Christmas Begins

I know some of you have been making Christmas cards all year, but the craft group has only started. We used square cards covered with a square of Designer paper, then a Spellbinder square with an image from Lili of the Valley on top, ribbon along the base and a simple card was made!

Actually it took us an hour to get started, because we were poring over purchases from the Craft Fair that some of the group had bought.

Next day the rest of us went, with instructions to purchase missed items. Ruth and I were equipped with wheeled trolleys. But guess what I forgot to take? - My camera. I took exactly one photo on my mobile (cell phone) because it slipped my memory!

We got new plates for our Big Shots, Spellbinders dies, card, Inkylicious and Chloe rubber stamps, Splodge mats, Tatty Teddy and LOTV toppers, Bazoo papers, a large bauble punch, jewellery cords and magnetic clasps and bling to name a few.

Alice's Loot

I weakened and got another bag like my main craft bag, only it holds A4 items, though unfortunately no lid against the rain.

Alice's Bag and more Loot

Ruth's Loot

Ruth, too, weakened and bought a new wheeled trolley at a bargain price, which opens out and has velcro-attached containers. You can never have too many storage items!

Ruth's Bag opened and more Loot

Ruth's Wheeled Tote

Back again!

We had another ink dusting evening at our craft group. Ruth had previously shown us how to make little ink-dusted pictures on Spellbinders shapes so I thought 'Christmas'! and devised Romantic Rectangle shapes with ink dusting right across both pieces and the card to give a one piece pinky-toned night sky. Sheena Douglass Christmas tree stamp fitted one shape and Inkylicious Night Before Christmas on the other. Both were glitter-stickled and lo! one card completed.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Some of my recent cards:

To mark my Son's 1st Father's Day

My Son and Daughter-in-law's 3rd Anniversary

My Special Daughter-in-law's Birthday

Ruby Wedding

Next up is Hobbycrafts and Crafts for Christmas at the SECC down by the Clyde! This weekend! We're off, and hope our energy holds out...

Your favourite craft product

Blog prompt #13

It would be great to show us a few cards that you have made using your favourite product too!

My favourite craft product of the moment has to be my Ink Dusters - the big double-ended brushes we've been using to make the inky pictures in the  Playtime two videos.  I suppose any chunky or shaving or blusher brushes might work, but of the two types I have, I would say the Ink Dusters work best for a smooth effect.  The pictures we've made so far have already been shown on these four previous inky blog posts. 

I have also tweaked my inky sea scene used in More Playtime, dusting more heavily at the sand edging the sea and adding white caps and seagulls.

Playtime with Ink Dusting

We have been planning for a few weeks to demonstrate Ink Dusting on our Craft & Chat YouTube videos, so have been practising.

Instead of the usual long view from the camera of us sitting side-by-side, I have gone for two separate individual close-up-hands videos to show the techniques. Ruth went first and then I did the second.  Two different inky pictures were the result, both at playtime level! Next time we might try brayering!!! I went for the unsafe option of trying a sea scene instead of the standard hills and trees - silly me - it needs more work, but at least it shows the techniques.

I have a new video-editing programme on my computer, so I had to battle with getting to grips with that, then found the videos were over the 15 minutes allowed for upload.  Aaaarrrggghhh.

However, after much tweaking, they are now done and dusted lol.

I have just uploaded them both to my YouTube Channel and hope you will take the time to go look at them. 

These are the two direct links that will take you right to the videos.

Playtime with Ink Dusting  

More Playtime with Ink Dusting  

Feedback received: Loraine Think it looks amazing Alice - you asked for answers on a postcard regarding the sea - I would have inked a straight line at the sun end of the sea to give a horizon - that way you can see where the sea ends and the sky starts. You could also blank out slithers of card when inking nearer the shore line for gentle white breakers. Also if the sea is calm why not add in a paler reflection of the sun on the water.
Hope you don't mind my comments (I have to say I'm NOT arty at all). xx

Crafty Alice replies:  I love the feedback, thanks, Loraine. Jane from the craft group gave me tips for finishing that sea picture. I ran out of time as well as skill to finish the picture on-camera!

Inky Again

Third time of practice, Rita! I think I had an Off day while Ruth very much had an On day, including brayering in her dusting! However, we did achieve results.

The table was very full! We each have Inkylicious brushes and rubber stamps, Speedball brayer, ink pads (Adirondack, Memento, Tim Holtz), card, post-it note "masks", copy paper for testing colour and dabbing, baby wipes and spearmint soap to clean our inky fingers.

We tidied up slightly as we began our third project of the afternoon and made the beginning of plans as to what we might actually do on camera.

We've certainly made use of these recent purchases, which makes a nice change from buying and trying once...Happy ink dusting and brayering!

CraftyGranny

Thursday 5 April 9.35am GMT+1 now imprinted on my memory as our first Grandchild Evan Andrew Bailey Morland entered the world at 7 lb 14 and a half ounces.  Mother and baby both well and one excited son of mine!

As a good crafter should, I was in the process of preparing a card, boy or girl I didn't know, when he appeared a week early! Then the name was not yet decided upon, so I finally finished yesterday when all the details were available.  Of course, since Ruth and I had been practising ink brushing only the day before, I used the technique for the edges of the 8"x8" scallop card and the cut-out shape.  My Copic pens and twinkling H2Os to fill in the Lily of the Valley rubber stamp Baby Bunting.

To think I had been nearly calm, well not quite, as we were trying out more inky pictures.  Rita, we do hope to do an introductory type video to ink brushing, that's why we're practising LOL! These are our second attempts.

Ruth used the brayer for this sky (Adirondack ink) and gives quite a bit more intense colour, so it's a choice of technique.

Ink Dusting

So we've been trying our hand at the ink brushing technique, which is similar to brayering.  If we get any good at it we might do a video, Rita! These are our first results. What do you think?

Craft Fair Spring 2012

It's that time of twice-a-year again when we visit the SECC in Glasgow for the ICHF Hobbycraft fair - oh fun!


The highlight has surely got to be visiting CraftyBob at the CraftsUprint (see link on right-hand side of Blog) stall! 

We both got the brand new golden bag, as well as the purple craft bag, when we bought the lovely paper for printing on the cUp designs.

 We were rubber-stamped as crafters who had found CraftyBob!

We had great fun poring over everything.  I ordered Stampin' Up scallop and smooth oval greeting punches, as I am always borrowing Ruth's! 

The rest of my loot included self-assemble shelves for five A4 boxes, now placed near my printer, and pearlised red card for Christmas. Then there was baby decoupage and rubber stamps (guess who's going to be Grannies!!), tree metal stencil and nestability-type die-cut frames, cuttlebug borders, stickles, foam tape, silicone, desktop mini-tote (turquoise for me, pink for Ruth).

Ruth added Rock-a-blocks (rubber stamping) and more card to her purchases.

We were fascinated by the Inkylicious brushes which achieved the distressing/brayering effects. Memento ink pads (Tim Holtz distress inks, Adirondack and Versafine pads) are used.  Afterwards we had the cheek to buy more rubber stamps from the website! Well, it does produce results like these ones demonstrated on their stand: 

So a good time was had by all.  Hope you've enjoyed sharing it with us.