December designs from Claire

Continuing our offering of gorgeous designs from our December bumper kit, Claire B has put together these fab pages. She sent me one more layout this evening to add to her batch so if you checked us out earlier you'll notice something new! Grab a wintry 6" x 4" portrait photo and you are ready to start creating this page! Claire has used her sewing machine to add texture to this design (or you could handstitch if you are feeling brave!) but you could very easily use a faux stitching effect created with a white pen and paper pricking tool - same effect with less stress if sewing isn't your thing! A decorative corner punch will add a fun finish and you'll also need some bobble trim, brads and adhesive letters for your title.

This lovely Christmas page uses a single 7" x 5" landscape photo and a fab technique using a decorative corner punch to create a circular frame to draw the eye in. You just need to add some bling and you are good to go!

Claire makes great use of a decorative edge punch set to create a seasonal themed page with a single 6" x 4" portrait photo accented with hand cut holly leaves and berries.

We couldn't help but laugh at the title of this double page layout - anyone with cats will completely get this, Christmas trees are like a theme park for cats! Claire used four 6" x 4" photos which she overlapped to create a great flow across the design - two landscape photos and two portrait. She created a gorgeous stitched border around the left and bottom of the page and her instructions include a template if you want to do the same. Just add a needle and embroidery floss and some blingage and you are ready to create this one!

We can't wait to see what else is coming from this gorgeous kit - thank you Claire!!

December designs

For December we are doing something a little different with the kits - one bumper kit that contains lots and lots of co-ordinating products that can be used for both Winter and Christmas photos! But the difference doesn't end there...we have given the kit to three different designers and asked them to create whatever they wanted. The idea is that there will be a lot of different layouts for everyone to choose from and we will be sending out the instructions for ALL of them - our Christmas present to you!
The first batch of designs come from Tracey and I'm sure you'll agree that they are absolutely gorgeous!!


This first design uses two 6" x 4" photos in a wintry theme, one landscape and one portrait. You'll need a wet adhesive, 3d foam pads, some crystals and adhesive letters for the title.



This second single page layout features two 6" x 4" portait photos with a 'Santa' theme. You'll need a 1" circle punch, a dark brown inkpad, a scrap of ric-rac and adhesive letters for your title.



Tracey's double page design uses four 6" x 4" Christmas themed photos, two landscape and two portrait. To complete this design you will need a dark brown inkpad, adhesive crystals, stickles in assorted colours, 3d foam pads and adhesive letters for your title.

Tracey added a sheet of red cardstock to her kit pack and had enough leftovers to make this additional single page design featuring two 6" x 4" portrait photos. You will need a paper pricker, embroidery floss and needle, buttons, flower punch and adhesive letters for your title.

Tracey has provided a couple of templates for those who want to recreate her designs - and who wouldn't, they are gorgeous!

The kit contains: 5 sheets of cardstock, 9 sheets of double sided patterned paper, 12x12 sheet of die-cuts, a whole pack of adhesive chipboard (4 sheets of shapes), silver glitter, silver grey ribbon, red ribbon.

Spare crop class kits now on sale!

We are all on the mend now and so have managed to get the spare crop class kits up onto the shop today. We don't have all of the classes available and there aren't a load of the ones that we do have. The classes can be purchased at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk under 'Kits & Subscriptions' and remember that kit subscribers can get the kits with free P&P.

Wiped out!

First of all, apologies for not posting for a few days but the crop day really took its toll on us and its taken a while to recover! We had an amazing day with a full house of fab scrapbookers last Saturday, it was crazy busy (as usual) and loads of fun. The classes for this time around were incredibly popular and so we restocked a few of them so we could offer more kits - this meant that the classroom got rammed full for a couple of classes, not ideal I know! Running on adrenaline for the past week has meant that we have been dropping like flies since the weekend with colds and chest infections, Total Papercrafts has looked more like an episode of 'Casualty' this week!!
We are all on the mend now and should be back to full working order next week. Once we are back to work, the extra kits from the crop day should go on sale online. There are only a few and not all classes will be offered but we have been inundated with requests for these kits so if you're interested keep your eyes peeled!
Subscription kits update - we are STILL waiting for product from Prima to arrive for the November kits. We have chased the order and it is with Prima but we are waiting for it to be shipped to our UK distributor. We have been promised that it will be chased up and we are following up every couple of days.

The crop timetable.....

Here we go with the timetable for the crop on Saturday.....

