Thursday -Tips and Techniques

I had so much fun yesterday.  My new extension lead arrived at lunchtime, so after putting my dinner in the oven, I draped the cable safely round the conservatory to put the socket on the right hand side of my desk.  That means I am not reaching across a hot iron.  This is a new craft for me, so it is all about learning and having fun.

I decided to really get brave yesterday (or stupid) and play with an A5 BLACK card.  Oh boy, that was a steep learning curve but so much fun.  I have already learned a very valuable lesson.  If it does not work out how I imagined, it does not matter one iota because I have had so much fun just playing.  It is not a waste of card.

This has not really photographed well but it is really moody and windswept.  It reminds me of the moors round Haworth (Bronte territory) on a stormy evening.  I think I will leave this as it is, certainly for now.  Having watched Barbara and Mike, I know I could change it totally if I wanted.

The second play piece is a remake of the one I didn't like from yesterday's blog.

To me, the proportion of sky and land really did not work.  So, I took the iron to it and then wiped the wax away with a tissue, before adding more restrained hills in the foreground.  Then, I still did not like the sky, so I swept more colour over it.  When I did it, I thought it was a stormy sky, but looking at it now, it looks like mountains rising up from the lake.

Now I have my kit set up on my desk in the conservatory, I get the feeling I will be doing a lot more playing, whenever I get a few minutes to spare.  I must remember to keep an eye out for intruders.  I had to evict a magpie from the doorstep, cheeky bird.  I think it was a youngster, but I don't particularly want his company.

Any of you who have the kit, don't let it moulder in the cupboard.  Get it out and just have fun.

WOYWW 525 - a different desk.

With a number of things that have happened since the fantastic Anniversary Crop, I have been AWOL for a while and I apologise for not replying to those who commented last time.

Sadly, I had to take that final decision for Flash.  After that, I was down in Kent at the incredible Clarity Open Days.  Two days of watching and learning from incredibly talented crafters - Barbara Gray, Maria Moorhouse, Dee Paramour, Sam Crowe, Tina Cox, Linda Williams, Paul Church, Leonie Pujol, Lou Withers, Martine Smith, to name but a few.  

We also had the chance to do a Make and Take with Mike and Shona Bossum creating Encaustic art.  For those who have not come across this craft, it is the somewhat unpredictable art of painting pictures with a hot iron and melted wax.

I bought my starter kit a couple of years ago but never had the courage to get it out to play.  However, a brilliant lesson from Mike inspired me to get going and see what I could produce, as you can see from my conservatory desk.  These photos were taken on Tuesday afternoon after a fun time trying to remember what I had learned from a half hour lesson and watching on Hochanda.

My first attempt is due for another session with the iron today as I don't like it at all.  Much too dark with the colours becoming muddy.

The next two I will keep as I quite like them, although they are not perfect but I learned a lot from them.

I quite like the fence I managed to draw in on this one, and the folds of the hills.

This final one was intended as a seascape but changed a little as I played.

I feel sure I will be doing a lot more as I learn just what I can do with just a few blocks of coloured wax and a small iron.  It is a lot more fun than doing the household ironing.

I will let you go now on your way to visit the other desks on show at Julia's place, over at Stamping Ground.  Have a good day, everyone.

Thursday Tips and Techniques

Some of you know that I have been struggling with my snipping over the last few weeks.  Somehow my precious Ringlocks have been damaged.  Not a problem, I thought as I already had a new pair on standby.  

Oh boy, was I wrong?  Spectacularly wrong!

Three weeks later and I am still struggling to get used to them.  Struggling to the point that I have even tried today snipping with a very old pair of scissors that I dug out of the cupboard.  

Just because you have two pairs of apparently identical scissors, they will not behave quite the same.  Your new ones will almost certainly be stiffer until you have worked them in.  I took the advice of Jeannine from Clarity and sprayed the new ones with WD40 and then worked them well before cleaning off the excess.  

I also found that it helps to leave them at least overnight before using them in anger.  I have also prepped a page of perforations ready to snip out to make sure I can get it right.  Some are from the fine grid, which I prefer, and some from the bold grid, which I am not so keen on.

I started snipping picot about 15 years ago but really improved with the help of an experienced tutor more recently.  However, with the change of scissors, I really feel I have to go back to basics and do a lot of practice to get it right again.  It really is a case of lots of practice to succeed at any skill.

