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. 

I'll Bee Back….

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

Well I did say I would be back with the Triple Decker, Double Stamping technique and here I am. I absolutely love the bees at the moment, they are so 'Summery'!

The card in the photograph above is made out of black card stock and as you can see there are three layers of a white card on top which is smooth white 300gsm. The black card has also been used to create the borders for each of the white 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.

I used a PaperArtsy Stamp Set, JOFY Collection 30 from Jo Firth-Young. I used the honeycomb effect stamp first as the background which I used with a Rangers Archival Ink Pad in 'Potting Soil'. I stamped first on paper then on the white card. This made the background lighter to really bring out the bee stamp image, I used a Rangers Archival Ink Pad in 'Jet Black' to stamp the bees. The 'bee happy' sentiment is also stamped in the black and I did this last so not to smudge anything else.

To get the stamped effect on this card, you temporarily stick all the white 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.

I coloured the bees with two PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints, 'Yellow Submarine' and 'Tango' using a water brush which allows you to blend the paints beautifully together. I think the bright colours against the stamped background and bees works really well, as it creates a real contrast.

I hope you have enjoyed tonight's project. We have had some nice feedback from people who have seen it in the shop.

Happy Crafting!

Dan

x

P.S, Look out over the weekend for posts on new products we have in the shop and yes some of them are Christmas related! 

I also wanted to let you know that September is going to be Crafting Month at the shop in Wanstead. Look out for details on free demos, make and takes, workshops and lots more where you will have the opportunity to learn new techniques and see new products. We will also be showing you some techniques that customers have asked to see and have a go at again. 

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.

The Theme of Tonight….The Beauty of Simple Die Cutting - Project Three

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

Tonight is the last of the three projects in this series and I wonder if you can guess who had more influence in designing this card, based on the colour theme. If you follow the blog regularly you will definitely know! 

For the previous two cards we used dies designed by Sweet Dixie and Wild Rose Studio and we used different embossing folders as a contrast. The project in the photograph above is slightly different as it combines dies from both Wild Rose Studio and Sue Wilson at Creative Expressions. I have heard Sue Wilson say that she designs  her dies to work in conjunction with each other. I think that you can combine dies from different designers on your projects, which not only makes your projects more interesting but also means you get the most out of your dies.

The Butterfly dies used are the same as in the previous project, the "Peacock Butterfly" and "Little Butterfly" from Wild Rose Studio. 

The die at the bottom of the card was cut out in both black and white card using the Border die, from Sue Wilson's, Creative Expressions French Collection - Corner, Border & Tag die set. The set contains three dies. The white die cut was stuck over the black card using Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic glue. I hope that you can see from the photograph the shadow effect that this creates. The same technique was used in the top right hand corner of the card, this time using the Corner die from the set. I think both of these dies work really well with the delicate wings of the butterflies. 

Rangers Liquid Pearls in "Platinum Pearl" was used along the body of the butterfly to add some colour. Finally we stamped a sentiment from a stamp set by IndigoBlu called 'B.F.F', using a Rangers Archival "Jet Black" ink pad.

So that was the last of the projects in this series and as promised below are details of our next card making workshop. I hope you have enjoyed all the cards and reading about how they were made.

Happy Crafting,

Dan

x

Card Making Workshop - Theme: Die Cutting 

Sunday the 28th of June

12.30pm to 2.30pm

Cost £7.50 per person

(includes all the materials you need and of course tea, coffee and cake!)

Limited Spaces Available

To book your place, please call the shop on 0208 530 1244.

Just A Quickie….

                                                

Design and photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Have you ever wondered what you can do with a rubber stamp, a black ink pad and Rangers Liquid Pearls in various colours? 

Well just take a look at the card in the photograph above. I like a lot of people today, text and email to say thank you or send a message to someone but I always think it is so much nicer when you send a card or when you receive one, especially when it is handmade. The nicest thing about crafting whether it be a card, tag or other projects is that it can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. I think this card is really simple but effective and I love the bright colours among the contrast of the back and white.

