A brief history of weird and wonderful Victorian Christmas Cards

From puddings, to a lobster snipping at a child, cats doing acrobatics and a dog postman with human hands – explore the wide selection of (sometimes unexpected) Victorian Christmas cards in the V&A's collection!

Join the V&A as curators Alice Power and Sarah Beattie take a look at cards from our Prints collection to reveal weird and wonderful tastes from the Victorian era. In a period of great change and innovation, Victorian card companies didn't hold back on trying new ideas, resulting in everything from the now familiar image of Father Christmas and robins, to talking vegetables, fighting kittens – and even clowns!

Little Kat Make Tutorial, painting embossed leaves.

 

Welcome to the first of hopefully many more little 'Kat Make' tutorials by yours truly.

My first one is how to make these pretty oak leaves which are perfect for decorating cards, tags and for use in mixed media crafts. 

These particular leaves are made from metallic cardstock using Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing folder by Tim Holtz. This embossing folder, though not available via Sizzix main website, is still available from various craft shops and via Ebay so it's worth seeing if you can purchase one. If not this technique will work well with any 2D or 3D embossing folders or embossed die cut leaf shapes. 

Firstly gather your supplies I am using acrylic paints, a roller( brayer) a sponge and my cut and embossed leaf shapes. I cut mine from Tim Holtz Idea-ology gold cardstock as I wanted a golden glimmer of gold in my leaves. 

You will also need an ink pad, in a dark colour, and a damp cloth or babywipe. I also recommend working on a sheet of water colour or mixed media card stock, explanation coming up! 😁 

Lets get crafting!

Using your sponge generously add the darker colour of your chosen paint to all of your leaves. I have chosen a lovely dark green. Work it into all the details, at this stage it does look a bit of a mess but that means you are doing it correctly! 😊 Then just before it dries gently wipe away most of the paint using a damp cloth or babywipe this will leave dark areas of paint which adds beautiful shading and depth to your embossing. 

Now the added bonus of having paper underneath your leaves! Wipe the paint that is on your damp cloth or babywipe onto your cardstock sheet. You can continue to add paint to your sheet as you work on this project. Once your sheet is covered you will have the bonus of a beautiful piece of hand painted cardstock perfect for using as a background for a card, tag making or for die cutting. So hardly any paint is wasted! 

Showing shading after just one application of paint.

Now repeat the same process using a lighter shade of paint, I used a lighter shade of green. This time however the colour is left on so this time apply it thinly and more gently.  You want to see some of the darker areas and the base colour of your cardstock. 

Now leave your project to thoroughly dry. 

Now taking your sponge gently stipple a little light covering of white or light coloured acrylic paint. I highly recommend adding a little at a time. You just want to add some highlights to make your leave or project looks as if its caught in sunlight. The sponge gives it a more textual appearance. 

Once you are happy with your leaf colours the final part is to add some definition to the fine details of the leaves. You achieve this by gently rolling ink across your leaves using your roller ( brayer). I inked the whole roller first making sure it has a even coverage then very gently rolled it up the leaf and then again very gently across. This added definition to the veins and edges. A little tip if you are a little heavy handed and applied too much ink leave your project to thoroughly dry and then roll over some white paint. Leave to dry and roll over again with ink. 

Leave to thoroughly dry.

Your leaves are now ready for use. If you have no current plans then just make batches of them and keep them by for a rainy day crafting session. You can create all sorts of leaves try doing them in rusts for Autumn or doing glittery ones for Winter even neon ones! Use the same process to create differing looks. 

Happy Crafting! 

Leaves once inked.

Finished leaves all ready for upcoming projects. 

Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it inspires you to have a go. 

I hope to do another 'Kat Make' tutorial here soon.

Remember you can keep in touch with me via my Instagram page. 

If you have an questions or any craft related suggestions please get in touch 

My Instagram link 

https://www.instagram.com/witchkraftingwithkat

Back soon, Kat 😊🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿

Happy Easterween!

Happy Easterween! Frankenbunnie Art Card created by me from assorted die cut shapes (Bunny is from Sizzix Tim Holtz) on a ATC(Artist Trading Card) made from recycled cardboard. Additional details by Posca pens 
 

Artist Cards by Kat Hazelton.

Some of my Artist Cards. 
Made from ATC size card shapes.

