A meeting of Paperlove - Part 2

Gosh - where has this year gone?! While thinking about my next post I suddenly realised I did not return to my trip to Bute as planned. And as this is still in mind and one of my happy memories of 2017, I will put that right. If you missed (or want to be reminded!) of how we came together in August this year you can read about it here.  

I mentioned in that post some of the things that we shared in Ruth's studio. And here is some more:

On our walk to the beach and in the garden we collected flowers and plants for eco-printing. My friends had been generous in their gifts, bringing old books and papers for us to share. These made beautiful backgrounds for our prints. 

We also learnt a new binding stitch.  The instructions were translated from Swedish so there was some confusion over translation, but we all got there in the end, amid much laughter! 

I was also introduced to Litho Printing, using Coca-Cola. This was an interesting idea and my own prints were somewhat dubious. However, some of the other examples were more promising so I need to experiment more with this. 

We also did some stitching. Ideas were shared, fabric and threads exchanged, and more beautiful work was produced. This is such a talented group of people! 

We also got to explore more of the island. One of our members is a poet and university lecturer, who came up with some wonderful ideas during our time together. She was inspired by a poetry form that was easy even for non-writers, and many of us gave it a try. 

We also took photos, sketched, took notes and just sat quietly, appreciating this special place.

One of our other visits was to Mount Stuart House. I had never heard of this house before going, but was amazed by the history, and stunning beauty. Paul McCartney's daughter was married there, and it it was sumptuous without feeling imposing. We were given a tour of the house and enjoyed afternoon tea in one of the private rooms. 

My neck ached from looking up at the ceilings! There was so many with paintings and ornate carvings. Breath taking is the only word to describe.

And the grounds are impressive too, with landscaped formal gardens, woodland and coastal walks, a huge glass house and vegetable garden. If ever you get the chance to go, don't hesitate!! We enjoyed our visit so much that we returned on our own, to explore some more. 

Ruth, our host, booked a different place for us to eat each evening so we were lucky enough to experience more of the island and time together.  Husbands joined us to eat, and then we returned to the studio to work into the evening. Lifts were shared and arranged, and it truly was a magical time. I feel blessed to be part of such a diverse and interesting group, and while we live too far a part to meet regularly we do maintain contact online and there has been some wonderful happy mail exchanged this Christmas. We are also arranging monthly projects and I look forward to seeing what 2018 brings. 

This reminder of sunshine and holidays has brightened my day and if you have read to the end, a big thank you! I hope it triggers your own happy memories of holidays and friendships. 

How to upcycle a Christmas gift bag

This weekend saw me on one of my regular craft retreats and as I am going to India at the beginning of December I want all my Christmas cards made and sent in plenty of time. I packed card blanks and sorted through my boxes of Christmas materials, but the thing I most wanted to use was a large Christmas gift bag that I have saved for several years.  I knew it was too useful to pass on or discard, and  I love a challenge, so I lost no time in cutting the bag to see what it offered.

I especially liked the baubles and spent ages fussy cutting these.  There was a lovely pile when I finished.... 

 and these made lovely cards.

I was still left with lots of the bag so I cut out reindeers from the snowman, and trees from the green background.  

There was only small scraps left of the bag when I had finished and I was really pleased with my upcycling achievement. I love using materials that other people might throw away and it makes me wonder why I have spent so much of merchandise in the past. I no longer go on big spending sprees and have learnt that having too much just creates indecision and overwhelm. So I am now trying to use what I have and to create space.

I made about 75 cards this weekend, using different materials and techniques.  But the baubles cut from the bag are my favourites and most of my other papers and embellishments stayed in their packs. It just proves that it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it. What have you got lurking or hanging around that you could use? 

Adventures with Alice

"Let's get together again" we said.

We had loved the four day Summer School with Alice Fox and didn't want this time to come to an end. And so I suggested a house that we could hire and lured Alice with the thought of being on an island. Luckily it worked, but because of Alice's heavy work schedule we had to be patient... so it was eighteen long months later that we headed out across the causeway. 

 There was beautiful daffodils to welcome us...

And cosy chairs around the log fire.

And it's here our adventure began.
Alice called it: 'Personal and collaborative responses to landscape'.

