Issue 18

Issue 18 July 2013

I r elan d’ s f irst on lin e craf t mag azine. . ..

In s i de t hi s i s sue

Mixed Media Canvas

Su mmer L ay ou ts

Card Sketches

WELCOME to Issue 18 of Crafting Ireland!

Welcome to Issue 18 of Crafting Ireland magazine! We hope you loved our last issue featuring work from our new design team members as well as some of our original team. I think you will all agree they all did stunning work!

As always in this issue we have a fun tutorial packed issue for you all. You will get to see the fantastic work of our new team in full flow!

We also love to see what you create inspired by the magazine so make sure you share your work with us on our Facebook page— you never know when we may decide to give away a prize or two!

View all previous issues at www.craftingirelandonline.ie 2

We have a superb challenge in association with Daintree Paper on page 45, make sure to check it out!

Don’t forget you can keep up to date with us on our BLOG WEBSITE, FACEBOOK and PINTEREST page.

Happy Crafting!!

The Crafting Ireland Team

Nicol e

Timi 3

Editors note............................................p2 M i x e d M e d i a C a n v a s Tu t o r i a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 6 This Is Heaven layout ...............................p9 Shabby Chic Box Makeover ......................p11 Altering Patterned Paper ........................ p14 A l t e r e d Wa l l C l o c k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 1 9 Masculine Card......................................p22 A l t e r e d M i r r o r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 2 5 Spotlight On..........................................p34 S ketc h I nspi rati on ..................................p3 8 Retailer Spotlight —Daintree Paper ..........p42 4

Competition...........................................p45 Paperless Layout ....................................p46 eCraft Cards...........................................p48 Home Made Shadowbox ........................... p55 F i l m S t r i p We d d i n g A l b u m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p 6 0 Altered Book.........................................p65

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Bliss Mixed Media Canvas Tutorial I wanted to use up some of my packages of alphabet and number stickers so I decided to use them as the background on my canvas. The photos is of my husband and I on our wedding day. The colors are purple as it’s my favorite color and the color of our wedding.

Abby Henderson

What you will need:  Canvas  Alpha/Number stickers & chipboard pieces  Glimmer Sprays (I used Lindy’s Stamp Gang)  Modge Podge  Gesso  Liquid Adhesive  Flowers & Embellishments Step 1 I gathered all of the supplies I wanted to use in this project. The size of my canvas is 8 x 10.

Step 2 Next I placed all of the alphabet stickers and chipboard pieces along with the numbers in a semirandom pattern. This is where your creativity can go wild with the placement.

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Step 3 To prepare the photo for the canvas, I applied a thin layer of Modge Podge Matte. This will keep all of the sprays and other mediums used from covering the photo. I also used more of the Modge Podge to adhere the larger chipboard pieces to the canvas.

Step 4 I covered my photo with a baby wipe once the Modge Podge was dry. This just gives you some added protection for your photo. Next I covered the entire canvas with a coat of the Gesso.

Since some of the letters and fabrics I used on the canvas were bright colors, this took a couple of coats of the gesso to cover it completely.

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Step 5 Let the canvas sit for about 30 minutes or so to make sure it’s completely dry. Now the fun begins. I began to layer my sprays for the canvas. For this project I used Lindy’s Stamp Gang but you can use whatever type of sprays and glimmer mists you want. In the next few photos you can see the transition of colors with each layer.

Once I was done with all of my spraying and layering, I let the canvas dry. I added a few additional embellishments like some paper flowers, chipboard hearts and the word “Bliss”. I love adding layers and textures to my projects and using sprays works well with this technique.

Here I have some additional photos of the completed Bliss canvas.

I can’t wait to put this on my wall.

I hope I’ve inspired you to create a canvas to use up some of your older packages of alphabet and number stickers and chipboard pieces. You can easily turn those items into a piece of artwork for

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One of my absolute favorite things to do in the Mary Jo Rhoda summer is travel. Our most recent trip actually was to Mexico this past April. But even though we went in the Spring, I think any travel page reminds me of summer!

I decided to create a layout about one of my favorite memories from our trip.

What You Will Need:  Patterned Paper  Embellishments  Chipboard Letters and Elements  Label stickers Step 1 My first step for a layout is usually deciding what photo or photos to use.

Once I have my photo, I will then decide on my papers depending on the theme or colors of the photo. For this layout I used the Maggie Holmes collection by Crate Paper for the most part. Then I will pull embellishments that I think will work for my page.

