Dracula's arrival at Whitby!

 

I have spent many Holidays and many Halloween's at Whitby enjoying the beautiful scenery, exploring the lanes that twist and turn like a maze. Eating fish and chips by the harbour with the backdrop of the St Mary's Church and the haunted ruins of Whitby Abbey, which overlooks the whole town.

The town and surrounding areas are steeped in history and due to its wild moors near by the scenery is very atmospheric. It's no surprise that it has and still does inspire artist, poets and writers. Bram Stoker, who arrived in Whitby in July 1890, was himself greatly inspired by his visit to this wonderful wild location. He spent many days exploring Whitby, including its library where by chance he came across a book that contained a history of Vlad Tepes also known as Dracula 'son of the dragon'. So with the haunting background of the bat filled Abbey, the weather worn graveyard of St Mary's Church and that book found in the library it's no surprise that Bram was inspired to write one of the best Gothic masterpieces ever written.... 'Dracula'!

To make your own version you will need MDF or die cut shapes, paint, inks, glue, cars, pages from Dracula or photocopies, glitter, crackle gel and texture paste.

🦇 Dracula's Castle🦇

I painted all my shapes firstly with matt black paint then added paints, texture pastes and glitter. 

To give me an idea of where the arched Gothic Window would go I painted that area grey. 

To create a 'Whitby moon' I painted card circles with inks and added crackle gel. Once dry and crackled I added some glitter to add some sparkle. I did a batch of these as they make great moons for cards or tags. 

To create a background behind the window I used pages from an actual book of Dracula. This was a modern book which I found in a charity shop. It has seen better days and already had pages missing. I would highly recommend photocopying pages so not to damage treasured books! I inked the pages to age them with green and grey inks and added acrylic paint blood splats! 

Using the Gothic window as a guide I cut out a window shape which I glued onto my background. I then added a layer of crackle gel. Once dry I rubbed in some blue paint to bring out the details of the cracks. I then added a mixture of texture paste and glitter to create a Textured stone wall. 

Once my Textured wall had dried I added the moon, window and all my painted shapes to create the scene of Dracula's Castle. As a finishing touch I adding silver highlights and glitter to Dracula and the window to create moonlight. 

🦇Dracula emerges by the light of the full moon🦇

Dracula's Castle🦇

The arrival of Dracula in Whitby aboard the doomed ship Demeter🦇

As I did before for 'Dracula's Castle' I painted all my shapes with a base of black matt paint. Then added paints, texture paste and glitter. 

The ship I painted a blue/grey and I added red acrylic blood splatters. I then added a layer of crackle gel. Once dry I rubbed in some dark blue paint into the cracks and some dark orange around the bottom of the ship. This gave the look of old cracked porcelain. 

Close up showing crackle detail. 

The background for this piece I chose as it was about the poor fated Captain on the doomed Demeter! This was inked to with grey ink and splatted with acrylic blood. I also added acrylic blood to the wolf's mouth, see image below.

I then glued on my paper background and my painted shapes to create the scene of the stormy ship Demeter doomed arrival to Whitby! 

The background for this piece I chose as it was about the poor fated Captain on the doomed Demeter! This was inked to with grey ink and splatted with acrylic blood. I also added acrylic blood to the wolf's mouth. 

Reports are that all crew and captain aboard the Demeter have perished in the terrible storm. Local witness say they spotted a huge dog or wolf jumping off the ill fated ship................

 

I hope you enjoyed my 'Kat makes' and it inspires you to create your own. 

Pumpkin Jack! By Kat Hazelton.

I did some tutorials as a guest designer for Calico Craft Parts a few years ago and thought whilst I am working on some new ideas it would be nice to revisit and reshare some of my past Kat makes here on my blog. 

All MDF parts are from Calico Craft Parts and other items were either bought from UK craft suppliers or rummaged from my craft stash. You can of course substitute MDF shapes for your own wood shapes, die cuts or ephemera. 

I thought it would be lovely to kick-start the beginning of Autumn with a nod to the pumpkin fields growing up and down the country. A sure sign that Halloween is around the corner. So my first 'Kat make' is a friendly Scarecrow called Pumpkin Jack.