My Artist Cards (AT's formally Artist Trading Cards or ATC's)

I have been making ATC's for quite a few years. Though mine were not really made for trading, though I have given some to friends, so really they are Artist Cards or Art Cards. I didn't even know of the ATC community until more recently having spent most of my life busy doing other things the world of ATC's was definitely not on my radar! 

My introduction to ATC's started many years ago when I came across a pack of watercolour ATC's by accident. I was in an art shop in York looking for small canvas or an art book. I live in a small house so I don't have the space to store a great deal so was looking at doing some art in a smaller scale. Looking at watercolour paper I spotted a little pack of small water colour cards, the size of playing cards, 2.5 x 3.5 which were very reasonably priced. Thinking it was a fun way to make some miniature art I bought a few packs plus my water colour paints and thats how I started.

Over the years I have used my ATC size Art Cards for toppers in card making, for tags, in scrapbooking and junk journalling. They look nice in frames and make lovely gifts. They work well for making paint samples, for trying out mixed media pastes, for collage and for making mixed media projects, especially ones made on MDF ATC'S. It's a lovely way to tinker with new ideas without using too product something which is quite important when working on a budget. 

Artist trading card by M. Vänçi Stirnemann

History of Trading ATC's. 

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) began as a conceptual art project by Swiss artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann in 1997. Inspired by sports trading cards such as Hockey, baseball and playing cards which traditionally are 2.5 by 3.5 inches in size. 

In 1996, Stirnemann began making small artworks the size of commercial trading cards and exhibited 1200 of his cards in 1997 in his second-hand bookshop and gallery in Zürich, Switzerland.

When the exhibition ended he organised a trading session. 

The ATC project was born, people would create pieces of art from various medias and offer them as swaps with other like minded ATC makers. Putting details on the back such as when the piece of work was created, the name of the artist. Selling or buying ATCs was not part of this idea though with some ATC online groups sometimes some small amount of money was exchanged to help the artist with postage costs. 

From Artist Trading Cards to Artist Cards, from ATC's to AC's. 

Because ATC's are a fun and cheap way to create small master pieces art, crafter and artists started using the base of ATC to create small art projects for selling. These lovely creations look beautiful displayed in an ornate frame or sold as Collectors Cards with limited editions fetching a higher dollar!

Because they have become popular within the crafting community over time ATC's, which used be cut by hand, are now available to buy pre cut from card, water colour cardstock and even MDF. You can also purchase dies to cut your own ATC shapes. 

Coming soon tutorial on how to create your own Artist Card or Artist Trading card and how to decorate it. 

One of my Art Cards made on a MDF ATC. This incorporates use of pastes, die cut paper shapes, embossing techniques and charms. 

Thank you for reading my post more coming soon. 

Happy crafting, Kat 

Kastle Kelm Miniatures and Diddly Squat!

 

Photos courtesy of Kastle Kelm Miniatures 
Copyright ©️ Kastle Kelm Miniatures 

Kastle Kelm Miniatures

As promised my new blog page is not just about my crafting but those I love and admire. Today I thought it would be nice to feature my dear friends Mike and Jenny Kelm of Kastle Kelm Miniatures who I have known for many years both as a customer and as a friend.

Jenny Kelm makes the most wonderful range of miniature character dolls. All painstakingly hand sculpted, painted and clothed in a wide variety of fabrics. Each doll is unique and full of character and fine details. 

Created from both her own imagination and characters inspired from books, TV and Films she has created a wide range of miniature people including wrinkled Witches, wise beared Wizards, teeny tiny pixies, flamboyant fairies, salty Sea Captains, jam making grannies and just recently she has created the much beloved cast of Diddly Squat Farm! 

Photos courtesy of Kastle Kelm Miniatures 
Copyright ©️ Kastle Kelm Miniatures

But this is not all Jenny and her husband Mike make on their stall you will find miniature mushrooms, plants, spell books, candles and an amazing range of bottled items including miniature jams and magical potions! 

Jenny's husband Mike, who has a rather impressive background having worked in the film industry for many years, also produces a wide range of miniature furniture, Gothic and steampunk themed miniature props. Each piece highly detailed and showing the skills he has built over the years working for block busting movies. 

You can meet Jenny and Mike plus their cast of characters at Miniatura. They attend both the Spring and Autumn Miniatura fairs. 

