Tag Archives: laser cut

Altered Art: Signs & woodblocks

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been in full production mode getting stock ready for a Christmas Fayre at the end of November. All being well, there will be good footfall and matching sales. If not, anticipate a lot of listings in my Facebook and Etsy stores!

This week I’ve been concentrating on signs. The wood plaques were bought in, and then undercoated with gesso and a cream chalky finish acrylic paint. I designed all the typography in Adobe Illustrator and then etched the outlines on to the signs using my brand spanking new replacement laser cutter. After that, it was a matter of using Posca pens to fill in the gaps before doing a dirty wash with diluted acrylic paint to age them. Some had crackle medium added to the corners, but it doesn’t show up overly well. Each sign is approx. 30cm x 10cm, £5 each.

I’ve also been playing with some 10x10cm paulownia wood blocks, etching into them using the laser cutter. The laser has burnt away the soft wood more easily than the grain leaving a beautiful texture in the background. A set of four is available for £6.

Used in these projects:

  • Signs and wood blocks: Creativ Company
  • Laser cutter: Glowforge
  • [amazon_textlink asin=’B00MWSQKTS’ text=’Posca pens’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’themanicstamp-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’f5c4e647-dd3f-11e8-b81b-73098a4b58d8′]
  • [amazon_textlink asin=’B00HO038BM’ text=’DecoArt Americana Chalky Finish: Lace’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’themanicstamp-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’26127792-dd40-11e8-a16a-8f3936c4d211′]

Christmas 2018: Tree decorations

Posted on by
Reply

I know, I know, it’s still August. But in a crafter/maker’s world, Christmas has to start early to get stock together. I’m hoping to book a table at a local Christmas Fayre in November at the same time as the town Christmas Lights are turned on. Hopefully, that will mean a good footfall. But it also means I’ve started making tree decorations and spent the last three days doing not much else!

laser cut tree decorationsFor those that wish to buy some before the fayre, they are £1,50 each – just drop me a line. P&P will be £1 for those that can’t collect.

Continue reading →

Bishop’s School of Prayer, 2018: Praying Hands

Posted on by
1

I’ve just returned from the inaugural Bishop’s School of Prayer, hosted at Launde Abbey by Bishop Martyn Snow. I was dubbed ‘artist-in-residence’ and was responsible for creative input, visual prayer workshops and an artist’s overview of the four-day conference. It was an amazing experience, and I hope it happens again (though probably won’t be annual).

As a ‘corporate act of art’, I created a pair of praying hands and invited attendees to add their own prayers and intercessions. After a short will-they-won’t-they period, they came good and prayers were stuck on steadily over the time at the School. For more details on the making, read on below, but in the meantime here are some pics of the finished sculpture, which will be remaining at Launde Abbey.

Continue reading →

Show Time! – for That’s Crafty! on Hochanda

Posted on by
Reply

I am live on Hochanda – the home of crafts, hobbies and art – available on Sky 663, Freeview 85 or Freesat 817, and on www.hochanda.com right now. With top tips for working with That’s Crafty! Surfaces, clock stacks and dreamcatchers, I’ll also be showcasing Pentart glass paints and Express Transfer medium.

I’ll be posting mini-tutorials for each of the projects over the next week. Don’t forget to check out the fabulous That’s Crafty! blog and the design team blogs (on the That’s Crafty! blog side bar)  for more inspiration and projects.

Oh, I’m on at 11am as well, or you can catch up or watch again for the next 10 days over at Hochanda’s online TV Schedule – just set the date in the drop down list for 7th October and look for my shows at 8am and 11am.

Continue reading →

Laser Cut Planter Kits now available

Posted on by
Reply

Until I’ve got round to setting up a Kickstarter project and found funding for my own laser cutter, I’m having to outsource my laser cutting. For my first laser cut project since college, I thought I’d mass produce some ‘planters’, suitable for the topiary trees I make with polystyrene balls and Craftwork Cards Candi (examples here and here).

IMG_6063_w

The planters are roughly 2 inches square and 2½” high and cut from white faced 2mm thick greyboard. I’ve made sure that they are simple to construct and stiff enough to hold up the tree (or whatever else you choose to put in them). I’m pleased to announce that the kits are now available to purchase for £3.25 (including p&p and an instruction sheet). All you need to add is decoration and a cube of polystyrene to poke your tree into.
Continue reading →