Jack stands proudly guarding the pumpkin patch in the local farmers field. Jack is a kind and gentle soul though maybe a bit too kind as the crows instead of being scared by him like to nest in his waistcoat pocket.

To make Pumpkin Jack you will need.

MDF or Die/hand cut shapes

Mini Wood/paper shapes - Birds, Crows & Ravens

Selection of paper and fabrics

Scissors, string, glue, crayons or orange paints.

To make Jack's clothes I drew around the art doll pieces to give a guide to form a pattern. I created sleeves, shirt body, waistcoat and trouser legs. I used a range of handcrafted papers you can use felts, fabrics or patterned paper. 

To create Jack's beautiful head I coloured the mdf shape with a distresed orange crayon and added fine details with an art pen. To give Jack deep dark black eyes and mouth I drew around his head onto a piece of card. Which I cut out and painted with matt black acrylic paint. I then glued Jack's head onto the cardboard backing and then onto the mdf head shaped that came with the kit.

Those little details, to make Jack's clothes look more scarecrow I drew on little stitches with a white pen. I also added little pockets, patches, buttons, handkerchief and straw. The straw is dried sweetcorn husk. Notice the little crow has already moved into Jack's pocket. The crow was coloured in with a black crayon and highlighted with a white pen. 

To put Jack together I used string threaded through the pre-drilled holes. 

For that added touch I made Jack a scarecrow perch by gluing two sticks together. 

Jack is now ready to watch over the farmers pumpkin field until harvest time.

 

Beware of fairies and mushrooms! Deathly Fairy Pendant by Kat Hazelton

 

Deathly Fairy Pendant inspired by the stories of fairies, mushrooms, magical portholes and fairy rings you will need. 

The dangers of a fairy ring! Poem by Kat Hazelton. 

Nine times around the ring you step, when the moon is full. 

To travel to the magical realm this is the golden rule. 

But do be warned I need to impress. 

Don't step one more, nor step one less. 

For this is the fairy's way. 

Those will perish if they disobey!

There are hundreds of folk stories about fairies, mushrooms and fairy rings. Some are whimsical and fun depicting beautiful or childlike friendly fairy folk sitting on pretty toadstools or dancing holding hands around rings of mushrooms. But many more tales tell stories of mischievous sometimes malevolent creatures gathering in and around rings of mushrooms. Often these rings were places of magic and portals to other realms beyond our own. One tale says if you step into a fairy ring it will transport you into the fairy realm, never to return! Other tales say that if you step in and out of a fairy ring without permission on returning home you will find hundreds of years had passed! 

There is also various similar tales that say that to enter a fairy ring safely you have to run around the mushroom ring nine times under a full moon. But warning is given that if the runner did not pay attention and did a tenth that evil would befall that runner! Sometimes in the story the poor victims outcome was either madness or death! 

Personally because there are so many stories warning humans away from fairies, mushrooms and fairy rings it's best if you spot any on your travels to just admire them from a distance! It's not, in my view, worth the risk of upsetting the fairy folk!

I did some tutorials as a guest designer for Calico Craft Parts a few years ago and thought whilst I was working on some new ideas it would be nice to revisit and reshare some of my past Kat makes here on my blog. 

All MDF parts used were from Calico Craft Parts and other items were either bought from UK craft suppliers or rummaged from my craft stash. You can of course use your own shapes, die cuts and ephemera.

To add some details to the mdf mushroom I used sculpting paste, adding lines and grooves with a sculpting tool. Once I got the look I wanted I left the mushroom to thoroughly dry over night. I then painted it with a combination of brown and pink metallic paints. One dry I added an additional coating of brown mica powder which I watered down with water. The mica helped to add a shimmery effect. 

I then painted the MDF ring and 'Fairy' Skeleton with an wash of watered down white acrylic paint and brown mica. This gave both pieces a more grungy steampunk appearance. 

