How to hand print wrapping paper

 Last week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop run by Marie Wilkinson from TLC Marie (Tactile Learning and Creativity) at the Dardanup Shire Hall as part of the Dardanup Shire's range of free short workshops.   Marie is an artist who is very generous with sharing her techniques, and I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours creating with a lovely small group of ladies. These workshops are so much fun and you go home with something you have made.

At the workshop we learnt how to hand print wrapping paper and I would like to share the basic steps with you here.  It is so easy when you know how!

There is a simple and economical range of supplies - 
* sea sponges - collected from the beach and washed, or I think you could use a shower sponge
 * acrylic paint - doesn't need to be an expensive brand
* sheets of light weight cartridge or roll of brown paper
* some old cardboard rolls to make into shapes
* something to use as a pallet - ie a takeaway plastic container lid, which can be washed and reused.
* gloves if you want to keep your hands clean
* a flat surface to work on
* some A4 paper to practise on!  

Yes sea sponges!  If you are near a beach you may be able to collect these, and rinse them well to get ready for use. Or I think you may be able to use a shower sponge. 
First we dabbed the paint onto the paper. You can have multiple layers of paint and as thickly covered as you like. I tended to be rather light handed with my dabbing.  But make sure you dry the paint (you could do this with a hair dryer) and rinse the paint off the sponge between colours. There is no right or wrong, just go for it and have fun.

The next step is to use some shapes to make patterns over your sea sponge prints. This can be done easily with shapes fashioned or cut from the end of a cardboard roll, or you could use cookie cutters. Anything that you can put into the paint on your pallet and transfer the shape onto your paper. 

At this point I would highly recommend practising on a smaller piece of paper first so see how it all works before you commit to your final piece of paper.  I probably got caught up with this flower pattern on both my white and my brown piece of paper, and didn't have time to experiment with anything else, but I liked it. The patterns can be as formal or random as you like.

 So there you have it! easy! You could make greeting cards this way too.  My best advice is to not overthink, just do, and enjoy! Put some nice music on in the background to wrap you in your inspirational space. 

Thank you so much to Marie from TLC Marie for the very enjoyable morning and workshop.  
And the Dardanup Shire for their fabulous library workshops.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit and 50 Shades of Age
Little Things Thursday

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How to make a Kusudama flower ball

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog. How is your 2018 going?

Whether you are in the depths of winter or the heat of summer in January, it might be a time for staying indoors out of the weather, and doing a little crafting, so hence my blog post for today.

How to make a Kusudama ball. 
I must admit that until I read my copy of "Breathe" magazine a few months back I had never heard of a Kusudama ball. which is a traditional Japanese decoration that can be hung to twirl in the breeze.


According to British Origami Society - "Kusudama (medicine ball) is believed to have originated in the Heaian Period (794 - 1192). At first fragrant woods and herbs were placed in a small cloth bag, which was decorated with blossoms of sobu or iris and other flowers. Long silk threads of five different colours were attached to it. This was hung in the house on May 5 to dispel evil spirits and disease."

December randomness

It's December and the summer heat has struck and it's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas is just around the corner.  How is your December going?  Today I am going to share a little December randomness from our corner of the world.

Below is the Candlestick Banksia (or slender banksia) - Banksia attenuata - which flowers from October to February in the south west of Western Australia. I always think the bright yellow candlestick shape flowers which grow up to 20-3-cm tall and 5cm across, are very appropriate for this time of year around Christmas. 
I blogged more about banksias here - Celebration of the Australian Banksias

How to make a simple paper flower

  It is January and while the Northern Hemisphere is in the depths of winter, the Southern Hemisphere (where I live} is in the depths of summer. In both cases the best place to stay warm or cool and out of the elements is indoors. And whilst I would like to just sit down with a book, I need to keep busy. So I have a project for you that you might like to try - how to make simple paper flowers.

Back in December I shared with you how to make a paper wreath out of old book pages - if you missed it you can check it out by clicking here - How to make a paper wreath

 At the same time I made paper flowers - some were made out of old book pages and some from craft paper.  So easy! Would you like to give it a go? 
If you don't like the idea of cutting up old books think of it as up-cycling and giving them a new lease on life. 

 Please click here for instructions on how to make paper flowers...
 

How to make a paper wreath

Hi everyone this is my first official craft "how to make....." post. Come on in and join me making a beautiful paper wreath. It can be for Christmas or just to hang on your wall. Or your wreath could be used for a decoration on your table.

I saw a blog about making paper wreaths recently, so I set about making one and ended up making four to sell at my friend's gallery Christmas fare.  The wreath you see above was my favourite - made from a very colourful children's book which was on a second hand sales stall. 

You can make these paper wreaths from old books - Reader's Digest condensed books are ideal (you can often buy them in second hand stores), magazines, sheet music, or even an old atlas.  Use something with a stiff paper. If you don't like the idea of cutting up books, think of it as upcycling and giving it new life.  Craft paper will work well too, but I think paper with pattern or colour on both sides works best.

Ok let's dive in - here's how to make a paper wreath -

You will need - paper or old book to cut up, a cutter, craft glue, hot glue gun, cardboard, a small amount of paint, scissors, lacquer suitable for paper, a piece of string to hand your finished wreath.

Step 1 - cut your pages. I measured my pieces - 14cm ( 5 1/2 inches) x 11cm (4 1/4 inches).  I cut a cardboard template and used a good sharp paper cutter and a cutting mat. The bigger the pieces of paper, the bigger your completed wreath will be.

Step 2 - Glue one of the short edges. A glue stick is fine for this.

Step 3 - Holding your paper on the diagonal, fold the unglued short side inwards

Step 4 - 5 - Wrap the glued edge over and around to the back and stick down.

 Step 6 - 7 - easy! Make about 60-70 cones. A great little thing to do sitting in front of the TV in the evening.

 Step 8 - 9 - cut a circle out of the cardboard. My circle measures 14cm (5 1/2 inches) across. At this point it is probably a good idea to paint the back of the cardboard whatever colour you like - mine were gold, or glue some coloured paper onto the back. 

Now start gluing the cones on in a circle to make your wreath. I used craft glue, but you could use a hot glue gun. Start by dividing the circle into four, then fill in the gaps. The further out you start the bigger your completed wreath will be, and you might need to make more cones.

Step 10 - keep going around in a circle gluing on the cones, building it up as you go. Try to keep as even as possible. You will probably need to flatten the bottom of the cones. As you get in to the centre you will also need to cut off the tips of the cones so they fit into the middle better.

Step 11 - Finished! When you have finished spray with a couple of coats of lacquer to protect the paper.  Thread some string on the back for hanging.

I made four wreaths - one from a Reader's Digest condensed book, one from a magazine, one from a colourful children's book, and one from an old Atlas.  Think of it as up-cylcing! If you don't like the idea of cutting up books, use craft paper.

So how do my wreaths look? Do you think you will give them a go? Let me know if you do. Is there a Christmas craft that you enjoy? Perhaps you'd like to tell us about it in your comments.

And this is where the inspiration came for these wreaths - RedAgape
Thank you so much Mandy for sharing.   In Mandy's tutorial she used double sided tape to make the cones, and then stapled the bottom of the cones down. I didn't think this was really necessary. 
Mandy lives in Millthorpe, a heritage town, just outside of Orange in New South Wales, Australia. There are lots of craft ideas on Mandy's web page if you'd like to take a look.

Made from old school Atlas

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
 

Mosaic Monday 
Life Thru the Lens 

Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at Lifestyle Fifty
The Weekly Postcard