All posts filed under: Crafts

Mono Printing on a Homemade Gelatin Plate.

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Today I made a slab of gelatin (actually I made that yesterday) in a cookie pan and used it to make mono prints of bamboo leaves and crochet doilies! I was reading Courtney Cerruti’s book ‘Playing with Surface Design’ and she was talking about how a handmade gelatin plate behaves slightly differently to a commercial gelli plate.  I have been using and loving my gelli plate for a few years now, so I was keen to try! Making the ‘plate’ was super easy, I used 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin according to the instructions on the packet (they suggested apple juice but I went for water!) and I left it in the fridge over night to set.  I forgot to remove any surface bubbles so I had immediate access to some extra texture (oops!). There are lots of videos and recipes for gelatin plates on the inter webs but I was happy with this one as it lasted for an afternoon of printing and I can make another one when I need it. This picture was …

Half way through Carve December.

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I am now just over halfway through Carve December and I am enjoying it so much.  I tried carving a stamp a few years ago and didn’t get on with it at all. I think I was using the wrong rubber block and I found it very frustrating. Since then I have looked in a few books and watched a couple of tutorials and have made a handful of stamps. While I was in Portland in October the artists I was staying with were talking about Carve December and I thought it sounded rather intimidating and almost impossible to make a rubber stamp every day. December rolls around and I have forgotten all about it until I see my friend’s post and I am reminded that I said I would give it a go.  So I jumped in and the water is great! Carving stamps has made me slow down in my creating, take my time and not rush. I tend to rush most things I make, mainly because I feel like I should be …

Hand-Made small and mini journals.

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Are you easily influenced? I am and I have been spotting mini art journals all over the interwebs, mainly Instagram and I wanted to make my very own teeny tiny journal. So I did! I have lots of paper ephemera ranging from maps to paper bags via old National Geographic magazines and sports order forms, so I thought I would drag it all out and make a book or five!  You know how it is, once you start, you can’t stop. I started with a couple of small but not mini books, they are about five and a half inches by four inches and some of the pages fold out to make a wider spread. To stitch them together at the spine, I used wax linen and pamphlet stitch. I found a good book at the library with lots of clear instructions called How to make Books by Esther K. Smith which is full of great ideas including the single signature pamphlet or leaflet style book. I cut out three different size mini journals, the …

‘I like’ Friday. The Crochet Edition.

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Making stuff is the best thing! I haven’t pulled out my crochet for a couple of weeks and today I thought I would hook a few stitches onto one of my blankets in progress. I have two blankets on the go because one was getting big and I wanted to take a crochet project on vacation earlier in the summer. So I started a new blanket and a new stitch to take away with me. The ‘vacation’ blanket which is at very early stages in size, is made using ripple stitch and I am very proud of myself for managing a new stitch!  The pattern is here if you fancy a go. The grey blanket is a giant granny square and I am starting with dark grey in the middle and getting lighter as I work my way out to the full size blanket.  The pattern is from the book ‘Craft for the Soul’ by Pip Lincolne. I am super pleased that I learnt to crochet, it is one of those activities which really makes …

Paper tube heart stamps.

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Make your own fabulous Valentine greeting with these easy peasy stamps which you can make with a paper roll from a toilet roll or kitchen paper towel roll.  I used a kitchen towel roll and cut it into three to make three heart stamps. The paint I used is from Target’s Hand Made Modern acrylic paint range. It is inexpensive but with a great range of colours to choose from. To get the heart shape you have to gently squeeze the tube so that the top folds in slightly and the bottom forms a point.  Squeeze the point to make a sharper shape and ease the rounded top into a heart shape. Once you have your heart/hearts grab some paint and brush some around the end of the tube, coating the whole heart in paint.  If you prefer, you can stomp the heart into the paint to load it, like a traditional stamp.  I like to brush the paint to control how much goes on to the stamp. I started with single colours and then …