Using a lot of the die cuts, chipboard and stickers from the Maggie Holmes line made it simple to choose.

Although I did add a fun piece for flair by Scrapfellow, chipboard letters by American Crafts, and tiny number stickers by Lily Bee Design.

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Step 2 To start my layout, I simply cut various sizes of the patterned paper and layered them as a base for my photo and journaling. I love to have nice linear, square, grid designs for the most part, and this is a favorite base for a page of mine.

Step 3 Next I decided to type up my journaling on the grid patterned paper. I knew I wanted to do a little overlapping of embellishments between the photo and journaling. I also wanted the title to go on the grid paper as well. So I made sure to leave a space at the top to have enough room.

Step 4 As you can see on the final layout photo, I placed my title right above the journaling. I then added a row of die cuts.

The “Good Times� embellishment was actually cut from a piece of patterned paper though. At the top I used a small cluster of embellishments – a tag, tab sticker and piece of flair. Then at the bottom I added a label sticker for my date, and a small piece of chipboard.

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I think this page perfectly sums up the trip for me!

My mom had this wine box from a christmas present she received and it is a really nice box so she wanted to keep it but to give it a little makeover first‌that’s where I came in! You can see here it is a really cute box, definitely a keeper!!

First I added a wash of colour with this latte paint. I then made this bunting out of Prima papers, Prima buttons and this twine from DoCrafts. I really like this chunky twine!!

I die cut this dress form from chipboard and the Prima papers using the Tim Holtz die and I painted up the chipboard one with linen paint.

After I attached the paper I decided a lace skirt and pearl necklace would be cute.

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Aideen Fallon

So I attached some of the papers to the box lid and a wash of paint to the area I wanted to add the dressform so it would stand out more against the busy background.

So here is the end result! I think it turned out cute. I also added some crochet and paper flowers and a metal piece from my stash‌.

A very fancy wine box now!

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Contact us at info@craftingirelandonline.ie for advertising rates.

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Patterned paper is one of the greatest inAndrea Ockey Parr ventions of all time! How many of us don’t have stacks upon stacks of this versatile staple in our craft rooms? I know I do! One of the beauties of patterned paper is that you can alter the existing patterns to create new backgrounds of your own. This is fun to do and adds a whole new dimension to your art. Here are some things you can use to create your own unique patterned paper.

 Piece of patterned paper  Gesso  Acrylic paint  Scraps of lightweight paper, such as a page from a book  Rubber stamps and ink  Embellishments such as ribbon, flowers or buttons  Washi tape or stickers Start with a piece of patterned paper.

The paper I used is from DCWV. Higherweight papers work well since you’ll be adding things to it.

Using an old credit card or other tool, spread a thin layer of Gesso onto your paper. I used Liquitex Basics Acrylic Gesso.

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While the Gesso is still wet, add additional Gesso to the back of a scrap of lightweight paper (old book pages work well) and adhere it to your patterned paper. Add streaks of acrylic paint (any brand or color will work), then let your background dry. I like to put a piece of parchment paper on top and let it dry while being smashed under a stack of heavy books to flatten it out a bit.

Once your page is dry, create more patterns on your background by using rubber stamps and ink. The polka dot stamp is from Stampabilities and the ink is from Colorbox. Once your background is finished, you can cut it down to size for your project, if desired. I cut my 12 X 12 piece down to a 6 X 6 piece.

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Add a focal point. In this case, I created a sentiment using alphabet stamps (from Ma Vinci’s Reliquary) and Rangers Archival Jet Black ink.

Since pears were on the book page I chose, I decided on a “Feed Your Soul” sentiment.

At this point, I adhered my page to another piece of background paper from My Mind’s Eye and glued the whole thing on a canvas.

I inked around the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry).

Then I added embellishments! I added a strip of fabric scraps and ribbon to the bottom, along with some Prima flowers and yarn.

I stamped the “imagine” sentiment on the ribbon using a stamp from TPC Studio.

Here is the finished product! I added some Washi tape (Recollections 16

brand) to the upper left corner for even more dimension.

Lastly, I added a piece of eyeglass Washi tape from Spare Parts to the pear to make him look more intellectual.

The possibilities are endless for patterned paper and what you can do to with it. So whip out your Gesso and paint and see what your clever mind comes up with!