One of Leonie's phrases from her sticker collection seems apt.  Lots of people are scared to try the picot cutting.  Don't be.

IT'S OKAY TO BE SCARED, DO IT ANYWAY

Wednesday - more photos

These are more general shots from the Clarity Open Days at Ditton.  Any of you who did not manage to get there this time, you missed a brilliant time.  I hope you manage to get there next time.  For £6 per day, you experience great tuition and help by the creme de la creme of great tuition and the chance to see just what your crafting goodies can produce.  You get fun and friendship from so many like-minded people.  Just look at the fun in these last photos.

Paul and Maria sharing the very last of Ruth's beautiful cakes.

Sam is still busy with her inking and stamping.

Some of Maria's watchers listening to Barbara doing the final raffle.  For those who were not there, part of your entry includes a raffle ticket which functions all day, when Barbara does a draw every hour on the hour.  The prizes are all very generous.

No idea what the joke was but it was obviously good.  Either that or hysteria after two full on days had set in.

Maria behind her little tree.

And finally ....... the lovely Linda Williams.  I did not manage to get to watch her this time.  I also missed Lou Withers and Martine Smith, and I failed to get any photos of Barbara.

Thank you all at Clarity for all the work you put in to make this such a great event for all of us.

Tuesday is tidy up day

Here are the second batch of photos from the Clarity Open Days.  I do seem to have taken a lot of Sam Crowe, a lot of them from my position at the corner of Tina Fox's table.

What that lady can do with a gel plate!  Wow!  She started off with just two at a time, the big one and one of the Petites, lots of inks, mainly the mini Archivals, and also the Viva Decor paints, the ones that 

TaDa!

Boom!!!

From Sam, I edged my seat closer to the corner to chat with Tina, and learn how she does her beautiful parchment embroidery and beading.

Tina's work is so beautiful and distinctive.  I love watching her adding colour, and embellishments in her own way, but making sure the rest of us can follow and try it out for ourselves.

Here is just a bit of her work and that of the design team.

See the rows of beautiful haematite beads, adding more bling to this one.

I believe that this sample was created by Glynis Whitehead.  There are no holes on the plates for the flowers, but Glynis has adapted the design to add beads for the centres.

Karen Wheatland, Lynne Bishop and Rosalind McClellan listening and watching intently to Tina.

Not sure what Lynne was explaining so intently here.

Right, that's your lot for today.  More will follow tomorrow.  I want time today to play with some of my new goodies before I forget how to use them.  I am looking forward to seeing lots of your pictures of your experiments after watching the experts.  Have fun and have a great day.  Damp outside so perfect for crafting instead.

Monday is for Mindfulness - maybe

What a fantastic time we all had down at Ditton in Kent.  I have no idea how many came in the end to the Clarity Open Days extravaganza, but everyone had a blast.

I promised photos when I got home, so be prepared.  There are a lot.  I will split them so they will not all appear today.  There are some people I missed, which is a shame, like the lovely Glynis on the Snip Clinic.  I went straight to her on Friday morning for some snipping advice.  I need a lot of practice and probably over a long time to beat my problem.

Any way, here we go!

Maria was my next port of call, demoing the beautiful Mirror Mist, combined with the acrylic shapes, gliding flakes, glitter and the Viva Decor paints.  Here are two of the beautiful things she was making, such a talented lady and so generous with her help and ideas.

Aren't they lovely?  I can see so many uses for these shapes.  Here you can see Maria sharing her skills with us all, adding the Viva Decor paint to the stamped design before spraying it with the Mirror Mist.

I can't wait to have a go myself.  I have already used the Mirror Mist to put the mirrored surface behind my engraved peacock, and loved the effect.  Christmas decs, mirrors safe for children, keyring, pendants, the list of possibilities goes on.

From Maria, I managed to get a space to watch Leonie.  Her enthusiasm is so infectious, and she is so keen to pass on her ideas and knowledge.  Gel plates, stamps, inks, paints, prayer, often all mixed together.  Sadly, no photos for some reason.

