Karen Walk Handmade Stationery & Gifts

NEW Vintage Romance wedding collection

2012-02-22T07:38:00.001-08:00

Hello again! Here is my latest wedding invitation design. I've called it Vintage Romance, and it features a floral design cut from vintage-style papers, stitched to crisp white linen card, and hand finished with sparkly sequins and pearl beading.

NEW 'Little Baby Bunting' Baptism Invitation

2012-02-12T05:17:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to create a bespoke invitation to the Baptism of twins of a lovely friend of mine, and of course I jumped at the chance… and here is the finished result! The invitations feature a cute little string of bunting, made from sweet pink and blue polka dot paper, strung along metallic thread and fixed into place above clean, black type. I've named the design Little Baby Bunting and it's the first design to make it to my forthcoming Baby Collection.

The design can be altered for other occasions including birth announcements, naming ceremonies and birthdays.

A little gift

2012-02-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's my niece's third birthday next week, and I thought I'd try and make something a little bit special for her. My brother and his wife are about to move into a new home that they have designed and had built in the Aberdeenshire countryside. For Maisy's new bedroom, I wanted to make her a cushion and matching personalised bunting.

Although I've made bunting before, I've never made a proper cushion cover before. I've tried my hand in the past using off-cuts of too-long curtains, a 99p sewing kit and a ~~bottle~~ glass of wine to steady my hand. But not this time, this has been made properly. I've brought out the big guns. I used a tape measure, specially sourced materials and… the sewing machine!

I designed the cushion first in my sketch book before choosing my fabrics and embellishments. Once I'd designed and made the cushion, I then moved on to the bunting.

Ta da!

First wedding ranges available on Etsy

2011-12-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

After the hard work of the past year, I'm nearly ready to launch the wedding stationery… here are the first two ranges, all polished and ready to show the world, yahoo! Both are available to order on Etsy until my new website is ready to roll. The new holding page is in place though, take a peek here.

From the Heart is a wedding invitation with a unique twist, featuring a keepsake fabric heart, adorned with the happy couple's initials.

Elegance is a romantic and elegant invitation, featuring a cluster of layered flowers cut from a delicate stock and hand finished with diamante gemstones.

Christmas Markets

2011-12-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

What a lovely time I had last week with my husband and just-turned-two year old twins. I decided: what better way of spending some quality time together as a family, than dragging them around a couple of Christmas markets? And so we began at Christmas at the Barn out in the gorgeous village of Mells, near Frome. The market was held in a beautiful tithe barn and was bursting with festive goodies including handmade chocolates, framed artworks and a host of lovely Christmas decorations. A table set up with art and craft activities for children kept my two amused (for 5 minutes… well, they are only 2!) while I browsed the stalls and bought a few stocking fillers. We felt it was time to leave when the twins started whipping things off traders' tables…

Next stop: the famous Bath Christmas Market. Even on a weekday the market, with the beautiful Abbey acting as a backdrop, was absolutely packed out, and our double buggy took a very slow amble up and down the aisles while we browsed the vast collection of sweet little wooden chalets proudly displaying their wares. As a designer and crafter, markets like these are a visual delight for me and I could have happily stayed there all day! There were so many pieces I would have been thrilled to receive as gifts, plus so much inspiration for my own work. Looking forward to next year already!

Bristol's Shortest Christmas Art's Trail

2011-11-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

Having had such a lovely time at FishFest by taking part in my first ever craft fair, I jumped at the chance to exhibit at a local Christmas Art's Trail. With a very obvious theme (Christmas!) I set about designing and making a selection of Christmas cards and stocking fillers, plus handmade fabric buttons, lattice notice boards and fabric covered books.

The Christmas cards were made by stitching festive stars, trees and puddings made up from fabrics onto square pieces of linen, then stitching the squares straight onto the cards, overlaying festive quotes.

The afternoon was a great success as the local community braved the cold to pop into (FishFest organiser) Kate's lovely warm home, and indulged in some Christmas shopping and pamper treatments while enjoying mulled wine and delicious nibbles.

It was great to see our local creative community coming together once again, sharing ideas and supporting each others own unique businesses. I can't wait for the next one.

Here are a few photo's of my products, and the stall on the day which, being a tight squeeze, ended up being a piano and a donated camping table! The piano was actually perfect for propping up many of my items!

Christmas card stitching

Ta-da! Finished product

Matching gift tags

Handmade fabric buttons

The stall

Christmas cards

Handmade bunting

My first craft fair!