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What you will need: Karen Matthews  Wall clock kit  White cardstock  Tim Holtz Distress inks  Ranger Ink Black Archival Ink  Stamps from Stampers Anonymous – Tim Holtz spring Sprung and Urban Chic  Stamps from Paper Artsy – Hot Pick 1004 and 1005 Step 1 This kit contained a scalloped cardboard circle and a white cardstock cut-out to match. It also contained the clock hands and mechanism.

Both of these can be obtained separately. To make more surfaces to work with, simply draw around the cardboard circle onto white cardstock as many times as you wish.

Step 2 Using one of the white card circles begin to apply Distress inks using either a sponge or a distress ink applicator tool. Start at the bottom of the circle and apply a layer of ‘Lemonade’ ink to about the halfway point on the clock face, always starting at the edge and working inwards. Follow this with ‘Mustard Seed’ ink to deepen the colour.

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Step 3 Starting at the top of the clock face apply ‘Dried Marigold’ ink continuing down until you have overlapped the yellow ink.

Step 4 Again from the top, apply a layer of ‘Ripe Persimmon’ ink. Do not cover the entire previous layer of ‘Marigold’; we want to create a graduated effect.

Step 5 Finally add ‘Barn Door’ red to the top of the clock face and a small amount of ‘Peeled Paint’ to the bottom edge of the clock face.

Step 6 The background is now finished. Stamp some silhouette stamps on to the bottom of the clock face and add a large image to the right hand side, and a sentiment to the top left hand side.

The second clock face is created in the same way. The inks used are, top to bottom, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves and around all the edges Chipped Sapphire.

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Step 7 Put the clock together as the kit outlines and enjoy!

You could be as imaginative as you want this these and if you feel you need to add numbers you could stamp them on or add chip board or sticker ones.

Once there is enough space for the clock hands to pass over them then the sky is the limit!

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Masculine card can be quiet hard to make for Katya Ivanova those of us, who love flowers, glitter and lace...

So today I want to show you an easy to make male cards, which will include alternative to stamps and how to use up your scraps.

What you will need:

 Cardstock  patterned paper  die cut- scalloper square. gears and male silhouette  embossing folder  distress ink  foam squares  Brads  Sentiment Step 1 Cut out a mat of patterned paper 5mm less than the base of a card.

Step 2 Emboss the cardstock with some male theme embossing folder- gears, polka dot, stars etc…

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Step 3 Distress the bits that pop up with vintage photo distress ink.

Step 4 Cut out scalloped circle and silhouette die cuts, make sure you keep the negatives.

Step 5 Stamp the inside of embossing folder with embossing ink, make sure you are stamping the bits that pop up. And you can do that with any embossing folder and use it as an alternative to stamps.

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Step 6 Take the negative that was left over the silhouette die cut and after trimming it down, round of the edges if you like.

Step 7 Stitch around the card.

Step 8 Use the other negative from a die cut on the back of the card to decorate.

Perfect card for a man for any occasion!

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I had a mirror from Ikea that I had painted gold, embossed a scroll feather stamp on it and then put aside. It was only after I got an Alice in Wonderland collage sheet from Retro Café Art that I had an idea for completing it.

Nicole Mullen

What you will need:  Alice in Wonderland collage sheet or images of your choice  Tim Holtz Fragments  Glue & scissors  Papers  Embellishments Step 1 If your need to paint your mirror do so now so it can be drying. Mine way already painted so I went straight to creating my mirror embellishments. I cut the images out of my collage sheet and laid my fragments over the images to plan what ones I wanted to use. Once I had decided I put glossy accents on the back of the fragment. Place the fragment down on the image and wiggle it around a bit to spread the glue out and adhere it to the paper fully.

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Repeat this step for all of your images.

Step 2 When the glue is fully dry cut around each fragment to be left with a perfect little embellishment.

If your edges are not smooth then you can use a file to smoothen them out. You can also ink around the edges to blend them in more.

Step 3 I tore off some strips of Graphic 45 paper and placed it on the mirror where I thought it worked. I then placed the fragments on the paper to work out a layout.

This took quite some time and I moved things around a lot before I was happy with the placement!

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Step 4 Once happy with the layout I glued the fragments onto the paper with glossy accents.

Step 5 Once the fragments are glued and dried I took the paper and inked up all the edges, including the torn paper edges.

