ISSUE 291 APRIL 2016
CRAFTY PRIZES
£5.99
Worth £5,500
Up for Grabs!
Inside DIE-CUTTING, CARD MAKING,
STENCILLING, QUILLING & EMBOSSING Issue 291 Apr 2016
15 WAYS with your Free Gift!
+ Papercraft,Stamp& Colour 5 3 Bright &
Easy Cards
Welcomy e Bab
our seasonal treats
to make this month
ss Mastercla
’s Julie & Wendy KS THRIFTY TRIC
Easter Bunnies
Decorative Die-cuts Simple step-by-step
FREE PATTERN TO KNIT
s Keepsake
Quick-Stitch Cosies
Copy our templates
Birthday Celebrations Perfect for beginners
Plus:KINETIC CARDS ✿ GELATOS ON TEST ✿ TOP GADGETS
✿ STATIONERY SPECIAL ✿WI HIGHLIGHTS ✿ ANNA GRIFFIN Q&A
5ways with... BUTTONS Start with...
b Papers, American Crafts, Amy Tangerine, sketchbook b Card: white, red b Buttons, assorted b Embellishments b Bakers twine b Thread: white, pink, green b Candle b Dies: circle, cupcake, daisies b Die-cutting machine b Punch, corner rounder b Paper piercing tool b Needle b Adhesive See our shopping list opposite
Button Bouquet
1 with heart patterned paper. Trim a
Take an A6 blank and cover the front
slightly smaller piece of white card, round the corners and stick it to the centre of the card. Place seven large coloured buttons on the card and mark where the holes are with a pencil. Create the holes with a paper piercing tool. Add an additional hole in the centre of each set of four and thread green cotton through each hole, bringing the excess through to the front of the card to create the flower stems. Tuck the loose green threads behind the buttons and sew them in place using white thread. Pull the loose green threads together towards the bottom centre of the card and punch a tiny hole either side of the green bunch. Pull black and white twine through the holes and tie in a bow on the front.
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Daisy Letter Cut out two ‘T’ shapes from white card, then cover one with pink patterned paper. Die-cut several daisies, using three different sized dies, and layer them together in pairs. Sew a yellow button to the flower centres and stick to the pink paper using 3-D foam pads. Score a horizontal line across the top of second ‘T’ and join the two together to create a top-folding card.
Cupcake
1 patterned paper. Die-cut a cupcake case from heart
Cut two pieces of card, 12cm square. Cover one with
patterned paper and stick it to an 8cm white square. Round the corners and arrange buttons and gems to create the cake part above the case. Pierce holes and sew them in place using pink thread. Mount onto red card using foam pads. Place pink organza ribbon vertically down the centre of the card, securing the ends on the back. Fix the finished topper to the centre of the card.
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Treat Yourself
Easter treats
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Now’s your chance to indulge in all things bunny, chick and egg shaped! We’ve got the best seasonal products to get you hopping with excitement this Easter.
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1 Easter ribbons value pack, £6, sewcraftyonline.co.uk 2 Easter Bunny & Carrot paper card bunting x5m, £4.50, luckandluck.co.uk 3 Rabbit ear headband, £25, whiterabbitengland.com 4 Doodlebug Design Easter Parade 12x12 paper pack, £9.35, craftsuperstore.co.uk 5 Family Easter biscuit tin, £39.50, biscuiteersbaking.com 6 Plush Easter egg die, Memory Box, £18.99, 0144 831445 theglitterpot.co.uk 7 East of India rabbit wooden rubber stamp, £2.50, luckandluck.co.uk 8 Easter bunny card kit, £1, hobbycraft.co.uk 9 Easter sprinkles washi tape, £1.50, hobbycraft.co.uk 10 Easter egg hunt sign, £3.45, pipii.co.uk 11 Knitted Easter chick kit, £1, poundland.com 12 Set of 3 decorative Paper Song bird eggs, £6.95, dotcomgiftshop.com
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Foxy Style
Love creating your own stylish accessories? Then you need to know about this trendy fox purse from Simple Way! The kit has everything you need to get started, including soft leather which has been pre-cut and pre-punched for your convenience. You can also buy a fox DIY bag kit to match! simpleway.co.uk
CB loves... Peter Rabbit
y handThe talented team at Biscuiteers Baking have been busy carefull comes tin Each series. Rabbit Peter Potter’s Beatrix from ers icing charact special with 16 stunning biscuits to enjoy with your loved ones for a truly ers.com treat – perfect for celebrating Easter with! Priced £42.50, biscuite
April
Inspiration Daisy Ways
The Delightful Daisy Bigz and Intricate Delightful Daisy Thinlits dies from Sizzix are just the motifs you need for your spring and summer making. The Bigz are great, diverse dies to get the most out of your projects, while the Thinlits are perfect for adding subtle details to a variety of makes. Use together or separate for perfect homemade projects everytime. sizzix.co.uk
Top Gadget