The next Miniatura fair will be on the 13th & 14th of September 2025. 

Please visit Miniatura's website for full details including travel information and ticket prices. 

https://miniatura.co.uk/

If you cannot visit them at Miniatura don't panic you can also purchase Jenny and Mike's work via their Etsy shop. 

Kastle Kelm Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KastleKelmMiniatures

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope to post more interesting craft stuff here soon. 

Until then happy crafting. Kat 😊

Making Gift Tags by Kat Hazelton

Hi everyone, well whilst I work on some new tutorials and articles to post here on my new blog I thought it would be nice to share with you some of my older postings which were originally posted on Krafting with Kat blog page. Enjoy! 😊 

Tags are great not only for putting on gifts but are now regarded as pieces of artwork in their own right.
They make beautiful hanging decorations, card front and additions to scrapbooks.

Making a gift tag

What you will need. 

Cardboard, if possible from recycled packaging.

Scissors, pencil, glue and an awl

Tag Die Cutter (optional)

Paints (optional) if not paints you will need fabrics or papers.

Assortment of paper, charms, die cuts.

Metallic pen (optional)

Ribbon/string.  

This is a really simple gift tag tutorial using cardboard from recycled packaging. I used the cardboard from Amazon packaging, you can use any cardboard for tag making but it's a great way to be more environmentally friendly and it's cheaper too!

I used a die cutter and my Sizzix machine to cut my basic tag shapes but if you don't have these you can draw a tag shape using pencil and a ruler and then cutting out with scissors. My Sizzix die cutter produces a ready made hole for threading string or ribbon but you can easily add a hole with an awl. I actually ended up using an awl as my cardboard was a little fibreous! Obviously please make sure an adult does this if making with children. 

Paint or paper your tag. 

Before you add all your pretty decorations your tag needs a background. The easiest way is to paint your tag simply with smooth layer of acrylic paint or Gesso. Matt paint looks particularly lovely on a tag. 

If you want something maybe more colourful or indeed more lavish you can use tissue paper, foil, patterned paper, wall paper samples, you can even cover them with fabrics. Just cut to size and glue on. You can even add strips of paper or a mixture of both paper and fabrics. 

One you have painted, papered or fabricated your tag then it's time to have fun adding some decorations. 

I have glued on die cut shapes made from black and red cardstock. You can glue on shapes cut out from magazines, newspapers, old gift cards or you can even use stickers. 

Finishing touches

To add a little more depth to my die cut shapes I edged them with a gold pen. 

You could add charms, beads and buttons! The joy of tag making is they can be beautifully simple or a mixed media masterpiece worthy of framing and displaying for all to see! 

To finish your tag thread through the hole a length of string or a pretty ribbon. Your tag is now ready to use. 

Uses of tags!

You can of course use tags for their traditional use to decorate parcels or to tie around a bouquet of flowers to send someone a lovely message especially great for Birthdays, Anniversaries and at Christmas and Easter. But you can also use tags in scrapbooks, junk journals, as ornaments, you can snip the top off and glue them onto cards.  

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it maybe inspires you to have a go. I shall be posting more tutorials and crafting ideas soon! 

Until then happy crafting! Kat 😊

Welcome to my new blog.

Inked background papers 
Made from stencils and Tim Holtz Distress inks. 

Welcome to my new blog and home for my love of the arts and crafts. My name is Katherine Hazelton known to my friends and internet followers as 'Kat'. I have been crafting all my life both professionally and as a very enthusiastic hobbiest. Like most crafters I have done many different crafts over my life time and will probably do many more, time and money allowing! 😆 I have been sharing some of my crafts on my Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/witchkraftingwithkat but feel it's time to put all of my 'Kat makes' on it's own platform and under my own name. So here I am!

On this blog my plan is to share both my own work, including free tutorials, but also what interests me, other crafters, artist, craft ideas, tutorials, and suppliers. Plus a bit of history on the world of art and crafts. Basically a digital scrapbook of my interests and my work. The hope is in doing so it might interest and inspire some of you. 

I shall be working on this blog over the coming weeks with breaks to eat Easter eggs! So please bare with me whilst I sort out the bugs and gremlins! 😆 But once fully up and running I will be posting on a weekly basis to hopefully educate, inspire and encourage you all to get a bit crafty! ☺️

Back soon. 

Until then 'happy crafting', Kat ☺️