Moving Blog

Hi

Just a quick note to let anyone know who has this blog on their reading list that I'm putting up all new content from Crafty Templates up on the Quirky Kits blog now. You can find it at www.quirkykits.blogspot.com and update your bookmarks/favourites etc. Crafty Templates cards and projects will also go up there from January 2013 onwards. I'll also be putting some of the cards on Pinterest which you can view at www.pinterest.com/craftytemplates
I'll leave this blog as an archive but no new content will be added.
Thank you!

x Leo

New January/February Quirky Kits - Full Reveal......

Hi!

New Quirky Kits are on their way to subscribers throughout this week. Here's the full reveal for both kits.....

Main Quirky Kit, 'For the Love of Paper'

For this kit I really wanted to pick out a colour to warm up the winter time so I began with yellow. One trend that we delved into last month and that's still hot going into this year is mixing bright colours with grey so this month you'll also find a little bit of grey in your kit. It'll mix up with all the bright colours in the kit to give you a modern but still classic look. As we're going into the month of February love is in the air and I think it's great to make pages about things we love. One thing we all have in common is our love of paper craft so I figured why not make this one 'For the Love of Paper'. You can make up all kinds of pages about things you love and maybe one of them could be showing your love of paper or as the custom tag says scrapbooking!

I had another couple of custom things made, the little flowers, the tags and the custom dyed lace too in lovely bright vibrant turquoise that will give a contrast to all the colours in the kit and will of course compliment the yellow papers :). I particularly like the blue with the grey chevron in the Echo Park paper. Chevrons are a huge trend right now too, (I've since been spying lots of chevrons in the CHA peeks this week!) so we have lots of lovely chevron patterns popping up. The cardstock I decided to keep really neutral to allow all the patterns of the paper to shine through. There's some kraft and vanilla and also a cool Bazzil called 'Sawdust' that's kind of like natural handmade paper with fleck bits in. The alphabet stickers are also neutral but they have a wonderful polka dot texture on them to give them interest. Last but not least we've got some fabric again in this kit, a pretty grey polka dot and to throw in another quirky neutral some denim! Denim is another one of those brilliant things that goes with everything. It'll be great for making embellishments or just use it like another piece of patterned paper. The other little bit of fabric I've put in is the strip of calico. Have a go at custom colouring it yourself with your own spray mists or ink or you can stamp onto it or paint it or roll it up into a rolled rose embellishment. It's one of those things that you can do a million things with and make it unique to your project :) I really hope you enjoy using this one as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.

Quirky Kit Lite 'Paper Rainbows'

Paper Rainbows picks up on all the things Love of Paper has but just on a slightly smaller scale :) I've picked out grey and pink as the main colours and thrown in a splash of red and yellow to add quirky drama. The custom felt garland you can customise even more if you want to adding little cut out bits and pieces or beads or more stitching or alphabet stickers etc etc. The Crate Paper boarder stickers are great because there are so many different ones on the one card, you'll be using these for a long time :). Just like the main kit too Paper Rainbows has fabric, it's a super cute polka dot and heart pattern in a vibrant red. Unlike the more neutral fabrics in the main kit with the lite kit, because the papers I've picked out are more subtle the colour of the fabric will really contrast well as too will the fab vibrant yellow cardstock.

Subscribers, keep an eye out for your new kit arriving this week.

x Leo

Create 10 at Christmas Online Classes!

Hi!

If you missed out on Create 10 at Christmas last year you've now got the opportunity to sign up this year! Create 10 at Christmas is back available again but only until the end of December so grab your sign up token today! These classes are archived so you can start downloading them right away and pick and choose which you'd like to do. All the classes have ideas for crafting at Christmas. The first class is making a wreath from paper scraps and old decorations. There's also an idea for making a notebook/planner, ideas for last minute gifts, decorating and wrapping gifts, baking Christmas tree cookies and making garlands from popcorn and decorations from felt.

There's also scrapbooking ideas and cardmaking ideas to make special giftcard/money holders. So much to have a go at! Dive in and start your Christmas crafting adventure! Check out all the details on the Create 10 classes page, http://www.craftytemplates.co.uk/create10.html
If you did sign up last year and would like a reminder of your login email me, (enquiries@craftyprincess.co.uk) and I'll resend you your welcome email.
xx Leo

New Quirky Kits for Subscribers!