Create your own fab stamps with the Silhouette Mint’s wonderful custom stamping system! The machine’s special thermal printing ability makes 3-D relief images of bespoke designs which, once inked, can be repeated up to 50 times. Priced £129.99, graphtecgb.co.uk 26 CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM
Charity Knit
Our pick of the best crafty highlights to enjoy this month
Put your nimble fingers to good use by knitting a bear with Alzheimer’s Research UK’s cute kit! Available at shop.alzheimersresearchuk.org, it has everything you need to make up a soft, red teddy bear. Knitters of all skill levels are sure to take delight in whipping up one of these little chaps. Not only will you create a new friend, but all the profits from this kit will help to fund their pioneering research into prevention, treatment and a cure for dementia. To find out more visit alzheimersresearchuk.org
Day Trippers
From Easter trails to craft workshops, Hever Castle’s got everything to keep the kids entertained with its range of Easter Family Fun events! April 30th 2nd May, hever castle.co.uk
Crafty News
April Showers
We Brits do love a good grumble about the weather, and especially if it’s raining! There are some perks to having a bit of drizzle though – one is that there are some seriously cute umbrellas out there to use when caught in a downpour. We’re particularly loving this Scattered Anchors one from Hatley. hatley.com/en_uk
Dotty Fun
Enjoy adult colouring books? Then you’ll adore Ultimate Dot-to-Dot by Gareth Moore! Containing 30 challenging dotto-dots, this book will entertain and engage puzzlers for hours on end as each puzzle gradually reveals intricate animals, objects and scenes. Plus, once you’ve created the design, you can colour it in! mombooks.com
Stick & Save
5
PAPERS for your stash...
The E-Z Runner Grand will revolutionise the way you stick your crafts together. With a comfort grip handle and easy dispenser system, it can also hold 45m of Permanent Strips adhesive and is a breeze to refill. You’ll love being able to piece your crafts together with ease and speed. scrapbook-adhesives.com
Out & About
30th April -2nd May, Weald of Kent Craft & Design Show, Penshurst Place, near Tonbridge. A chance to discover beautifully crafted British products, this is one of the most prestigious craft shows in the country will have something for all the family with 250 stands available to enjoy. 01425 277988, ichfevents.co.uk 9th - 10th April, Crafting at Ally Pally, Alexandra Palace, North London. The perfect opportunity to top up on craft supplies, spot the latest trends and learn new techniques. Featuring over 50 papercraft retailers, there’s also bundles of free craft demonstrations to watch throughout the weekend. 01536 481778, bssbs.co.uk
18th - 24th April, Bath in Fashion, Bath. Get inspired with a varied programme of craft and design-led talks, workshops, installations and a colourful yarn bomb displays. This year the RUH Forever Friends Cancer Care campaign has been chosen as the nominated charity to raise awareness for the appeal. bathinfashion.co.uk
Tanya Whelan collection, visit craftconsortium.co.uk
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People & Places
“Live TV is as close to crafting with fans in their homes as I can get”
ANNA GRIFFIN
to tell people I love being the one fty products cra use can y the w ho
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nyone craving their next fix of cardmaking and scrapbooking with legendary Anna Griffin is in for a real treat! Our queen of papercrafting is showcasing her myriad talents every week for The Craft Channel community. Here she tells us how the Cuttlebug, reality TV and her late grandmother Hallie have inspired her on her crafty quest.
Much of what I do is inspired by old-world things made new again: timelessness meets trend! I make sure everything we create for crafting goes together effortlessly, which I think really resonates with readers. They instantly relate to the style.
The Craft Channel gives me a chance to show the product and all its uses while providing tips, tricks and inspiration along the way. They are passionate about paper crafting just like me, so it’s a match made in heaven. Between decorating, antiques, collecting wine, watching reality TV and reading, my whole life is one big hobby! Embossing and die cutting with craft the Cuttlebug is my favourite so are lts resu The discipline. stunning, I get a ‘wow’ moment of every time I use it. I never tire er opening up an embossing fold ure text zing ama to reveal the inside! I love colouring, too; our new books make it so easy to sit back, craft and unwind. I also love my Cricut Explore Air and will be bringing it to The Craft Channel soon. It is e the ultimate machine for hom crafts. We have designed so much content for this machine in a style that will inspire people to host a party and decorate their homes.
