Craftside

21 Christmas Craft projects to create a festive holiday season

Over at the new Craftside blog there is a great list of 21 Christmas Craft projects collected from the past years.

ATC and Altered Book Designs Made with the Help of 2 New Books

Need to get a little "arty" or "crafty" today? Well, I did with a little inspiration and help from the two new books Playing with Sketches: 50 Creative Exercises for Designers and Artists and 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and 44 Other Things with Wings: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers.

I made an ATC and altered book pages with some frottage, lady bug art and a pocket to keep the ATC in.

You can't see it, but the book I'm working with is a dictionary and this is the page the word "button" appears on. 

I first did a little test of the frottage technique from on vellum. I used a Sizzix embossing plate that features a variety of buttons. Frottage by the way if you aren't familiar with it is, "The technique of reproducing a texture or relief design by laying paper over it and rubbing it with some drawing medium, such as pencil or crayon."

I created the frottage on my book page with a green crayon. I had to be a bit gentler as the book pages are thinner.

Next, I drew one of the lady bugs from 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and 44 Other Things with Wings on a piece of vellum.

I cut the piece of vellum down to pocket size and adhered it to the book page with a variety of washi tape.

My ATC is die cut with the Sizzix ATC die from another vintage book page and embellished with a strip of washi tape.

I'm thinking this could turn into a series!

More about the Rockport book:

Playing with Sketches: 50 Creative Exercises for Designers and Artists

by Whitney Sherman

Drawing is the backbone of art and design; with all of the tantalizing wonders of the digital world, the best designers, illustrators and artists know that it’s good to step back occasionally and hit the refresh button on your hand and mind. Playing with Sketches is a hands-on, fun approach to exploring drawing principles. Beginning with an introduction to the philosophy of learning through the process of play, this book brings you through a series of basic warm-up exercises that can be combined with later projects. Then you’ll move quickly on to more challenging and engaging exercises, including word games, dimensional shapes, and inventive sketchbooks and letterforms, eventually creating a “toolkit” of ideas and skills developed through the process of play. This book features creative, adaptable ideas, and numerous examples of designers and artists responses to each exercise, giving you a peek into their way of thinking and seeing.

With over 25 contributors, from high-profile designers, illustrators and artists to talented graduate students, you see work that will walk you step-by-step through a process or inspire by example. The book provides meaningful outcomes for your practice, including building an image archive, being exposed to new ways to use media and tools, inspiring you to break the rules, to collaborate, and much more!

 

Award-winning illustrator Whitney Sherman was trained as a photographer, held positions as an advertising art director, publications designer.

 

and

 

The Quarry book

 

20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and 44 Other Things with Wings: A Sketchbook for Artists, Designers, and Doodlers

by 

Trina Dalziel

Let your imagination take flight with 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and 44 Other Things with Wings. Beautifully illustrated, this inspirational sketchbook will help you learn how to draw anything with wings. From fairies, bats, and airplanes, to dragonflies, gargoyles, and angels, 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly is perfect for illustrators, cartoonists, doodlers, and anyone who loves to sketch. This is not a step-by-step technique book--rather, the winged things in this volume are simplified, modernized and reduced to the most basic elements, offering simple abstract shapes and forms that meld together to create the building blocks of any item (man-made or organic) that you want to draw. Each spread features 20 inspiring illustrated examples of 45 themes - bugs, bats, birds, and much, much more - over 900 drawings, with blank space for you to draw your take.This all-in-one sketchbook lets you draw right on the pages making it easy to keep all of your most inspired creations at hand. Your inner artist will fly free with 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and 44 Other Things with Wings.

Trina Dalziel is represented by illustration agency Lilla Rogers Studio. She has worked as a freelance illustrator for over seventeen years. Originally from the North of Scotland, she grew up on a tomato farm. In her teens and twenties she spent time living in the Netherlands, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Paris. She earned a degree in illustration, and at the post-graduate level studied twentieth-century art and design history, which has all fed into her love of art, design, nature, animals, Scandinavia and European cities. She lives in London where she greatly appreciates the access to exhibitions, galleries, and museums which fuel her inspiration and research.

www.trinadalziel.com

Trina Dalziel is represented by illustration agency Lilla Rogers Studio. She has worked as a freelance illustrator for over seventeen years.

Originally from the North of Scotland, she grew up on a tomato farm. In her teens and twenties she spent time living in the Netherlands, Copenhagen, Helsinki, and Paris. She earned a degree in illustration, and at the post-graduate level studied twentieth-century art and design history, which has all fed into her love of art, design, nature, animals, and Scandinavian and European cities.

Some of Trina’s favorite things include: British transport documentaries from the ‘40s and ‘50s, Czech animation, surrealist photography, dogs with beards, forests, the Victoria and Albert Museum, printmaking, drawing, walking slowly in nature, and wandering around cities with her camera.

How to use oil pastels to transfer an image, from the book Fearless Drawing by Kerry Lemon

First up, I have the pleasure of sharing with you a cute photo taken at last weekend's SQUAM art retreat of Kerry Lemon, author of Fearless Drawing:Illustrated Adventures for Overcoming Artistic Adversity, who signed copies at the vendor night.