This aged it up nicely. I liked the look of the torn edges of the paper to add some texture and effect to the mirror.

Step 6 After the paper was inked I glued it down. In some places I tucked playing cards under the paper before I glued it down.

I aged the playing cards by dabbing them with copper and gold alcohol inks as they had a plastic surface. This meant distress ink wouldn't work.

You could embellish with whatever you like here.

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Step 7 My final touch was to add a little glass jar. To do this I made a little label and added it to the jar with some fine wire. I then cleaned the glass carefully and stuck the jar to the mirror.

I used E6000 glue as it is incredibly strong—but be extremely careful when using it. The glue is industrial strength and has strong fumes. But boy does it ever hold once dry!! Just make sure to follow all instructions on the tube—and don’t get it in your eyes of on your skin.

Step 8 I added a few little charms, a little rabbit, clocks, a flourish etc. Then it was done! You could add as much or as little as you like to your mirror of course.

I liked making the fragments do all the talking on mine.

I tried to make sure to lay them out in a way that made sense to the story in so far as I could, but of course you may need to take a lot of creative licence.

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Here is the finished mirror along with some close ups of some of the details. I had to cover up the glass so that it did not reflect in the pictures.

Try to ignore the fingerprints I left on the sliver of glass you can see!

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I hope you enjoy creating a project like this and maybe with the theme of your favourite book!

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We would love to publish your classes and crops here. Whether you are a shop running crops and classes or just a group of crafty people looking for like minded people let us know. Simply email your details to submissions@craftingirelandonline.ie

Card Art Kilcoole http://cardarteventskilcoole.blogspot.com/ Crafty Angels All places must be booked in advance. Crafty Angels, Cutlery Rd, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. Ph : 045-446678. http:// www.craftyangels.ie

Scrapbook Store More info can be found on the website http:// www.thescrapbookstore.ie/workshops.php or contact Annamarie at workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie

Jackies Cardmaking Workshops http://jackiesworkshops.blogspot.com/

Scrap n Yap Check out Scrap n Yap on Facebook for more information.

Inspiring Ideas Visit http://www.inspiringideas.com/ for more information.

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Archangels craft club Archangels Craft Club - we meet in St. Gabriels Clontarf every Tuesday 7.30 - 9.30pm and do all sorts of crafts - knitting, cross stitch, card making, beading and scrapping etc.

We are in our 9th year - all very informal but it’s a place to craft with like minded individuals. We are always on the lookout for demonstrators and enjoy the social aspect of crafting (along with the tea and cake!) If anyone is interested in coming along to join us, or maybe there is another club out there who would be interested in doing a Christmas craft day together please do contact me. Contact Christine at christinehelenokelly@gmail.com or on 0857151759

Create With Kate Workshops in card making, scrapbooking and mixed media. We also are a mobile craft supplies shop. Visit createwithkate.com for more information or phone 087 984 1196.

Scrapbooking Limerick Create beautiful scrapbook pages & crafts at our crops & classes Bookings: 086 3817677 www.facebook.com/scrapbookinglimerick

The Polka Dot Craft Club Cardmaking and scrapbooking workshop Killarney The Polka Dot Craft Club Facebook page

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Crop Tarts ‘Crop Tarts’ are a group of scrapbookers/card makers who have a regular crop on the 2nd Saturday of each month from 10.00 a.m. until 4.00 p.m. at “Le Cheile”, Donnycarney Community & Youth Centre, Collins Avenue East, Donnycarney, Dublin 5.

We are a friendly bunch who like to share our ideas/stash/equipment etc., so each month we usually have a short demo by one of our members e.g. recent demos have included crochet flowers and colouring with Promarkers or it might just be a LO that we are especially pleased with or a new card making technique.

Get Ireland Crafting Facebook Group This group lists all the classes and crops happening around Ireland!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/538826249466103/?fref=ts

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Jackie Campbell In every issue we will be spotlighting the work of an Irish based crafter. We will look at paper crafters, scrapbookers, and altered art aficionados. If you think you know someone who you think sound be spotlighted let us know at info@craftingirelandonline.ie This issues spotlight is shining on Jackie Campbell! Here is Jackie to tell us a bit about herself and her work....

I was born in Birmingham in England and moved to Dublin when I was 11. I now live in Dunboyne, which is a village in County Meath.

