3D printing
3D Printing: A Rather Sad Cuboidroid

Posted on 30th October 2017 by Neil

I’ve had a little bit more ‘me time’ in the studio and decided out of the blue to create something from scratch using my 3D printer. The second time I created this little chap was a lot quicker than the first. I had learnt how to do it in the preceding four hours and then neglected to save the file before it crashed… I’m in the process of kitting out another two of these mini sculptures and will be making a series, I think. I’m dubbing them ‘cuboidroids’ – cuboid droids. Two reasons: I had to call them something and ‘blockheads’ was already taken; a quick Google search showed no one had concatenated the two words together, ever. If only I had the cash to trademark the name.

This down-in-the-dumps rust bucket stands 9cm/3½” high and is for sale if anyone wants to make me an offer. Or commission a custom cuboidroid…

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Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Mobius

Posted on 29th October 2017 by Neil

I think this tangle pattern comes into its own with shading to emphasise the layers within the design. And I’m aware the motif is not a Mobius strip, but that’s what it reminded me of. It will work well as a border, and also point to point rather than off-set as I have drawn it.

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Freebies
Organisation: Mini Archival Ink Tins

Posted on 26th October 2017 by Neil

It’s always great to know where things are in your craft space, which requires organisation. It’s even more important in a teaching studio to be able to tell at a glance if anything is missing and for studio guests to know where to put things back. As part of the Creative Chemistry course, Tim Holtz made available inserts for his mini-distress ink pads to fit the storage tins. I’ve just looked for similar for the mini-archival ink tins, and couldn’t find one. So I made some:

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Art Journal
Art Journal Page: Pick A Stick Challenge #PASC1017

Posted on 25th October 2017 by Neil

I know I haven’t done the Pick A Stick Challenge for a little while but didn’t realise quite how long ago it was… 2015! I’ve decided to try and do at least one ‘me-project’ each month, and this month was the Pick A Stick art journal challenge. For those that have forgotten the format, ten sticks are chosen at random, each with an instruction as to what to put in or a technique to use. The challenge Facebook group can be found here.

The page ended up darker in tone and emotion that I normally do – the quote was inspired by the raven stencil I used. There are many different things that I would call from the poem, but this is perhaps the darkest. As I was writing it onto the page all I could think of was my road with depression, my ‘black dog’.

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Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Diatom

Posted on 22nd October 2017 by Neil

Here’s my latest tangle pattern step-by-step for Diatom. This pattern is based on a scanning electron microscope image of a diatom. Diatoms are small algae-like organisms that populate bodies of water. I’ve been fascinated by them since learning they can be important in forensics, when I went to the Royal Free pathology department museum around 30 years ago.

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Quilting
Quilt No 019: Jungle Friends

Posted on 19th October 2017 by Neil

When things go quiet on here, it usually means I am working on something I can’t share just then. This is another of those projects, a jungle friends themed quilt that I gifted a couple of weeks ago so I can now share it publicly!

It’s the first time I have quilted using printed polycotton, and I was quite disappointed with it fading on its very first wash. Hopefully, that is it for future washes. I’ll also give you a tip – always check the ironing instructions for unfamiliar fabrics. It turns out that setting the iron to the normal temperature and steam for cotton fabrics ends with the polycotton firmly adhering to the iron and shrinking somewhat.

And the pedant in me chafed all the way through the making that lions were not jungle creatures. And neither are giraffes as far as I am aware. Or indeed zebras. What about tortoises? Sheesh, what are we teaching our kids? Continue reading →

Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Crosseyed

Posted on 15th October 2017 by Neil

This is my latest tangle pattern – Crosseyed. Apparently, a cross-shaped pupil would be an optical nightmare. Who knew? I quite like how this turned out, particularly with the negative space between circles looking as if it has page curl turn backs. A bit of subtle shading can increase the impression of spherical eye balls…

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3D Projects
Tutorial: That’s Crafty! Art Shrine

Posted on 10th October 2017 by Neil

I don’t know how much of this art shrine sample was shown on TV last week… I certainly didn’t have enough time to demonstrate how I put it together, so here comes a tutorial to follow if you want to make your own 🙂

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Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Crisscross

Posted on 8th October 2017 by Neil

Reminiscent of the strapping around the chest of British army uniforms in 1812, or even the beginnings of a first aid bandage. With the over-and-under style, this tangle pattern really is a tangle!

Have you seen my tangle pattern gallery yet? Click here to see all my patterns. Continue reading →

Artist Trading Cards
That’s Crafty! Show Samples: ATCs

Posted on 8th October 2017 by Neil

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.