We called it magical.

We were surrounded by a wide expanse of marsh and mudflats, and a horizon that stretches forever. Alice had warned us that much of our time will be spent outdoors, what ever the weather. And so we had come prepared with waterproofs and thermal layers; most of which remained unpacked because the weather took a turn and blessed us with clear blue skies. We were glad of our jackets and hats though, as there was a chill to the breeze and this would be felt when we sat quietly observing, sketching, or writing. Alice encouraged us to spend time alone, to use this time to explore our creativity and sense of connection. And we all welcomed this permission. Because while it is good to have company and to spend time with friends, it is a different kind of experience, alone.

After exploring and unpacking (done in that order for some of us!) we met back at the house for dinner. That was when we discovered
another talent of Alice's. Her home cooked meals became a highlight of the day, and quick trips back to the house for tea were just an excuse for a slice of homemade cake that would make a master baker proud! I was excited to have this time and opportunity to work with Alice again and I had not given much thought to meals. These turned out to be understated and Alice got it absolutely right in her choice and menu. We felt very well looked after, and this added to the weekend's memory and experience. Our first day ended with Alice showing us examples of her work. I was inspired and buzzing with ideas and went to bed fully sated, excited for a new day to begin.  

Some of us got up early to wander the island before breakfast. Ideas were already bubbling, and inspired by Alice's mark making I tried not to use my camera as my automatic way of recording. Instead I folded a piece of A3 card, with the idea of making a book of my walk. I set off with the card folded in one hand and a graphite stick in the other. They made contact as I walked along the sea wall.

Frequently I ventured off to explore the marsh.

  
This landscape might look bleak and dull, but look close and you find hidden surprises.

As a photographer it is hard not to frame and shoot.  But I wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone and to try something different; so I used Alice's encouragement to make marks. I sketched, did rubbings, and sometimes sat to write down my thoughts and observations....

Back at the house I added colour to some of these.
This book is still work in progress, but shows some of the recordings I made on this early morning walk.

The next photo shows my meandering; the marks made with graphite stick held against the card. Their random, uneven lines are a

response to my unsteady footsteps as I explored the sea wall and marsh. I love this irregular shape that captured time and place. But what I discovered, when I unfolded the card at the end of my walk both surprised and intrigued me, and it still does. 

  

You see, to make it easy to draw, I walked with the card folded into a thick wedge. I started at the house and marked this with a X. I did not plan or even think about where I was going with this idea, it was just an unconscious piece of work that was experimental and fun. While I drew I looked where I walked - this was important if I was to keep myself safe. The mud is deep and potentially dangerous, especially as I was on my own. Each time I came to the end of a fold I turned the card and continued it onto the next page. 

Why was I surprised and intrigued?

Because without any intention or plan, my marks ended exactly where they began. I had no way of seeing what came on the page before or after, as the card was folded for the whole walk. If the mark had ended at a different edge I would have flipped the card over to continue. I could have ended with a blank space, or with my mark somewhere else completely different on the A3 sheet. I was surprised to find my mark back where it started. Just like my walk.

 A  cut across the centre fold meant I could make a simple book structure. Inside you get a glimpse of my rubbings and sketches.

This had started out as an experiment, just to satisfy my excitement and eagerness to get started. I was already bursting with ideas but after breakfast Alice planned to talk about what our time together would look like.
I'd better tell you about that next time!

WELCOME CHRISTMAS - Design Team Project

I love Christmas, it is a time to decorate the house and bring some light and fun indoors during the wintery months. So I decided to make a row of houses that was inspired by a picture on Pinterest. I asked my husband to cut some shapes out of wood and then I started to play:

First I covered the four sides with pages torn from an old text book using matt medium.

 
Usually I like to use PaperArtsy Fresco chalk paints, but I didn't have colours I had in mind for this project. So I used acrylic paint instead, and roughly brushed the edges with grey to create a distressed effect.  

I then diluted red acrylic paint to create a translucent effect so that the text would show through once it was applied to all sides.

 Next I added some random stamping, using grey Memento ink.

