A potential Studio guest wanted to see some handmade journals, so l dug out some that I have made over the years. In the process, I found a travel journal that I made back in 2018 following an amazing three-week holiday in Canada and Alaska in honour of our 25th wedding anniversary (and the cashing in of an endowment mortgage policy). I don’t appear to have featured it on the blog before, so here goes:
I had a lovely weekend in London a couple of months ago, staying in a rather nice hotel. The said hotel had wooden keycards to get into the rooms, nicely engraved with the hotel name. Which got me thinking – could I make one of my own? I started researching possibilities, learning about NFC tags and working out the practicalities of making a ‘digital’ wooden business card. Here’s the result, and below, I focus on the process.
Now that I have moved into my new journaling Bible, I’m able to choose new verses and revisit old ones with new illustrations. This month, I have selected five verses on a theme of creation and nature and created art journaling designs for each:
I have a friend (in fact, several) who is big into Pokémon. So much so that when we’re away with friends, we’ll often pause on walks for some sort of game interaction. There have also been trips abroad for various Pokémon events. So when it came time to wrap a birthday present, I raided my ‘to be altered’ stash, selected a papier-mâché suitcase and customised it:
If you’re a regular follower of this ‘ere blog, you’ll know I am into art journaling. Since I’ve had several enquiries about my art journaling classes, I thought I would look in slightly more depth into the subject.
Continue readingWant to try art journaling for yourself? Scroll to the bottom to learn about my monthly in-person sessions in Leicester.
Facebook marketing works… I saw this pattern for highland cow amigurumi dolls promoted in my feed, and after an inquiry, I purchased it from Cottontail & Whiskers. Said inquiry was ‘Would you like me to make these?’ I aimed to crochet all three over three months, in time for a certain person’s birthday at the beginning of April. After several false starts (it was the first time I had done anything similar), I managed to get the largest (Tunnock) done in time.
Today’s focus is all about kerf. For those unfamiliar with the term, kerf is the sliver of material that is vaporised when cut with a laser or sawn away when cut with a saw. It’s usually the thickness of whatever is doing the cutting plus a smidge. By leveraging the kerf, it is possible to cut shapes that will then push-fit into others and remain there through friction. It’s particularly helpful when working with clear acrylic, which is tricky to glue without the glue showing up. That’s how I made these acrylic tealight holders using my xTool P2S laser and upcycled COVID screens for the main cube:
And some additional prototype designs for Christmas:
If you’ve ever wanted to create your own authentic wax seal, I’ve finally cracked it using a laser-engraved brass stamp — and I’ll show you how.
They come and go out of fashion, but wax seals still evoke a sense of quality and authenticity that has survived for hundreds of years. Over a lesser number of years, I have attempted various ways of making my own version, from a faux wax seal using embossing powder, to another made from pewter and latterly engraving acrylic with the laser and painting over with a soft-touch varnish. None of those were authentic though
With the arrival of my xTool F1 Ultra fiber laser, the opportunity was there to finally create my own proper, customised, brass wax seal stamp and apply an authentic wax seal to my work.
I often get asked about the header designs on my website — many were created using Texturelabs.org’s excellent free Photoshop and After Effects tutorials. In this Friday Focus, I’m sharing my favourite finds from their site and top tips for getting the most out of them.
At the end of April I accepted a last minute commission for a retirement gift. The brief was to make a piece featuring the recipient’s favourite Bible verse, Joshua 1:9. The time frame was tight, complicated by a long weekend working in London, but I got it done. I wanted to try out a technique I’d seen on various reels. I had ordered some solid wood pieces and they were perfect for this design:
