New Workshops Coming Up

I hope you have all had a good summer. The highlight of our summer was my daughter Catriona qualifying to be a primary school teacher and my nephew Neil getting married in County Kerry in Ireland. We planned a holiday around the wedding and enjoyed spending time with my Irish relatives. We also got to explore the Beara peninsular and other parts of Kerry. It is a lovely part of Ireland and we would love to go back and explore more.

After a bit of a break from crafting for the summer I am trying to find my creative mojo!! So I have designed a couple of workshops for McOyster Crafts in Cupar. I was asked to run another mixed media class. I find these quite tricky to do in a three hour class but I think this little winter themed project will fit the bill. 

Winter Reindeer

We will be using 4mm MDF media boards that are free standing when assembled. The back will be finished as well to make them reversible. The first date for this class is Friday 25th October.

Winter is Magic

The second workshop is a stamping class using silhouette images of winter creatures. I choose this set from the shop as I thought it would be lovely for winter birthdays as well as Christmas.

Here are images of the three cards we will be making :

 The first date for this 3 hour class is Saturday 2nd November. If you fancy coming along then please phone or message Adrian at  Mc Oyster Paper Crafts at Poles Apart. 

Workshop Coming Up - Saturday 20th July

I have a new workshop coming up at McOyster Crafts in Cupar next Saturday 20th July. I have been asked several times for more technique based classes. So I have designed a few classes called "Stretch Your Stamps". The idea is to use one stamp or stamp set in a few different ways. Its something I used to do myself when I had time. I would make at least 6 cards with one main stamp using a different technique for each. These days I am lucky if I have time to make one card!!
So this has been a good challenge for me and if this workshop goes well then I plan to do more.

This class is called "Stretch Your Stamps - Negative Image Stamps".
I have chosen this flower head from Imagination Crafts. The techniques will work with lots of other stamps that have a negative image. That is where the background is solid and the image has been carved out.

We will make 3 cards on this workshop. 

1. Ombre Effect with Dye Inks

2. Using Bleach for a Monochromatic Effect

 3.  Painting with Embossing Powder

If you are interested in joining us please get in touch with McOyster Crafts in Cupar to book a place.
Keep crafting!!
Siobhan xx

Pink Ink Designs “Bee-utiful”

I recently bought some new rubber stamps by Pink Ink Designs from McOyster Crafts in Cupar. I finally had a play with this set called “Bee-utiful”

The bee is quite large but perfect as a centre piece. And the set contains lots of nice elements for creating backgrounds.

Here are a couple of cards I made with the set:

I painted the wings with pearl mica pigment mixed with a little water to make a paint. It gives the wings a lovely shimmer, that you can't really see in this photo but is lovely on the actual card.

For this card I used a resist technique to create the strip at the LHS. It was done on glossy card using Versamark ink. I will be covering resist techniques in an up coming workshop. There are many types of resist and I thought it would make a great theme for a class. 

Canvas for Catriona

I have been wanting to create a canvas for my daughter Catriona. I had this photograph of Catriona taken on her wedding day, after hair and makeup done just before she got into her wedding dress.
I was unsure whether to go with a black and white copy or colour. In the end I decided to use the colour photo as it shows off her red hair.

The first stage was to start selecting the embellishments. I wanted to use some gorgeous lace that I had found a while ago and had kept for this project. I used a combination of lace and paste through a stencil. The stencil was from Finnabair and had an Art Deco feel. This was the general theme of Catrionas wedding and I thought it would work really well.

This was me laying out all the embellishments to get an overall idea of the final layout before sticking anything down.

And after painting all the flowers and adding wax I ended up with the finished canvas.

Mixed Media Bird Houses Frame

I bought this frame a few years ago in the shape of a row of houses. Like many crafters, I buy things with a vague idea of what I want to do with it. And then they sit in a corner of my craft room gathering dust!! Until the time is right.....

To start with I gave it a light sand and removed a few wooden birds that had been stuck on.

I then added paste with stencils and added some chipboard pieces. For added texture I added a gritty texture paste (Graphite paste by Prima) especially on the roof. Everything was painted with black gesso and then I started adding colour with mica sprays and metallic paints.

I knew I wanted a bird theme (so predictable I know) but I also found a couple of little rabbits that just had to be included.