I then got carried away and forgot to take photos of the next stages but the following photos will show how I added an letter to each of the houses. For this I used transfers that have been in my stash for some time as it seemed a good way to use them, but of course you can also stencil or stamp letters to make the words too. Another idea I had was to paint chipboard letters, this would be a great way of using ones up that have the wrong colour or pattern.

Talking of using things up.... I wanted texture on the roof of the houses and found some corrugated card.  I removed the paper off one side, measured and cut strips to fit, and then painted them with grey acrylic. Once glued into position and dry, coat of matt medium helped to seal everything.

Finally I decided the houses needed a sprinkle of sparkle. Working on one area at a time I stamped small dots onto areas of the front and sides of the houses using a glue stamp pad, then sprinkled with fine glitter and let it dry.

 

I decided it needed a bit more, so I painted small wooden stars in dark grey acrylic. Once dry I added patches of silver embossing powder; and did the same on the bottom edge of each house and the roof, to give more lift.

 

And here is the finished result.  The glitter does not show well in the photos but these houses will make a cheerful welcome to Christmas and to our visitors.

I'm lucky that my husband cut these house shapes for me but there are lots of pre-cut MDF projects including stars available from That Craft Place. That's where you can also buy all materials needed to complete this project or others like it. 

Here is what I used:

Wooden house shapes (see note above)
small wooden stars
Acrylic Paint in black, white, red and green
DecoArt Matt Medium
Page of text (from an old book)
Memento ink Grey Flannel
Small frost, scroll and dot stamps
Alpha transfers - but you could use a stencil or pre-cut shapes
Embossing pad
Silver embossing powder

To see more Design Team projects do pop over to TCP Blog and why not enter this months Mixed Media challenge?  You'll find details how to take part and lots more ideas too.  

And if you would like to know any other details about how I made the Welcome houses please leave a comment, I am happy to help where I can. Thank you for popping by and I hope you have lots of fun making your own Christmas projects.

WHEN INSPIRATION IS TOO MUCH......

'Have you been blogged out?' a friend asked.
She'd noticed the lack of posts since the finish of my 30 Day Blogging Challenge. 

Not blogged out... no. 

I have a lot of drafts part written, ideas jostling for attention,
and my mind has been restless wanting to get these out. But I have tried to quieten these thoughts because I also have a design team project to make, a Christmas workshop to plan and prepare, and a host of other pressing things. So when my plans changed at the last minute and I found myself with a day I didn't expect, I thought 'GREAT'!  And I started to play...

Only it didn't happen. Not in the way I hoped. Somehow my mojo didn't get the message. Or rather, I had SO MANY ideas I didn't know where to start!  I adapted the attitude that ideas will come through the process rather than the other way round. But still I found myself flitting from one to another, overwhelmed by so many ideas and materials. I should count myself lucky, I know. And I do. It is wonderful when an idea pops and I can follow through, but gradually the table, chairs, floor, and every workspace around me gets covered. It not only looks chaotic, I feel it too.

I tried pushing though this. When ideas or projects did not turn out as I hope I carried on rather than abandon. Let's face it, sometimes happy accidents can result. Other times I learn from the experience and accept that not every thing will have the outcome I hoped for. And truly, as I write this, a sudden thought comes to me!

A realisation... 

This past month I have spent more hours blogging than ever before, and the 30 day challenge involved many hours of analytical thinking and thought processing. It's important to say that I see blogging as a creative activity because I love writing and connecting in this way with others. I do it for entirely for pleasure, but blogging every day occupied much of my thoughts even when I wasn't in front of the computer, and this involved a lot of left brain activity.

No wonder my mojo is missing! It wants to play, not perform! I feel under pressure to create, so why would my creativity want to come out if I am tense and impatient?

So yesterday I stopped what I was doing and went to the cinema.
Being spontaneous can add excitement to life, so while this wasn't exactly adventurous I've never been to the cinema in the afternoon before, so it was not the kind of thing I usually do. It was a great film by the way - A lady with a van. A true story of a lady who lived in a campervan in the driveway of Alan Bennett. I hoped this break might shift something. And today I got back to 'working' on ideas for the workshop and my  design team piece. But still my mojo wasn't there.

Now I see why!

