TV: That’s Crafty! One Day Special Continues

The That’s Crafty! One Day Special continues into its second day… It’s more accurately termed a 24-hour special, but that’s me being my normal pedantic self. I’m on your viewing screens again today at 9am and hopefully at 1pm and 5pm (apparently the latter two slots will be subject to previous sales thresholds being met). Do tune in to Hochanda (Freeview 85 (all shows), Sky 663 or online at hochanda.com) and feel free to pass on a message or question by emailing studio@hochanda.com.

Here are today’s demos:

Continue reading

TV: That’s Crafty! One Day Special

I’m live on your viewing screens today at 6pm and 8pm, showcasing the latest That’s Crafty! products. I’m demonstrating the One Day Special featuring stencils, texture paste and greyboard panels ready for your mixed media artwork. The bundle also includes a cracking set of texture stamps.

Find the shows on Hochanda (Freeview 85 (6pm only), Sky 663, or online at hochanda.com). You can watch again via their website and scroll back to show dates on the TV schedule page.

These are the projects I will be demonstrating in today’s shows:

Continue reading

That’s Crafty! Show Samples: ATCs

I was on your viewing screens last Friday (you can still catch up at hochanda.com until 16th Oct, 8am & 11am) showcasing the latest releases from That’s Crafty! Part of the mega-pack was a bumper pack of greyboard ATCs, and also available were acrylic and MDF ATCs. Combining these with multi surface paints, shimmer paints, Sparklers and Lynne’s new affirmations clear stamp sets, here are the samples I made, some of which I demonstrated on air.

GIVEAWAY:
If you’d like a chance to win all of the ATC samples I made, comment on the blog post, and at the end of the month I will pick someone at random to receive them. UPDATE: Congratulations to Doreen, who won the draw.

Continue reading

That’s Crafty! Show Samples: Autumn

As always, a quiet blog usually means frenetic activity in The Studio. The start of this month has been no different, with not two, but three live hours of craft TV demos to prepare for. And, as usual, there was a press embargo on sharing the products, or the samples, until the live shows aired.

So, without further ado, here are my samples for the Hochanda shows that aired on 18th August 2017. Please let me know if you’d like fuller instructions on how to make any of these, I’ll see what I can do. Later this week, I’ll also do a review of the new That’s Crafty! Multi Surface paints based on what I learnt making the samples.

’tis the season

That’s Crafty! Multi Surface Paint: Black / Christmas Red / Yellow / Brown
That’s Crafty! Multi Surface Paint: Metallic Gold
That’s Crafty! Bits & Pieces Greyboard: Acorns and Leaves / Leaves
That’s Crafty! Bits & Pieces Greyboard: Christmas Sentiments 1
That’s Crafty! Surfaces Set of 2 MDF Shadow Boxes [small] That’s Crafty! Multi Purpose Craft Adhesive Pen

Use the Craft Adhesive as a doming glaze for the berries. The metallic gold adds a little bit of shine to the leaves.

Continue reading

TV Sneak Peeks: teasers for Friday’s shows

It’s not long before I am on your screens again, demonstrating the latest release of products from That’s Crafty! To whet your appetite, here are a few more teasers…

I have to get up at silly o’clock on Friday morning, so forgive me if I’m not quite awake for the 8am show – but hopefully by the 2pm show I will have stopped yawning! There’s a lot to pack into the shows, so make sure you record them as I’ll be demo’ing rather fast…

Continue reading

TV: Sneak Peeks [for That’s Crafty!]

It’s been a bit hectic here at The Studio, prepping samples and show demos for my TV appearance on Friday, on Hochanda (16th June, 8am & 2pm). That’s Crafty! have a huge new release including their own shimmer paints, lots of laser cut embellishments and the new giganTAGs. As usual, I’ve been a bit quiet online as I’ve been hard at work offline! So, here’s a quick peek of the project I’ll (hopefully) show step-by-step beginning to end in the first hour:

Continue reading

Art Journals: using acrylic covers – part 2

I promised to share my ‘now you see me, now you don’t’ technique for acrylic covers that didn’t quite get finished on air during my last Hochanda shows for That’s Crafty!. Below are some instructions along side the pics I took prior to the shows, and below those is a short video I have done to try and explain it a little more clearly! Apologies for the outside noises on the video – they’re wind chimes and a radiator warming up, if you’re wondering.