I used a Clear Magic Stamp from Woodware to make the images and 'Just a note' sentiment, which I stamped with a Rangers Archival ink pad in 'Jet Black' on 300gsm smooth white card. Once the ink was dry I applied the Rangers Liquid Pearls in 'Daffodil', 'Ruby Red', 'Hydrangea', 'Key Lime', 'Baby Blue'  and a couple more!

This card is really simple to produce and you could set up a mini production line to do a few for your card box, that way you would have some in reserve for when you needed them.

I hope you like it. I had fun making it.

Have a lovely time crafting this weekend and look out for some extra posts on the blog!

Back with another project on Tuesday.

Dan

PaperArtsy Is The Bee's Knees….

                             Design and photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Firstly I have to apologise for this post going out later tonight that I said it would on Tuesday's post, but we have been very busy bees (I know, I know, not a great joke). 

We have lots of lovely suppliers at Craft Boutique at 84 and PaperArtsy is no exception. As you can see from the photograph above, they produce great products for all craft projects, working in conjunction with some great designers. 

The newly released A5 JOFY rubber stamp set from PaperArtsy, JOFY Collection 30 is so much fun to work with. Designed by Jo Firth-Young it contains nine stamps individually trimmed on EZ mount. I wanted to try out the new postcard tags (available in manila and white) that we are now selling in the Wanstead shop and online. I used the honeycomb stamp with a Versafine 'Vintage Sepia' ink pad, to create the background and then combined that with one of the text stamps which I stamped using Rangers Archival 'Watering Can' and lastly added some of the smaller bees using a Rangers Archival 'Jet Black' ink pad.

I then stamped the larger bee, beehive and both sizes in the honeycomb stamps. Then I coloured them in using  some of the PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic paints. I used 'Tango' and 'Yellow Submarine' to colour the bodies of all the bees, 'Chocolate Pudding' and 'Brown Shed' for the beehive and a mixture of 'Pumpkin Soup' with some other shades of brown for the honeycomb pieces. I applied all the paint using a water brush, which at the moment is my favourite way of working with the paint to create shading.

I cut out all the images I had stamped, covering the  large honeycomb shapes in Rangers Glossy Accents giving them a shine to contrast against the smaller shapes. Finally I used STIX2 foam pads to create a 3D effect and stuck all of my cut outs to the postcard tag.

I was really pleased with the finished tag, I had been wanting to use Jo's bees for a few weeks, so was finally excited to be able to do a project. It reminds me that Summer is on it's way!

I hope you have enjoyed tonight's project, look out for some exciting posts over the next few days.

Dan

Dan's Hydrangea Card

Design and Photograph World © Danielle Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

Some of the latest products to come into the shop are from STAMPENDOUS! and we are just in love with their Jumbo Cling Rubber Sets and co-ordinating dies like the set featured in the card above. This one is 'Cling Hydrangea Garden' that I have stamped and cut out. 

I used a Rangers Archival Wendy Vecchi 'Watering Can' ink pad for the stamping as I thought it was more subtle to use a grey than a black which may have looked too harsh. For colouring the flowers and leaves I used various Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads working with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, which is great because it is small and round and easy to work with. Some of the Distress colours I used were 'Mowed Lawn', 'Seedless Preserves' and 'Victorian Velvet'. 

To make the centre of each of the flowers I used Rangers 'Daffodil' Liquid Pearls. I wanted the leaves to stand out more than the flowers, so used WOW! Clear Gloss Embossing Powder which created a beautiful shine. I stuck the flowers and leaves to the background paper using Stix2 foam pads to create a 3D effect. 

The wording is part of an A5 JOFY rubber stamp from PaperArtsy, JOFY Collection 26 which again I stamped in 'Watering Can'. 

Happy Card Making,

Dan