My mojo doesn't want to 'work'. I have been too long in left brain and need to reconnect with my right! Sometimes having too much art supplies can be a hindrance and cause overwhelm.  Yes!  So in an effort to reduce this feeling I will go back and clear away much of what I got out, and just have fun.

Less is more, right?!

And this reminds me of a post I read the other day, where Lain Ehmann said 'inspiration is not enough, its too much'. Right now her words are inspiring me to keep going. 

'Instead of piling more into an already clogged conduit when

we're feeling stuck, we need to take the counterintuitive

approach and STOP the input and START the output'.

Lain Ehmann

I'm already doing this, and it's not feeling good. But Lain reminded me that it is important to keep at it, to shut down the inspirational flow and stop looking for ideas.

 

To just create.  At some point after all the false starts she says that the good things will start to emerge. I hope so. I am trusting my intuition and need to stop putting barriers in the way.

 

So, blogged out? No. Just trying to change gear and find my creativity. What do you do when you can't find yours?

HOW TO CREATE RUST EFFECT - A REVIEW OF PRODUCTS

'Why would you WANT to create rust effect?'
I hear some people ask!

Let's face it, most people want to get rid of rust, as it can be potentially dangerous (think of a ships hull or critical part of machinery).  But when I thought of writing this post I suddenly realised how much I am drawn to rust. Because I have a large collection of 'rust' photos....

 
I love the texture and atmosphere they create and I have an album for photo textures, because they look great added as another layer underneath a photo.  A bit like mixed media only digital! I must make time to play more in Photoshop Elements.... 

But as well as taking photos of rust, I like to use it for putting prints onto paper and fabric...

Because this is what happens.....

 And when you put the paper and photos together, you get this....

In a previous post I showed how I made this book.  So if you missed it at the time and want to know more here is a link. 

But sometimes I don't want to use photos, I want to create a rust effect that has texture!

So here are two ways I have done this:
  
If you saw my post about a workshop I attended this weekend you would have seen this ATC card.  Here is a link if you missed it and want to see.

We created this effect by using DecoArt paints and texture paste. It looks pretty effective, don't you think? This is a review of products rather than a tutorial but if you want to learn how to do it Mark Gould has other workshops planned for 2016.   

By coincidence I was running my own workshops that weekend and had also planned a rust effect. So I thought it interesting to compare the two different ways of achieving this.  

This time I used RUSTING POWDER by Craftynotions. It is quick and effective, so just what was needed because my workshops were part of a larger event and I only had an hour to complete the project.

Since I had planned this as a future tutorial let me take you through the process...

Starting centre left and going down:

1. I rubbed Kraft card with an ink pad using 2 different shades of brown. 

2. I then put the card through an embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

Centre right going down:

3. I lightly inked the raised image to give definition using dark
brown (you could also use black if you prefer)

4. Here's how to add the rust powder!! 
Roughly brush areas of the card lightly with PVA glue.
Sprinkle the rust powder onto the glue, tapping excess off.
It you have time leave time for the glue to dry, although I often  continue straight on to the next step without a problem. 
Spritz the rust powder with vinegar or water. I have found white wine vinegar works well for me and I usually give 2 coats, leaving it to dry in between. A heat gun can speed the drying if you are in a hurry.
The vinegar creates a chemical reaction and you quickly get a rust effect.

Warning: It also makes you think of fish and chips (though it might not have this effect if you live outside UK)!

5. To finish, lightly go over the raised areas with a graphite pencil to increase the effect. 

In conclusion, both products gave good result and I will continue to use these. However, I plan to experiment more with using the rust powder on card to see if I can create more definition.

Meanwhile, let me quickly show you another example of creating deliberate rust effects:

 
These are called Ratty's and I won't say much more now because I promised a review of products and this could easily become rusty ramblings! However, if you are interested I did post about Ratty's here and my Steampunk book here.


So, I hope this post answers the question:

'Why would you WANT to create a rust effect?'

But what do YOU think?!  I'd love to know your thoughts, and your own experience of using rust or rust effects. Or may be one of the other things mentioned has sparked a memory or idea? Please do tell!    Thanks for popping by, it's great to have company!

Tomorrow is my final day of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge.  I will be telling you how I got on and what I learnt.  Hope to see you then.