My Craft "Taster" Session!

 

 

Hi Crafty Mates - through a serious of incidents and requests I have booked a table at Hobby Craft at Teesside Park, Stockton-On-Tees - Teesside for 14th November 2013  6-8pm.  

So what I would really like to know is, would anyone be interested in coming to a "Taster Workshop" with me.  By "Taster Session" I mean I would do a mix of techniques and a make and take.  Obviously there would have to be a bit of a play with a Gelli Plate involved.  I have posted on here rather than FB so that I can keep an easy record of who is interested. 


The background to this was made on a Gelli Plate

 

Prices and details of what to bring will be posted once I know I have more than say, 5 people.  If I don't get 5 or more people who would like to come then I will just sit and have a coffee with the lovely staff from Hobby Craft, whilst we are on the subject of Coffee, hot drinks will be provided free of charge. So if you would like to come along please put your name and a comment below, then I will PM you  with details once I have all my seats filled.  Please bear in mind that this will be advertised within the Shop too and seats will be limited.

 

A little Inking on my Splodge Mat



 This was  the inner part of a faux Music Box
 I made for my DT sample on the F&F Blog

The dresses were made on Gelli Prints and
Splodge Mat Prints

 So a little Eye Candy because I never Blog without it.

I look forward to seeing if there is any interest.

Ta Ta for now

Sam.

Them that do and Them that don't!!!

 I think there is a big divide in this Country between Them That Do Craft and Them That Don't!!!  I don't understand people who don't have hobbies (how on earth do they keep themselves occupied) and they don't understand people who do (how on earth do they get their housework done?). There you have it - the big divide.

 

So when I say I NEED to get in my Craft Room please don't say "you can't spend every spare minute in there"!! 

 YES I CAN!

 When I say I am struggling to focus my ideas and separate them onto different cards instead of piling too many on one card ! DON'T throw a load of YOUR  ideas at me TOO, it doesn't help!!!!

When I have some new DT work to do - PLEEEAAASSSEEE DON'T everybody suddenly decide they miss me and want to take me to lunch, the pictures, a day on the beach!!! I NEED to be in my Craft room, and last week when I was twiddling my thumbs thinking I NEED some people around me you didn't want to go to the pictures, for a meal or to the beach then did you!?

 

And when I show you a card and say "do you think this is good enough for TV"?  Its like that

"Does my bum look big in this"? question!!! I am not really looking for the answer from the bottom of your heart, I am looking for the RIGHT answer,
a simple "Yes its lovely" will do nicely thank you. 



And FINALLY please DON'T tell me to give myself a break from crafting, crafting IS my break - from life!!!!  

 I am sure my Crafty friends will understand and my non-crafty friends won't but hey,

 it needed to be said!!!

 

So I never blog without Eye Candy - but I don't have any because I am either doing private DT work or
 I CAN'T FLAMIN GET IN MY CRAFT ROOM!!! 
Or
by the time I do get in it I am falling to sleep.
Or
on Face Book - Ssshh
 
So for this Blog's Eye Candy
  I will see if I can drag something up from the past???

This wasn't used, quite frankly the whole card looked a little weird.
However, I was really proud of it, I started with white card and
after about three hours of blending inks over and over from the Splodge Mat - to get a little depth and warmth
I produced this thing!!!! Well not just this, there is a lot more on the card!?.



This is one I made earlier on the Gelli Plate  but couldn't use because
it's not good to Hang! the Characters on your cards!

 Its OK not to leave a comment this is just my Crafters Blog - and I am not really letting off steam

 I am just pointing a few things out.



Keep Calm and Carry on Crafting - when you get a few un-interrupted hours that is!!!

Bye for now

Sam

Crafty Talk

Hi there I haven't got a lot to say tonight (I always say that don't I?) but I just wanted to update this blog as I have neglected it lately.  I have been back to a Journal class with Dyan Reaveley so I think I might put a few backgrounds on here, although in general I don't like to show my Journal work off because that's not what its for.  Its just for me to play and find my inner weiredness!!! ?? I mean weiredness in a good way, I have never been a lover of normal, in clothes, décor, life or Art.

Thinking about Journaling tonight got me thinking about Lowry, he always put so much interest into his paintings.
 

I remember there used to be a print of his  in our school hall, and while everyone was listening/falling to sleep  to assembly I used to sit and stare at the Lowry picture, every time you looked at it you saw something different.  I think this is what I like in Altered Art and Journaling the really good stuff has hidden little extras all over the place.