I am married to my husband for almost 25 years. I have three wonderful children, two boys and a girl and also have a little Yorkshire terrier who thinks she rules the roost! I am a stay at home Mom at the moment, but I have worked as a sales assistant and craft demonstrator for a Dublin craft shop.

I have always enjoyed different crafts and have tried my hand at silk painting, stained glass, cardmaking, scrapbooking, one stroke painting and others!

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At the moment I am very interested in mixed media.

The love I have for crafts has introduced me to many different people throughout the years. I have made some very dear friends because of my hobby, other ladies who understand how hard it is sometimes to cut into a particular piece of paper because it is "to good" to use!

And how we like to admire and stroke our papers like they are something precious!

When and ho w di d you get inv ol v ed w i th paper cr a f ti ng ?

My mother taught me to knit when I was young. She also used to make dresses for me, so I suppose I got my interest in making things from her.

When I was 19 I was involved in a very bad road accident and was off my feet for nearly a year.

During that time I was given a women’s magazine that had a craft supplement in it. It captured my imagination and I was hooked! I started making cards and that was all I did for a long time.

I came across an Irish craft site with an online forum where some of the contributors would hold a monthly scrapbook class. I went along on my own not knowing 35

anyone, nervous that no one would talk to me. I needn't have worried crafters are such a friendly bunch! The rest is history!

What is you r fav our i te aspect of p aper cr af t i ng?

I love everything about papercrafting, even the fussy cutting! I especially love the way a project you are working on never finishes the way you thought it would. My design changes as I am making it!

There is always something that I change along the way, either by adding an extra bit of bling or completely changing the colour scheme. Everything you make is original; you won't find anything like it in the shops.

What are th e techni qu es th at you use m ost of the ti m e?

Recently I find myself distressing a lot of my projects. I also like layering and adding dimension to my work to stop it looking so flat.

What ar e yo ur "can't do w i thout" pr o d ucts?

Glossy accents, heat gun, gesso, acrylic paints, inks and rubber stamps!

What i nspi r es you?

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At the moment I am very inspired by the work of Finna-

bair. I seem to be working on a lot of projects using her style. Last year I was lucky enough to take park in her classes when she was in Ireland. She is a very talented lady.

How do you your styl e?

descr i be

I never really thought I had a style until I looked back over my work of the last year. I seem to have developed a grungy/vintage style!

Do you blog? Wher e ca n w e see your w or k ?

Unfortunately I seem to be technically challenged, so blogging is not something I am doing at the moment. But watch this space!!

Hav e you an y pl ans for the futur e?

I'd love to learn how to use the new Gelli plates, looks like lots of fun.

I'm just going to keep on doing what I am doing, enjoying everything crafty!!

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We thought we would like to bring you some sketch inspiration in this issue. We created some sketches and both took a turn at creating a card based on the sketches. Below we will show you our takes on the sketches.

Nicole & Timi

Sketch 1

This is a fun sketch and is brilliant for using up scraps that happen to be sitting on your craft desk.

Nicole used a kraft card base and lots of bright coloured scraps from her scrap pile to follow this sketch. Timi went with a monochromatic tone and pops of yellow on her fun card.

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Sketch 2 This sketch is again great for using up scraps.

You can use circle punches, dies, an electronic cutting machine or any other method to create the circles.

Or why not shake it up a bit and change the circles to squares, stars, or any other shape you like?! A sketch is only a guideline so remember you don’t need to stick exactly to it, be inspired by it and get creative!

Timi kept with her colour scheme on this one and used her eCraft to cut out the circles. She used a mix of washi tape and papers for her circles too—very clever idea. Nicole used nested dies to cut hers out and had fun embellishing by doodling! This makes this a fun and easily to post card but looks like there is lots of interest and detail on it.

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Sketch 3 This sketch is a bit different and very fun. Again you could switch out the shapes of the banners to be any shape you like. The stitching detail on it could be real or faux.

Timi rotated the sketch, which is another brilliant way to adapt sketches to suit you. Nicole kept very much to the sketch but had fun with an ink splattered background rather than a traditional patterned paper one.

We hope you enjoy having a play with these sketches, post your projects on our Facebook page if you have a go!

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Irish retail and craft is evolving and we must Nichola Doyle move with it, we need to move out from our solitary workings and join other like-minded people to further ourselves. It is with this in mind I would like to introduce you to Daintree Papers latest venture “Daintree Wedding Hub”. Daintree Wedding Hub will be a collective of people from across the Wedding/Events industry with goods and services to sell. It will open to the public on July 1st in Camden St, D2 and will be both a shop and inspiration place for anyone planning events.

