Head Start for December, 2020

Welcome!

Kaleidoscope by inkspired 

Did you feel so rushed in the last couple of weeks?

Were there decorations you didn’t have time to finish?

Did you plan on sending handmade cards,

 but only had 3 to send?

Are there handmade gifts you had hoped to give,

but there wasn’t time to complete?

No fear!

It’s not too late dear!

For 2020 holidays that is!

By Kathy Hering

I want to inspire and encourage you today.

Start with making a list,

itemizing what you would like to have done for 2020.

My list looks something like this:

Make a list of friends & family.

Make Christmas cards for all on my list.

Start an idea list of gifts.

Complete and frame 1 holiday papercutting.

Finish paper nativity set.

Choose color/theme for 2020 Christmas tree.

Start homemade ornaments for tree.

 A fairy peek-a-boo box, ready to start.

Now, that’s MY list.

Make yours to fit YOUR wishes.

A wonderful papercutting pattern, found on Pinterest.

Artist Unknown

Let’s look at some ideas that might be on your list.

 A vintage paper doll

Start looking at free/vintage paper dolls that you can print.

Decide if you want to give uncut,

or if you want to cut out and mount on sturdy card stock

(like cereal boxes!).

If you cut them out you can add all sorts of embellishments!

Gingerbread House found on Pinterest

Start looking at different gingerbread houses.

There are a ton of them out there.

Sketch out some ideas for your gingerbread creation.

Posted on Pinterest by OhMyFiesta

Why not start making a table centerpiece featuring
this simple sleigh pattern?
You could use heavy card stock, stiff poster board,
a piece of foam core, balsa wood...
Resize on your computer as desired.
Fill it with Christmas candies,
silk florals and greenery,
shiny Christmas ball ornaments,
or....?!
Then, if you like how it turns out,
make a few more to give as gifts!

All iris folded cards found on Pinterest.

If you challenge yourself to make 5 handmade cards
each month, starting now,
You will have 60 cards finished for Christmas 2020!

FYI iris folding makes up very quickly
with stunning results!


Here are a couple of different sleigh patterns for you,
one to cut and frame and one to print and cut.

Apologies, but artist credit is in Russian I think.

Posted on Pinterest by Knick Of Time

Unknown artist

Unknown artist

Another simple papercutting pattern, 
you could use as a Christmas card front, or frame and hang.
And
A fun iris folding snowflake pattern.

Hand painted card by Sharon Krohn

Well, I do hope you feel inspired!

You know,
Christmas is not meant to be a one day affair,
But an everyday way of living.
Enjoy!

‘Til next time,
inkspired

Truth: (usually experienced before coffee and/or 10 am)
Before taking your morning multi-vitamins,
make sure you are grabbing the correct cup.
Hot coffee is not meant to gulp down pills.
Also
there is no need to ‘blow’ on your cup of water
to help cool it down.

Kaleidoscope by inkspired 

Kirigami, Rubber Stamping and How to build a Spray Box

Hello!
Welcome to my inkspired musings!

Here are some rubber stamping tips to get us started:

TIP: I love using egg cartons and glass custard cups to hold all my little embellishments while I'm creating. The cups have a wide enough base that they don't easily flip over or tip.
I have the custard cups from Pampered Chef, and they come with lids!

TIP: Keep a shoe box full of blank cards, prefolded. These are ready to grab and add a pre-stamped image or word....good to go!

TIP: Keep a shoe box full of stamped images that are ready to use as is or in need of coloring. I grab my shoe box and sit in front of the TV watching old westerns, and color quite a few of them at a time.

"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters

cannot be trusted with important matters."

 - Albert Einstein

Here are some examples of using kirigami and rubber stamping together:

HOW TO BUILD A SPRAY BOX

Okay, you are going to think me ridiculous, but here goes...

Get a big box, slightly larger than a paper reams box!



HOW TO USE A SPRAY BOX

You need newspapers. Plenty of newspapers! If you are any bit messy, you want to cover your floor where you will be spraying. Sprays have a way of getting where you don't want them, so make sure any over spray will be onto newspapers.

The one time you are in a hurry, and don't want to put newspapers down will be the one time you have a humongous mess, and you'll be regretting it. So put the newspapers down!

Place box on top of newspapers, on its' side, with all flaps open to give your more controlled space.

TIP: you need a well ventilated area - garage, porch, patio, driveway, etc.

If you are spraying inside, be sure to open a window or two.

Things you will need:

Small spray bottles- My friend Shelly uses the small travel size  hairspray bottles; when empty she cleans them and has a perfect spray bottle!

Paper to spray on to - stationery, cardstock, blank paper, stamped paper or cardstock, brown bags, lunch bags, blank boxes...

Stencils - KIRIGAMI!! Opened and laid flat.

Paper doilies of all sizes and patterns.

Skeleton Leaves. Vintage keys. Dried flowers.

You can also find a number of rubber stamping sites that sell delicate patterned frosty plastic stencils that are just gorgeous.

Things to spray with:

Just a few ideas: 

Acrylic paint watered down and in a spray bottle

Glimmer Mists, as many colors as you can afford!

http://mytatteredangels.com/

A mixture of water, powdered pearl ex, a bit of arabic gum (no you don't chew it, it's powdered!)

Spray webbing, sold at many craft stores

Diluted re-inkers, of the dye variety, not of the pigment family.

Okay, let's play!

Place your desired paper inside the box, on top of the newspapers. Place your kirigami cut out on top of paper. Let it hang over the edge. Start with one color of, let's say, Glimmer Mist. Do a light passover spray to get the hang of how the bottle sprays, where the spray lands, etc.

Be a bit more aggresive, and spray over your paper a couple of times. Not too much though, we are going for a light, misty look here. Just enough so you can see the outline of your stencil.

Remove your kirigami carefully. You can now add a couple of skeleton leaves or part of the edge of a paper doiley.  Choose a different color of Glimmer Mist, and again do a light pass over with the spray to get the feel of the bottle. Spray until you like the look, but remember:

If you spray over the first stencil too much, it will disappear. So keep a light spray hand! Just think about coloring Easter eggs - you dip once for allover color, then dip again for a second color or stripe. You put stickers on your egg before dipping, and after the dip, you peel the stickers off, and reveal the original color of the egg below. But if you continue to dip again and again, you end up with a brown, muddy looking Easter egg.

TIP: When layering colors of ink, always start with the lightest color. Then the middle color and last just a bit of dark color.

TIP: Choose no more than 3 colors to combine. Any more and the colors just get muddy.

Okay, you're done with that sheet, set it aside to dry. On the newspapers is ideal in case any of the ink wants to puddle. Your paper will want to curl up. That is okay, as long as the sprayed side is not touching itself.

Time to play some more!

Oops, there goes an hour!

How time flies when you are having fun crafting, or getting messy!

Once your papers are dry, you can set them under heavy books - like big dictionaries - and leave them overnight. 

Still curly? When you are ready to use them, you can use a dry iron to smooth out the sheets more.

You should have quite a pile of beautiful papers, card stock, and whatever else you chose to spray on.

After you return from the store to get more spray bottles and Glimmer Mist, you will be well supplied to use your spray box whenever you want!

Here are a few more picture examples of how to use your kirigami with rubber stamping:

Here are a few more kirigami patterns to inspire you:

with tip pointing up.

with tip pointing down.

That's all for today. Let me leave you with a favorite quote:

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

 - Thornton Wilder