Batiking is a fun, intricate artform where you take wax and dyes and create patterns on fabric. The result is a wonderful, distinctive looking design to your fabric. Simple supplies needed for a lot of fun. Especially perfect for crafters who like to sew or quilt to have unique fabrics to suit their perfect needs.
How to Batik
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtobatik.shtml
http://www.craftown.com/batik.htm
http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-US/Crafts/pages/beautiful-backyard-batik.aspx
Batik with Children
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyeblog/C1093657698/E20071005091634/index.html
Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, January 1, 2010
Thrifty Scrapbooking Ideas
Thrifty Scrapbooking Ideas
There are lots of products out there to aid us in our scrapping pursuits. There are stickers, metal pet tags, commercial 3D embellishments, patterned paper and vellum quote books, decorative scissors, much more. If you can imagine it, it probably is out there!
The problem with most commercial scrapbooking embellishments is price. It is not uncommon to pay $1-5 for just a couple of embellishments. Especially with these economic times, it can be difficult to justify spending that much. We can still enjoy scrapbooking while not spending much or any money! There are simple ways to embellish your pages for pennies on the dollar! Here are just a few.
Rubber Stamping
Pull out those rubber stamps! You know, the cute one with the paw print you bought a while ago. That chicken you couldn't live without. What about that butterfly one that was too cute to resist? Dust them off and start decorating. The possibilities are endless. You can take a plain background page and stamp, stamp, stamp your way to a festive background. Use a little embossing powder on cardstock and you have instant custom embossed paper. Or stamp your image on scrap paper and cut out, adhere to the page with a pop dot for a fun dimensional embellishment! Create borders with stamped images. Create picture frames with stamping an image into a square and cutting it out. Ink, Paper, Scissors and a good stamp or three will leave you with endless possibilities.
Paper Piecing
Ah, my favorite. Paper piecing is one of the most inexpensive ways to add a lot of wow for pennies. Find a pattern that you like, or create your own, cut and assemble. Many times you can create a paper piecing with scrap paper! Add embellishments to your paper piecing such as ribbon, gems, glitter, pen lining, inking, or fiber for that extra flair. Again, most of the time you only need a small amount of the embellishment, so you can use a scrap!
Acrylic Paint
Most of us have bottles of craft paint around the house. Mostly gathering dust since our current obsession is scrapbooking. Pull out those paints and get stroking! Create dazzling custom colored pages with just a few brush strokes. If you take the time to learn Donna Dewberrys One Stroke Painting Technique, it will make your creations even more brilliant with much less time (or talent!) required! When your paper has dried, you can die cut it, cut it into frames, use as background paper, cut into strips and use as a boarder and anything else your imagination can come up with.
Found Items
Open your eyes and look around your world. Onion bags can be used as mesh or net; a fake credit card that come in the mail can be altered for amazing embellishments; hinges from old jewelry boxes or the hardware store can make books or hidden journaling on your page; The possibilities are endless.
Scrapbooking is only limited by your creativity. Just about anything can be put into a scrapbook or be used in a way never intended by its original creator. You just need a little creativity, patience and an open eye to the world around you.
Happy Scrapping!
Kim
Check out my crafting books, patterns and more
There are lots of products out there to aid us in our scrapping pursuits. There are stickers, metal pet tags, commercial 3D embellishments, patterned paper and vellum quote books, decorative scissors, much more. If you can imagine it, it probably is out there!
The problem with most commercial scrapbooking embellishments is price. It is not uncommon to pay $1-5 for just a couple of embellishments. Especially with these economic times, it can be difficult to justify spending that much. We can still enjoy scrapbooking while not spending much or any money! There are simple ways to embellish your pages for pennies on the dollar! Here are just a few.
Rubber Stamping
Pull out those rubber stamps! You know, the cute one with the paw print you bought a while ago. That chicken you couldn't live without. What about that butterfly one that was too cute to resist? Dust them off and start decorating. The possibilities are endless. You can take a plain background page and stamp, stamp, stamp your way to a festive background. Use a little embossing powder on cardstock and you have instant custom embossed paper. Or stamp your image on scrap paper and cut out, adhere to the page with a pop dot for a fun dimensional embellishment! Create borders with stamped images. Create picture frames with stamping an image into a square and cutting it out. Ink, Paper, Scissors and a good stamp or three will leave you with endless possibilities.