Being on a DT and researching on the Web is re-opening my love of lots of kinds of Art. But now the difference is I am beginning to feel I can start to produce a little bit of it myself, I mean really produce.  I am not there yet by any means but I am enjoying the process of getting there. I am surrounded by  really talented people and can't believe how much really great work doesn't even get a viewing by other people. 

 

 This is why I like Pinterest so much, we can all unashamedly put our own work on there to show it off but we can also search for other peoples work, I have found a fabulous photographer on there who now follows me, just being polite I think, but some of the work he directs me to is unbelievable. I see a lot of work that has been re-pinned from people I know too from SplodgeAway and Clarity and ranger etc. So when I put my "journal" work on here I am definitely not being negative when I say I have a long way to go, just look up Journal on Pinterest !!
 

 

But I am enjoying playing with it.  I enjoyed this class where we were playing more with backgrounds, the other stuff I have just added since I got home, but think I will come back to it at another time because I was beginning to spoil it - I do that a lot! But I learnt one very important thing, I get a bit hung up on the fact that the more I try to be A-symmetrical the more I become Symmetrical? But that actually that doesn't matter because I am actually looking for a "balance" in the project which is needed, it isn't about weather you are symmetrical at all, its about the three's and fives groups, it always works well on the eye, but some artists work in 4's and can make it work?  I personally think if you have a 4 you probably put a 3 opposite and that would be easy on the eye.  So it depends how you work your brush strokes or figures out? 

 

Found this tonight, I have been stood right in front of this building it is awesome.

 

Well like I say I just wanted to update my blog and show that I have advanced a tiny bit in my Journaling.  So Carry On Crafting and I will see you on Pinterest! If you have a positive comment please leave it, if you have a negative comment please leave!!  Ha Ha Good night Sam x

 

Sneak Peak at some Altered Art I am doing.

For Crafters about Crafters!

Well good morning just thought I would update my Crafters Only Blog as I don't get around to this one much these days.  Talk about not getting around to things, when you wish for "a bit of a life" be careful what you wish for!!!  I am suddenly so busy my head is spinning.  But its all for really good reasons.  I am in the process of making cards for SplodgeAway as Tom is on TV's Create and Craft on 24th May, I also have some Blog work to do.  I have a day with Dyan Reaveley  on Saturday for a Journal Workshop .  On Sunday I will be on the Stall with Tom at the Ross Papercraft Show at the Nissan site in Sunderland.  I have also finished my DT project for the Fussy and Fancy Challenge Blog, the new challenge starts tomorrow so you will be able to see it there with more close up pictures of the project on my GBlog.

 Then on Monday I am packing for me and the kids - the kids and Dog are off to my sisters house while I am off to a two day workshop with Barbara Gray! What a good year this is turning out to be.  I also have workshops with Hels Sheridan later in the year and Annette Lee and Maria Simms coming up.   But next week will be special, I met a bunch of lovely ladies at the NEC last year and we have all kept in touch via FB so next week a lot of us will be staying together in a Hotel for three nights, whilst during the day we will be having a great time with Barbara.  I am sooo looking forward to this break.  So I am off to lock myself in my craft room and I won't let myself out until I have produced something good/different!!! or until I have to get my kids from school, whichever comes first!!!

 So I have been practicing my backgrounds for my journal pages, I like them as they are and struggle to bring myself to put something over the top of them. So have a nice day everyone or anyone who has tuned in and

Carry On Crafting.

Sam xx

While I am here can I say Congratulations to Eileen Godwin on your lovely work in the Craft Stamper Magazine!

Paula Whittaker has a lovely project in there too! In fact I think this months issue is the best Craft Stamper Mag I have ever seen, it is so good I wanted to buy it again!!!

Bye eck I wish I hadn't started doing all those links it took ages!!!

Funny Old Crafting World

A Canvass Painting I did about
Thirteen Years Ago

I was on my way to bed but my 11 year old Puppy Dog decided that wasn't going to happen, his bladder isn't what it used to be, so anyway gone from just about to step into bed to now being wide away again Soooo:-
What's happening in the crafting world??  Well a lot that I can't tell you, a lot that I don't know and a lot that is exciting and new???  What can't I tell you? you will find out soon enough! What don't I know??? probably lots if people are doing what they are supposed to and keeping things under wraps.  See the problem with this craft world sometimes, is there are so many people out there who jump in and copy designs that it just really does disgust me.  When someone designs something and has put in the hard work and time for it they shouldn't then have to start looking over their shoulder straight away to see if anyone saw it, worried they might get it out before them or just jump on the bandwagon the second the design is launched not even giving the Designer 5 minutes to enjoy the glory or the profit??  Why would you copy someone else's design?  what satisfaction can you possible get, how can you ever feel proud of yourself, its like cheating in an exam you will always know that you didn't achieve what you have by your own hard work!!!

The Puppy with the Bladder Problem!!!

I don't often have little rants like this but things are so up and down in the craft world, one minute you feel like the world is your oyster then next you feel like its all about to disappear??   And then someone tells you they appreciate your help, or they think a piece of your work should be in a Gallery??!! (wow that felt good) and you feel like going back to your craft room again.  So what am I trying to get at? not sure really except I have learnt one thing this week, be yourself, be nice to people, appreciate work genuinely and treat others the way you want to be treated and all will reveal itself in the end, the cheaters will have bags under their eyes and the greeters will get some sleep but feel slightly trampled on sometimes!!

On the whole I think Crafters are lovely people, with some great ideas, provide lots of lovely eye candy and get very excited over the strangest of things, including me on the latter!  So message to self really, keep yer pecker up, don't let the buggers grind you down and Carry On Crafting.  Its Ok I won't write a blog this late at night again, bit miserable isn't it!!!  So if you got this far you deserve some eye candy!!  I will see what I have to offer!!

So Carry On Crafting and thanks for listening, if you didn't well hey that's OK if you fancy a rant yourself just leave one in the Comments below, be nice though please??

Sam

 

 

Well my last post one here was the Gelli Plate debate and the fact I couldn't clean the paint off my Roller. I have been told that maybe it was the type of paint.  So take note people because I think this does make a difference.  After all as Eileen Goodwin told me she doesn't have any trouble with hers and she also said to definately NOT use any Pallet Knife on you your Gelli Plate!!! I had actually been using a fast drying chalk paint, which  I love for Journaling, boxes, Tags etc.

Looks like Tom must have
chucked me out of his seat

Barbara Gray / Clarity have just launched the Gelli Plate at the NEC I can't wait to get hold of mine.  She said that they will be launching some Paints to go with it too so I will be looking out for them,  I know Annette and Maria were at the NEC today and I have asked Annette if she will put a Gelli Plate aside for me so I am hoping it will be in my Craft Room very very soon.
I might even do a video of me playing with it.  I have loads of ideas in my head for patterns and using it with my SplodgeAway Masks etc.  I did watch one video of a lady who had just got hers and you couldn't see her face but you could imagine her face, she was so excited, she ended up with a big pile of patterned papers, they looked a bit like art journaling pages.  Some of them I felt were a bit child like as mine propably will be when I first set off.  I want to get a refined proper printed look out of my Gelli Plate as well as messy- so lets wait and see. 


Dimp Till Assistant!
Soz Mojo not got you?

Tom surrounded as he
always is!

So talking of videos I have launched four videos on You Tube under" Sam Crowe Art Journal 1"  (then 2, 3, 4) . They are rough and ready and I only did them to see how they would turn out if I filmed myself with my/the Kids IPad hanging over the edge of my craft shelf looking down on my SplodgeAway Mat below?  I was going to put them on, ask for a few tips etc and then take them off and do more professional videos??  But straight away I got a like off Karen before I had even fully uploaded them, then three women said they were now going to start Journaling and to keep the videos as they are, they said they liked the natural approach AND my Daughter watched me filming the 3rd video, made me stop so she could try the technique I was showing and asked me to buy her a Journal the next day, which I did and now we sit and do our Journals together.  Can you believe one lady called Margare said "thats it I am off the buy a Journal" and got back from Asda 20 minutes later with it. said she was going to start the next day -- as it was 11.40 at night!!!  So there is definately some inspiration in my videos somewhere?

Me doing Demoes at Ross PaperCraft Show
Is that Sue Tucker I see beside me??

So I have decided to keep them up.  I have only 1 Dislike on the videos and I know who that is off  - so not a problem everyone else who has looked have said they enjoyed them and I have 3 new Subscribers to my You Tube, one of them being Michelle Webb, thanks Michelle.

So If you want to see them click on this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lebsvRBmKzs  or search in You Tube for "Sam Crowe Art Jurnal 1, 2, 3, 4 The reason I did 4 is because I don't know how to Pause a video on the IPad??

I always leave Eye Candy so here are some pics from our SplodgeAway stall at the Ross Papercraft Shows (thats the Royal Our Stall)! Its very Rare I post pics of myself???

So Carry on Crafting and I will be back soon.

So lets talk Crafts & Gelli Plate!!

OK so I have just been watching a video about the ever increasingly popular Gelli Plate. I DO NEED ONE!  But at £30 a shot it seems a lot when you have a lot of paints and inks that you need first.  Of course the Gelli Plate will compliment the paints - Oh what a dilema, think I have already spent this months budget.  (which silly couple decided to live without credit cards!!!) Its tooooooo hard.  There is a cheaper plate a 6"by6" which is £20 but I personally think you may as well push the boat out to the extra tenner and get the 8"by10" there is always a time when you will want to do a bigger project especially with printing like this.  Thats what the Gelli Plate does see, its a kind of screen printing but with paints. So my answer to the problem??

My IPhone Cover, cool or what!!

I bet I can get this same affect on my SplodgeAway mat with my paints.  So I put a blob off BLACK acrylic fast drying paint on my Mat, I couldn't find my "scruffy" breyer so I used my "new breyer" for the job. I spread the paint over my Splodge Mat with the Breyer, good so far.  I put my SplodgeAway Heart Mask over the painted area and rolled over the mask once with the breyer, I put some Clarity and Elegance paper over the top of the image and breyered over that (non porous paper also gives texture as well as pattern with this effect).  So not bad, a bit more practice, a larger surface area of paint and I would be off.  So I get out my water spray, clean most the paint off my Splodge Mat and finish it off clean and ready to use with a bit of surgical spirit - sorted! 

So I spray my breyer with water and get out the kitchen roll, Mmmmm, Ok I get out a baby wipe scrub for a little while, Mmmmmmmmmmm OK I think I will just run it unnder the tap for about 10 minutes constantly adding soap to get the tiniest bit of paint off my brand new brayer just a teeny weeny bit at a time until I eventually just get it all soapy and scrape off the paint with my nail.  My goodness if I had to do this every time I used my Gelli Plate it would completely putt me off getting it out.  I did get it back to good condition in the end but tooooo much wasted crafting time.  I could use the old method of elastic bands round the breyer but you would loose most of the play.  So people are using breyers with Gelli Plates because???????????  Do you think there is a difference to these two breyers, I used the one on the left.  They do look different?


There is always a solution, I think if I or when I do get a Gelli Plate I will be using a palate knife to spread the paint. The SplodgeAway Mat faired very well in this experiment. The end result, well I kind of needed to do it again because I now knew I wanted to fill the full piece of card but by the time I had cleaned off my breyer I couldn't be botthered.
I will give you some eye candy just because I think a blog is lost without it - hey check out my phone cover I love it!

An Ode to a Ferrett

Ok I know this is normally my Craft Talk blog but sometimes I think of someone or see something and a poem or a ditty or an Ode just pops into my head, I write it down immediately or it has gone - they aren't always good but they are usually quite personal to a particular subject or person. So good or rubbish (I  never really know myself) this just popped into my head and was written down in about 5 minutes - so don't expect too much.

AN ODE TO A FERRET

fOR Eileen Goodwin and Ken

by Sam Crowe

Snowflake is a Ferret, a very lucky one too, you could say she's treated like roaylty compared to me and you.  Eileen is in dis-belief as her Hubbbie panders to her, the Ferret you fool, Not Eileen, on his list she is much lower.  Snowflake had run away to search for a better life and now she lives in luxury, a life free of trouble and strife. 

 Although there was a slight problem with her bedding, it wasn't lush? She now likes her new one much better simply because it says Shssssss.

We all fell in love with Snowflake from her days living in the shower,

she enjoyed a finger or two of Kens' Ow, Ooooowww,  Ooooowwwer!!!

Holly and Daisy were in awe just for a little while,

and when the Ferret got a name we all gave a little smile! 

She's a "Keeper" we said on FB Oh how happy we were,

but Eileen kept trying to say "no were not keeping her"!!!! 

