Look What We Did On 'The Magic of Mixed Media!' Craft Demo Day....

We had a very creative afternoon on Sunday the 24th of January when we held a Craft Demo Day at the shop, the theme was 'The Magic of Mixed Media!'. It was the first time we had held a demo day of this type and it was a great excuse to experiment with lots of different types of products. 

The pictures below show some of what we demonstrated on the day, along with details of some of the products we used to create the effects.  We hope you enjoy!

There are a few products that we used on most of the examples below. Pebeo Studio 3D Texture Paste was used through stencils from Tim Holtz, PaperArtsy and Dutch Doobadoo to form the textured backgrounds. A combination of Indigoblu 'Goldfinger' paint mixed in water and Treasure Gold Metallic Gilding Wax in 'Classic Gold' created all the gold effects you can see. Each of the examples could be further enhanced by using more fab mixed media embellishments!

PaperArtsy 'Little Black Dress' paint mixed with water and sprayed through a spray bottle and Creative Expressions Phill Martin Cosmic Shimmer Mister in 'Vintage Lavender' were used to create the background. 'Little Black Dress' was sprayed first all over the background and 'Vintage Lavender' was used over some of it to create the contrast.

PaperArtsy 'London Bus' and 'Plum' paints mixed with water and sprayed with a spray bottle were used to create the background above. We sprayed 'London Bus' all over the background to start with and used the 'Plum' on some of the sections. The flowers are 'Petaloo Color Me Crazy' sprayed with both paints and then edged in gold gilding wax.

A combination of three paints were used to create this background. All mixed with water and sprayed with a spray bottle. First, PaperArtsy ‘Hyde Park’ was used to cover the whole background, then Cosmic Shimmer Paint in ‘Malachite’ to add some depth and lastly PaperArtsy ‘Guacamole’ on some of the sections to lighten it up. The wording is from a PaperArtsy rubber stamp set and was stamped using a Ranger Archival Ink Pad ‘Black Onyx’.

PaperArtsy 'Little Black Dress' paint mixed with water and sprayed through a spray bottle and Creative Expressions Phill Martin Cosmic Shimmer Mister in 'Vintage Lavender' were used to create the background. 'Little Black Dress' was sprayed first all over the background and 'Vintage Lavender' was used over some of it to create the contrast. The Prima paper flowers were sprayed 'Vintage Lavender' to match and highlighted with the Indigoblu 'Goldfinger' paint.

And for something a bit different the background in the picture above was created using torn strips of masking tape, stuck down so that they overlapped. Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads were used to create the coloured background over the masking tape using the Tim Holtz Round Blending Tool. Onyxite coloured gilding wax was used around the edges and over other parts of the background to create a contrast against the bright colours of the various Distress Inks. 

TRIPLE DECKER….DOUBLE STAMPING….

 Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

You know sometimes when you are working on a craft project and you get really excited inside because you have a feeling it is going to look really nice when it is finished? Well that is exactly how we felt when we started doing this card. This is a technique that we have seen before but never used, so really wanted to give it a go and are really happy with the results.

The card itself is made out of black card stock and as you can see in the photograph above there are three layers of a light cream card on top which is a Foundation Card from Creative Expressions, 220gsm and the colour is called 'Milk'. It is a real favourite colour of ours. As you can see the black card has also been used to create the borders for each of the cream layers and I think it frames them really well. All the layers were stuck down using a Crafters Companion Extra Strong Permanent Glue Tape, which is an easy to use double sided adhesive.

Two different stamps were used to create the images on the front of the card, The first one was a leaf style clear stamp from Woodware and was stamped using a Rangers Archival Ink Pad in "Watering Can", which created the soft background. Next using a Rangers Archival Ink Pad in "Jet Black", we stamped the flower stamp and this is what created the bolder look against the soft background. I think that the grey and black ink combined works well against the black and cream card, however you could use other ink pad combinations to create similar effects. 

To get the stamped effect on this card, you temporarily stick all the cream layers of card together and then do the stamping. Once done you then put the black layers of card inbetween. You need to make sure that you line the card up so that the image looks continuous.

To finish off the outside of the card, we used a Rangers Liquid Pearl in "Majestic Purple", which although quite subtle against the bold stamped image of the flowers, the colour compliments the grey and black colouring.

 Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

To make this project a bit more special by linking the inside of the card to the outside of the card,  as you can see from the photograph we also stamped the flower in "Jet Black" and added the "thanks" sentiment from PaperArtsy.  Just a little tip, but when using a colour card as the base for your project, you can use a more neutral coloured card on the inside to write your message. I think that the "milk" card works really well in this instance.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this project. The triple decker and double stamp technique is a lovely way to work and I have a feeling over the next few weeks you may see some more projects with a similar look.

Happy Crafting!

Dan

P.S - Just a reminder that we have a card making workshop at the shop in Wanstead this weekend on Sunday, so if you would like to join us please call the shop on 0208 530 1244 to book your place.

Bespoke Sparkle Anyone?

  Design and photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

We have a lovely rep called Tanya from one of our suppliers who we get all things Cosmic Shimmer from, to stock in the shop. When we first started looking at what to stock at Craft Boutique at 84, we knew we had to have Cosmic Shimmer as a brand and Tanya was the person who told us how lovely their Sparkle Texture Paste was to use and also how versatile it can be. 

For 2015, one of the new colours launched that we have on sale at the shop is called 'Polar White'. What makes this colour so versatile is that it has no hint of colour in it like 'Aurora Sparkle' and 'Frosty Dawn', it is just white so is great to mix with paints, ink refills and dry glitter to create your own bespoke colours. Also Sparkle Texture Paste no matter what colour it is, is always beautifully sparkly. 

The Iris in the card above was created using 'Polar White' texture paste, mixed with various PaperArtsy paints, for example the stem and leaves are 'Hey Pesto',  through a stencil. She did this on a piece of smooth white stamping card which she stuck to the scalloped card using Scotch Double Sided Tape.

The dark blue border is light weight card embossed and stuck to the card again using the Scotch Double Sided Tape and the sentiment stamp is from Wild Rose Studio and was stamped using a Versa Craft 'Pale Lilac' ink pad.

If you have never used Cosmic Shimmer's Sparkle Texture Paste in your craft projects, I would definitely say it is worth trying to create great effects.

Have a lovely weekend and happy crafting,

Dan.

www.craftboutique84.com

What A STAMPENDOUS! Day We Had Today….

All pictures World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Today we had a card making workshop at our Gallery

in Wanstead and what a STAMPENDOUS! day we had. The sun was shining, the craft room was bright and airy, the refreshments were well received and we had a lovely group of ladies who spent the afternoon crafting. 

The theme of today was STAMPENDOUS! Jumbo Rubber Cling Sets and matching dies, to colour in we used a mixture of Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads, PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints, Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks and in some cases we used WOW! Clear Gloss-Ultra High embossing powder. You can see some of the beautiful results for yourself in the photographs.

We will be posting more workshop dates soon, in the meantime we are having a Free Demo Day on Sunday the 31st of May between 12pm and 3pm. Come along and join us for an afternoon of everything crafty! We will be showing some of the latest products, plus demonstrating techniques with samples to share.

There will be Tea, Coffee and Cake! We look forward to seeing you.

SPRING SALE STARTING SUNDAY 10th MAY

WE ARE HAVING

A

SPRING SALE

AT OUR

WANSTEAD SHOP

UP TO 30% OFF ALL CRAFT PRODUCTS

SUNDAY 10th MAY TO SUNDAY 31st MAY 2015

THE SPRING SALE IS ONLY TAKING PLACE AT OUR SHOP IN WANSTEAD, THIS OFFER DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY PRODUCTS ON OUR WEBSITE.

A Tropical Combination

                                 Design and photograph Word © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

We are huge fans of PaperArtsy at Craft Boutique at 84, stocking their full range of Fresco Finish Acrylic Chalk paints, a large selection of rubber stamps and other PaperArtsy 'crafty stuff'. When there are new products available we love to order them in and of course try them out!  Pictured above is the most recent Limited Edition set of paints by Lin Brown. Fun, bright and versatile, from what I understand inspired by a trip Lin took, there are four colours in the set and they are called 'Banana', 'Tangerine Twist', 'Caribbean Sea' and 'Bougainvillea'. The set retails at £15.60 and is available to buy from our website or shop in Wanstead and being Limited Edition, they are only available while stocks last.

Also in the picture is a fabulous set of new stamps from Jo Firth-Young, comprising of five stamps individually trimmed and mounted on EZ mount. The set called JOFY Collection 32 has a butterfly, two different types of flowers, a honeycomb shape and 'thanks' wording and is priced at £19.99 from Craft Boutique at 84.

