There are many crafting differences across the water in America.

Recently I have been contacted by crafters in America talking about the latest trend there – Clean and Simple or CAS for short. This was a very nice surprise for me as this is my main style of papercrafting.

It seems there is a real movement in the US to keep things simple and minimalist. So just adding a simple topper, shape, stamp or even a sentiment to a plain card is very popular. Of course, the occasional bit of bling and sparkle never goes amiss! It’s surprising just how well a little piece of mirri card as a border makes a topper really zing off the card!

Here’s hoping clean and simple is one trend that catches on in the UK too!

Happy crafting x

With the weather being anything but Summer-like at the moment, I have been trying to find new ways to keep my 3 year old daughter, Alice, amused. Crafting is always a staple activity, but trying to find different things to craft isn’t always easy.

We sat down the other day to route through Alice’s craft box and decided to make something using the contents of a docrafts, Craft Planet goody bag. Alice set her mind on making a rabbit, so I set to cutting out shapes from felt, and she looked for foam stickers to adorn the picture, whilst instrucing me what I needed to do next!

About an hour later, we had our finished rabbit.

These goody bags are great value for money, coming with several different media and loads of accessories, to make cards, puppets, toys. There’s even an inspiration sheet. The only limit is imagination.

Happy crafting x

My business cards have now arrived! Hoorah! So I am now officially ‘in business’ and will start the distribution.

Keep an eye out for the card and don’t forget to drop me a line if you would like a card from the collection or to discuss your requirements for a bespoke design.

I must say a huge thank you to Paul Brooks for helping me set up the website and special thanks to James for spending so much time and effort in the development and design (I know he loves every minute of it).

Thanks also go to all my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me over the last couple of years, as without them, this would never have come into fruition.

Thank you everyone.

Katherine
xx

You can’t have failed to notice, if you live in the UK, that the Union Jack is everywhere this Summer. With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in early June, and the Olympics coming in 4 weeks’ time, you can’t turn round without finding red, white and blue flags and bunting.

I’ve been crafting using these themes as they are the key trend of the moment. Using papers and accessories from the Papermania ‘Portabello Road’ collection and others, I created a number of cards for birthdays and Father’s Day.

There are loads of British themed paper collections, but I have found using wrapping papers or colouring my own papers just as useful when making bunting.

The British theme hasn’t just been limited to card making. I often craft with my 3 year old daughter, Alice, and one of our favourite things to do together is icing biscuits. We don’t always have time to make the biscuits, so an inexpensive packet of rich tea, comes in very handy. We held our own Jubilee buffet over the long bank holiday weekend, and these were our creations!

Let’s hope the sun comes out for the Olympics and we can all get outside to enjoy the flags and bunting!

Happy Crafting xx

Welcome to my first crafty blog post!

I have been crafting all of my life, and particularly enjoyed pencil drawing and knitting at school.  I used this side of my interests to relax me whilst studing maths and physics A levels!

I rediscovered my love of crafts after leaving university in the mid-1990’s, spending many evenings knitting toys and baby clothes for friends and family.  Handmade gifts coupled with homemade cakes and biscuits proved very useful in the cash-strapped post university years.

In 2004 I went on a watercolour painting course and found I really enjoyed the freedom of the paint and whatever the splodges decided to be.

I’ve been papercrafting for the last 4 years or so.  Making my own cards proved a real draw to me, and very useful in those last minute urgent card situations.  I gave a card to someone at work and was asked about making more cards for them, and things have grown from there.

So here I am, I hope you enjoy the site and my blog.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and feel free to contact me if you’d like one of my creations.

Happy crafting!