3D Projects
Perfect Packaging III: Time & Technology Key Fobs

Posted on 31st October 2015 by Neil

I’ve made a few key fobs over the last couple of days (yet more to fit on my table for the church Christmas Fayre), using a ‘steampunk’ antique brass pendant with quite a deep bezel. I’ve added a layer of Pebeo Prisme Fantasy Paint first, and allowed that to dry before starting to layer pieces of old computers and watch mechanisms. I used Lisa Pavelka’s Magic Glos UV hardening resin, which is crystal clear and sets within minutes in my Imagepac UV box, allowing layering of the encapsulated items. After a final brim-full top up with resin and a long harden under the lamps, I added an antique brass split ring to complete the key fob.

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Altered Art
From the archive: ‘Autumn’ mixed media canvas

Posted on 28th October 2015 by Neil

I’ve been clearing out the detritus that was my study, and found a 16MB flash card – that shows how long the pile has been sitting there as my smallest now is 16GB! On it were a few photos of this project. This is one of my first mixed media pieces – I made it at least 8 years ago. Combining acrylics, UTEE, Liquid Pearls, Stickles, gliding foil (back when it was in sheets not tubs), die cut or punched Bazzil card stock, translucent plastic, and distress inks. I added words later, such as ‘autumn’, ‘fall’ and ‘leaves’. Perfect piece to share at this time of year. As Albert Camus said ‘autumn is the second spring, when every leaf is a flower’.

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3D Projects
Folded Book: Faith Can Move Mountains

Posted on 26th October 2015 by Neil

It’s taken two practice runs, but I think I now have book folding sussed. This is my own design, and I wanted to create the banner space below the main word to complete the sentiment. I’m also going to do a word cloud image using the chapters and verses that are applicable to the saying, which will go on the inside covers. Yet another item to price up and pop on my stall at the Church Fayre at the end of November!

UPDATE: I’ve added the word cloud image, based on a photo of K2. Here’s the finished piece – I think the darker background makes the rest zing and pulls it all together:

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3D Projects
It’s all the presentation: perfect packaging 2

Posted on 25th October 2015 by Neil

I’m still in making mode ready for my church’s Christmas Fayre at the end of November. I’ve decorated these pre-made metal blanks and made them into brooches by using an epoxy glue to stick on the brooch clasp – details on the decoration are here.

I wanted create a bespoke presentation box to show them off at their best – it just so happened I could use the same size for the peacock and the dragonfly. Designing started with a 3×2″ base. I added ½” sides and tabs. For the lid, I enlarged it slightly, adding the thumb divots in the centre to aid taking the lid off. To raise the base (and create a hidey-hole for my business card), I designed a stage slightly smaller than the base, with ⅛” supports at the side to hold the item off the bottom and the holes with a slit between allows me to press the brooch back through and fix the item in place. Two boxes come from an A4 sheet of card, cut on my Silhouette Cameo. For placement of the holes/slit, I pressed the item down onto a piece of card, and was able to see a dent where the clasp and hinge of the brooch back were. A bit of triangulation later, and the hole placement was perfected. This was ideal as the brooch clasps were in roughly the same position on each item – it would have been much less practical for several different placements.

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Art Journal
Art Journaling: Water-solubles

Posted on 22nd October 2015 by Neil

For November’s art journaling class at The Studio, we’ll be playing with water-solubles. This page spread is a mix of Caran D’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble wax crayons, Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks and black pigment pen. It’s an experimental page, and I quite like the blending of the colours, the framing of the colour blocks and text, but if I were to do it again, I’d want to space things a bit better and perhaps play with the depth by intertwining the frames better and adding some drop shadows… I was also considering adding embossing paste squares – but I think that would just be overdoing it a little.

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3D Projects
It’s all in the presentation

Posted on 10th October 2015 by Neil

Today ended up being a ‘let’s overcomplicate an envelope’ day. At first I’d planned for my metal tree decorations to just slip into an envelope and be done with it. But then I thought – I’m expecting customers to feel that they are buying a premium handcrafted item… and a white envelope just didn’t hack it. So I’ve spent the morning designing the perfect packaging, and this afternoon cutting them out and putting them together in readiness for the Christmas Fayre.

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Textile & Fibre Art
No Needle Knitting

Posted on 9th October 2015 by Neil

It’s no secret that I have never really learnt to knit properly. I can crochet, but something about two needles doesn’t work for me – it’s like aerobics: I can do arms, or legs, but not both at the same time. Then I came across loom knitting. No needles, just 18 pins and a hook. Here’s my first loom knitted project. It’s a cross between a shawl and a scarf – a sharf or a scawl? The Irish roses and leaves are crocheted from the same yarn [200 Crochet Flowers, Embellishments & Trims] and sew onto the completed knit. I’ve even sewn round the button hole.

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3D Projects
The Art of Liquefaction

Posted on 8th October 2015 by Neil

There’s always that moment when you see something on Facebook or Pinterest that you think – I could do that. This project was one of those – a link to a YouTube video that popped up on my timeline (sorry – haven’t found it since). It was in German, and seemed to be 20 minutes of the two presenters describing – but not actually doing – the process to make these cast concrete votives.

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Altered Art
Not all wax crayons are created equal

Posted on 6th October 2015 by Neil

It’s amazing how much one can achieve when the computer isn’t accessible. Until after lunch yesterday, I was upgrading the operating system which meant Facebook wasn’t a constant presence, my current shopping list wasn’t visible, and the radio was off.

Instead, I painted six blackboards, tidied the studio after creating a bomb site making samples for Craftwork Cards, prepared for last night’s art journaling session, dealt with a duplicate order delivery, crocheted a sampler panel for a scarf, and had a go at some crayon art (pictured above). Now then – all the pictures of similar projects on the internet show nice long dribbles of shiny molten wax. My pound-shop crayons boiled and became an immobile gloopy mess more reminiscent of glutinous bread dough than freely flowing molten wax. The resultant solidified mass is actually quite brittle, and as it is on stretched canvas, is easy to crack. Polishing makes no difference. Which leads me to wonder – are they made of some strange plastic?

And it leaves another conundrum – do I leave the space empty at the bottom, or find suitable text or carefully place some oil paint as faux wax stalagmites underneath the drips?

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3D Projects
Crafted from Caravans: The Christmas Collection

Posted on 1st October 2015 by Neil

The floor, tables and just about every other surface in the studio is currently covered with a fine layer of shredded wool polishing wheels and jeweller’s rouge… I’m also going to have to do a thorough wipe down of all the aluminium filings that didn’t hit the bin beneath…

I’ve been working in a production line over the last two days, making these hanging tree decorations. You may remember my ‘sit and be wind chime’ was made from the sidings of my grandfather’s old caravan – these are too. All are hand cut from the sheet aluminium, cleaned up with wire brush and wet’n’dry sandpaper, hand drilled and hand sawn, hammered, punched, filed and polished. Ok, I did use a Dremel for the polishing.

If you’d like a set, let me know – I will make them to order for £10 each including p&p to UK addresses (international orders extra), so if you’d like them in time for Christmas please order by the end of October.

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