We really wanted to combine Jo's flowers in the stamp set with Lin's paints to give a tropical feel. As the paints are so versatile, using a water brush with them on the cut out flowers you can see that they create a very different effect to when they are not watered down, as you can see from the bright pinks and blues on the base of the Manila Tag. The cut out flowers have been finished off by using Rangers Liquid Pearls in the centre of them and then glueing them to the Manila Tag with Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue.

This was one of our favourite projects which we did last week because the products are great to work with, we hope you like it too.

Look out for more ideas and another 'crafty' project on Friday night.

Lyn and Danielle

FAVOURITE BLUE..

We have a soft spot for PaperArtsy's paints and this recently released Glass Blue has become a favourite. It's such a vibrant colour we have been using it in mixed media projects. Danielle did a great beach hut scene with it and of course it's a great help with skies. It is such a strong colour the only limit is your imagination. This is one of the translucent paints in the range, perfect for colouring in stamped images, and  diluted with water for a wash. You can mix the translucent range with white for a more opaque first coat and then top with undiluted colour. Use it on wood, ceramic, canvas, glass, metal and don't forget of course card and paper. Mixed media, interior design, fine art, scapbooking, card making, the sky is the limit if you pardon the pun. I could go on and on but why not try for yourself. There are lots of colours in the range, you can see them all by clicking here.

Happy crafting !

BITS AND BOBS...

 

Just arrived in stock these fab 2 1/4inch brayers by Ranger. With the soft rubber roller we find these very useful for those tricky and more delicate craft jobs where the bigger brayers are more difficult to control. With it's built in footed stand reducing roller dents and helping to keep you work surface clean and ink free. Pop in and have a look at ours and see how useful they are, they are priced at just £8.99 and with care will last and last.

Next Sunday the 25th of January 12.30 till 3pm we are having our first craft workshop of 2015. It's going to be based around PaperArtys acrylic paints and stamps. We are going to show you how to make gorgeous backgrounds and then show you how to produces beautiful cards from the backgrounds you have made. The cost is just £12.50 per person and of course that includes tea and cake. To book a place please call the gallery on 0208 530 1244, we look forward to seeing you.

My Best Friend Forever - by Lyn Wilkinson

I was asked to produce something for a friend's birthday with an animal theme, so chose the delightful 'Squeak' and 'Hoppity Bunny' rubber stamps designed by Sam Poole, Creative Expressions as my subject.

I cut a piece of acid free 23cm square white mount board and painted the edges using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints 'Vanilla' and 'Snowflake' mixed together. I  then used Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad, 'Vintage Photo' to create a distress look by rubbing it directly over the paint. You can see this effect in the finished project.

I cut a piece of Prima Cartographer Collection "Boussole" 12x12 inch paper, into a 22cm square, tore the edges and distressed with Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad, 'Vintage Photo'.

I then stamped directly onto the paper using Sam Poole's rubber stamps, 'Tree Background' with 'Squeak' and 'Hoppity Bunny' in the foreground. I then used IndigoBlu's 'You are my B.F.F' rubber stamp from their "B.F.F" stamp set in the top right hand corner. All were stamped using a Versafine 'Vintage Sepia' ink pad.

I stamped 'Squeak' and 'Hoppity Bunny' using the Versafine 'Vintage Sepia' ink pad onto cream card, embossed them using WOW clear embossing powder and cut out one of each.

I coloured them using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint 'Chocolate Pudding' watered down leaving some areas exposed with the cream card to create a contrast.

Using my Sizzix Big Shot, I cut out this Wild Rose Studio Speciality Craft Die, 'Peacock Butterfly', which I then painted using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint 'Chocolate Pudding', watered down. I used Ranger Liquid Pearls in 'Bisque' to apply pearls to the body of the butterfly and to paint the outside of the wings to highlight them.

Using Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue I stuck all the cut outs onto the paper to give a 3D look. 'Squeak' and 'Hoppity Bunny' were placed over the stamped images on the paper (just a tip, this is an easy way to retain the whiskers if you cut them off when cutting them out of the card). I also used the wording stamp from 'Hoppity Bunny', "Hoppin' by to say hi" again using the Versafine 'Vintage Sepia' ink pad and placed it between both animals.

To finish off the project I placed it in a frame. I was really pleased with the outcome and my friend was delighted with the end result.

All the products I used can be purchased from our shop in Wanstead or our online shop Craft Boutique at 84.

Happy Crafting!

Lyn

Words and Pictures World © Craft Boutique at 84 - All rights reserved.