#WIP Crochet Blanket and Drawing

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I am joining Catherine at Saint Cardigan for this post all about some of my work(s) in progress.  I narrowed it down to a couple of projects although I have a week’s worth!  Once you have had a little look at what I am up to, you can pop over to Saint Cardigan and look at what everyone else has been doing. This crochet blanket is my second ever and the one I have already completed is pretty much the same, just in lots of colours.  As you can see, I am no crochet genius, I can do granny square stitch (I am sure it isn’t even called that when it is not an actual granny square) and that is that. For this blanket I decided to start with a dark dark grey and as I crochet out, I will use lighter and lighter shades, ending with white or a super pale grey.  I am currently at shade two and I am liking where I am heading.  The pattern is from Pip Lincolne’s book Craft …

‘I like’ Friday. The Art Journaling Edition.

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I am really really really liking art journaling at the minute, so today’s ‘I like’ Friday should be called ‘I really really really like’ Friday! My art journaling journey began late last year when I joined the Get Messy community and started to follow along with what the talented people over there were creating.  I wasn’t really making any pages myself because honestly I felt rather out of my depth.  It was all so full and layered and complicated and I am a kind of simple soul, especially in my art.  So I watched and chatted and absorbed as much as I could. Then a prompt appeared on Instagram with instructions, just vague directions, but that was just what I needed.  So I gesso’ed and I stuck paper down and painted and stamped and wrote and doodled and I had a great time doing so. I did it again and this page (above) took on it’s own little life.  I never intended the girl to have wings, but there they appeared as I drew some random …

A Christmas holiday coloring sheet. Star Mandala.

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As we are hurtling towards the Christmas period at great speed with a glass in one hand and wrapping paper in the other, I thought you might enjoy a coloring sheet.  Feel free to print it off and grab your pens or paints or crayons or all of the above and relax for a few minutes and colour some lovely stars.  Click here to get the printable or on the above image. Here are a few ideas for your coloring- Make all the stars a different colour. Only colour or paint around the stars and leave them white. Start with dark colours and work your way out from the middle using lighter and lighter colours and create an ombre star mandala. Make a different pattern in each star. Join all the stars together with a line then colour them in. Print the sheet onto card stock, cut it up and make a puzzle from it. Print onto card stock, fold in half and give as a card (I did that, they are cute ‘coloring in’ …

Sketching with the Tinkersketch challenge.

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For the month of February I have been joining in with Tinkerlab and doing the Tinkersketch daily challenge. I tried it last year and only made it part way through the month. This year I am loving it! We are half way through February (yikes) and I am still going strong. I see some of the sketches on the #tinkersketch feed and these folks can draw, I mean really draw, their quick sketch is an accurate portrayal. I am more a shapes and colour kinda artist! That said I am very happy with what Tinkersketch has pulled out of my idea cache and I am looking forward to the rest of the month. If you want to see what everyone has been creating, check out the #tinkersketch hashtag over on Instagram. My favourite sketchers to follow are @squiggleandswirl, @soulsk8r, @annofdoodlesandjots, @daintydora, @markonthemark and of course @tinkerlab. Do you like to draw and sketch and make marks generally? I have only really just started to fill sketchbooks again and I am getting so many ideas, not …

How to draw a freeform Mandala

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Today I am going to show you how I made this mandala.  Hurrah! I have been enjoying drawing a few mandalas this month and I have been really surprised at how effective they are once they are all done.  Working a step at a time really makes the layers work together and flow outwards beautifully.  Like most things, one step at a time works best! Previously I have been making the base lines by measuring with ruler, compass and a protractor which works great and I have loved the mandalas I have made like that.  I also wanted a nice quick and easy way to get started on one without all the equipment, so I just drew out the basic lines – horizontal, vertical and the two diagonals, the only rule being that they must cross in the middle.  This way I can make a mandala anywhere, all I need is pencil and paper.   I drew in the circles, not worrying one jot about them being perfectly round or spaced apart.  In fact I …