos on contrasting card or paper, and trim it to a very thin border (mine is probably a fraction of an inch). This gives it just enough to 'stand out' from the page, without overwhelming the other photos.

Yes, those are original tram tickets in there - I know they're not acid free, but by mounting my photos on acid-free paper, this protects them from the tickets. If you're really worried about preservation, you could always use plastic pockets or laminate your items (though remember that some tickets are printed on thermal paper so you must use cold laminating pouches).

The title was handcut from funky foam - we have a great selection of this in the shop, but I do like neutral colours for effective titles, especially as the green on this page is so vivid. The green felt flower was also handmade, so I could cut it to exactly the right size for my page. If you're not so keen on the hand-cutting, there are plenty of ready-made flowers for you to choose from.

Have a go at doing some multi-photo pages for your summer album!

Kate x

One and two

One set of papers, two different looks.

This beautiful nautical paper forms the basis for our next workshop - this Saturday. They're not just photo frames, they're mini albums as well. A choice of accent colours means it's really easy to achieve a unique look to suit your photos. I think Mindy looks particularly chic in this black and white picture :)

Kate x

Parchment Fairies

The Fairies have arrived!
Here is a sneak preview of some of the pictures in the new Japanese Parchment Fairies 2007

For more information, have a look here

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

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

Do you believe in Fairies ?

Well we do, so we have searched high and low to find them !

New from Japan "Parchment Fairies 2007"

For further details of this Parchment Craft book from Japan see

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

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

Abanico

I've just finished fan no 21 from Julies new book and here it is! Do you like it? It was fun to make. Comments always appreciated :)

Hilary

World Exclusive new book Abanico Parchment Fans

Wightcat Crafts
is very proud to introduce a very new and exciting book
created by our own Julie Roces

Abanico Parchment Fans
In this new book, Julie has 27 completely new fan designs she has created and worked on.Each finished fan is shown in colour with smaller pictures showing fine details and whitework. The patterns for each fan are separate and printed in full size, which will enable you to follow the instructions.

We sell worldwide from our website and this book is only available from Wightcat in the UK

Check out our website for details
http://www.wightcat.com/

Wanna see?

In all its glory....see you tomorrow!

Kate x

Workshop next weekend

Just a couple of peeks at the page we'll be doing at next weekend's workshop...bit more technique-driven than usual, and certainly a very different style - it'll be interesting to see how everyone uses this! Don't forget, we're working with one large picture (I used an 8x10)

Kate x

Weekend Special

We've got some really good offers on our website this weekend, so have a look at www.wightcat.com and pick up some good deals only available until Midnight on Sunday!

ATC's

The first of the ATC's for the Swap have started arriving and I have to say they are awesome!!

Here's one I've made a start on, this is a Parchment ATC.

ATC Swap

Here we go!!

We are hosting our first ATC swap. It should be lots of fun and we need everyone to sign up for it. We are running 2 swaps, one for everyone who likes the usual type of ATC's and because we know lots of you are into Parchment Craft we are doing one with Parchment as well.

Have a look at the details on our website http://www.wightcat.com/ and if you need any more info please email us crafts@wightcat.com

All the ATC's need to arrive at the shop by the end of February (please include a stamped addressed envelope if you are in the UK or an International Reply coupon for anyone overseas)

So come and join us!!

New year - more layouts!

Just a quick one - we are all still here, honest!

Already January is flying past and it's business as usual at the shop. Our new opening times mean we are now CLOSED ON MONDAYS - but you can still place your orders online.

Thought I'd share a quick layout with you - this was from our scrapping workshop earlier this month. Some Christmassy pictures and I've used felt to create my own accents - I'm loving the unique look you can create by making your own page accents.

Next workshop is Sat Feb 10th - drop us a line for more info.

Kate x

Ready for Christmas?

Time is flying past and we had our advent calendar workshop today. It's lovely to get in the mood for Christmas and we had a great time. Although we were only a small group this time, it was great to be able to work so closely with everyone and we had some lovely finished results.

There are still a few places left on next week's Christmas card workshop, so if you haven't made yours yet - why not come along?!

Advent calendar workshop on Saturday

Just thought I'd share a quick peek of the advent calendar we will be making on Saturday...



Kate x

Free Pattern

I've been working on a new Christmas Card Pattern and thought I'd add it here. If anyone would like to use it for their parchment or any other craft you are welcome to use it, please remember though, that this is still a copyrighted pattern and not to be used for commercial gain or added to any other sites.
If you make a card with it, I'd welcome any feedback here and would love to see a picture of it as well.



This is the link to another free pattern already up on our website. Comments welcome :)

Wightcat Crafts Blog

Wightcat Crafts Blog

On Saturday we had an "Altered Box" workshop....it was definately the best workshop so far, and we all came away very pleased with ourselves and with totally unique boxes. I always find myself leaving the workshops filled with inspiration and raring the get home and start another project!!
Our next workshop is going to be making an advent calender (I'm already booked in for that one!)

Recently we have been having many deliveries of crafty goodies...and you know what...we dont have room for it all...but gradually we are sneaking more in to the shop :D so keep your eyes peeled!