Using stamp and ink I created two wings. These were stamped onto smooth watercolour card. Once the ink was dry I cut them out, using sharp scissor, then painted them with acrylic paints. To finish them off I painted on a layer of gloss varnish sprinkled with assorted glitters to add a touch of magic. 

I positioned and glued on my mushroom and 'fairy' skeleton with the wings tucked behind the fairies back. 

I then glued on all my charms, flowers and wording. 

I also added some tiny beads to the wings. 

And finally finished off my pendant with a length of string. 

ATC's by Kat Hazelton and hello again! 🤗

Hi everyone, I know it's been way too long since I last posted here!!!! A combination of ill health, financial constraints and to be honest a bit of cyber fatigue has for the past year drained me of much creative energy. 

Firstly thank you to those of you who have been faithfully following me via my other blog 'witchkraftingwithkat' and my Instagram of the same name. I really do appreciate your dedication and support. 

My other blog page 'witchkraftingwithkat' which is all about my love of Witches, Folklore and Cryptozoology. This is where I publish my 'Witchy Wednesday' articles. You can visit it via this link

 https://witchkraftingwithkat.blogspot.com/ 

My official Instagram page for all parts of my life including gardening, movies, my trips out, crafting, hobbies and things that make me laugh 

 https://www.instagram.com/witchkraftingwithkat

For those of you who have followed me on Instagram you will know that a lot of my crafting time has been spent making ATC's ( Artist Trading Cards ). 

ATC's are just 2.5 x 3.5 inch in size so make the perfect mini project for anyone who wants to do arts and crafts but maybe constricted by costs, storage and time. Craft items these days are not cheap and not everyone lives in a big house with lots of space to store both art and crafts supplies plus the creations made from them. 

A little history on the origins of ATC's

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are 2.5 x 3.5-inch miniature artworks created, swapped, and collected by artists to make art accessible outside the commercial market. Initiated in 1997 by Swiss artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann as a "Collaborative Cultural Performance," the movement emphasizes trading over selling. The format mirrors standard sports cards. The original core philosophy is that ATCs should be traded and swapped, not sold for money.

Information from Wikipedia. 

Here is a lovely in-depth article from Tin Teddy explaining more detail. 

https://www.tinteddy.com/introduction-to-atcs-what-are-artist-trading-cards/

Why I am tinkering with ATC's?

I have crafted for many years both as a enthusiastic hobbyist and also as a professional maker selling in shops, online and at fairs. During both of these I have made all types of things using all types of materials and methods, jewellery making, beadwork, Millinery, model making, sewing, mixed media including MDF makes, mask making, miniature making, props, painting, cake decorating, card making to name a few! I have also tinkered with needle felting, candle making, weaving, enamelling, metal work, sculpture the list goes on and on! 😆Those of you who are fellow crafters will know and totally understand this ever changing and at times meandering craft journey! 😆 

Now with age come much wisdom! ( We hope ) But also with age for some of us bad eyesight and cranky bones!  So over the past few years with one issue and another some of the crafts I did enjoy are just way too heavy, too fiddly or too tiring to do, for example my hat making which caused my elbow and shoulder excruciating pain when trying to pull wool felt hoods over wooden blocks!!! Not to mention spending hours pushing in pins! Sadly that one had to be retired! 

Now my interest in ATC is an odd one, I was accidentally introduced to ATC's via a local craft shop! I came across a little packet of pre cut  blank playing cards in their sale basket. I had no knowledge of what they were for? They were one of those purchases that was totally spur of the moment and down to the fact they were just 50p! 

Anyway like a lot of craft things they say in my craft stash for a long time. Even the shop I bought them has since sadly closed. Then in 2021 I became a temporary maker for Calico Craft Parts covering for one of the makers who was temporarily off sick and one of the projects I did was a mixed media tutorial to create a Sailors Valentine. Whilst doing this I was introduced to using MDF ATC's as a basis to making mixed media creation. 

For my tutorial on Calico Craft Parts blog page please visit 

https://calicocraftparts.blogspot.com/2022/01/sailors-valentine-and-octopuss-garden.html

My creations for Calico Craft Parts using MDF shapes and MDF ATC. 