Hi!The two new Quirky Kits are now ready to go! The kits will be shipping out Monday and Tuesday next week, (28th & 29th). Here's the (almost) full reveal. The Elle's Studio Calendar cards are missing from the photos but I've included them after so you can see what they're like.
Well here we go this is Snow Stories:

I began with my base colours of pink and grey/silver then built it up from there. I was looking for some fun trendy newsprint/text patterns and some pretty snowy elements those are also reflected in the name of the kit 'Snow, Stories'. There's lots of lovely textures from the chunky crispness of the lovely kraft based patterned papers to the soft delicate silk ribbon and organza. I picked out two alphabets both with a ever so slight sheen. The Thickers have a pearl like iridescent finish and the Glitz stickers also have a pretty pearl look too. I really love that whole mix of the kind of 'heavy' kraft colours with the softer sparkly/shiny elements. It really reminds me of that feeling after it's snowed, the idea of everything around us being softened as it's adorned with a soft delicate blanket of snow.
All the patterned papers are doublesided and the reverse sides have a mix up of black, kraft, white and blue so you can trade all the pinks in the kit, (apart from the ribbon but if you're really not into pink this would make a lovely wrapping for a gift) for blue to change up the colour scheme. I've kept most of the kit neutral on purpose so it will easily mix in with supplies you already have and we have a couple of winter elements but nothing overtly themed so it will happily sit with anything you want to make.

I really love the crochet snowflake embellishments which were made by a lovely lady on etsy, (yours might not look like the one shown as they're a good mix up of different kinds, just like real snowflakes :D) and the little penguins are just a little bit of quirky fun I thought of after watching Frozen Planet, (BBC1).
Kit features:
My Minds Eye Kraft Funday 'In Print', 'Streamers' and 'Patchwork Party' patterned papers.
Pink Paislee Snow Day, 'Hot Cocoa' and 'Cozy Sweater' patterned papers.
Lily Bee Design Head Over Heels, 'Courting' and Memorandum 'Whiteboard' patterned papers.
My Minds Eye Lost and Found 2 'Favorite Dance' patterned paper.
Bazzill cardstock in Kraft, Avalanche and Smoky.
American Crafts Marquise pearl letter Thickers alphabet stickers.
My Minds Eye Kraft Funday Everyday Fun button card.
2 x penguin shaped button embellishments.
1 handmade snowflake crochet embellishment.
Glitz Design Teeny Alpha in pearl
1 x Jenni Bowlin Doily Flower embellishment
6 x pieces of Pink Paislee Snow Day Ephemera, (printed diecut card embellishments).
MayArts Fuchsia Silk Ribbon x 1 yard, (90cm)
Silver strung sequins x 1 meter
1 length of red grosgrain ribbon
1 length of silver liquid ribbon
1 square piece of sparkle dot snow organza
Elle's Studio 2012 Vintage Calendar Circle Tags

For the Quirky Kit Lite 'Snow Drifts' this month I wanted to do something contrasting but still working with the same idea of mixing in the kraft/neutral colours. For this one I started out with a teal/green and silver colour scheme and went from there. There are some Elle's Studio Calendar pennants in this kit too, they didn't arrive in time to put in the photo but I've included them bellow it.

The snowflake is a glitter paper which is really really really glittery but it's specially made so the glitter doesn't come off. One of my favorite papers from the new summer releases is that Crate woodgrain pattern from the Peppermint line so I had to throw in some of that somewhere. It's a really versatile paper either as a background or as embellishment. The main kit has the newspaper/text print element and there's a nod to that in the lite kit with the Studio Calico sheet.

Studio Calico Classic Calico 'Newsprint' patterned paper.
American Crafts Silver Snowflakes POW! glitter paper (half sheet).
Crate Paper Peppermint 'Ski Lodge' patterned paper.
Crate Paper Farmhouse 'Sunday Dinner' patterned paper.
Echo Park Dots & Stripes 'Silver Bells' patterned paper.
My Minds Eye Lost and Found 2 'Precious Motif' patterned paper.
My Minds Eye Kraft Funday 'Party' patterned paper.
American Crafts Vanilla cardstock.
Bazzill Kraft cardstock.
My Minds Eye Lost & Found 2 "Fun Day" title card.
Authentique Petite Type Square alphabet stickers.
White wool mix felt square, 9x9 inches.
1 length of silver glitter ribbon.
1 length of white velvet ribbon.
Elle's Studio 2012 Monthly Pennants.

Keep a peek on your emails for shipping notifications. You'll be able to change the date it's sent out to you too if you need to.
For non subscribers I'm afraid these kits are sold out but there will be a couple of smaller seperate kits available and I'll soon be adding the new subscription places to the store so look out for those.

xx Leo

Blog Hop Winner!

I've done a draw for the winner of the UK Scrappers Blog Hop from all the comments on this blog. I used the random number generator and gave a number for each post with 1 for the first comment down to the last, 148 and the number that it generated was comment number 8:

JT's crafty blog said...

This is also my 1st blog hop and I really love the home sweet home project I will attempting that
Uks dusty fairy

Congratz dusty fairy. You've won a kit of you choice from the store. Pop on the store, www.craftytemplates.co.uk and pick out what you'd like then let me know at enquiries@craftyprincess.co.uk or you can use the contact form on the store site.

Don't forget there's still other chances to win prizes from UK Scrappers I know MaryAnne is working on that right now ready for Monday so keep a peek out on UK Scrappers for that news.

I'm really glad you liked the project. Looking forward to seeing some of those finished projects when you've had a go at them, don't forget to link me up. ;-)

xx Leo

It's a UK Scrappers Blog Hop!