Then it was on round the room to Mike and Shona Bossom and their encaustic art.  I reckon they sold a huge number of their starter kits.  I got a space on Mike's Make and Take, and I showed you my results a couple of days ago.  Everyone followed the same instructions and came away with beaming smiles and different looking pieces.  It is unpredictable art, although you have some control.  If you don't like the result, you can clear it off and start again.  People who tried it showed their pictures to anyone and everyone they saw, and those people rushed off to book their own slot.

This is my last photo for today, a more general view of the room, a much bigger space than previous years, but full of a very happy, inspired buzz all day.

I must say a big thank you to those who worked so hard to provide us with our lunches and all day drinks to keep us all going. You did a superb job.

Saturday - Start Something new

Just one of the many photos I took today at the fantastic second day of the Clarity Open Days at Ditton Community Centre in Kent.  However, all the others are on my camera so you will have to wait to see those until I can transfer them onto the computer.

What I really want to do tonight is to say a huge thank you to Barbara and the entire Clarity team, those we usually see front of house and those who work so hard in the background.  Each year it gets better and this year was no exception.

Two days superb demos from the best, hours of hints, tips, how to use everything that Clarity excels in.  Anyone who missed it this year, make sure you are there next year. Everyone had a smile on their faces.

Yes, we spent a lot of money over the two days, but the best part was chatting with friends, old and new.  You cannot bottle that great atmosphere.

Thank you, Clarity.  You rock!

Friday - Finish Off Day

Not a totally normal finishing off here.  However, I did finish with my dithering over whether to get my encaustic kit out for its first airing.

Like a lot of Clarity fans, I spent the day down at Ditton in Kent at the Open Days.  It was lovely to meet up with so many people, some for the first time.

Mike and Shona Bossom, good friends of Barbara, were there demoing their fabulous encaustic art and doing make and takes all day.  I bought the kit ages ago but now I can wait to get it out and go for it.

This was my first test piece, just to get the feel of it and it taught me so much, not least that it was nothing to fear.  Then we went for it, under Mike's instructions and this was what I achieved.  I am so chuffed with it.  It will be framed and hung somewhere in the house.

So be warned, folks, you could be receiving cards made like this in the near future.

I will write more about the Open Days in the very near future.  If you are in the Ditton area tomorrow, come along for a great day.

Monday for mindfulness

Just to tell you, I am about to be arrested for fraud.  That is, according to the recorded message I have just received from BT.  It is related to a problem with my internet.

Should I panic and press the button to speak to the engineer?  Definitely NOT!!!!  However, this could be a very scary call to receive for a lot of people.  The threat of immediate arrest would scare many people into following the instructions in this message.  

I have the benefit of knowing (a) I am not with BT anyway and (b) BT would never make such phone calls.  Another pointer to this being a scam is that the voice is American, unlikely to be genuine for this country.

It is hard to believe that anyone would be so cruel as to deliberately frighten people in this way.  I wonder if they ever think how it would be if their relatives were targeted in this way.  Sadly, these scammers probably never think that way.  All they want is the money they can scare people into handing over after extracting information from them

I have, many times, talked about ways of avoiding scams on the internet.  Never take part in those apparently harmless quizzes about the first pet you had, your first school etc.  They are not harmless at all.  When you look at them, it is surprising how much personal information you are giving away, information that is often used by us to decide on passwords and secret questions for example.  Just don't take part and you will avoid one possibility of getting your accounts hacked.

The other important thing to remember is that if an offer seems especially good, too good to be true, then it is almost certain that it is a scam.  Offers like Tesco (or other companies) are giving away £50 vouchers to everyone who applies today and shares the post are definite scams.  Before you press that button to win the voucher or the campervan which is available free due to overproduction, just STOP and THINK.  No company could possibly afford to make such an offer.  They would be bankrupt.

Then there are the offers saying that Fred Bloggs (other names available) has failed to claim his prize of a free holiday, so the holiday is now up for grabs again.  All you have to do is to apply before 5pm and fill in the form.  Another scam designed to draw you in and get your details.

So, as we start another week, stop and think logically before you press that button, whether it is on your phone or on the internet.  Five minutes will make no difference if it is genuine, but it will allow you to avoid being scammed.

Be more aware.

Friday - Finish off day

Not much finishing off today, but I did come across this part done sketch.  As a child, I loved drawing, mainly horses (my passion), birds and architecture.  I had my pleasure in drawing knocked out of me at school and am still struggling to get back to it.  