Like so many other businesses, Daintree paper started off in a kitchen. In a kitchen in Ranelagh, in Dublin, to be precise. It was 1995 and Paul Barnes wanted to get out of a leather business that had no future and to get into something that was good for the environment, so He started making paper out of old waste office paper and magazines. His kitchen was a total mess; He was pulping the paper with their food processor and forming the sheets in the baby bath. He cut up old woolen blankets (from the local charity shop) for felts and hung the sheets out on the line in the garden to dry. Their nextdoor neighbour thought Paul and his wife were using the blankets as nappies for their baby!

Paul began to sell art papers from home and within a year moved into Daintree’s first shop up a stairs and down a lane on Pleasants Place. Within a few years of opening we were printing and making beautiful wedding stationery from the beautiful fine art papers we were selling to artists. Year 42

after year we became more a stationery shop and less of an artist’s supply shop, so when we opened our new shop on Camden Street in 2004 the only large sheets in it were for wrapping paper. In 2005 we stopped printing stationery and selling large sheets for artists, so we could concentrate on supplying materials for customers to make their own invitations. Then in 2009, due to demand we started printing and assembling invites again for customers.

We’ve always tried to listen to what the customer wants and it’s from customer requests we have our best ideas. In 2010, I started to run mini wedding fairs in Daintree’s beautiful courtyard, the customers loved it and the suppliers loved the chance to meet customers face to face.

Slowly the idea for the Daintree Wedding Hub started to evolve. Here in Daintree, we love crafts.

Everyone of us has a degree/diploma or cert from some form of art or crafts college. From felt mak- Paul from Old Pine films ers to photographers we each have our own creative outlet so we understand the difficulties that face modern Irish craft people. So we asked our customers and fellow craft/wedding industry peers what they wanted.

Our customers wanted Irish crafts, A selection of goods from across the wedding industry in one place that also opened hours that suit them. I for one have spent years traipsing with friends to see wedding suppliers at awkward times, to be able to see them all at once in one place, Yes Please!

Paul from Top Table Designs

The suppliers wanted a space where they could set up their displays but not be tied to it so they could do what they do best, make their amazing products. So we said Ok lets do it and Thus the Hub was born. Let me tell you 43

about some of the characters who will be joining us on July 1st and how we came together.

I had a wishlist when we started to plan the Hub and I feel so lucky that some of the people on my list are actually moving in. Nicola Hyland runs “The cake topper company”, making custom made, unique clay cake toppers.

As the toppers are made of clay they can serve as a keepsake of your special day, as well as the perfect finish to your wedding cake. Nicola’s toppers are stylish, modern, cute and funny.

Toppers from The Cake Topper Company

Daintree Wedding Hub is bursting at the seams with a selection of cool Irish designers from “Very Engaging Designs” amazing veils to Emma McManus and her vintage jewelry.

Wedding Cakes by Emilys Pantry will be on view along with cupcakes from the master herself take home! Swanies shop will be selling upcylced china that you can gift or use as a center piece!

Its an exciting place to be involved with, there is always ideas flowing and although I only have a few Hub Mates at the moment I’m opening up with big

Head piece by Emma McManus

dreams and open arms the hope that soon more craft people will want to take the leap and join us!

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We have teamed up with Daintree Papers and Wedding Hub to do a very special challenge.

Daintree are going to provide some kits of their products to the first 10 people to sign up to the challenge. You then need to create a wedding themed project and send us a picture of your entry.

The entries will be posted on Daintrees Facebook wall. There will then be an amazing prize pack for the person who gets the most votes.

How to enter:

 Email info@craftingirelandonline.ie to

apply for one of the kits. Include

your name and postal address

 Emails will be take on first come first served basis until the 14th July The challenge:

 If successful you will be notified and posted out a kit  You will then have until the 1st August to create a wedding themed project and email in a photo of your entry

 Entries will then go up for public vote 45

I have recently gone back to 12x12 scrapbook layFlecia Thomas outs – it had been years since I had done any, but now I find I’m really enjoying them again.

In fact it had been so long ago that I did any, I had missed the whole A4 layout craze……. So when I found some A4 acetate I decided to use it, and since that isn’t “paper” as such, I looked around to see what else I could use to make a paper-free layout!