Sailors Valentine by me Kat Hazelton

Sailors Valentine by me Kat Hazelton. 

It was whilst I was working on this project that I remembered my little pack of cards. Still being quite new to both MDF crafting and also not really knowing about ATC's history I started doing a bit of research about what they were and more importantly what to do with them?

I did find some information online about the history of ATC's which was really interesting and about the communities and meet ups for swapping ATC art cards. 

ATC's were originally made for swapping and not for selling though the selling of ACEO's was acceptable: If an artist sells their cards, they are often referred to as Art Card Editions and Originals (ACEO's), a term that evolved to allow for commercial sales.

Personally as much as found the idea of swapping interesting, and I can certainly see why people do it, it's not really my kind of thing. Maybe sometime down the line I might get involved with but for now I just wanted to get some inspiration on how to get from a blank white card to something more interesting. So I looked about and found a couple of really great books on World of Books second hand book shop which I found both illuminating and inspiring. 

The great thing about ATC's is that because of their size they are easy to store, they are quick to make and you don't need to have lots of craft products or experience. The joy of these little art/craft cards is you can try out new techniques without spending a fortune. You can draw and colour, paint on them, use decoupage, add ephemera, use clippings from magazines, and fabrics. You can add 3D elements such as MDF shapes, buttons, keys and all sorts of goodies! Basically you can make them as simple or elaborate as you want creating a craft piece or an Art piece! 

Please note if you are going to join a group to swap ATC's there are rules on them so you may wish to read up on before making your creations. 

Now what to do with them? Well firstly they make nice gifts, they look lovely in picture frames, but also they work well as centre pieces to cards, for tags, magnets for fridges( especially if you use a MDF ATC) as toppers, and for putting in scrapbooks and journals just to name a few suggestions. 

The base! 

Now to start with the base. The base of a ATC is 2.5 x 3.5 inch. You can buy pre cut bases in stiff cardstock and MDF. The MDF ones are perfect if making more robust creations and if you want to use pastes, shapes and embossing powders. 

You can also buy ATC die cutters which work in any Sizzix Machine. These will accurately cut your chosen paper or card to the right size. 

You can also just use a ruler and pencil draw out your shape and then cut out your card shape with a pair of scissors ✂️. The joy of this is you can then make your ATC from recycled cardboard, unusual papers, and even fabrics. 

Then the fun part...decorating! 

If you are interested in making ATC's or small cards and tags I shall post some ideas and tutorials on here very soon! So please pop by. In the meantime here are some I have created to give you an idea of what you can create. 

Using hand cut ephemera from Stamperia paper pad.

Using Stickers from The Works. 

Using stamps and Pro-Marker pens 

Hand painted using die cut shapes. 

MDF shapes all hand painted using acrylic paints. 

Hand painted and then adorned with Halloween shapes from AAll & Create. 

Created from Stamperia papers, MDF shapes and 3D elements. All hand painted. 

Thank you for reading and for visiting my craft blog. Please pop by soon for tutorials and ideas. 

Kat 😊

The books I purchased. 

1,000 Artist Trading Cards: Innovative and Inspired Mixed Media ATCs by Patricia Bolton (2007): A comprehensive collection of cards from various artists, showcasing diverse styles and mixed-media techniques

And also

Artist Trade Card Workshop: by Berni Berlin: Discover ways to create colorful collage backgrounds, make cards from fabric, incorporate painting, stamping, phone book pages, tissue paper, string, stencils and much more—all is revealed in step-by-step photos

Both of these books and more are still available through secondhand book shops, ebay and Amazon so there are plenty of sources to read and get inspiration from. 

DIY Halloween Tree Tim Holtz Jack-o-lantern Felt Ornaments by Alice Scraps Wonderland.

I spotted this fab tutorial today on Instagram and on Youtube. Please visit their blog page also. 

 https://alicescrapswonderland.blogspot.com/2025/07/diy-halloween-tree-holtz-layered-jack-o-lantern-felt-ornaments

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 😊🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿🌸🌿