Mixed Media Plaster Panel

Posted on 16th September 2016 by perfectly4med

Over the last ten days or so, I’ve been playing with cast plaster panels. I used all the techniques I learnt at college to mould, soap, build clay dams, pour and pull a plaster of paris piece. Unfortunately, despite all that work, I completely forgot about overhangs. I ruined both the plaster mould and the panel as I attempted to separate the two with a screwdriver.

Undaunted, though slightly miffed, I went back to the drawing board and tried again. This time I pressed items into a clay slab and took a direct cast from that.

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Exciting news!

Posted on 10th November 2015 by perfectly4med

I’m delighted to be able to share that I have just been accepted onto the DecoArt Helping Artist program 🙂

Expect lots of blog posts, video demos, art journal pages and workshops using DecoArt Media products to come!

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Crochet from scratch

Posted on 5th September 2015 by perfectly4med

I’ve been busy over the last couple of days doing some crochet. I’ve been asked to lead a couple of workshops for beginner crocheters by Quorn Country Crafts over in Loughborough (starts Sat 12th September). Not wanting to nick someone else’s pattern, I’ve started from scratch, designing two projects I hope to see the attendees complete over the sessions.

The first is a crochet sampler panel, introducing slip stitch, chain stitch, double crochet, treble crochet, half treble popcorns and double treble crochet, working in front and back loops. And if a second panel were to be completed and joined with the filet crochet panel and then fringed, a handy scarf will be complete. All I have to do is write the pattern down now. [Worked in Hayfield Chunky With Wool on 6.5mm hook].

And for those that whizz ahead and do their homework, I’ll also be teaching crochet in the round, designing this snowflake tree decoration for the lessons. [Worked in Sirdar Ella Summer Luxe Cotton on 4mm hook]

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There are still spaces available on the three courses (five sessions altogether) – book via the Quorn Country Crafts website, or give them a ring!

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Background Check: Day 6

Posted on 6th August 2015 by perfectly4med

It’s the final day over at the Background Check class, aside from the wrap up day. It’s another design break to allow us to make cards using the background techniques we’ve learnt over the previous two days. I’ve snuck into the studio and made my Day 5 backgrounds into cards:

For these cards, they’ve only needed the addition of a little sparkle to accentuate elements on the background, with the sentiments done on my trusty Dymo machine. Again, that’s not been out for a while, and it was the letter press (get it?) technique that prompted its use. It’s been a great course, well worth the sign up fee – if only to have had the impetus to use some loved, but forgotten, techniques and refill my card drawer!

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Background Check: Day 5

Posted on 5th August 2015 by perfectly4med

I’m a bit behind on my classwork as I’ve been meeting other deadlines, looking after my nephews (one of whom has been helping me make paper beads), but here’s my highlights for day five of my Background Check samples – which are all about texture.

Loving the faux letterpress technique, and going to have to experiment more with it. It’s great not having all the confetti after using the die! Again, nothing new here, but great exercise of techniques and reminders of what can make a clean and simple card really quite special.

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Background Check: Day 4

Posted on 31st July 2015 by perfectly4med

Yesterday’s class was all about die cutting and how to use them in backgrounds. Now I’m not that much of a fan of die cuts, especially the confetti that covers everything with the really intricate ones. I decided to use a different approach, and cut out my cards using my Silhouette Cameo and designed my own shapes inspired by the dies used in the class.

The first is coloured with ProMarkers, and the second shaded with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. The third is just the white cut out on a cream card – I think it’s a rather classy clean and simple design.

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Background Check: Day 3

Posted on 30th July 2015 by perfectly4med

Day 3 of my online card class, and they’ve introduced a fab idea – a ‘design break’. A chance to use what we’ve learnt in class to make cards. I didn’t have chance yesterday as I was prepping for a large workshop (news of this released next week…), so I’ve been making the cards this morning before today’s class is released. Here are my makes:

The text is all self-designed and cut from 300gsm card on my Silhouette Cameo. Colour added with distress inks, direct to paper. I love the results of some of these – not styles I would have immediately gone for, but very effective cards. Now to go and see what Day 4 has in store!

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Mixed media sketchbook cover

Posted on 28th April 2015 by perfectly4med

This is another sample for my ‘Finnabair-inspired Sketchbook Cover’ workshop in July (booking details here). It features moulded polyurethane pieces (crafting chemistry at its best), lots of black gesso, Viva Decor Inka Gold, Silks acrylic glazes and an awful lot of dry brushing over Dreamweaver texture paste through a stencil. Microbeads by Finnabair/Prima Marketing, adhered with matt multi-medium. There are still places available on the workshop if you’d like to come and get guidance on making your own.

Scrap-Yard – Quilt No. 14

Posted on 5th March 2015 by perfectly4med

Ok, coming in at 15″x20″ this quilt is no where near a yard in size, but it is certainly made from scrap pieces of fabric that every quilter has in their stash (insisting they will come in useful at some point). I sort of made up my own rules to get all the scraps in place with a minimum of pressing or planning, before backing and binding it. It’s taken about 7 hours to make from start to finish.

I’ll be teaching my method at Quorn Country Crafts on Friday, 19th June, 2015 between 10-4pm – feel free to join the waiting list as apparently the initial class is already booked up!

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Art Journaling – Inverse Silhouettes

Posted on 28th February 2015 by perfectly4med

Those of you who happen to lead projects or workshops, or lessons, or sermons, may have the same reaction as me to the question ‘what are we doing next time?’. There’s the moment of panic – ‘I’ve not even thought about it’; then there’s the moment of ‘shall I make something up?’. Then there’s the next thought: ‘I really must get a lesson plan together’. All of which then gets summarised into the quintessential reply: ‘It’s a surprise.’

So it was at the end of my last art journaling session a month ago. Since then, a little planning has happened, and I’ve come up with the project for Monday’s session: inverse silhouettes. Here’s a couple of examples I’ve done this week: