Willow & Wattle: Creative

Blue - Colour With Punch and Challenge

2012-02-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

Colour, it can infer feeling, add punch, create drama. Using it to invoke a feeling in an art form can change a painting, or layout quite dramatically.

In this layout "Blue", I decided that really, I hadn't experimented with colour, specifically brighter colors, too much. Normally, I'd go for those Autumnal shades, so, I chose brighter colours in that palette.

Normally too, the saying goes 'blue and green should never be seen...' thought keeping in mind that there is a colour in between, that is, black and a bit of pink. The shades make a big difference too on how well colours might look together.

For this layout photo, I messed with photoshop CS2 a bit, adding blue tones to the picture. It just happened that I had a blue paint (making memories) that went perfectly with the shade, and a green from the same company that worked very well with the flower (heidi swapp).

I stamped the blue wing (inque boutique) at the bottom and then added a smudge of blue above the photo. Stamped the arrows (inque boutique) in green, then added a stamp edge/border along the top, heat embossing with black glitter powder.

After that, I added the flower, using a gem brad (mara johnson) in the middle and added a piece of chipboard over and just behind the flower.

So here's a challenge should you wish to 'ave a go at it.

Use colour shades that you might not use.

My combo was lime green, hot pink and blue.

Use the colour to add emotion to your layout.

I had a blast with it, not only that but found that these colours and the feeling of the colour tempted me to a different style that I really love.

So, go ahead and add your links to the message, feel free to ask questions too!

Note: Messages are moderated. Links should show a known scrapbook gallery or photo site.

Hooroo

W&W

On Teaching Art...

2011-11-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

There are certain things that should be said when someone first begin to teach grade 7, students in primary/middle school. The most prominent is that 12 and 13 year olds like to freestyle...

free·style/ˈfrēˌstīl/

A highly experimental method of approaching problems (similar to the notion of "winging it" in many Western cultures). Merging elements of pragmatism and daredevil improvisation, freestyling has developed into a unique and controversial school of thought. There are currently plans to further its cult status by lobbying the Hong Kong government to include "freestyle" as a religion. Rumored to be pioneered by one "Nicholas" (alias "Darth Vader") of a prestigious high school in Hong Kong, freestyle-ing is seen as a rare and desirable quality only a select few posses.

1) Lets just freestyle the calculus test tomorrow.
2) I love the smell of freestyle in the morning.
3) Self proclaimed "freestylers" and "freestylists" will be dealt with most harshly.
4) J-Dub: Have you seen freestyle Wong lately?
Ranger: Nope, but i think he's polishing his lightsaber with his father.

Freestyle... in so many different ways. Its not that in some certain ways it - freestyling, doesn't kinda go with the art scene, depending on how artsy we wish to go here, but there are certain things that I had not expected and its not all just freestyle speak or freestyle running - we'll ad lib here a little and mention 'runs with scissors' - either, it actually does involve pictures sometimes...

Child: Does this look like Ayers Rock, or a floater?
Teach: Try to add some shading at the base of it to create a shadow.
Child: Yep, it looks like a floater
Teach: :P

I teach watercolour during 'art' class time, while the class teacher is busy with other tasks, and then an art group after school. There are some great little artists out there, though new art teachers like me, are not always prepared for the little things that can happen sometimes, things that are great and.. well...

When admiring a picture and telling a student how great it is, very expressionist, the beautiful clear colour with a hint of shading in the right places, remember this student may continue to out do him/herself, by adding colour, and a little more colour...

...and then a little bit more colour...

...and just a tad more

Remember, its ok to tell students to Stop adding colour NOW.
Don't freestyle direct talk!

The class teacher will then come along and the child will exclaim how the cool art teach said it was a great painting and repeat word for word what you have said. Naturally, you the cool art teach will hear this conversation and turn around to see the picture again, only to notice a hole in the bottom of the artwork, and by this time, only a hint of colour that resembles the masterpiece you had reviewed just a few minutes prior. At this point the class teacher will remark on it religious significance - the hole.

Art Teach: :P

We'll see how it goes next week with a new group of grade 7 students

Fly By Creative Ideas - On A {less than} Creative Note

2011-05-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

I went to my computer yesterday visiting one of my favorite craft sites, with absolutely no idea that I had missed one of the best known 'days' in craft circles. It was then I realized that everyone else had a little NSD button on their posts, and me. Nothing. All the contests had been done, and winners were, as I sat reading the list of posts, announced for all kinds of fun and creative stuff.

I missed National Scrapbook Day!

I missed it mostly, well, completely, because I have a full time job that has nothing to do with art or craft and an odd schedule. That and volunteering, participating in extra training, among other things, it doesn't leave much time for playing with paint or paper. And I know, its been some time since I posted anything remotely creative. Although, I have the best of intentions, really. I just haven't quite got to the point of posting photos.

That said, due to missing NSD, I felt I needed to post something, anything really that was half creative...
So the run down of creative ideas, my girls and I have participated in recently -

Youngest childs birthday party - Craft Party! Take that chipboard and create bookmarks. The girls had fun using paint, ribbon, glitter, chipboard stickers, and a variety of finishing product to create one of a kind, personal marks. They are all reading buffs, so this was an easy one. We had also planned to decorate cupcakes, but the girls had so much fun choosing and creating from a variety of craft products that the cupcakes never had a chance, despite the fancy animal print cake transfers we had ready and waiting!

Side note, check out Michael's for animal print and other fun cake transfers by Duff, not to mention the variety of other cake products he has out - before they are all cleared off the shelves

Made tags, same kind of deal as the book marks, but we tried some with crackle finish paint, metallic paints, but chipboard cut a little shorter.
Bought feathers for hair accessories - I'm told this is an in thing at the moment. My oldest bought 3 different types of feathers and used crimp beads to attach to her hair - perhaps something else that could be fun at a party
Drew and painted animals in vibrant colors - this is a very good creative art exercise
Dismantled a very old coach with the intention of creating other up cycled furniture - well, haven't done that yet, but have ideas...particularly one, that I am looking forward to getting to

With any luck, I'll post photos of these before the end of the year.

CHA 2011

2011-01-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

CHA - Craft and Hobby Association are in thier second day of the 2011 Winter conference and trade show in L.A, California. With 2 shows a year, the summer event held in Rosemont IL, there is never a lack of inspiration and new products showcased. One of my favorites this year, and one company I usually can't wait to see is Prima Marketing.

Along with new flower designs, many fabric, Prima Marketing has also released new large masks and new flocked rub ons. Pairing up with Tattered Angels, another new product is "Mistables" canvas that can be used with mists and other inks. Check out the video showcasing thier products, brought to you by Two Peas In a Bucket!

Another company with a large release this year is Websters Pages. More beautiful fabric flowers, romantic, vintage inspired fabric embellishments, printed chipboard buttons to match, transparency frames and much more. Check them out here. Don't forget to comment and tell me about your favorite companies and new releases this year.

Adventures in Cake Decorating - The Frantic Mums Guide to Last Minute Childrens Cakes

2010-09-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

You started off fine this morning, then went to the store, forgot the list, halfway home you realized you still forgot the bottled water, and balloons and chips and if you had planned better, you would not have had the carpets cleaned at 10am either. But you promised your little angel a home made cake. And you are type A enough not to go back on your word.

You need a cake in half the time it generally takes to bake and decorate. Not hard right, considering one may be a past professional, somewhat out of practice cake decorating mum, figuring in present situation, (childs 11th birthday) one may have somewhat of an idea on how to do this. ah yeah. Yet I present to you,

How to make a childrens Chococat (or character) cake in half the time - plus a little bit

Grab quickly because you really don't have much time:
Cake pan, bakers joy or butter and flour
and cake mix (Dunkin Hines works well). "Whatever flavor" is perfect
Cake mix ingredients - (eggs, vegetable oil, water)
Ready to use fondant and/or frosting mix (if using fondant, you will still need frosting mix)
Your chococat/theme character - if needed, pattern on parchment paper or something non stick.

If drawing your image, practice one first then do the 'real' one. Place parchment on cake pan to draw to ensure correct size.

First thing.
Turn on your oven. 350 F or 180 c
Get out your big stand mixer, throw in cake mix and ingredients and while that is mixing, grab cake pan, butter and flour. Grease pan, pour in flour, flour pan, tip excess down sink. You don't have time to be conservative here.
Grab spatula, turn off mixer, scrape sides, turn mixer up to as full speed as you can without coating you or half the kitchen, for about 30 seconds. Scrape again with spatula particularly at bottom, make sure it IS actually well blended. Pour in pan, shove in oven.

PUT TIMER ON. Take out cake cooler now.

Meanwhile, make the choco kitty with melted chocolate. Do NOT use that nice fancy chocolate from the supermarket because its better than choco melts. Use choco melts. Just trust me on this. If you have already bought the fancy chocolate, see this link Oh, this is just what I need - the wrong chocolate

After baking, you need to cool down your cake in a hurry. Take everything off one shelf in your fridge, and put the cake, wire cooler and all into the fridge. Seriously. Don't be SHY ABOUT IT, that other stuff really is not important at the moment.

Get your frosting mix ready. Open box, read directions and realize you need 'ice water'. Stare at packet in disbelief. Do you have ice water? NO. Do you have ice? OF COURSE not. Go and grab bottled water and throw it in the freezer.

Meanwhile, the cake you put in the fridge should be almost cold by now. It should have been in there for about 40 mins so far. Lets hope the water catches up with us.
Take out cake and put it on the counter where the dog can't reach it.
Grab water out of the freezer. Use it anyway.

Mix up your frosting mix.
Keep mixing well beyond the time it says you are supposed to get stiff peaks. Course, its not working, but Do NOT add extra powdered /icing sugar. Trust me on this. If you have added extra powerded sugar, please click on the following link Powdered sugar does not fix everything.

Get your fondant packet and read directions, so there are no freaking surprises there.
Leave and pick up child from school. Drive straight to the cake decorating section at Walmart or Micheals (whichever is closest). Navigate brand new road detours that weren't there yesterday. Reach store, pick up 2 containers of premade decorator frosting, detour to other side of store and grab nearest 6 pack of adult beverage, you are going to need it. Try to hide impatience at checkout, ready yourself for return journey home, re-tour road detours behind a slow driver, notice your gas light is on.

Make sharp left to gas station, and half fill your car, don't sweat it, short term - you're saving money, will make up for the extras you just purchased. Arrive home and see company at front door. Invite in, go directly to kitchen and frost cake.

Roll out fondant to correct size. Roll onto rolling pin and apply to cake by rolling off pin and over the cake. Smooth sides. Begin decoration by transfering Chococat to cake.

Realize that chococat doesn't look right. He doesn't look right because you accidently used the practice pattern you drew. Wing it. You don't have time to recreate. Color extra frosting, shove in piping bag, make chococat look right enough to pass for a brown cat.

Present child semi professional cake.

Magnifying in Photoshop

2010-05-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

I had been playing around with an image on photoshop a couple of days ago, for my main blog Willow & Wattle: Wanderings and realised that I needed a specific area of an image magnified, but with a magnifiying glass effect. After a quick search on the net, I discovered there were magnifying glasses, complete with handle that really didn't appeal to me that much, so decided to tackle the job myself.

There maybe other ways to do this, but this method certainly gets the job done. You can be fairly creative with it also, and the results are great. Start with your image, and make any changes you want first, before taking on the rest.

This is my basic image. I wanted to magnify the Dallas area. To do that, I first created a copy of the image, by selecting the 'Image' tab, then 'Duplicate' and adding my text to this copy. The duplicate is what you use as your completed image.

Using your elliptical marquee tool found in your top left palette, top left selection, (click and hold, it will bring up a menu of different marquee shapes) define the area of the image you would like to enlarge. To do this simply click just outside the area and drag the marquee to the desired size. Use the move tool to position the marquee if needed.

Go to 'Edit' and copy (or control c on a pc), then file, 'new', make sure the background is transparent, by clicking on 'background contents' and transparent on the dropdown menu. Create the canvas slightly bigger than your image selection. Then paste (or control v on a pc) the selection to your new page.

