1st club kit for this month

For our first kit in July we'll be using the brand new wedding line from K&Co - and lots of it! I'm a big fan of black & white as it so obviously versatile, just because this is called the wedding line, don't go digging out your wedding albums as these papers will work with just about anything. You pick the theme with your title which is cut from cardstock (or you could dig out some letter stickers from your stash to save yourself time).

The kit contains 3 sheets of cardstock, 8 sheets of patterned paper (yes, thats right I said eight!!), 14 grand adhesions stickers (3d and glittered - yummy!), 128 clearly yours alphabet stickers, 13 die-cut stickers, 33 die-cut shapes, templates and full step-by-step instructions for the sample page. All that for £6!!

You will need to bring along two 6" x 4" photos - landscape or portrait will both work well, some 3d foam pads and a black or charcoal inkpad.

I'm sure you will agree that this kit is amazing value for money and I still have tons of my kit left, plenty for one or two more pages which makes it even more of a bargain!

As our kits are regularly selling out each month, be sure to reserve your club kit with me as soon as possible to avoid missing out (for the Kent girls - Pauline is on holiday so you'll need to email me this time!).

I'll see the Essex girls this Wednesday and the Kent girls next week, take care, Karen :o)

Announcing the launch of our Essex club!

I know that the launch of our Essex club has been keenly awaited by quite a few people and I am excited to be able to announce the details! Our first club will be held on Wednesday 2nd July 2008 at The Community Centre, The Old School, High Street, Great Wakering.

We have a great space at the Community Centre with the option to move to a bigger hall if we need it. There is a car park with masses of space and its all on one level which makes the venue fully accessible - it has everything we need!

I am working on the design for our first meeting and should be able to post it here over the next day or so. I will also be bringing the shop along so you'll be able to pick up a few essentials (and not so essentials!!) each time.

The subscription will be £3 and the kits are usually around £6 each but may vary according to the contents. If you would like to book a place and reserve your kit please email karen@totalpapercrafts.co.uk

I look forward to seeing you there!

Karen :o)

Kit for club this week

For our second club kit this month we are using Daisy ds products - and loads of them!! As well as cardstock, the kit includes an 8x8 pad of 24 double-sided patterned papers, a whole box of daisy ds buttons, a whole box of daisy ds buttons, a whole pack of six spools of daisy ds ribbons, templates and full instructions!

There was so much in the kit that I could have gone on and on creating pages but there's a limit to what we can actually get done in one evening so I'll leave the rest for you to play with later. I decided to create two completely different looks with the papers in the pad - one soft and pastel, the other stronger. The pad in the kit is a real mix of colours and designs which means that there's sure to be something for just about everyone.

I've ordered extra of this kit as it is such great value so if you can't make it to our club but would like a kit just post here on the blog and email me at sales@totalpapercrafts.co.uk - first come, first served as usual!

See you on Wednesday! K :o)

Putting my feet up!

I had such a fab time at the crop yesterday - it was lovely to see a mix of regulars and new faces there and yet again we had a sell-out. I loved the mix of classes that we had this time around, there was something for everyone and some had everything! The bonus 'Make & Take' class over lunchtime went down a storm although I have to admit to suffering a little from bolting my chicken salad in the 10 mins I had between classes!

My favourite class of the day was the Pageframe and my sample is back up on the wall at home already. Those of you who did the class will see why I encouraged you to stay to the end of the day rather than take the kit - it was a challenge just to find all of the gorgeous twiddly bits I used on the die-cut sheet!! We could have sold this class twice over on the day - so many people wanted it when they saw the sample on display and much was the same for all of the classes to be honest, all of the classes sold out in minutes and we sold out of all but one of the extra class kits we got in!

We are now taking bookings for our next Kent crop which will be on Saturday 11th October 2008 at Meopham Village Hall, Wrotham Rd, Meopham, Kent DA13 0AT. You can book your place online through the shop at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk under 'Crops & Classes'. We have even more fabulous classes planned and the first one is due to be released next week.

Thank you to everyone who came to the crop and for making my work so much fun! A HUGE thank you to Pauline who held everything together for me while I was in class and special thanks to Dave who was my handsome classroom assistant all day - I love you both but in different ways of course! LOL!!!

I'm making the most of the rest of my day off by putting my feet up and having a cuppa - I have a date with Big Brother! Take care :o)

Sneak peeks for tomorrow's crop

Here we go with the sneak peeks........

Delish Designs class


For the Delish class you'll need two 6"x4" portrait photos in black & white - or you could use one large picture if you prefer. You'll beed to bring some black brads and a black inkpad (a really juicy one!) for the class. Make sure your basic toolkit contains some double-sided tape and 3d foam pads as it will make your life a heck of a lot easier!