10am A Year of Celebrations
11am Scrapbook Jewellery
12.45pm Lost Property
1.45pm Little Black Dress
2.45pm Family Comes First
4.15pm Sowing the Seeds
5.15pm Heroes & Heraldry
6.15pm Away with the Fairies

There are breaks for lunch and refreshments thrown in for good measure!

The address for the venue (for those of you who need it for your satnav) is Meopham Village Hall, Wrotham Road, Meopham, Kent DA13 0AT and we will have a sign outside complete with green and brown balloons to help you find us!

We think that is all, but if you urgently need to contact us then it will be best to give us a call on 01702 535696 as things are so busy its unlikely we'll get to our email for the next couple of days!! See you there!!

Crop news....

We thought we'd let everyone know that we have been able to get more kits in for quite a few of the classes on Saturday. We sold out of the classes so quickly that we didn't want people to be disappointed and while we won't have quite enough for everyone to have everything, we certainly have a few more! Its great that the classes have been so popular but it also creates a few headaches, LOL!!
We won't release the additional kits online, they will be available on the day if you are interested. Just speak to Pauline in the shop and she will be able to let you know the situation regarding what is available.

Scrapbook Jewellery class peek......

Scrapbook Jewellery

You'll create up to five different embellishments for your scrapbook pages, albums or mini books in this class with lots of product left over to play with on your own! You'll be provided with everything you need to create this beaded gorgeousness including pliers, beads, charms, wires, elastic cord and oodles more. You won't need to bring along anything else although a second set of long nosed pliers will make your life a little easier. No photos needed, no inks, chalks, paints or anything else - just a little patience!!

More class peaks......

We've been busy over the weekend packing kits and printing instructions, its a great feeling to be prepped and ready to go nice and early. Here are the remaining peeks for the classes.....


A Year of Celebrations peek

If you like clever pages then Claire F has produced something gorgeous for you in this class that documents an entire year of memories! You will need a 4" x 2" landscape photo - Claire cut hers down from a 6" x 4" photo and up to tweleve further small photos which can be 6" x 4" that you can crop.
You will need a black inkpad, scorer or bone folder, single hole punch and Claire suggests tweezers to handle the tiny alphabet stickers in this kit!

Family comes First peek

Claire F produces fab pages in her distinctive clean style but always with a little twist, this time she has a cute hidden space for loads of additional photos! The layout uses a 6" x 4" portrait photo and up to 8 further 4" x 4" photos. The theme of the class is 'Home' but any photos in the family or home theme would work.

You will also need to bring along a dark brown inkpad, a pricking tool, an embroidery needle (some will be available in class) and double sided tape.

Lost Property peek

Claire B is a master of vintage layouts and she has once again come up trumps with this class using MME Lost & Found papers. The theme of the page is 'You are such a handsome young man' so this would be great for any masculine photo - not necessarily a vintage one. The sample page uses a 6" x 4" landscape photo.

You will also need a Creamy Brown inkpad, a single medium brad (a jewel one would look gorgeous), needle and white thread and 3d foam pads.

Crop class peeks

As promised, here are the first of the sneak peeks at the class projects for our crop day this coming Saturday. We have listed the photo sizes together with a list of the tools and materials you will need to complete the sample design.

Please note that it is important that if you're going to bring photos to use on the class pages that you bring the recommended size, number and orientation as we don't have enough time in the 1 hour classes to redesign around different photos. It isn't essential that you have your photos as most can be added after the classes so please don't panic about this aspect!

Sowing the Seeds peek

Claire B has designed a gorgeous page which holds hidden secrets - its so ingenious!!! The theme of the class is 'You and Me' and is pretty set (unless you have a fab title in mind using huge monogram letters 'Y' and 'M'!) so you will need photos that will work with that theme. You will need a 6" x 4" portrait photo where the main focal point is on the right of the shot and a 6" x 4" landscape picture with the focal point on the left. This is quite important and some parts of your photos will be obscured by the design features of this class (check out the peek above and you'll see what we mean).

You will also need to pack a scorer or bone folder, lavender metallic rub-on cream or a lavender ink pad and some strong narrow double sided tape.

Little Black Dress peek

Grab yourself three 3" x 4" portrait photos in black & white or colour with a good strong subject for this class which features a great technique using a decorative corner punch.

You'll need to bring along a black inkpad, a decorative corner punch (the sample uses a Martha Stewart corner punch and some will be available in the class to borrow), a spritz bottle and optional metallic rub-on creams and small flower punch.