I’ve been crafting most of my life; I started when I was seven years old. Every day after school, my mother had my sister and I doing every craft known to man at our kitchen table. DIY has always been a part of who I am. As I grew up in a family with artists on both sides, I think creativity was an inherent trait. My late grandmother Hallie was the most influential person for me, and I lived right next door to her so I didn’t have to go far for inspiration. She cooked without recipes, crafted without measuring, and taught me that I could do anything.
I always design products with the customer in mind: She loves floral imagery and beautiful colour palettes, and has a ‘more is more’ aesthetic. The quality of our products is second to none; you should never compromise on quality when buying paper crafting supplies. I like to make big, bold strokes and layer embellishments thoughtfully, so that when people receive a piece of mail it feels like a gift.
with fans Live TV is as close to crafting . I love get can I as es in their own hom ple peo tell to one the be to ing gett e wer ucts prod r about why particula them. use can they how and ted crea with TV: There is never a dull moment ! lous fabu and us furio , fast it’s
See Anna in action at thecraftchannel.tv, Sky 679, Freesat 818
When you’re having a good stamping, embossing or die-cutting session, do those techniques in multiples and save them for later projects. I love having a stash of beautifully stamped paper to use later. Prepare for bad crafting days, because they are like bad hair days – they just happen! Three things I would take with me to a desert island are my Cricut Explore, my Cuttlebug and my kitty Georgie. If I could design stationery for anyone in the world, it would have to be for one of my favourite designers, Jenna Lyons from J Crew. Wouldn’t that be fun? CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 31
Signed, sealed, delivered Words by Carolyn Kirkpatrick
Put pen to paper and celebrate the joy of stationery National Stationery Week is a great time to get back into handwriting messages to loved ones, using pretty cards and paper. It’s far more personal than an email and can be a lot of fun, too. We talk to author James Ward on his passion for pens, stationer Gemma Milly, who creates beautiful things, and Lucy Edmonds of Quill London, who are leading the way with calligraphy workshops. Plus, we give you the low-down on the latest products.
Lucy Edmonds knows a trend when she sees one, and Quill London is a trail blazer of modern calligraphy.
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launched Quill, an online boutique dedicated to style-led, stationery in 2012. I had always loved stationery and wanted to offer a place that celebrated high quality collections from independent brands. I noticed the popularity of modern calligraphy in the USA, via Pinterest and Instagram, but couldn’t find anywhere that taught it here in the UK. So I contacted one of our suppliers, Imogen Owen, with the idea of holding a workshop, and haven’t looked back! We were the first to offer modern calligraphy classes in London and I still can’t believe how popular it’s become.
I love that we started this crazy modern calligraphy trend here in the UK! It’s been great to meet all our enthusiastic beginners and see them really take it on as a hobby. It’s inspiring to see how people progress with it, I always feel very proud. I enjoy finding new collections and seeing them become successful. We were the first in the UK to carry Kate Spade stationery, and now it’s stocked all over the UK. Commemorating an occasion with a card or handwritten note, rather than an email or text, is a lovely tradition that should be preserved. I love looking back at cards I’ve been sent, and I’d hate for that to die out. Handwritten thank you notes for gifts and weekend stays shouldn’t be neglected either. It shows an appreciation that can’t be conveyed digitally. In our Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy workshop, we teach you all the basics, and by the end you’ll be writing words and phrases, while discovering and developing your own style. After a bit of practice, we offer some intermediate classes, where you can learn other skills such as using coloured inks, envelope writing and how to compose a finished piece. We also teach brush lettering and chalkboard-writing. To book a workshop visit quilllondon.com
“I love that we started this crazy modern calligraphy trend here in the UK!”
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Gemma Milly is a talented stationer who turned her passion for paper into a successful business.
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y parents bought me my first calligraphy pen when I was about ten years old and I was instantly hooked. I remember praticising my letters for hours in my bedroom. I’ve always had a love of beautiful lettering, but it is only recently that traditional crafts like calligraphy have become fashionable again, so I feel very lucky that it’s something that I’ve been doing for around 25 years now. I’ve always been surrounded by creativity. My grandfather and my dad are both pretty good artists, although my mum always jokes that she can only draw stick people. She says that I was pretty much born with a pack of crayons in my hand. Some of my best memories are of early morning drawing with my daddy before he went to work.
