Workshops
All Counties Craft Challenge

Posted on 16th February 2017 by Neil

I’m delighted to be hosting John Bloodworth, The Gentleman Crafter, at the Studio on Tuesday 4th April, 10am to 3:30pm for a day of card making. John has spent the last 10 months touring the country in an attempt to do a workshop in every county, raising money for Mind mental health charity.

You can book your place here, and if you can’t make the day, I would urge you to support him by donating to his challenge here. It’s a fantastic charity endeavour, a great charity, and as someone with mental health issues (me) I’d really love for you to support and encourage John as he comes toward the end of his epic year.

Continue reading →

Art Journal
Art Journal Page: Deep Waters

Posted on 7th February 2017 by Neil

It was a ‘watersolubles’ theme at Art Journaling last night. In between diagnosing a broken Mac (it was one of the RAM cards that died) and having the car serviced (it was a VW diesel engine…), I grabbed an hour or so to do an inspiration page:

It reminded me that all watersolubles are not created equal, with some water-soluble wax crayons barely moving when wetted, even on watercolour paper, and others wandering off and doing their own thing quite happily. It also is worth noting that, to get best effects, you should gesso or otherwise seal your journal page unless working in a watercolour paper journal.

In the above example, I used the blues on watercolour paper before drying and cutting out the letters on my Silhouette Cameo. The background is a combination of colour and graphite watersolubles over gesso, overprinted with acrylic paint. Handwritten text and outlines finished off the layout.

Continue reading →

3D Projects
Bas Relief Roses

Posted on 4th February 2017 by Neil

At today’s bas relief cards workshop, I did the unthinkable (for me at least) – worked on a technique and a sample alongside a workshop guest, without trying it first weeks before. And despite the gung-ho attitude, we both ended up with, even if we do say so ourselves, a cracking outcome. There was something rather pleasing about making a 2D stamped image a little more 3D, smudging and smoothing paper clay into place before letting the stains and paint do their thing.

Continue reading →

Original Designs
Memory Quilt: Block No. 8

Posted on 30th January 2017 by Neil

No, you haven’t missed seven previous instalments – this is the first of nine blocks that I’ve tackled for a new memory quilt. I wanted to make a quilt as a ‘souvenir’ of our trip to the USA over Christmas – in addition to my travel journal which is yet to be finished…

We chose the fabric whilst away, in a lovely quilting shop, Stowe Fabric & Yarn, in Stowe, Vermont, and once I got home and had five minutes to myself, I started designing. It’s the first quilt I have made that uses appliqué techniques – and I’m going to need a bit more practice on my satin stitches I think. The quilt is going to feature nine appliqué panels, and here’s the first. No guesses as to which tourist venue this panel refers to…

Continue reading →

Altered Art
Handmade faux leather book

Posted on 28th January 2017 by Neil

I’ve previously made a ‘book’, to hold various ephemera, as a leaving present for the minister of my previous church. So when it came to putting together another bespoke binder for prayer flags, a photo book and collected digital photos, I built on my previous project and created a faux leather effect ‘book’.

The ‘book’ is just about the size of a sheet of A4 and about 1½” deep. Constructed from 2mm greyboard and 5mm foamcore board, the canvas cover is painted with a mix of rose madder and burnt sienna acrylic paints to resemble worn leather. The spine text is pressed in with an embossing tool to give an impression of embossed foiling, whilst the frontplate uses careful shading to achieve the same effect.
Continue reading →

Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Why-O-Why

Posted on 25th January 2017 by Neil

It seems that my brain has tuned into tangle patterns again since I created the three patterns while I was in USA over Christmas. This pattern has been rearranging itself in my head for the last week or so, and this morning I had the opportunity to get it onto paper, step-by-step.

If you’re brave, try missing out step 2 (which I added as a guide) and going straight to the tramlines in step 3. It’s another of those patterns which ‘pops’ with a bit of shading. It’s also one of those patterns, given the resemblance to celtic knots, that may be out there already – but I can tell you I didn’t reference anything when making the instructions, and my brain is very relieved now it’s not juggling all the Os and interconnecting Ys! And there’s always the chance you’ll be going ‘why, oh why did I start this one?’…

Continue reading →

Card Craft
Bas Relief Deco Rose

Posted on 24th January 2017 by Neil

For February’s Studio workshop, we’re going to be playing with adding dimension by using paperclay to create bas relief centrepieces for your cards/scrapbook pages and mixed media projects. Here’s an example I’ve just finished:

Not sure if I have got the balance right between the vase and the roses, and may be an ivory card for the sentiment might have worked better too. But that, after all, is what playing is all about…

If you’d like to come to the workshop on 4th February, there are spaces available. For more details, see my workshops page, or email me to book your space.

Continue reading →

Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Fairmont CP

Posted on 17th January 2017 by Neil

My final tangle pattern inspired on a recent trip to the USA is based on upholstery fabric on one of the chairs in the Gold Floor Lounge in the rather fantastic Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel in Boston. We were so glad to have upgraded our room as I came down with a stinking cold while we were there. It was lovely to be able to feel grotty in an executive lounge with refreshments on tap rather than a small bedroom!

Continue reading →

Tangle Patterns
Tangle Pattern: Deco Sidewalk

Posted on 10th January 2017 by Neil

Walking around the Rockefeller Center in New York, it’s easy to be distracted, especially at Christmas, by things like the enormous Christmas tree, the musical light show on the front of Saks Fifth Avenue and the large skyscraper. But take a moment to look down, and you’ll find brass tree surrounds set into the sidewalk. Here’s a tangle pattern based on just one of those. Next week: Fairmont CP.
Continue reading →

About me
BTS: Post-creativity Clean Up

Posted on 6th January 2017 by Neil

I’ve been prepping samples ready for my next TV shows (Hochanda, Mon 16th Jan, 10am/1pm/5pm), and as normal the studio looks like a creative media bomb has gone off in it. I tend not to put things away as I go when getting projects ready as I usually have two or three different samples at different stages, so everything that is to be featured on the show is out on the table to remind me what to use. It’s all at hand, and relatively organised. Consequently, and despite all the space I have, I still end up working in areas barely bigger than a sheet of A3 paper.

But, with studio guests due for my annual Come & Craft Christmas Party tomorrow, it all had to get tidied up. Just for fun, I thought I’d film it as a time lapse – 40 minutes in 40 seconds. Not too bad, particularly with Esther wanting to come in and out of the door and Charlie supervising the vacuuming at the end…

Continue reading →