Then Sadly her owner was found all our hearts just sunk to the ground!

We were gutted and angry and sad, till the owner said "Aw you can keep her lad"

or something like that???

And so the Saga continues, like I say Eileen's in dis-belief,

as Ken now has plans to build a "Playground" so the dogs walk is brief!!

So we are excited to hear the rest of this lovely story of Joy -

Maybe one day our Snowflake will find a handsome boy!!??  Mmmmmm Ferret Babies?

 So thank you Eileen for keeping us entertained,

and Ken, what about a plaque to get her officially named?

To Snowflake we thank you so much,

even my kids ask me how you are doing,

and to the lady who found the owner we do apologise for booing??? 
To be continued.......???

Hi there, I have been trying to put a post and some pictures on FB but after 15 minutes of "freeze" I have given up.  So I thought I would do a Blog instead, I am way overdue a blog anyway.  So its not like me but I don't think I have even shown you all my cards that were on TV with Tom of SplodgeAway and Maria Simms the other week.  Some were shown on the SplodgeAway Blog but they weren't necessarily my favorite ones - if truth be told I don't think I sent photos of them all - that so wouldn't have happened with me a few months ago?????

I have been really busy lately with crafting and helping out with the Shows and doing work for other DT's etc (more about that later) that when I was stood in the kitchen cooking the other day my kids stepped back in amazement - I had to announce "Mammy is Back in the Kitchen" !  My hubbie does an OK job but he never does Veg?  Their response?  "Oh NO"!!  Well they should have behaved themselves for Daddy shouldn't they.
Anyway I wanted to talk about the Pay it Forward Craft scheme that Paula Whittaker has set up on FB - I think it started with her, I missed her last shout out but got my name on this one, I will put the rules on FB if it will let me??? 
So basically you offer 5 pieces of art, tags, cards, whatever you want to do, to the first five people who put their name forward on your post.  Then they send their address and you send the item to them at any time over the next year, I think element of surprise is part of this too.  But those five people must offer the same on their face book to keep passing it forward.  A good idea I think as long as everyone keeps to their promise. 
So I am the lucky one I got Paula Whittaker - OK so if your name is on my timeline - you got me, but look on the bright side, my work is a bit eclectic so it will definately be a surprise?  And you never know you might even get a piece that has been on TV - a "famous piece" if you like?  OK I am getting carried away again, I am an excitable person when it comes to crafts!!!  Anyway if no-one puts their name forward I will just have to add a few of my friends so that no-one knows that my work is not wanted!!!!

Here are a few "Famous" items from the last TV show with Tom and Maria for your perusal.

See you soon
Sam

SplodgeAway TV Demo

Well I think its about time I change this Blog post don't you - since the last time I updated this Blog a lot has happened - My daughters Birthday, Santa Claus left some goodies, my Sister had to fill out a jigsaw puzzle which had a proposal of marriage in it and we have seen in the New Year - and very soon I will be taking yet another year off my age on my Birthday on 10th January

Sooooo - Enjoy your office party, Happy Birthday my Princess, have a HappyXmas everyone, Happy New Year to you all and AW thanks for the card but you didn't have to bother!!!  There I think that puts me up to date on this Blog now!!

Oh except for the fact that Tom has been on the TV again with http://www.splodgeaway.com/ he was on two shows with
Maria Simms http://inkymits.blogspot.co.uk/  the items he took with him sold out so fast that poor Maria only got to do one of her Demoes on the first show under a lot of pressure because it was selling out as she was doing it, she did do a second Demo in the afternoon show of a lovely Brown and Blue card which you will probably be able to see on here website above.


 Tom did demoes on some of the Stenscapes but by the time the second show came along in the afternoon almost everything had been sold and they wanted him to do a demo on the stenscape he had already done on the first show.  Well I sat and watched him wondering what on earth he was going to do and I was absolutely amazed at what he produced just off the cuff.
 So just for once on this my "Private" blog I am going to let someone else take the glory.  I am not even going to show you any of my cards/tags/note pads that were on the TV - however you can find them on our SplodgeAway blog http://splodgeaway.blogspot.co.uk/   over the next week or so along with the rest of the DT's work - there were some lovely samples handed in.  You can also buy the products on the splodgeaway website http://www.splodgeaway.com/                        

Ooopps how did one of mine sneak in there!!!

 Thank you for dropping by - I will be back soon.