“There’s something so wonderful about receiving a handwritten letter or card in the post”
Calligraphy by nature is a very slow and considered art form, you can’t rush it, and I think this thoughtfulness goes hand -in-hand with a good old-fashioned card.
I use an oblique dip pen as I love to write on an extreme angle! I generally use a Gillott or Hunt nib as they are nice and flexible which gives that lovely thickthin appearance of calligraphy. Layout paper is actually a great surface to write I design wedding stationery because I on, its really smooth so the nib glides love being part of one of the most special easily, and doesn’t cost a fortune days in a couple’s life. Creating beautiful if I mess up! stationery that they can keep forever and reminds them of that special day gives I recently relocated to Dorset, me a huge sense of joy. I’ve been in the so I’m planning some summer design industry for 12 years, and started workshops by the sea. my business five years ago. My vision They’re usually a was simple; to put the soul back into the pretty indulgent design process and create paper goods affair, with that say more than words ever could homebaked treats, about the magic of two people being a glass or two of joined together. fizz and some lovely I am unashamedly inspired by the natural world around me. My favourite thing is to paint loose, flowing watercolour flowers. Floral styling is such a big part of a wedding, it’s lovely to be able to bring this to life with the stationery too. I work on a bespoke basis with a lot of my clients, I’m often inspired by their story, and try to bring as much of this into my work as possible. There’s something so wonderful about receiving a handwritten letter or card in the post, especially in an age when everyone is glued to their smart phones.
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goodie bags to take
home with all the class materials. I’m taking a break from teaching at the moment though, as I have a six month old little girl, who keeps me more than busy! I take students through both traditional copperplate and modern calligraphy, we then practice those skills as well as looking at inks, pens, nibs and papers too. After three hours, you’ll have created a beautiful piece of stationery. Visit gemmamilly.co.uk to view her beautiful stationery
People & Places
Carolyn’s Top Picks l Fluorescent highlighter ink (which was discovered in 1930) comes in orange, red, green, purple and blue. But the pink and yellow varieties account for 85 per cent of all sales.
James Ward is co-founder of the UK Stationery Club and has a serious penchant for all things pen and paper
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e asked James to share his favourite facts and stories about stationery, and we were not disappointed!
l Rubbers have been used since about 1770 and before that the preferred method for removing pencil lines was to use stale bread. Draughtsmen and artists got very tired of being chased by ducks.
Simply a few of my favourite things
l In the Second World War, members of the Norwegian resistance used to wear paper clips on their lapels as a subtle sign that they were fighting Hitler. And finally, we had to know, what does James keep in his pencil case? A couple of Bic crystal ball point pens. I prefer black because it gives my words more authority. A blue highlighter, a bit unconventional, I know, and Post-it Notes. You can follow James’ blog at iamjamesward.com
Reader
Liberty love Add a touch of class with exquisite Liberty prints and designs. Priced £9.99 for a set of ten, razzledazzlerose.co.uk
Details
Read James Ward’s Adventures in Stationery: A Journey Through Your Pencil Case (£8.99, Profile Books) Packed with fascinating facts, it will change the way you look at your desk, pencil case or office stationery cupboard forever.
Get Involved
Celebrate national stationery week and pull out that pad and get writing
Finishing touches Try a personalised address stamp from Bloomfield and Rolfe. Priced from £18.50, bloomfieldandrolfe.com
Penmanship A good pen is essential and if you’re getting started with calligraphy, these are just the ticket! edding.com Write a letter to a friend or loved one
Treat yourself to a new pen or notebook, or both!
Practice your handwriting by trying out new fonts
nationalstationeryweek.com from 25th April - 1st May. Use the hashtags to find other people talking about it on social media! #writingmatters #lovestationery #natstatweek
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Handmade Home
Crafting for Kids
Decorate your child’s bedroom with Jecelyn Latimer’s picks
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hildren are wonderful, tiny human beings with seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm. They’re lucky to experience so many firsts, and with that comes changed interests. One minute they might love princesses, the next they’re fawning over astronauts. Making things to go in their room is a
lovely way of growing with them, plus there’s nothing quite like being around to watch their little faces light up when they receive a present, especially if you’ve made it yourself. I’m sure you also appreciate them decorating the floor with wrapping paper, too! CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 73
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