Next go to image and select the image size you would like the selection to be, for example if your orginial image selection is 3x3" then make it 4x4" or so, this will be your magnification size. Allow for a slight image spread because we will use the warp tool.

Then, select 'Edit', 'Transform' and 'Warp' it will bring up a grid on your selected image.

Simply pull the four inner corners of the grid toward the outer corners of the grid creating the illusion of a slight dome shape. You will notice here that any text will take the shape of the dome.

This is also where you find you needed that little extra canvas room as the sides of your image selection will be a little flat. To fix that, move the sides out a little to recreate the circle.

That is your basic magnification.
Go to 'Layer' and 'Layer Style' then choose drop shadow. Move the sliders to complete your shadow to your taste, then click 'ok'

Then with your brush, choose a low opacity, and complete the 'glass look' by brushing lightly around the inside edge of your image. I used white with an opacity of about 11%.

Then use the move tool to position your new magnified area back over your duplicated image. Save and you're done.

Valentines..

2010-02-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Will update as soon as I can!

Playing With Jewels - Topaz

2010-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

No affiliation with this company or product, just thought it was neat and wanted to share :D

"A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed."

~Ansel Adams

I've read over the years that Ansel Adams was a great photographer, but a brilliant developer. His developing techniques were astounding. He spoke often about the process and techniques of developing, and more about the 'chance' of taking a good photograph.Taking an image can be mastery in itself - but the ability to catch that moment and then to convey, not just what you see, but the feeling of what you see to the viewer, can be a task in itself, often in the developing, taking an ok photo and turning it into something extraordinary. While I am nowhere near a pro photographer, I love to play with the feeling of photos. It really is amazing what you can do with an average image.

I took this photo after one of the ice storms in 2008 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Such a fierce storm, one that created a still, deathly silence, amplifying the harsh crack of splitting limbs, and falling trees echoing across the park and around our neighborhood. It left a hauntingly beautiful scene - pure, transparent, encasing that moment of time and its colors, among the destruction.

Developing in digitial, (for a closet film lover) is a whole new creative world -and while I hate to admit it, a darn sight more convenient! Playing with Topaz Adjust was more than interesting. Talk about the free trial plugin on a fave message board drew me in and of course, I had to try it. Giving it a test run here before my time runs out.

This was the original image taken. Not the best photo huh, and let me tell you a secret, this was AFTER adjustment with a color action! You can apply Topaz to SOOC images or after other adjusting. Pretty cool.

Helen

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Australia is one of the first countries to hit the New Year, and the fireworks in Sydney have always been a pretty nice display, with viewers from all around the world. This year, it is supposedly the largest display in the world. You can view the video of the entire performance on Willow&Wattle, my general blog.

As far as the craft industry, it will be interesting to see what the new year brings, with CHA is coming up. What are your New years predictions?

Helen

And so it begins...

2009-12-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Christmas rush... and Tim Holtz 12 days of Christmas tags.

I have plans. Mighty plans.

Plans that will accomplish hanging about and tagging things, literally - for the fun of it. I enjoy getting messy with paint and paper, things I haven't been able to touch for just a little while. Don't you hate it when you have major plans and are too busy to accomplish them!

My Christmas gifts are incomplete, thoroughly tagless..

Which brings me to Tim Holtz.. great artist - his 12 days of Christmas tags are long awaited for each year. Step by step guide to creating a different piece each day.

Check them out here! Tim Holtz, 12 Days of Christmas tags

With any luck, I'll be creating and posting tonight myself, but as it would HAVE to happen, the real world just can't stop getting in the way of fun..

I will be able to accomplish tagging right here on my blog soon. This might involve the Cricut which I have rediscovered recently due to the storybook cartridge that I actually received quite some time ago. Lets hope I can get started soon. Check back!

See you soon
Helen

Last Minute: Thanksgiving Placeholders...

2009-11-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

Perfect last minute craft, placeholders are one of those things that can be reasonably quick and easy to make, plus that I had to use the Cricut Storybook cartridge before it killed me. This was the perfect craft for the ideas I had been kicking around for the last couple of days.