Instead of photos I stamped some of my favourite bird images and popped them into the frame apertures. I was quite pleased with this and am now looking forward to my next project.
Have a good week. 
Siobhan x

Home Sweet Home

I am really enjoying playing with all my mixed media products. I bought a bare wood word “Home” a couple of years ago intending to do something with it. So I finally plucked up the courage to try something. I don’t know about you but I have loads of ideas of what I want things to look like but not the actual courage to start because I am not confident that the end result will be worth it.
But I have finally decided it’s about time I actually started using all this stuff I have accumulated and have a go. After all if it’s a complete mess no one needs to see it and hopefully I will have learnt something in the process.

I keep meaning to take photos of the various stages but forgot and just went for it.
I love birds as a theme and managed to include a few in this project.

I was quite pleased with the finished look and am now deciding what to try next!!

Getting Dirty

After saying I would do a mixed media workshop at McOyster Crafts in Cupar, I have had some fun playing!! And making lots of mess. Over the years I have collected paints, waxes, pastes, mica sprays etc, but never really used them properly. So I decided it was about time I actually started using them.

I have been inspired by several mixed media artists, especially Finnabair (Anna Dabrowska) and some of the artists on her design team. I am still learning how to use the different products and produce something I am happy with. I want to find my own style but think at the moment I am happy to try ideas I have seen. Here’s what I have made so far.

This was inspired very much by Finnabair and the techniques she showed us on a workshop my friend Linda and I went to last September. I didn't have a black and white head shot to hand so this was from a card my daughter Catriona had printed at Art College. I quite like the layers of lace for the background and the white gesso dry brushing to pull everything together.

For this mdf tag I was trying to get a rusty patina look with paints over the black gesso base.

This was created using Finnabair rust paste then gold wax on top. The background layer was a piece of thin metal paper embossed with a Tim Holtz 3-D Mechanicals embossing folder. 

The photo does not show this at it's best. I love this stag die and wanted to create a wintery background. Again I used a piece of metal sheet (that I got from McOyster crafts) and embossed it with a Tim Holtz Christmas words folder. I triple embossed the stag after colouring him, with clear powder. I then stamped into the hot melted powder with a crackle effect stamp and used a copper wax to pick up the raised areas. I might do something similar for another workshop if the first one is successful.

I think its time now to clean up my desk before I start anything new. I look forward to seeing some of you next Saturday 9th February at my workshop at McOyster Crafts in Cupar.

Keep stamping!!

Siobhan xx

Happy New Year

Now that Christmas and New Year are past, it's time to look ahead and start planning lots of projects to try. 

This will be another busy year I'm sure. My daughter is now halfway through her teacher training. I am so happy that she is now on the perfect career path for her. I think she will be a great teacher!

We have a family wedding in August. My nephew Neil is getting married. So that will be a trip to Ireland to look forward too. And on the work front, I have put a request in to work 4 days a week. Call it pre-retirement if you like. I have worked full time for as long as I can remember but I have been struggling over the last few years. I want more time to do the things I love. So I am hoping an extra day a week will help that.

As some of you know I have been doing the odd workshop at McOyster Paper Crafts in Cupar. I will be doing some new classes this year. Adrian and I have agreed dates for the first two.

Setting the Scene - Saturday 9th February

This workshop is all about creating little scenes using ink blending and masks. We did this in the Christmas workshop but I was asked by a few customers for more ideas that weren't wintery. The card with the cowboys on the fence is just there as an example. One of the shop's other tutors Pamela will be doing a workshop using that die.

Here are my examples:

This is a card I designed last year for a magazine commission. I thought it would be a nice simple idea to start off with.

I love Oriental style cards. I bought this die in Adrians shop and I just think it is so effective. It reminds me so much of the designs on a willow pattern plate.

As soon as I saw this stamp set from Visible Image, I knew I would use it lots and I have. I just love the owl flying across the moon. 

This is the sample I mentioned using the two cowboys on a fence die!! Such a great die for men's cards. 

Vintage Dress Form Monolith - Saturday 23rd March

This my first mixed media class for McOyster Crafts. Visible Image make these MDF monoliths. They are freestanding and reversible. I thought they would make a great base to create a mixed media project. This class shows you some basic techniques which I am hoping will inspire you to try your own ideas at home. 

We will use texture paste and stencils, black gesso, mica sprays and waxes. 

I am still finding my way in the world of mixed media, but trying to develop my own style. Be prepared to get a bit messy in this class, so if you have an old apron please bring it with you. 

If you are interested in joining me on any of these classes then please contact the shop. They have a Facebook page (just google McOyster Paper Crafts)  or phone Adrian on 

01334 654606.

KEEP CRAFTING!!!