Loverly class


For this one I used two 6"x4" landscape photos - there's no real theme here as you create your own title from the alphabet stickers provided in the kit. Pop a creamy brown inkpad and some 3d foam pads in your bag together with a few brown brads and you'll be all set.

Nellie's Garden class


This class is unshamedly girlie so you'll need to look out four 3"x4" landscape photos that will work with a pink/green/white colour scheme. You could substitue two 6"x4" portrait photos for this one if you prefer. A moss green inkpad and some cream, white or pink brads are all you need as far as tools go.

Coco collection class

Grab two 6"x4" landscape photos that will work with a blue/cream/brown colour scheme and you're good to go! As for tools, you will need a sharp craft knife and cutting mat, 3d foam pads and a dark brown inkpad.

Daisy ds class


In this class you'll make at least two 12x12 layouts with the masses of product that is in this fabulous kit! I used one 7"x5" portrait photo for the first page and a 7"x5" landscape that was printed in sepia for the second. Bring along a couple of extra pics because you will have more than enough left over to do more! Add double-sided tape, 3d foam pads and a dark brown inkad to your toolkit - plus small sharp scissors as one layout needs a fair bit of intricate cutting (sorry!! LOL!!).


Starbright class

Try to find a couple of bright, colourful photos for this class, either two 6"x4" portraits or one large 6"x8" landscape. There's no particular theme as you can cut your own title to match your pictures but happy, joyful photos woud work best with the fun primary colours of these papers. You'll also need 3d foam pads and either a red or green inkpad and a hadful of small brads.

Sweet Branch class

A 7"x5" landscape photo is all thats needed for this class - in fact it'll be perfect for any of those 1970's pics you have hanging around as the paper colours seem to be an exact match for the faded, slightly orangey cast of photos from this era! Don't stress out trying to find one though as the pastel shades of this kit will match almost anything. Make sure you have plenty of 3d foam pads and a creamy brown inkpad.

Pageframe class


This is still one of my favs - the finished effect is just stunning and I've already picked out the spot where I'm going to hang mine! You'll need a 6"x4" portrait photo where the subjects is near the top of the frame. The theme is 'Love' so a pic of anyone or anything you love would be best - I used a family photo. You'll need a dark brown inkpad and lots of 3d foam pads (don't say I didn't warn you!).


I hope that this helps you prepare for tomorrow and I'll see you from 10am onwards. I have a bonus class running in the middle of the day for only £2.50 - you will only be able to book it once you get there so it will be first come, first served! Take care and we'll see you in the morning, Karen :o)

Last crop class on sale tonight!

I'd almost lost hope of being able to release this last class for the crop on Saturday as the ribbons had to be specially ordered and took forever. Talk about cutting it fine - they arrived today! This is a stunning kit though, my favourite colours of blue, brown and cream using papers from the Webster's Pages 'Coco Collection'. We also have co-ordinating alphabet stickers and embellishment stickers together with a whole pack of flowers and a whole pack of six different ribbons that are strokably fab!!

Although this is the last class to be released, its not the last class of the day - this one is at 1.15pm so prime time for everyone at the crop. You will need to be fast to grab your place if the other seven classes are anything to go by - we're talking single figures of minutes!! The class is on the site now but I don't know for how much longer.....

I'll let you know page themes and photo sizes sometime tomorrow (fingers crossed) after we get back from Costco.

Last but by no means least - a very happy birthday today to my VERY glamorous assistant Pauline!! Enjoy your day hun, love you millions!! XXXXXXXX

Club kit for next week

With club next week and our crop in just under 3 weeks, I'm getting crazy busy at the moment. This will be our club kit for next Wednesday and I really love the finished result (I'm not sure those of whom are going to be doing it will be fond of me at the end of the evening as there's a load of scissor and craft knife work here!! LOL!!). Almost everything in our kit is from Prima and we've stuffed loads of bits in there! Rather than painting onto the Paintable that is in the kit, we are colouring it with a brushable pen and also adding colour with chalks (I used my shimmers and the finished effect is really pretty).

The finished page is transparent and looks gorgeous in a Pageframe or a stand to highlight the layers.

The kit contains a 12x12 acetate sheet, a 12x12 Prima Paintable, a double ended Brushable colour pen, a die-cut felt embellishment, some Prima flowers and cardstock. You'll just need to add brads or bling to the centres of the flowers, some chalk and 3d foam pads. I have a feeling that this kit will be really popular so please be sure to book your place at club! If you would like to go onto the list for any spares then please post here on the blog and back it up with an email to sales@totalpapercrafts.co.uk - first come, first served!

Take care, K :o)