love | handmadebykatherine

This year the heart has never seemed more appropriate to send to someone. I think we all need to show a bit more love. I’ve had a few wedding cards to make for and it always restores my faith in humanity when I’m asked to make a special card.

I’ve made a couple fairy recently for a lovely lady who wanted the colours to tie in with the colours on the wedding invitation she had received. This first one was a classic cream and navy scheme. I still love this style with the dangler heart on acetate.

The second one was a much more colourful affair. I was a bit unsure at first, but I rather like the overall effect of the nesting hearts and borders.

I also had a wedding of my own to go to, as my cousin was tying the knot, with my daughter as her little bridesmaid. Her scheme was very pastel colours, so I went for a pale pink with floral foiling and added pearls.

Last month was so sad with all the terrible events in Manchester and London. I was at a complete loss after the Manchester Arena bombing, I knew several people at the concert and we lost two young lives in the town. I wanted to do something to help so I joined a group #aheart4mcr making hearts to distribute around Manchester city centre. It was a wonderful way to show support and care for those that had lost loved ones or sustained terrible injuries.

I sent off 27 knitted and crochet hearts in total and they joined over 26,000 others from all over the world, displayed and then taken home by people coming into the city centre. I was struck just after the first heart drop to find this lovely heart on my lawn.

Sometimes it pays not to mow the lawn every week!

I thought I’d end today with one of the cards I sent in my order to Hearts for Homes in Ramsbottom, a red button heart for an engagement. I was asked to make a few new engagement cards and the heart just seemed to fit the bill. I haven’t done a button based card for quite a while and I really enjoyed emptying my ever-growing button stash onto the table to find the right size and colours.

I’m afraid I’m not very organised with my buttons and ribbons. I wish I was, but I don’t have very much space really, or maybe it’s not having the inclination to sort them out! I’ve taken over the box room so I’m squashed in with everything else that hasn’t found a home elsewhere in the house. I really do need to get cracking on sorting it out though, but I always get so distracted whenever I start.

Oh, well, back to finding some more love and make some more hearts.

Happy crafting
x

The shabby chic style seems set to continue as a trend in home decor and cardmaking. It hasn’t been a trend that I have taken too. Don’t get me wrong, I do like examples of it, however, it hasn’t been something I have been able to make successfully.

But since my lovely relaxed holiday I have been open to trying some new things and thought I’d have a go at making the shabby chic look fit in with my clean and simple style. I like to use fonts in my work, though I often don’t get the opportunity. This week I was asked to make a couple of wedding cards using the word ‘LOVE’ as the focus.

I found a lovely free font which I was able to resize to make it the main topper. I had seen some other cards with ripped pieces of papers used to mat and layer, so I thought I’d give it a try. This is what I came up with….

It was great fun to go through all my papers and putting them together. A great way of using up some of the bits in my bit box. I love the kraft card, and I am going to experiment further with my paper crimper, to give some additional texture to the cards. I think the shabby look of the papers works well in contrast with the shaped card.

I’d love to hear what you do with shabby chic or what you think of my cards.

Happy crafting
x

handmadebykatherine

Bespoke handmade cards and crafts

Tag Archives: love

Hearts Everywhere

Shabby Chic?