Continue reading

Art Journals: using acrylic covers

I was on Hochanda this week demonstrating techniques for using the acrylic covers effectively, for the A4 and A6 journals from That’s Crafty!. As always, there is too little time on air to fit in all my ideas, and only just enough time to fit in all I had planned! What follows below are photos and quick explanations of how to do your own. I really need to remember to take step-by-step photos as I make so that I can do a proper tutorial post! First is an unbroadcast cover, then the mirrored cover that didn’t go so right when rushed, and last for this post is the bubbling water effect shown in my first hour.

  • Peel off the protective film from the reverse of the cover
  • Work on the reverse side for all the following steps
  • Place the snowdrop stencil in position and fill in using Posca pens
  • Dry, then place the TIME stencil upside down and sponge through ivory paint
  • Dry, spritz with gold mister, dry
  • Meanwhile, print texture stamps onto large Rizla papers using Chartreuse archival ink
  • Heat set the ink, then using decoupage glue/multi medium glue overlapping layers of the printed papers
  • Once dry, any paper over the edges of the cover can be sanded off

  • Peel off the protective film from the reverse of the cover
  • Working on the reverse, add alcohol inks until you are happy with the coloured layer
  • Place the JOURNAL stencil upside down and sponge a layer of Jet Black archival ink through onto the alcohol ink
  • Remove the stencil and then rub away the black in with a clean cloth/kitchen towel
  • Repeat inking steps if you want to remove any more of the alcohol ink
  • Now spritz with a water-based varnish (e.g. Pentart spray varnish) to seal the ink
  • IMPORTANT: allow to fully air dry, do not heat. Repeat varnish layer
  • Spritz with Pentart Mirror Mist and heat dry immediately to stop the mirror mist weakening the varnish beneath
  • Seal the mirror mist with the same varnish and finally apply a layer of black acrylic paint
  • Peel off front film to reveal your results

  • Peel off the protective film from the reverse of the cover
  • Working on the reverse, and using the word stencils the wrong way up, sponge your main colour onto the acrylic; heat dry and repeat directly over the top.
  • Next, sponge your shadow colour through the same stencil, slightly offsetting from the first colour
  • For the water effect, first dilute some white gesso/primer
  • Working quickly, cover the whole sheet with a layer of watery paint and then dab isopropyl alcohol into the wet paint – it will push the paint away and start the effect
  • When you are happy with the effect, heat dry in a well ventilated room
  • Repeat with a light shade of blue, and then another darker shade of blue
  • This technique will work over any sealed surface, but does rely on the paint being thinned and still wet
  • Try adding text to the front of the cover as well, this time starting with the shadow colour and working over the top with the main colour

Bonus post

Later this week I will do a separate post explaining my ‘now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t’ technique that was a wee bit rushed at the end of the second show:

Continue reading

Art Journal Pages: Colours

Regular readers won’t be surprised to learn that I have been spending quite a lot of time making samples and prepping demos for my shows on Hochanda last Friday. It’s one reason that there have been very few blog updates recently, as there’s always a media embargo on sharing things before the shows go out. Now that they’re over though, here is one of the 8×8″ journals I decorated for the occasion.

Each spread uses the Pentart Matt Acrylic Paints in a baby-wipe swiped layer, stamped and stencilled, to give a tone-on-tone effect. Some worked well (purple and orange), others not so well (mentioning no names, green). The fine applicator nib is great for painting outlines and letters, as I demonstrated on air.

Continue reading

Art Journal Page: Dare [for That’s Crafty]

I think I’ve said it before, but one of the benefits of being on a design team is that you get to play with new kit before it is available to everyone else. So – spoiler alert – it was exciting to see in yesterday’s post some of the new That’s Crafty! journals, stencils and stamps that I will be using on my TV shows on Hochanda on 17th March (7am & 11am). This will be the only sneak peek I’ll be doing until the shows, so see what you can spot will be on sale!

 

There’s so much potential with the new kit for layering, building texture and depth, and so many new elements to add to a page. I hope you can join me either live, or on the catch up on the Hochanda website (or on record if you’re not up and watching TV already at 7am!). The first hour is going to be live in the Netherlands – my first live international audience 🙂

Continue reading