Hi!
If you are participating in the UK Scrappers blog hop, you may have come here from the lovely Bubbly Funk Bubbly Scrumptious blog. Check out UK Scrappers for all the info and maybe head to the start of the blog hop if you haven't already to see all the lovely projects and details of prizes and special offers my fellow lovely UK Scrappers sponsors have up for grabs! After checking out my project shown bellow you can head on over to see the next project in the blog hop which you'll find on the Cre8tive Online blog, http://cre8tivekate.blogspot.com/

If this is your first time here first off, hi I'm Leo, {short for Leonora, Leo is way easier to type though ;-) } my store is Crafty Templates, www.craftytemplates.co.uk I specialise in papercrafting kits, templates and classes, all the things you need to help you on your crafting adventures. You can read more 'about' Crafty Templates over on the store site here, http://www.craftytemplates.co.uk/about.html

OK so onto the project. I wanted to combine a few products from the store and I also wanted to demonstrate a Crafty Template template sheet to show how you don't just have to use them for cards they're great to use to make an embellishment for all kinds of projects. For this particular project today I made these shabby chic pictures. You could make any one of these for yourself or for a gift, they're really easy to personalise too.

For this project you'll need some patterned papers, fabric scraps (optional), cardstock, a picture frame, some mini alphabet stickers and a printed out Crafty Template sheet. Just for the UK Scrappers Blog Hop I've put together a little collection of shabby chic style Crafty Templates you can download for free. The templates are all taken from the March 2011 templates set, they're in PDF format.
Click here to download the Crafty Templates

I've started out with a picture frame, {I got the ones I've used from Wilkos} and I'm using one of my card kits 'Nursery Rhymes' which you can get from the store here. This would be a great project to do to make use of off cuts of papers and card too or even wallpapers or fabrics you have leftover.

To begin with you need to choose a template and print it out. For this picture I've picked out the chair. Take apart your frame and decide which size template from the sheet fits it best. In this case I've picked the largest template on the sheet.

Cut out the template you're using.

Pick out a patterned paper and draw around the template onto it. I've drawn around the template on the back of this piece of paper because it's easier to see.

Cut out the template from the paper. To get to the inner parts of the chair use a hole punch to make holes as a starting point for your scissors to cut into.

If you want your shape to be a silhouette you can keep your chair like this but I'm going to add the cushions too.

Cut out the top cushion from the template.

You can use paper but I'm going to use a scrap of fabric. The templates are really easy to cut from fabric too. Just glue the paper piece using a glue stick, {I'm using a Pritt Stick} onto the back of the fabric. Then cut around the paper edge to make the shape. Leave the paper glued on the back to keep it from fraying. 

To glue the cushion shape to your chair lay the template over the top and use it to position the cushion.

Take the template away when it's glued down.

Repeat the process for the cushion on the bottom of the chair.

 Pick out another patterned paper for the background of your picture. Position the mount from your photo frame, (if using) over the paper and glue your chair embellishment in place. As a final touch I've added a message to some strips of ribbon using mini alphabet stickers and stuck the strips down onto the picture. If you're making a picture as a gift for someone you could easily personalise the message.

Now I'm going to add another touch to the mount from my photo frame because I'm not loving that white so I've decided to alter it. I'm going to use book pages and collage them over the top of the mount. To do this you'll need book pages or other thin paper, some PVA glue, water and a paint brush.

Rip the paper into small pieces. Dip your paint brush in the water then in the PVA and use the watery glue to paste the paper strips to the mount.

For the edges turn the frame to the back and fold the edges over then glue the down for a neat finish.

 Let the glue dry then add your finished mount over the top of your picture.

Add the whole thing to your photo frame to finish. As another little touch I've added a bow made from a torn strip of fabric then glued it to the frame.

Here's another picture I've made using another of the templates. I began by building up the picture on a piece of kraft card using the papers and card from the kit. I've used the sewing machine template for this one.

 As an extra touch I've used machine stitching around the edge of the template and around the edge of the picture.

Once your picture is finished all that's left to do is add it to the frame. I've glued on some fabric roses just to add an extra crafty touch. :-)

Hope you've enjoyed the project. If you have a go pop a link up to your project in the comments, (don't forget to leave a comment too to be eligible for the UK Scrappers prizes) you can also share anything you make with the templates up on the Crafty Templates Facebook wall here, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Templates/165349430193543
As an added extra today I'll giveaway a lovely kit of your choice from any in stock on the store to one commenter today, (will announce the draw winner tomorrow, 2nd November 2011)
If you've enjoyed using the templates today take a look on the store at the Crafty Templates club for details on how you can get more every month.

Happy blog hopping! Don't forget your next stop is the Cre8tive blog, http://cre8tivekate.blogspot.com/
xx Leo

Hazelnut Coffee Quirky Kit Winner!

I've just done the draw for the kit giveaway. I used the post numbers to draw out a winner and the number that came up was..................................
#1 Helen!

So Helen let me know where you'd like your kit sending enquiries@craftyprincess.co.uk and I'll get it in the post for you.

xx Leo