PS...be prepared to leave with a fine layer of glitter over you!

Heroes & Heraldry peek

This class would be perfect for photos of the men in your life but the theme is not particularly masculine and it would also work really well with photos of nature or in a natural setting. You will need two 6" x 4" landscape photos or a single larger 7" x 5" or 8" x 6" portrait photo.



You will also need to bring along a brown inkpad (the sample uses Colorbox in Dark Brown), scissors or an edge distressing tool, a needle and neutral thread (beige, cream or pale green will be fine) 1.5" circle punch (will be available to use in class), a single hole punch and two large eyelets (optional).




Away with the Fairies peek

As promised, this floral themed class is not sickly sweet and neither does it feature fairies! Instead it is atmospheric, picking out the deep purples and browns in the papers. You will have the opportunity to learn how to create your own flower vines and dimensional flowers - a great money saver!

The sample uses a single 6" x 4" landscape photo - this page has a lot of good stuff going on so the photo should ideally have a strong focal point and there's really only space for one!

You will need brown, green and maroon inkpads (the sample uses Colorbox Dark Brown, Olive Pastel and Maroon), scissors or an edge distressing tool, a fine brown pen, Fiskars Threading Water punch or scallop edge punch and single hole punch (will be available to use in the class), paper pricker.

Kit 2 for November

Our second kit for this month has a combination of cool techniques in it including a fab Prima iron-on and using super trendy zipper trim! The natural greens and browns of the kit are given a lift by a touch of pale yellow and the papers will go with all sorts of different photo themes particularly nature and the men in our lives.

The sample uses two portrait photos, one 6" x 4" and one 4" x 3" although you could easily accomodate two 6" x 4" portrait shots or one very large pic.

The kit includes cardstock, 3 patterned papers, a Prima iron-on, a length of zipper trim and a length of ribbon. To complete the sample design you will need to use a border punch, brown inkpad (sample uses Colorbox Dark Brown), a 1" circle punch, 3d foam pads and some buttons, brads or bling for the flower centres.

Sold out!!

Wow, the class release tonight went so fast it took our breath away - 9 seconds and the class had sold out!! Thats all of the classes now and next up will be the sneak peeks of the finished projects together with the photo details and lists of tools and materials. They should start going up early next week so keep checking in here for the info!

The last crop class is here!

The last of the crop classes has been delivered and Claire F has been designing her socks off over the weekend to bring you something gorgeous! Fancy taking a peek......??

A Year of Celebration
Claire had her eye on this brand new line from Glitz and had us pre-order her class kits for her to be sure that we could bring you these gorgeous products! The kit is crammed full of goodies in tones of green, turquoise and black - all yummy and drool-worthy!
The kit contains: cardstock, 3 sheets of double sided patterned paper, 12x6 pack of cardstock embellishment stickers, 6x6 pack of teeny alpha stickers and a whole pack of 'What Not' cards!!

The kit goes on sale at www.totalpapercrafts.co.uk tomorrow evening at 8pm. The last classes sold out in minutes so if you would like this class then you will need to be prompt.

Unfortunately these classes can only be purchased by those who are booked onto our sell-out crop day on Saturday 20th November.

Kit 1 for November

Our first kit for November has masses of space for photos, in fact way more than first meets the eye - check out the mini book on the page made of 5 mini envelopes that each have space for more photos and journaling. In total the sample page uses five 6" x 4" photos and a further five 3" x 4" pics. The mini photos are all portrait and the page uses three landscape and two portrait 6" x 4" photos.
The warm terracotta, creams and browns of this kit are perfect for this time of year as the leaves turn and we get bundled up but will work really well with all sorts of different themes of photos.
We have included three rolls of patterned paper tape with this kit and had loads of fun playing with it and finding fun ways to use it on the page. The main technique is to create the gorgeous braided border that runs across the design but there is also a fun ruffled flower and even the mini book uses the tapes in a couple of ways!

The kit includes: cardstock, 3 double sided patterned papers, a sheet of corrugated card, 5 mini envelopes, a mini tag and three rolls of co-ordinating adhesive patterned paper tape.

You'll need a creamy brown inkpad (sample used Colorbox Creamy Brown), a short piece of ribbon to tie around the mini book (optional), a few buttons for the flower centres and letter stickers or die-cut cardstock for the title. Note - the sample also uses a few decorative shaped buttons (the bird and small flowers).