Christmas is around the corner...

...ninety-one days to go in fact! So we will be beginning our Christmas crafting with a decorations workshop. On offer this month will be a selection of activities including Christmas mini canvases - decorate them using acrylic paints, a sprinkle of glitter and decorative papers or a combination of all. Make a mini picture, a hanging canvas for the tree or a Countdown to Christmas decoration.

As well as canvases we have a selection of wooden trees, stars and reindeer blanks for you to decorate. They come with a base so they are fee standing. If you really like bling and glitter then you can really go to town on these!

We also have some air drying Fimo clay so you can have a go at making some tree decorations. Try making an impression with natural materials, embossing folders or rubber stamps. The clay is very lightweight when dry, so you could also use your creations to embellish your cards.

Don't forget your Heat It challenge cards and if you were the person who made this card please let us know so you can have your free workshop!

Mini works of art...

Here are the photos of your mini canvases from last month's workshop. Hope they are positioned in pride of place on your art room shelves! Thanks to Kay for another fab idea and demo.

2 canvases from the same palette - different artists.

Another art work in progress.

We also had a go with Linda's bubble stamps using card candy and gems etc. to decorate. I got to join in with that too and really enjoyed it. Thanks Linda for providing the demo, stamps and card candy.

We also judged and announced the next card challenge winner. The theme was a collage card for a male. Here are the entries:

The winner of the free workshop, chosen by you on the night, was Katharine (D). Second place was Brenda (G) and in joint third Sally (A) and Mandy (E).

Going dotty...

Two dotty related demos this month! Kay will be showing you how to create a mini canvas using acrylic paint techniques. Although this is potentially the slightly messier of the two techniques this month, we don't anticipate you will get too messy. However, if you prefer to wear an apron then please bring one along. Also if you have your own paintbrushes that you prefer to use, then bring them along too. Paint, brushes and other painting tools and mini canvas will be provided.

As we know some of you prefer the traditional card making demos, our other demo will be to create these "bubble stamp" cards. Linda will be on hand for this demo. These cards were a popular choice at Village Day this year and lend themselves to a range of occasions.

Also don't forget to bring in your "Collage Challenge for a male" cards this month too.

See you on Wednesday.

Metal Effects

Summer hols are nearly over so one last workshop before we start being infiltrated with Christmas cards!! This month we are focusing on faux metal effects. Techniques available include using scraper foil board with the Cuttlebug embossing folders and using metal tape with alcohol inks and acrylic paint. The metal gilding flakes will also be available for anyone who wants to revisit this technique.

You still have another month to complete your challenge - create a new card from an old card.

See you on Wednesday.

Just photos...

...from last night's workshop.

Acrylic paint crackle embellishments:

Acrylic paint background techniques:

And the Summer Sun Challenge Cards - joint winners were Sally-Anne and Mandy. Well done to you both!

And to all our other entrants. See side bar for a reminder of our new challenge.

School's Out for Summer...

...and so the blog post is a late night one due to having to share the PC with the children!!  It's been a long time since the last workshop, as this month's workshop is on the very last day of the month. Where has July gone to? Loving the sunshine though! Our latest challenge must have really worked - all that creative thought you have been putting into your sunshine cards must have convinced the sun to come back and shine!! Don't forget to bring them on Wednesday to keep the rain away and for a chance of winning a free workshop.

Our techniques this month involve working with acrylic paints and the Cuttlebug. I will be showing you how to cut out chipboard embellishments and decorate them with acrylic paints and PVA glue to create a crackle effect.

Michelle will be using acrylic paints with Cuttlebug embossing folders to create textured paint backgrounds.

Another chance to get colourful hands!

See you on Wednesday.

Stencil Techniques

 

Lots going on this Wednesday at Card Club. There will be two stencilling demos going on this month. My demo will be with glitter paste and stencils. This is a one-step process with the Glitzcraft pastes, rather than the two-step process we explored previously with paste and then glittering over the top.

Kay's demo will be on the "stencil bumping" technique. This involves using distress inks through a stencil then moving the stencil to one side slightly and then stencilling through again, only this time with acrylic paint in a lighter shade than the distress ink. This gives the illusion of a 3D effect on your cards. Looking forward to seeing this technique in action and the resulting cards.

Michelle will be coordinating Village Day projects - quick and easy crafty items to sell on the stall to boost club funds. Not giving anything away just yet! But feel free to have a go on the night.

Don't forget to bring your cards for selling at Village Day too and of course your Humorous challenge cards and Pearl/30th Competition cards. And can someone remind me to take piccies!!