For this, I used a Cricut baby bug, 2 Storybook pieces, but you can substitute with die cuts or chipboard. You'll need a frame and background, one of each for every place setting.
Cardstock is Creative Memories Spiced Cider and Cement
Autumn Stickers (Creative Memories)
Stamping ink I used was Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink (Ranger).

Start with your background or blackout piece, about 3 inches wide - Storybook R. The background doesn't have to match the fame, but the height and width should be similar. Ink the edges. I do that mainly so it has a little definition. On a table full of goodies, the placeholder can look a little lost.

Cut out your accent piece, 3 inches, Storybook E, and choose a sticker that you think would look absolutely smashing, then adhere it to the frame.

A little tip - I have one of those travel sized baby powders hanging around in my studio. After you place the sticker, turn over the piece and brush the baby powder over the exposed sticky areas. This will stop it from sticking to the background and anything else its not supposed to.

Then adhere small popdots to the frame corners and attach to your background.

Last thing, tear some of the left over cement cardstock for the name tag. Ink edges, write the guests name, and roll ends around a small paintbrush, to curl. Double pop dot (pop dot on pop dot unless you have those dots that are thicker. The idea here is to have the name tag just above the frame) and adhere to your finished placeholder.

Last, fold back the lower swirly bits just a little so the holder will stand up (too much and it will not hold up) or use a little folded cardstock adhered to the back.

Let me know how it goes!

Cheers,

Helen

Stolen Scraps...

2009-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

Its a shame, but every so often you hear of it. Probably more often than one might want to admit actually. Stolen art work from art shows, and scrapbooking events like CHA, I always wonder what the real motive is behind it. Do they simply like an item(s) so much they can't live without it, do they sell it/them, though the latter might be difficult given the number of very product aware scrappers and designers... in any case, its always a darn shame.

The latest victim is Tim Holtz. Quoted from his blog :

"My entire messenger bag with my MacBook Pro, iPod touch, Bose headphones, flip video, sunglasses, reading glasses, my handmade watches and jewelry, and medication - gone... Everything taken! So I've been faced with a bit of a set back considering all of my new book photos and text along with all of my new CHA designs, new stamp ideas, product artwork and packaging simply all gone in an instant."

Aparently an update on Twitter mentioned a new laptop, so lets hope he is able to retrieve his work easily.

Helen

Halloween Goodies!

2009-10-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

Halloween will be here in 3 days, already! ALREADY! Please tell me I'm not the only one this crept up on. My 13 year old will aparently be a dead cheerleader. Again. My youngest wants to be something fluffy and cute. Nothing like a bit of contrast to keep things lively in a household.

Eerie Rub Ons

I love Basic Grey! and who doesn't like a sale right? I discovered these over at Two Peas in a Bucket, along with a large number of other products. Click on the link, it will take you right to the product page, and there will be a bunch of other products thumbnails listed also. I love these. I've always been an enthusiastic user of rubons and this paper is a must have, and all on sale!

Kraft Doilies

A Peek into Yesterday has a coupon for 35% off all Halloween products! Including SALE items! Use the coupon code >>Halloween<< between October 25th and October 31st. Go to A Peek Halloween sale for a list of Halloween products and HERE for the home page for other coupons.

Vintage Halloween at Little Dreamer

Digital Products - Little Dreamer has these Halloween products on sale for $1!! Each Wednesday, selected products are on sale. I'm still getting into digital, but I really like these ones. Feel free to leave links in the comment to other places too!

Catch ya later!

Helen

*********

Adventures in Making {digital} Paper...

2009-10-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

In the last 2 days, I have discovered paper making. Not the physical, man handled type, but the bytes and elements kind. This started because 3 days ago I decided right then and there to attempt a banner for my blog, which meant finding elements, and using brushes, then widgets and then the desire, no the NEED (at this point I was in WaYY too deep) to make backgrounds, which meant papers. I had contemplated attempting this for some time, but as time goes... you might already see why. Procrastination is never done so well put off until tomorrow... right? Thats ok, you can let me know later.

