Trimcraft/Craft Label DT: Quick Decoupage Baubles

After an extended pause, I’ve taken delivery of my Christmas box of goodies from Trimcraft. Well, actually they are now Craft Label and over lockdown have created their own online retail store. There you can find all the Trimcraft brands such as First Edition and Dovecraft, as well as Crafters Companion, We R Memory Keepers and a large Cricut department.

It’s a distinctly Christmas theme with a lot of goodies, including paper pads, decoupage (both paper and 3D) and embellishments. There’s also a couple of clear stamps thrown in too:

I’ve also received 6 balls of bright coloured ombre yarn – the first thing I could think of to make with that is winter socks! I’ve started, so I’ll finish, but they’re looking more like a pair of boots rather than socks… Colourful though!

Here’s my first makes with the kit, a couple of quick and easy baubles.

Start by tearing a strip of First Edition Christmas Deco Mache Decoupage Paper (Sentiments/Snowflakes). Next, peel off the protective film from both sides of the acrylic bauble, then stick down the decoupage paper onto both sides of the bauble with First Edition Deco Mache Decoupage glue. Try and get the paper positioned so that it hides the glue on the other side. I used sandpaper to gently sand any overlapping edges of the paper for a smooth finish (quicker than cutting). Finally, glue on the sentiment and add the embellishment, mirroring the positions on the other side if both sides need adorning. I used Simply Creative Basics Glittered Poinsettias, Simply Creative Christmas Wooden Sentiments Merry Christmas, Simply Creative Basics Christmas Sentiment Toppers and Simply Creative Christmas Mini Gift Bows in gold and silver.

Craft Label offers free p&p if your order is over £15.

Christmas 2018: Drypoint Etched Baubles

I’m afraid it’s still the season for Christmas preparations in The Studio. I’ve been playing with drypoint etching to create some limited edition Christmas cards. Each design is limited to 8 prints (at which point my drypoint plates disintegrated – I’m not using perspex or metal btw). The illustrations are hand drawn and then transferred to my etching plate. Ink is caught in the grooves and wiped off the rest of the plate – each inking and print takes around 10 mins. Sorry the photo isn’t all that, and the cream colour of the print paper is less obvious in real life. You’re welcome to order these at £3 each (not including P&P).

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Altered Art: Candy Cane Tree Decoration

candycane

I’ve designed some hanging decorations for December’s workshop that slide onto a wooden split type peg. There are several designs, but this is one of the newer ones, and certainly the most complex to colour in… Using nothing more than five colours of ProMarker and a pencil, this candy cane tree decoration is ready to copy! There are spaces available, but please book in as soon as possible – I have a lot of cutting out to do…

I’ve also been playing with my Foldio360 bluetooth controlled turntable a little more. It’s recently had some new DSLR settings provided meaning that, finally, it remotely controls my proper camera for top notch pics, which I can then edit and stitch in Photoshop. Now to find a decent 360° viewer plug-in for WordPress so that I don’t have to save as a clunky animated GIF.

candycane

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Sparkling Baubles Card (for Creative Expressions)

IMG_5174_wFor my penultimate DT project for Creative Expressions, I’ve gone all sparkly! Featuring heat embossing, two types of glitter, two types of coloured PVA and two types of card, this relatively clean and simple card is packed full of winter sparkle.

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