This is my attempt to draw a very imposing house down near Bridport in Dorset.  It is only a tiny sketch book that fits in my handbag, so you can see that I did not get very far.  Since then, I have done nothing.  So today, I have decided to "finish off" my avoidance of pencil and paper, and try to do a little every day.

It is so easy to be put off doing things because we believe we are not good enough.  At this stage of my life, I can now see that we are all wrong to be led down this path.  It is never too late to go back to these things or to start a new path in life.  Drawing is just a small piece of paper.  It does not matter if you don't get it right first, second or third time.  Just keep trying, just a few minutes a day.

A number of my friends have been and still are going through difficult times at the moment.   I hope they can find some kind of support from family and friends, and some kind of solace from their hobbies.  

When Geoff died so suddenly, I made the decision that I needed to change my life radically, and I have never regretted that decision.  That was my way of coping.  It may not be right for everyone.

I have heard the same comment from a number of people on Facebook this week, telling us that they are afraid to travel alone or to drive alone.  There is one lady, however, who, after dealing with the immediate trauma, really grabbed hold of life with both hands, and drove her camper van (they are not tiny vehicles) on a grand tour, doing things she would not have done before.

My first long drive on my own was to Dorset to visit friends.   I had planned my journey very carefully, looking at the map book, writing the important  points on Post-it notes on the dashboard, checking it out at street level on Google Earth, plus my trusty SatNav.  All this planning did not stop a rising tide of panic, and I had to pull in at the first services and sort myself out.  An hour later, I was able to set off again and had a pleasant time with my friends.

I am rambling again and have twisted today's theme rather.  If you are afraid of something, try to grab hold of it and beat that fear.  Little steps first, but then "finish off" that fear.  

Thursday is for tip and techniques

I am not doing any tips today.  Having watched the very moving views of the D Day Commemorations yesterday and today, I do not feel it would be appropriate.

To watch those veterans, so determined to pay their respects, certainly brought tears to my eyes.  What they saw, and heard and experienced cannot be forgotten by them and never should be forgotten by us or by our descendents.

I am watching this morning's service right now, having had to go out part way through, and I am not ashamed to admit the tears are pouring down.  So many of those men have never spoken of what they experienced until now, and, in the last part of their lives, are facing those horrors again to pay their respects to those who were cut down in their youth next to them.

We must never forget the huge numbers of young men, sons, brothers, finances, husbands who gave their lives to ensure we could live in a world where we are free to have opinions, free to have our own beliefs.

Remember them and teach your children to understand and remember them always!

WOYWW 522 - after the Crop.

I am so late joining the gang this week.  After a great get together on Saturday in Shrewbury, I had intended to now show the PTCs I made for the ATC swap.  However, I am limited to using my Kindle to write this and it is very difficult to manipulate my photos, so that will have to wait.

More importantly, I want to say a big thank you to the wonderful organisers, Wipso and Twiglet, and the two ladies who started the whole thing, Julia, and Lunch Lady Jan.  You all did a wonderful job.

This photo gives me so much pleasure.  To see Jan and others trying parchment work for the first time and having so much pleasure doing it gives me a real lift.  People, who thought they did not have the patience to do this lovely craft, finding how very relaxing it is and producing their own small works of art. 

I also want to thank everyone who gave me their own tiny works of art, using the crafts that are special to them.  I will treasure them all.  I will photograph them all and hope to share them next week.
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Tuesday - Tidy up day?

Not a lot of tidying up today.  Instead, I had a great time at Maria Moorhouse's Groovi workshops at Evesham, using one of my very favourite plates, the one with the blue tits on, which was designed by Linda Williams for the Groovi Retreat.

Maria had created a lovely card with that plate, but also using some of the multi needle Pergamano tools, including the semi square.  I cannot show you the results as I believe there is another class to do this design 

However, I do have a couple of photos for you of a very happy Maria.

She had just fallen in love (it is ok, Peter, no rival to you) with ............ a pencil sharpener!  I did just about manage to retrieve it to bring home.  

I think she was having fun, don't you.  It is amazing what excites us crafters.  Maria's classes are always fun and today was no exception.  A lovely project with lovely people, taught by the lady who had the original idea for Groovi.  What more could you want?