What you will need:  A4 Acetate (8 ¼” x 11 ¾”)  Washi tape  Buttons  Sewing Machine and thread

Step 1 I started with a photo taken in Paris. I cut it down a little to make sure the focus was on the Sacre Coeur and the carousel.

Step 2 I added strips of washi tape and then used double sided tape to stick the photo into position on top of it.

Step 3 I taped it to stop it moving while I stitched it. I stitched around the edges of the ace46

tate with a zigzag stitch; because acetate is clear I felt the edges needed to be defined.

Step 4 Then I used a straight stitch to sew it in place – I deliberately made the sewing lines long and uneven so they would stand out.

Step 5 Then I added some buttons in a cluster at the bottom right of the photo, and another on the top left hand side.

And there it is, a very quick and simple layout that was fun to make!!

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In this tutorial I would like to show you how to creTimi Konya ate custom designed shaped cards with your eCraft or other electrnic cutting machine.

I like to work in Inkscape which is a free programe and can be downloaded here.

You are my Sunshine Step 1 Create a rectangle 13.5 cm x 27 cm. You can round the edges if you want.

Step 2 Card front: Create a square size 13 cm x 13 cm.

Step 3 Create a circle and place it in the right top corner.

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Step 4 Create some triangles. Make sure that they are skinny, so it is easier to place them around the circle.

Step 5 Arrange the triangles around the circle.

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Step 6 Select everything (CTRL A) and click PATH and Exclusion. Then save as Plain SVG.

Step 7 We are now going to create a kite . Draw two triangles. Rotate the top one and place it very close to the bottom one. Select all and click Path and Union.

Then draw two small triangles. Move them close to one another, they need to overlap each other. Select all and click Path and Union. This will be the bow on the kite.

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Copy and Paste twice, so you will have three little bows. Save as Plain SVG. Cut all the files out with the cutting machine:  The card base: yellow card  The front: blue card  The kite with the bows: patterned paper.

Step 8 Assemble the card. You will need a piece of twine to put the kite together. Stamp a sentiment and you are ready.

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You are a star - card Step 1 Draw a rectangle size 13.5 x 21.

Step 2 Draw a star clicking on the ‘Draw stars and polygons’ Step 3 Copy and paste the star twice.

Step 4 Place the stars at the edge of the card. Arrange them as you like.

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Step 5 Select all and click Path and Union.

Step 6 Copy and paste the stars one by one. After arranging then in Step 4 they may have lost their original shape, so it is better to copy and paste them one by one into a new document.

This new document we will use for cutting the stars out from patterned paper.

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Step 7 Save both documents as Plain SVG, cut the card base and the stars out with eCraft.

Glue the patterned paper stars on the card, add a sentiment and a strip of washi tape and there you have a funky star edged card.

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It is really diffcult to buy shadow boxes in Andrea Kovacs Hungary, especially when you are crafting on a budget. But crafters can find their way around.

This tutorial will show you how I created a shadow box from a commonly used thick chipboard file- folder.

What you will need:  Thick chipboard sheets  Patterned paper  Hinges  Grunge paper  Distress Inks  Strong liquid glue  White acrylic paint or gesso Step 1 First you need to cut all the pieces of chipboard that you will need to assemble the shadow box.

You need to cut out the back and the front cover. In my case they are 22 x31 cm.

Then cut four pieces of chiboard for the sides of the box: two pieces of 5x 31cm and another two of 5x22 cm. The box will be 5 cm deep.

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Then you need to cut the little “shelves”:  Two pieces of 5 x 22 cm  One piece of 5 x7.5 cm  One piece of 5x 8 cm  One piece of 5x 15.5 cm Step 2 Place the back cover down and glue the sides and the “shelves” in place with a strong liquid glue.

Step 3 Paint all the edges with white paint or gesso.

Step 4 Cover the front chipboard piece with patterned paper. Carefully place the paper on the chipboard, leave same distance from the edges to make it look neat.

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Step 5 Cover the back and the sides too.

Two sheets of 12x12 paper should be enough for covering the whole box.

Cover the shelves last, you can use the little scraps that left from covering the back and sides.

Step 6 When it is all covered with paper, brush the edges of the paper with some diluted paint, so the edges aren’t so sharp.

Step 7 Attach the front cover to the side of the box with some hinges.