And today, I have an inside peek into her book! Check out this tutorial on how to use oil pastels to transfer an image:

 

Click on this page from Fearless Drawing to enlarge the picture and read all the details of oil pastel image transfer. I'm pretty sure I still have oil pastels in my stash from my college supplies, I just have to find them! 

More about the Quarry book:

 

Fearless Drawing:Illustrated Adventures for Overcoming Artistic Adversity by Kerry Lemon

Fearless Drawing is a fun and beautiful exercise and adventure book exploring how to rediscover the joy of drawing. There is a terrific fear attached to drawing, a frozen panic, a cry of "I can't draw!" Yet, embarking on these exciting drawing adventures will re-ignite the profound joy and artistic passion of drawing. Author Kerry Lemon uses a wide range of exercises and encouraging guidance to lead you to fall in love with the process of drawing all over again. You will play with marks, printing, frottage, and collage using nature, wire, a brush, and your imagination! As you work your way through the pages, enjoying the process will lead you to draw more regularly, and of course, lots of drawing leads to lots of improvement! Fearless Drawing helps you find happiness through the new way of viewing the world and observing your surroundings. Pick up your pencil - it's time to explore!

Kerry Lemon is an artist working internationally for a wide range of editorial, publishing, and advertising projects. Her drawings are commissioned by clients such as the Los Angeles Times, Sony Japan, Elle Spain, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Elle Decoration, and Harper's Bazaar. She is best known for her large scale retail and commercial installations collaborating with brands such as Liberty London, Harvey Nichols, Swarovski, Galerie Doux Dimanche in Tokyo, and Le Bon Marché in Paris. Kerry lives with her partner Steve and their two naughty cats in a quiet village just outside London.

How to Make a Zipper Bracelet with a Vintage Sugar Bowl Gift "Box"

I had the pleasure of being a part of a big CHA Blogger event that was hosted by Fave Crafts and having a project included in their Best Blogger Craft Ideas 2014 ebook. Here is my project along with the tutorial on how to make a zipper bracelet with bling dangles, all wrapped up in a vintage sugar bowl perfect for gift giving.

Bracelet
 Darice Mix and Mingle Beads
 Candy conversation heart
 Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
 Mod Podge Podgable Papers
 Mod Podge Podgable Shapes
 Simplicity Creative Group Zipper
 Fiskars Scissors
 Wire
 Jump rings
 Hot glue
 Velcro

Gift Wrap
 David Tutera Tag by Darice
 Darice Sequins
 Elmer’s Glue Stick
 Fiskars Scissors
 I Love to Create Tulip Beads In A Bottle
 Lion Brand Bonbons
 Glass jar

To start, I made a dangle from a candy conversation heart with a bit of Mod Podge and wire.

I next made a dangle with the podgable papers and disc.

To make the bracelet, I simply folded over the ends of the zipper and glued a bit of Velcro on each end.

I like to make sure I put the soft side of the Velcro facing down and the loop (rougher) side facing up. That way the rough part doesn't scratch on my skin.

I linked the dangles I made along with some pretty Darice beads to the opening of the zipper pull.

My idea for using the vintage sugar bowl came from the book Just Us Girls:48 Creative Art Projects for Mothers and Daughters to Do Together.

This page shows a jar being used to hold notes about happy memories and little trinkets acquired along the way that bring back thoughts of good times. I happen to do this with a cigar box. But I thought a jar would make a fun way to give a gift. So off to the stash, and I ran across this vintage sugar bowl.

I embellished a tag with a sequin, a paper punched heart and some I Love to Create Tulip Beads In A Bottle.

If you are looking for a whole book of great mother/daughter projects grab yourself a copy of:

Just Us Girls: 48 Creative Art Projects for Mothers and Daughters to Do Together

by Cindy Ann Ganaden

And if you would like to download the whole free ebook this project is featured in follow this link.

Enjoy!

New Books: Map Art Lab and The Quilter's Palette Giveaway and more crafty news

Happy crafty Monday! To kick off the week, I have to book giveaways to tell you about. Map Art Lab: 52 Exciting Art Explorations in Mapmaking, Imagination, and Travel by Jill K. Berry and Linden McNeilly and The Quilter's Palette: A Workbook of Color, Texture Techniques, and Effects by Katy Denny are available for pre-order, but you can get yourself in the running at Goodreads. I will be sharing inside peeks into these books soon so be sure to subscribe, follow on Facebook and Pinterest so you won't miss any crafty goodness!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Map Art Lab

by Jill K Berry

Giveaway ends April 21, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

 

Enter to win

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Quilter's Palette

by Katy Denny

Giveaway ends April 21, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

 

Enter to win

 

Body Mind Beauty Health

How chia seeds can help to improve your digestion

Quarry SPOON 

Recipe for creamy coconut ceasar salad dressing

Whole Home News

Recipe for state farm applesauce by Paula Pentel and Callie Wilson

Rock Paper Ink

How business cards tell the story

Walter Foster

How to draw Disney Princess accessories

 Q Geek Books

Vintage Crossword Puzzles