Thank you, Maria, for a lovely relaxing day.

Monday is for Mindfulness

It is always interesting to see what floats other people's boats.  This train of thought started at the WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday) Crop.  It was a lovely get together to celebrate ten years of the communal blog, started by Julia Budd.  Lots of chatting, lots of cake, some crafting.

Thanks to Lunch Lady Jan for this photo.

We were discussing what inspires us and what relaxes us.  As most of you know, I love all things parchment (apart from stippling) and it really relaxes me to hear that satisfying little click as the scissors create that lovely picot edge.  

Many people adore zentangle, or doodling and find that relaxing, while I find that it winds me up and I get more and more stressed.  On Saturday, I found two other people who feel the same about all forms of doodling.  It was quite refreshing I was not on my own.

I had taken more stuff than normal to the meeting as there were a couple of people who had expressed interest in having a go at parchment craft.  Two of them said the usual "I don't have enough patience", but after sitting down and creating their own PTC (Parchment Trading Card), they were delighted and remarked how relaxing it was.  Annoyingly, I had forgotten to take my box of tiny brads so was unable to put them together.  So I brought them home to mount and then send them on to their creators.

There were so many crafts being shown on that day, some of which I could appreciate for the skills, but would never be my choice.  Because they are not my choice does not mean that I cannot understand that others feel happy and relaxed while doing them.

We all have the option to choose for ourselves just as long as we respect the choices of others.   Sadly, our craft world is not immune to arguments and battles, just the same as the wider world in which we live.  No matter how hard we try, we can never stop that.

There has always been fighting between human beings since the first.  The dangers now come from the increasingly deadly weapon that mankind has invented, where one man can kill and maim hundreds of others in seconds and no longer even sees the true results of his actions.

If you are reading my ramblings then you are using a phone, tablet or computer of of some kind.  You are using some form of social media, where the click of a button becomes the front end of a weapon.  You will have, almost certainly, have come across so-called keyboard warriors, who cannot accept that others have opinions and views, and aim their vitriolic attacks quite deliberately at those least able to cope with it.  Like those aiming guns that kill so many without really experiencing the results, they can not see the devastating effect of what they write, being protected themselves and unable to see the faces of their victims.

Not so long ago, there was a group of people in our craft world who could not accept that there were new and, for some, better and more achievable ways of producing beautiful work.  For a while, Facebook really showed its worst side, with a small minority of people attacking anyone who disagreed with them.  For me and many others, the only way to deal with such unpleasantness was to just turn our backs on them by blocking them from view.  Right now, for me, Facebook is now a very pleasant place where I can communicate with good friends in freedom.  Anyone who becomes controversial or unpleasant just gets blocked and ignored.  Perhaps that would be the best way to protest against Donald Trump.  Rather than turn out to shout and cause trouble, just ignore the whole visit.

The way I try to look at life is fairly simple.  If you can do something about a problem, then don't stress, just do it.  If there is nothing you can do, then don't stress.  Concentrate on what you can do, and what you can do will be far more effective.

If you are still reading this, thank you.  I had not meant to ramble on so much.

Sunday - Anything Goes

How do you take a decent photo of a mirror?  This is the best I have managed so far.  I was trying to get one without me showing in it.

This was the best of a rubbish lot of pictures.  So why am I showing it to you?

This peacock started with a real live bird on the outside window ledge of Hunters Inn in North Devon.  I then turned it into a parchment piece, which a very clever member of the family (Sam Morrison-Williams) proceeded to engrave on glass for me.  

It has been on the wall in the conservatory since then, one of the few pieces of art that will not fade in the sun.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched Maria Moorhouse demoing the Pentart Mirror Mist, a spray (one for glass and one for plastic) and the deciding factor was the ability to replace missing silvering on the back of old mirrors.  I have one that needs sorting in a couple of places.  Then I thought of this engraved peacock and thought how good that could be if I turned it into a mirror.

So, that is what I did this morning.  I took it all apart, cleaned and de-greased the back, before spraying the whole thing.  I reckon it worked beautifully apart from a couple of bits in the corners, where my spraying was not too good.  I think the problem was the speed it dried in the stuffy heat today.  

My decision now is whether to re-spray it more carefully or whether to leave it looking a little shabby chic.  What do you think, folks?