Quite Contrary's Swish New Look!

For those of you with a keen eye, you might have spied something a bit different today? Yup, Quite Contrary has had a paint job and a bit of a re-design, hurrah! As much as I loved the other look, I feel we've definitely progressed and the 'old paper' look of my other was perhaps a bit dated. Plus the technicalities of how to create that in Photoshop still outsmart me! Here's how we've progressed:

...realised I'd gone a bit wood-crazy, so funked it up a bit!

...and now, after focussing on a more professional look...

So, here is Quite Contrary's new sleek look - I hope you like it! I think it fits in a lot better with the delicate Papercuts I also create now, and still works really well with all my cards.

So don't do a double-take if you see it and wonder if you've come to the right place - it's still me! :)

Come find me in Ilkley this Saturday

This weekend, I will be found amidst a lovely bunch of fellow Artisans at the lovely Ilkley Contemporary Arts Market - so please pop in and say hello if you fancy a nice day out!

Showcasing the work of 20 painters, photographers, silver smiths, ceramic artists, paper cutters (me!) and everything in between, this looks to be like a lovely day - and hopefully including quite a few Folksy faces too!

There's also a lovely tea toom serving home made cakes, scones and tea - what more could you want ;0)

Details can be found on their website here, along with directions :)

A sneaky peek at Christmas

So, it's September. Which officially means in the land of Gifts and Stationery that Christmas season is a-coming, ho ho ho! Here at Quite Contrary HQ we've already had our first Christmas tune of the year blasting out amid the Christmassy sketches - can't beat a bit of Mariah to put you in the festive mood! So here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to, and what you could get your hands on this Christmas - to be available over on my Folksy and Etsy shops very soon!

This year, I've also created a special Christmas-themed Papercut especially for my 'I♥...' fans! Last year my little 'I♥snow' design proved very popular, so it is now available as a lovely little wall hanging - and I'm working on different colours too!

This year, I've also created a special Christmas-themed Papercut especially for my 'I♥...' fans! Last year my 'I♥snow' card proved very popular, so it is now available as a lovely little wall hanging - and I'm working on different colours too!

Right, back to the cutting board for me now! Hope you liked this little preview :)

Cards Galore

Another busy week - I've been working on my Christmas range (some sneeky pics to appear soon, I promise!) and also had some nice flurries of custom order coming through so thought I'd share some piccies of my favourites you. I'm thinking of listing some of the brand new ones I've made if they're popular - let me know what you think :)

First, some of my favourite Birthday requests - the first is a lovely idea of a Birthday card for a Shop's First Birthday!

A very sweet one from a kid to his footy-mad Daddy -

A special card for a little chap who was born this week -

I had a very special order for a BIG A4 card for a 50th Wedding Anniversary - it was great fun doing everything super-sized! Here's the final result, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Here's a few of the Wedding and other Anniversary cards I've been making - including one with some sweet little Wedding Bells on.

And finally, my favourite cards of the week - this special 'Cheer me up' card, which I hope would make anyone smile!

Animal-tastic Folksy Friday

To celebrate my new animal & pet range of 'I♥...' cards which will be launched later today, I thought it only appropriate to choose some of my favourite Animal-themed goodies from Folksy today!





Just click on the image and it will take you to their Folksy shop.

Folksy Friday - Time for Tea

Here at Quite Contrary HQ it seems we're pretty addicted to a cuppa or two during the day, especially when had with a bit of cake or a ginger biccy, nom nom! My man also made the best brew ever last night to have with Tea (which was a rather naughty english brekkie made from weekend leftovers, yummy!). So, sticking on this theme here's a few Folksy picks if you fancy joining me in a brew!





Talking of which...think I might go pop the kettle on!

Cards, cards, cards!

Quite Contrary HQ seems to have order fever at the minute (which is lovely, can I say!), so before I get surgically attached to my scalpel & board again, I thought I'd better put some piccies up of a selection of the ones I've made over the last few weeks.

One of the most romantic orders I've had yet, this special 25th Anniversary card has 'EL' on which stands for 'Everlasting love' - the very sweet couple have written this on the end of their letters to one another ever since they first met. Aww!

My Wedding cards have been very popular - you can tell it's the Wedding season!

And here's some of the custom Birthday cards I've made too...

And to finish with - possibly the best name ever for a Farm!

Super Dan!

Bank Holiday Monday was my man's Birthday, so in suitable Quite Contrary fashion I did of course have to come up with a special card for him!

I tried to do something cool and games-like with his X-box controller, but the internet wasn't playing and sitting in front of the console attempting to draw it would have been a dead giveaway, so I had to go to plan B - make him into Superman! (or Super Dan...)

I've created a special 'Personalised 'Super! Person' listing on both of my online shops so you can buy this for your Superperson if you'd like. It also comes in the yellow or white&green versions like the SuperMum! or SuperDad! ones I make.

One of my fave shops - She Draws

I received the funnest bundle of goodies yesterday from Mr Postie, thanks to She Draws. This is one of my favouritest bestest shops on Folksy, and I'm sad that she's going on hold for the moment - albeit because she's got an absolutely amazing new job in Londontown!

I spied her 'London' ring, which I thought makes a nice memento for my time spent in the big city...

...and got a lovely suprise when I opened up the package to find lots of lovely little extras too!

I'm absolutely in love with the Cupcake bracelet - I've never even seen this in the shop or I would have snapped it up!

So a big THANK YOU! She Draws - good luck with your new job and I really hope that some day She Draws can come back and sell us lovely things again!