Zentangles

Zentangles

While surfing I found Zentangles, which is nothing else than doodling.
But when I browsed the galleries I really, really wanted to try it, although I normally don’t feel at my ease with doodling.
My first attempt was ugly, because I tried to ‘create’ something. Then I took a little sheet of paper and started doodling without thinking about.
I was surprised at how beautiful it turned out ;-)


Links:
Zentangles

Eraser Stamps

Eraser Stamps

There are lots of tutorials on how to make stamps from erasers (look at the Google search result for ‘eraser stamp’).
I want to present three of them:

Some hints & tips for eraser-carving
This site shows how beautiful those stamps can be and gives helpful hints.

Kneaded Eraser Stamps
Craft Chi always have ingenious ideas and tutorials and I like the kneaded eraser stamp because it is a technique to create stamps from everything with a textured surface.

Making and Using Stamps with Watercolor
I liked this one because I don’t stamp so often and so I don’t want to spent too much money on ink pads. Using watercolour makes it easy to use different colours nonetheless.

By the way: On the photo you see my first attempts on carving stamps from erasers and although they’re very simple I still like to use them from time to time.


Links:
Google search result for ‘eraser stamp’
Google Suchergebnisse für ‘Radiergummi Stempel’

Some hints & tips for eraser-carving
Craft Chi: Kneaded Eraser Stamps
Making and Using Stamps with Watercolor

Faux Papyrus

Faux Papyrus

As I saw the title ‘Papyrus’ in connection with ‘crafting’ (English for ‘bricolage’) I was instantly interested.
And the technique is easy and convincing.
The tutorial is in French, but there are very good illustrating photos.

 

And this is, what you have to do:
Materials:

  • gauze or cheesecloth
  • wallpaper paste
  • some coffee for colouring
  • a soft brush
  • a sheet of plastic foil
  • some water

Prepare the wallpaper paste with some cold coffee, not to liquid and not to solid.
Put the gauze on the sheet of plastic foil and coat them with the paste.
Let dry on a flat surface.
Check the photos in the tutorial to better understand what to do.

I used my piece of Faux Papyus on a card with a leaf and some other background papers.


Links:
Tutorial on how to make Faux Papyrus

Fractal Art

Fractal Art

Once I saw some fractals in internet and – as always;-)) – I wanted to create something like this too.
Some researching resulted in finding the Fractal Explorer, a freeware fractal generator.
I created many fractals and everyone was absolutely beautiful.
As I saw them on my screen I was delighted. I then let them be printed as photos in 20 x 30 cm (about 51 x 76 inches) and was thrilled. And in the end, when they were glued to 40 x 60 cm watercolor paper (about 102 x 152 inches) I stood in awe.
Really! :-))

If you like to see my fractals take a look at art (Simply click on the thumbnails to get a (German) description. If you want to enlarge them further, click then on the image.)


Links:
Wikipedia: English entry for ‘fractal’

Fractal Explorer: a freeware fractal generator

Result of Google image search for ‘fractal’

Serendipity Collage

Serendipity Collage

Create a lot of similar but not equal little squares to be used in card making, inchies* ‘production’ and other paper arts.
Take matching papers, tear them in pieces and glue them on a sheet of paper. If you like to, stamp it, paint it (to blend them a little) or doodle on it.
Then cut the embellished sheet in squares.

* What is an inchie? An Inchie is a 1″ square of art. I’ve seen them (in internet) made from paper, then embellished in innumerable ways or even sewn from fabric, also embellished in uncountable ways (see links beneath).


Links:
Once I have found lots of instructions on how to make Serendipity Squares, but I can’t find them back ;-(
Therefore I link here results of the Google image search for ‘Serendipity square Collage’:
Stamped Serendipity Squares (English) by ScrapFriends

Serendipity Technique Tutorial (English) by Art Without Anxiety

Serendipity Technique Tutorial (German) (select ‘Serendipity) by Anja`s Artefaktotum

Amendment (29. April 2008)
I found back my links and here are the missing ones:

Serendipity Squares (English)
Serendipity Do! (English)

Serendipity Squares Scrapbook Layouts: Search for ‘Serendipity Squares’

Serendipity (German)

Inchies – Inchies
Google image search for ‘what are inchies’
Google image search for ‘what is inchie’
Flickr search for ‘inchies’

Faux Leather Background

Faux Leather Background

I decorated the self-made candle holder on the photo with the Faux Leather Background technique and found it great. This technique can as well be used when making cards.
On the net I found different tutorials on how to make Faux Leather Backgrounds using the masking tape technique. One of them is the tutorial on the Faux Leather Masking Tape Background Technique by Trish Bayley.
A very good german tutorial can be found at artefaktotum at ‘Techniken’ – click ‘Faux leather’ there.


Links:
Trish Bayley: an Art Blog with among other things an interesting technique zone
Faux Leather Background Technique

artefaktotum: The website of an dedicated stamper, with great tutorials (in German)
artefaktotum’s techniques overview (see ‘Faux leather’ there)

Designing a Celtic Knot

Designing a Celtic Knot

No, this is no April Fool’s joke ;-)
With this instruction you can construct your very own Celtic knot, a pattern I used to find too complicated to design of my own.
The image shows a Celtic knot I created some time ago, but I still like it.
I have nearly forgotten about this technique, but now that I rediscovered it, I have several ideas how to use it more often.


Links:
Designing a Celtic Knot
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now only available through webarchive: Designing a Celtic Knot (Constructing a Celtic Knot)