Altered Hanging Book Workshop Review

 

Hi bloggers, today we want to review our workshop from Saturday and as always it was a brilliant day with some fab results. As always we give everyone the same starting materials and then it's up to them to use their own creativity to put the elements together - with a bit of guidance inbetween. 

 

Everyone provided us with photos before the day so that I could age them on the computer and print them to the correct size for their book.  

 

 

I think it's fair to say that cutting into the book was a bit more hard going  than I initially thought but there was a chance to relax a bit afterwards whilst sticking every page together. Once all the necessary tasks were over with it was down to the decorating of the book with a montage of embellishments.

So..... time for the finished results!

 

Jen's Book

 

 

Joanne's Book

 

 

 

Jane's Book

 

 

 

Heidi's Book

 

 

 

Pauline's Book

 

 

 

Mag's Book

 

 

 

Carol's Book

 

 

 

Chris's Book (unfinished)

 

I think you will definitely agree that everyone's book looked fantastic and I always love how everyone puts their own individual flair to the project. It was also lovely to see a travel inspired theme in Jane's book as she reminisced her trip to India. It just shows that you can use this project to scrapbook any event from weddings and holidays to old family memories.Seeing people's old family photos was also a highlight of our day and to learn about their family's history.

As always we put on a scrumptious lunch and plenty of tea and cake to keep everyone refreshed! We want to thank everyone for coming and if you're ever interested in attending one of our workshops just keep an eye out on our workshop page for the next project, we would love to meet you!

In the meantime, if you fancy scrapbooking old memories, look no further than an old book!

Make Art with Wendy Vecchi

 

Hi bloggers, today we want to share with you our awesome day that we spent with Wendy Vecchi on Sunday in London. We had been waiting for this day to arrive for quite a few months after having booked the class near the beginning of the year, so you as you can probably imagine, our excitement was brewing.

It was an early start to get up to London but obviously worth it to spend the day creating alongside Wendy Vecchi. For those of you who may not be familiar with Wendy Vecchi, she is an incredibly talented artist/designer for Ranger products and owner of Studio 490. Year after year we have watched CHA demonstration videos oohing and ahhhing at the techniques she shows us so to watch them live in front of us at a class was a big highlight for us. 

So let's see what was waiting for us when we arrived.....

 

 

In our stash we got some mini distress ink pads (Brushed Corduroy and Broken China), matte medium glue, remnant rubs, ink applicator tool, Wendy's Art Parts and a few other embellishments to use on our box and tags.

Wendy designed an art box project for us, also making 4 tags to go inside the box which had a range of techniques incorporated into them. We all gathered round a table to watch Wendy demo each step and then took those tips and techniques and translated them using our own creativity.

First we started with the box. For this we used Wendy's Studio 490 Embossing Paste in gold and used our fingers to rub it onto the surface of the box which gave it a lovely golden sheen. We then used Archival ink pads with an ink applicator tool to apply colour over the top. This technique is incredible, the box looks like it is made of wood, love it!

Next we decorated the box using stamps and stencils and using archival inks to apply them.

 

We then added some embellishments to the box, adding ink and stencil patterns to those as well. Love the flower and button on the top of the box!

 

 

 

After a scrumptious lunch that was laid on by the hotel it was time to get creative with our tags.....

Tag #1

 

The main feature of this tag is the teacup and saucer which is a die cut from Tim Holtz and we absolutely adore the metal spoon on the side which is one of Wendy's fabulous finds from the web as she told us she snapped up all of them as soon as she saw them. We created a granite effect on the teacup and saucer using Glacier White Pigment ink from Ranger and one of Wendy's stamps - simple, yet so effective! To finish off the rest of the tag we used stencils, stamps and remnant rubs.

Tag #2

 

I think this is probably my favourite tag, simply because of the stunning rose we created using Wendy's Clearly for Art. Wendy had covered the clearly for art with some newsprint before stamping the rose design on it. We then cut around the roses and heated them with a heat tool so we could mould the petals of the rose. And once it cools, it sets....for life! At this point in the class, Wendy also came round with our own rose stamp and stencil set to keep so I think I may be making myself quite a few of these roses from now on. Thanks Wendy!

Tag #3

 

This cute little tag used one of Wendy's clever stencils for the tree and then we layered up some more clearly for art pieces and other embellishments whilst incorporating more stencils and stamp designs whilst throwing in a couple more remnant rubs and embellishments. Love the mini ruler!

Tag #4

 

 

Our final tag incorporated a lovely little stamped message that Wendy had previously stamped on our tags which read " The sweetest of moments are those I spend with you" which was a lovely way to end the day. More of Wendy's art parts were used to decorate the tag with some stenciling. I have to say I now have a renewed love for using stencils in my art work and there are so many different techniques you can use with them.

All in all it was a fantastic day and Wendy was so patient and kind with all of us and we were even lucky enough to have a picture taken with the talented lady.....

 

 

We will definitely treasure this day and have learnt many tips and techniques that we can translate into our own creative ways and also pass onto others. 

We loved Making Art with you Wendy, we hope you enjoyed your trip to England, please visit again soon!

 

 

Wedding Series: Wedding Cards

 

Hi bloggers, today's post is the final in the Wedding Series on the blog and it's all about Wedding greeting cards. I've got two different styles of cards to show you both using the same stamp set which is called 'Carried Away' by a brand called Taylored Expressions. 

This beautiful stamp set includes several stamp designs that evolve around a bunch of balloons. A metal die is also included to die cut the balloon shapes.

The first card example is a simple A6 card design which also uses a metal die called 'Bistro Lights', by Taylored Expressions. 

 

The combination of these dies and stamps creates a lovely scene of a young couple in love kissing underneath a scenery of hanging bistro lights. The stamp set also includes several sentiments, of which I chose:-

"May love lift you up today & always"

 

The second card example is one of my favourite card designs, which is a box card. These cards create so much dimension and it can get quite addictive to keep adding multiple layers. In this example we have kept each layer quite simple to create a simplistic Paris scene.

 

 

This card features the same kissing couple as before but this time they are in Paris! This card is actually quite fitting with the occasion as they got engaged in Paris right by the Eiffel tower and as you may have noticed the card also includes a tiny rat on the right side of the fence as these were also present at the time Ben got down on one knee! The sentiment stamp is from a Chalkboard Stamp Set by Anna Griffin.

 

 So there you have it, a series of posts to get you inspired to get crafting for your wedding. Making your own invitations, decorations etc can really help keep the budget down and also helps set you apart from the same old same old. Mix it up and make your wedding unique!

 

 

 

Wedding Series: Thank You Cards

 

Hi bloggers, today is the penultimate post in our Wedding Series and it's all about the thank you cards.

Even after the wedding is all over and done with there are still a few loose ends to tie up. Of course the main thing being getting those precious photos developed or waiting to see a preview of the photos from the photographer. Next thing to think about is the thank you cards so you can thank all those close friends and family for being a part of your special day.

In keeping with the vintage theme of the wedding I decided to design a postcard style for my sister's thank you cards with a photo of the happy couple on the front of the card. A photo thank you card is an excellent way of sending a photo memento to guests so as to avoid the many emails asking for a picture of the bride and groom!

The back of the postcard featured a vintage postcard design including the thank you message from the bride and groom. The right side of the postcard was left blank so that it could either be addressed and sent in the post as a postcard or they could choose to simply write the recipient's names and place the card in an envelope.

 So only one more post left in the Wedding Series which will provide you with two wedding card examples to use as inspiration if you fancy making a handmade card for an upcoming wedding.