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Step 8 Cut two hinges out of Grungepaper and distress them with ink. Mark their place on the side and front and attach them with mini fasteners.

This is how the box looks at this stage from the outside.

And the inside....

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To see how to decorate this fantastic shadowbox check out our upcoming blog posts on our blog.

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Looking through my stash for supplies to create a Timi Konya mini album I found this old film strip shaped chipboard mini and thought that would be a good base for a weddign mini album. I could not find any papers that were wedding theme, when a friend of mine suggested using this old(ish) set of MME Halloween papers, since it is full of black and whites.

This article shows you how it all turned out to be a wedding album.

The colour scheme and theme of the wedding was sunflowers, so I tried to stick with it when I got to the decorating phase of the mini.

What you will need:  Film strip chiboard base  Black and white papers  Coordinating Embellsihments  Black acrylic paint  Crackle paint

Step 1 Paint the edges of all the chipboard pieces. You will need to paint the cover fully, because we are not going to cover it with any paper.

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Step 2 When the cover is dry, go back and add a coat of crackle paint. It gives a nice aged effect to the cover.

Step 3 Cut all the pages to size. My album was 6 x 6.5 inches so I cut my pages 5 x 5.5. Distress all the edges with a distressing tool. It wasn’t necessary to ink the edges, I liked the white core.

Step 4 Start bulding you pages with covering all the chipboards with the distressed patterned paper.

Step 5 Cut out photomats from plain cardstock. Tip: If you are creating an album for somebody who isn’t a scrapbooker or crafter, it is a good idea to keep it simple when it comes to photos.

Place photomats into the album, so they only need to buy some photocorners and add the pictures.

Decorating ideas Try and build layers around the photomat on every page. You can use doily, pieces of cardstock/ patterned paper or diecuts.

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You can layer chunkier embellishments with the photomat too. Then you need to lift the photomat with some foam adhesive and tuck the embellishments under. Eg: flowers and bling.

You can also put some of the embellsihments overlapping the photomat.

That looks really great when the photo is in place. But be careful and only partly glue the embelishment down. So it can still be lifted and the photo can be slid under.

Sometimes you have a great pattern on the patterned paper that you don’t want to cover up with a photomat. Turn that page into a journalling/feature page. Add a small journalling spot (die cut from collection), build an embellishment cluster around it and there you have it a feature page with journalling.

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When you are layering with diecuts from the paper collection, it is a good idea to take a nail file and just file away those small paper pieces that attach the diecuts to the whole sheet.

If you place chunky embelishments on one page, try to place another chunky one in the opposite corner on the page after/ before to balance out the pages. It will close nicer and the pages remain straight if you look at them from the side.

The theme of this weddign was sunflowers, although I didn’t own any sunflower embellishments, I found some other white flowers in my stash that I could colour and now they look like sunflowers. Take the white flowers and some markers and just colour them to be the colours that you want.

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Place the biggest flowers on the cover.

Try to layer the embelishments: flat flowers and chunky flowers.

The cover is actually a frame and the back of the flowers can be seen.

To cover out the back of the flowers place a heart shape doily on the back of the cover.

This is the full album. I haven’t added any big title on the front yet. The two names of the couple can be a great idea, or something like: ’The big day’.

This makes a great gift to the couple and they can fill it with their favourite wedding pictures. I would put black and white pictures into the album, that would really match the whole style of it.

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What you will need:  old book  White Gesso  White Structure paste  Wall paper paste  Washi tape ( Tim Holtz )  Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Peeled Paint, Black Soot  Prima Marketing mask  Bo Bunny – Abbey Road - Supersized Apha Stickers  Bo Bunny – Timepiece – Combo Stickers  My Mind’s Eye – Kraft.Funday  Teresa Collins – Then and Now Step 1 Take an old book.

Step 2 Cover the front and back cover with gesso.

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Andrea Kovacs

Step 3 Take the wall paper paste and glue the first 2-3 pages to the front cover.

Step 4 Take about 5 pages and glue them together with the wall paper paste.

Repeat this with the rest of the pages.

Step 5 Cover all the pages with gesso and dry them with heat toll or let them dry over night.

Step 6 Colour the front with Distress Inks.

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Step 7 Decorate the front and back cover as you wish. I used sturcture paste for my book.

Step 8 Apply washi tape to the edges of the pages. It looks great and will protect the pages too.

Fill it with journalling or summer memories. Enjoy!

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