Of course, procrastination might not occur had I thought of projects in thier simplest form. But I overthink it all. First I think of the artwork for the papers - now this is where it starts. I begin by wondering if I should use pastel, watercolor or acrylic. Most people might use the available digital brushes in photoshop and a new blank document. Realising that then I would be scanning and importing the 'artwork' thereby promptly engaging in self inflicted and self created photoshop crash courses in the graphic arts - digital frames, brushes and anything else remotely associated with the construction of said project. And since I had not attempted anything like this before, well...it began innocently enough. Fairly typical. I blame my grandfather. He did the same thing with model ships. He even created the metal nails that were hammered into the handcarved wooden planks.

But it doesn't need to be that difficult, unless you enjoy creating and scanning. In this case, I had stuff already made, and also found some original botanical prints created in the 17 and 1800's. I made a couple of digital brushes, and before I knew it, I was making digital frames, overlays, PNG files papers and trying to figure out what else I could scan and duplicate.

The grungy looking element above was created first, in Adobe Photoshop CS2, using a scan of something I created recently. This step can be done in Elements or another photo editing program also. I erased the center using the magic eraser, leaving just the outside edges and some texture, to create a type of frame, but can be resized to use as an overlay or texture. Using the magic eraser will create a transparent background, so the element can be moved just like a transparency. The papers were made by using a blank document, then overlaying it with the frame. To do that, go to edit and free transform. Just pull the little tabs to size or rotate. To change the color opacity, go to layer, blending options and reduce the opacity, or play with the options in the drop down menu. There are a ton of things you can do to change the look. Just remember to duplicate any image you decide to use. After your background is finished, begin adding your elements. Its fun, and can be quite addictive. Then you'll be scoffing at time, and staying up all night - well, maybe not, but time will probably get away on you.

TIPS:
Place elements on a transparent background when you create them.
Be sure to check copyright laws if you retrieve images from the web. In many cases, images can be downloaded and used for personal projects, and images may be copyright free if over a certain age.

Hooroo,
Helen

Scenic Route...

2009-10-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Scenic Route. Such a great company, beautiful papers. Sadly, the company has recently announced its closing. It comes on the heels of a tough time for the scrapbooking and papercraft industry. There has been a lot of talk on a number of well read scrabooking sites, concerning magazine bankruptures and paper companies disappearing, but Scenic Route was one company that I feel a little more for. SR was one of the first companies that asked me to be on thier design team in 2004, and I stayed with them until 2007, when we changed from a team to instead, featuring designers.

This paper was from Salem, one of thier past Halloween lines, probably the first set of halloween designs and color shades I really loved, and found great to work with. Actually, if there was a color I never thought I'd be able to work with, it was orange. These papers forced me challenge that idea, and I soon after attempted to hoard the entire line.

Its a fairly simple hybrid page. I used Tim Holtz crackle paint on the top left, and printed the Haunted House from the Simply Spooky Brushes digital kit and the flourish from the Parisian brushes kit directly onto the cream cardstock. My printer is just a standard size, so I just cut the paper to 8" across, used a program to place the brushes where I wanted them on the paper, and printed. Then finished the layout with other items from the line.

Its sad to see them go, and I know a lot of designers in the industry are a tad bummed also. Bye SR, and thanks Sarah for the great designs!

Journal Jar Article!...

2009-10-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

http://scrapbooking.com/article/73724

I've been waiting for this article for some time (well, only a month actually) and can now say its finally up on Scrapbooking.com Magazine! I posted this journal jar on the main blog WillowandWattle some time ago. Thankfully, after my initial post on 2 peas in a bucket, it was picked up by the mag. Instructions are on the magazine site, just click on the link. Its pretty quick really, and with the holidays coming up it can be decorated, and changed out for each occasion.

Journal Jar from Creative Memories, Stickers from Creative Memories, Rub Ons from Basic Grey.

Welcome to Creative!

2009-09-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

As part of our renovations, I'm working on creating pages for Willow & Wattle. This will be a page for basically two of my hobbies, Art and Scrapbooking. It will contain expert tips and techniques, art, craft news, and other fun stuff! Stay tuned.