Paper Piecing
Ah, my favorite. Paper piecing is one of the most inexpensive ways to add a lot of wow for pennies. Find a pattern that you like, or create your own, cut and assemble. Many times you can create a paper piecing with scrap paper! Add embellishments to your paper piecing such as ribbon, gems, glitter, pen lining, inking, or fiber for that extra flair. Again, most of the time you only need a small amount of the embellishment, so you can use a scrap!
Acrylic Paint
Most of us have bottles of craft paint around the house. Mostly gathering dust since our current obsession is scrapbooking. Pull out those paints and get stroking! Create dazzling custom colored pages with just a few brush strokes. If you take the time to learn Donna Dewberrys One Stroke Painting Technique, it will make your creations even more brilliant with much less time (or talent!) required! When your paper has dried, you can die cut it, cut it into frames, use as background paper, cut into strips and use as a boarder and anything else your imagination can come up with.
Found Items
Open your eyes and look around your world. Onion bags can be used as mesh or net; a fake credit card that come in the mail can be altered for amazing embellishments; hinges from old jewelry boxes or the hardware store can make books or hidden journaling on your page; The possibilities are endless.
Scrapbooking is only limited by your creativity. Just about anything can be put into a scrapbook or be used in a way never intended by its original creator. You just need a little creativity, patience and an open eye to the world around you.
Happy Scrapping!
Kim
Check out my crafting books, patterns and more
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Adventures in Batik
So my latest crafting adventure is Batik. What is Batik? Is that a specialty store that you go to for designer clothes? No! Its a beautiful Indonesian artform used to put some bold and intricate designs in their cloth. The crafter puts a resist of some nature, usually wax, upon the cloth in a design and then applying dye to the cloth. Wherever there is no wax, the cloth will be dyed, but where the cloth is protected will remain the original color.
Honestly, the approach that I am coming to favor is a bit different. My children are still young and enjoy crayons, which means they enjoy BREAKING crayons! I had pure white delicious cloth and a bunch of broken crayons. There was a small metal paint tray with little divits for the paint in my crafting drawer. Perfect. I broke up each crayon into little pieces and filled several divits. Warming the whole tray in a steamer basket double boiler on my stove. As soon as I achieved liquid wax, dipping a paintbrush in and painting quickly I achieved a beautiful and colorful desgin. They key was to do it in very short strokes so the wax would stay very HOT upon the brush. After the wax cooled, I placed the cloth between newspaper (I keep a roll of newsprint paper purchased cheap from my local newspaper)and cardboard and then used my iron to warm the wax,wicking it onto the newsprint. It took several changes, but finally I had bold colors and beautiful designs.
I have tried adding pariffin to the crayon for a more diffused color and using just straight clear paraffin resist and dying the cloth too. I plan on picking up some beeswax from a local beekeeper and trying that for a resist! All of the methods are fun, easy and relaxing adventures in crafting!
This is going to be one bold new way to allow MY creative spirit to fly..
Kim
Check out my crafting books, patterns and more
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Embracing your Creativity!
Creativity is a vital pulse of our lives. It can touch every aspect of our very being. We interact with someone's creative spirit from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep. From inventions to art to music - every aspect of our existance was someones exciting idea at one point. At night we play in our own playground of imagination.
We should strive to live our lives to embrace our own creative spirit. Express ourselves through crafting, music and the arts. Either through appreciation or through active creation!
Many people look at the accomplishments and creations of others and think "I could never do that!" when in truth, they could if they would just move their egos and own doubts out of the way. Will it be perfect? Maybe, maybe not. Will it be grand or fall flat? Who knows! But the important part is that it was CREATED. That you embraced your inner voice and allowed it to shout out loud THIS IS ME!!!! I am FREE to touch the stars, soar in the clouds, walk the thick green grass or dig deep within the cool fresh earth.
Creativity is more then making something or appreciating something. It is about allowing yourself to have the freedom of a voice.
Let your voice sing.
Kim
Check out my crafting books, patterns and more
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