2011-09-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I took part in my very first craft fair, which was both exciting and scary in equal measures! Having been asked to design the logo and then the leaflet for FishFest 2011 a few months ago, I discovered they were going to hold a craft fair at the 'Fest too. I was feeling brave and put my name down for my own stall. Having been making my own handmade books for some time now, I felt it was time to try selling them, as well as seizing the opportunity to try experimenting with creating other craft items with the oodles of fabrics, ribbons, papers and buttons I've collected over the years. In addition to my books, I made lattice notice boards, hanging ornaments, bunting and, of course, some handmade greeting cards, finished with diamante gems, ribbons and beautiful papers.

Designing and creating the greeting cards for FishFest, in addition to the positive feedback I had from customers, has inspired some great ideas for me to incorporate into my bespoke wedding stationery business. Watch this space for more designs!

All in all, I had an amazing day and look forward to doing more fairs in the future.

Padded hearts and ornaments

Heart in action!

Lattice notice boards and handmade cards

Small notebooks and hearts

My stall

Handmade bunting

Bunting in action!

Selection of handmade books

An Elegant White Wedding

2011-08-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

Handmade flowers, cut from a beautiful, delicate stock, add a touch of elegance to these potential wedding invitations. The flowers are layered, giving a romantic and tactile feel to this simply gorgeous design. The card is finished with diamanté gemstones to give the design an added touch of sparkle. Definitely my favourite design so far!

New website… coming soon!

2011-07-28T03:03:00.000-07:00

My new website is currently under construction and will hopefully be up and running in the coming month. In the meantime, I will be uploading more ranges to the blog. If you have any enquiries or would like a quote, then please do get in touch with me at design@karenwalk.com

Wedding Invitations: Butterfly Garden

2011-07-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing says 'summer wedding' like a flurry of beautiful butterflies through a garden. This pretty design comes in four colour combinations, and can be easily adapted to reflect a couple's own colour theme for their wedding. Each card is hand finished with diamanté gemstones.

Birth Announcement: Retro

2011-07-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

This funky retro style birth announcement is available as a one sided piece and features a photo of your gorgeous new bundle.

Birth Announcement: Gingham

2011-07-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

Front

Back

Inside spread of folded version,
to include a full page photo of baby

Hand finished with ribbon and diamanté gemstones

A gingham border frames these sweet illustrations on this gorgeous range, stylishly introducing your new baby to the world. Each card is hand finished with delicate ribbons and diamanté gemstones.

Birth Announcement: Bunting

2011-07-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Front

Back

Inside spread of folded version,
to include a full page photo of the baby

This cute design combines beautiful patterns with soft colours to create a unique twist on traditional bunting. Each card is hand finished with delicate ribbons running along the bunting 'string', lifting it off the page.

Twins Naming Ceremony Invitation

2011-07-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

I created these invitations to celebrate the naming of my very own twins, Madeleine and Henry. It was important to me that each baby had their 'own' invitation, yet their twinship needed to be honoured. I created a double sided folded invitation that could be folded to show either baby's name when propped up. I focused on the first letter of each name for an abstract effect, lovingly illustrating and personalising each one and embellishing the finished cards with diamanté gemstones.

The Watermill Wedding Invitations

2011-07-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

The bride (that's me!) and groom were getting married in a Watermill set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. As most of our guests were travelling from afar, we wanted to create an invitation that would embody everything our guests would need to know… a little guide if you like! I created a set of cards printed on gorgeous stock, held together by a banner displaying our names. Each card had it's own purpose, from the date and time of the event through to the wedding list details, hotel reservations and a map to the venue. The bouquet of flowers was illustrated using cogs, giving a nod to our unique wedding venue.

Oh yes I can!

2011-07-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

The task of designing the company Christmas card had fallen to me one year… a job that's always a bit of a turkey! With all festive themes exhausted over the years, it occurred to me that there was one element of Christmas that had yet to be exploited… the Christmas Panto! With the wave of the fairy godmother's magic wand, all five staff were turned into pantomime characters and transported into our very own Christmas Panto. Ticket wallets were sent out containing tickets (and humiliation) to our fictitious show.

A Caribbean Touch

2011-07-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

These newly-weds had already tied the knot when they sent out their wedding invitations… an unusual approach! The happy couple enjoyed an intimate wedding ceremony on a Caribbean beach with close family, and decided to throw a reception for their extended family and friends on their return. When the bride asked me for help in coming up with a unique spin on this unusual scenario, I came up with the idea of guests receiving a Caribbean 'postcard' from the honeymooners themselves, inviting them to the late reception.

When the bride loves mopeds!

2011-07-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

When I was asked to create invitations for a Hen Party hosted by a Moped-mad bride, the idea for a 'Mod' themed invitation immediately sprang to mind. The two-sided A5 invitation also incorporated a menu for the guests.