…compilation of tutorials
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
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
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:
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.
I love Crazy Quilts, because it is a kind of Freeform work, but I don’t like sewing. So I began to make my quilts on and with paper.
On the photo you see a card I made with this technique.
I didn’t only embroider the seams but I also used some fancy stitches like French Knots e.g. (the red dots on the photo) onto the surfaces.
To make your own Paper Crazy Quilt, find matching papers and cut them into pieces. On the photo I used rectangles, but the typical Crazy Quilt distribution is also beautiful (here you can find some lovely blocks here you can find some lovely blocks).
Glue the collage on thin paper and then begin embroidering (carefully!) as if it was a real Crazy Quilt (here is an online class for Crazy Quilts).
To finish you glue or embroider your Paper Crazy Quilt on cardboard.
Links:
Crazy Quilt blocks
Tutorial moved to: Crazy Quilt blocks
English Embroidery Stitch Diagrams
Deutsche Stickstichbeschreibungen
French knots (Knötchenstiche) (English)
French knots (Knötchenstiche) (German)
While I was browsing through the projects of STITCH I found Precious Petals. They ‘glue’ the flowers on fabric and then embellish with decorative stitching.
A stunning idea which is still on my to-so list.
Links:
STITCH project: wonderful projects around stitching (how surprising ;-))
There is a technique called Cro-Tat, which is a technique between Crochet and Tatting: the item it is crocheted, but looks like tatted. For tutorials look beneath the Links.
I don’t have a straight steel crochet hook and so I figured out how to do this in another way.
It is a kind of clothesline crochet: I am crocheting a simple chain that I ‘decorate’ with single crochets.
I once wrote a (German) tutorial on how to make a Mother’s Day card with a Simple Cro-Tat Ornament. It is heavily illustrated ;-)
Anyhow: ‘Luftmasche’ is chain, ‘feste Masche’ is single crochet and ‘Kettmasche’ is slip stitch, the actual row is red, the previously worked rows are in black.
Links:
Tutorial on how to make a Mother’s Day card with a Simple Cro-Tat Ornament (German)
Tutorial on how to make another Simple Cro-Tat Ornament (German) (‘Zusammen häkeln’ means join)
Cro-Tat
Cro-Tat Instructions (English) The link isn’t available no more. Try instead to find an appropriate tutorial in this list of Cro-Tat Instructions.
Cro-Tat Instructions (German)
Here at unikatissima: Clothesline Crochet
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’
Inchies – Inchies
Google image search for ‘what are inchies’
Google image search for ‘what is inchie’
Flickr search for ‘inchies’
I always liked the Chamsa (English Wikipedia entry for ‘Chamsa’) because it seems to me to be a sign of peace and friendship.
One day I crocheted a Chamsa to use it on a card.
Have fun with my original crochet pattern (and if you use it, please give credit).
First you work three rounds, then you continue in rows.
(Instructions on how to crochet with a magic ring and how to crochet the double treble crochet: see Links beneath)
Click picture to enlarge
Links:
Crochet Chamsa pattern
English Wikipedia entry for ‘Chamsa’
German Wikipedia entry for ‘Hamsa’
Magic ring
(Google results)
The Magic Adjustable Ring: A Better Way to Begin Crochet in the Round (English): very good illustrated instruction
Häkeln lernen: Der Fadenring (German)
Double Treble Crochet
(Google results)
Tutorial Double Treble Crochet (English): very good illustrated instruction
Tutorial Double Treble Crochet (German)
I love many of the string art patterns, but I would never make them, because I find them on the other side quite old fashioned.
Although the I thought that I could use the pattern to create a card.
I pricked the holes of the Starburst pattern Starburst pattern (template here template here) from The Art of Thread Design The Art of Thread Design into my cardboard and measured the length of thread. About 8m (about 26 feet ;-)). Then I started to weave the thread through the holes. I hadn’t finished the first two stitches when my thread became a firm knot. Totally entangled. Absolutely un-detangable.
Therefore I had to try something else with new thread.
I thought (what I should have done beforehand ;-)) that in string art they use pegs (nails) to fix the thread at the predefined points. Then I realised that I could have a kind of pegs too: if I weave the thread over and under the holes (from hole 1 to hole 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4 etc) and back, I get a coloured frame where the holes are, I get pegs, because one thread goes from the front side to the back side and vice verso (see picture).
Click to enlarge
Now I could wrap the thread around my self-made pegs just in the same way they are doing it in string art around the nails.
I enjoyed working on the Starburst pattern, but at one end it is very narrow and I only could use two layers in place of three.
Links:
The Art of Thread Design
Starburst pattern instructions
Starburst pattern template
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive:
The Art of Thread Design
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)
