I r el and s f i rst onl i ne craf t magazi ne. . . .

Tut ori al s
Gi veaways
Chal l enges
And much more!
2

WELCOME to Issue 3 of Crafting
Ireland!
Hi everyone and welcome to issue 3. How time fliesissue 3 already!

We just want to say a huge THANK YOU to every one of you that has left
kind words for us over the last few issues and wished us well. We really ap-
preciate your support and are delighted you are all loving the magazine.

Remember though, the magazine would be nothing without all of you.
Make sure you keep sending in submissions, enter the challenge and
reader giveaways or even just send us feedback letting us know what you
would like to see more of in the magazine. We want to make sure we are
creating a magazine you all want to read!!

All feedback is appreciated and you can contact us here.

All feedback we have received so far has been taken on board and we are
Submit your work, find out more at
Craftingireland.wordpress.com
working towards incorporating it all into the magazine.

We have lots of reader giveaways in this issue, make sure
you enter them all as there are some fantastic prizes up
on offer.

A big thank you to all those who submitted or contributed to this issue and
This has been a fantastic experience
to date, and I cant believe it is issue
3 already!

It has been fantastic getting to know
all you crafters and to see the craft-
ing community coming together in
our little magazine. I am really look-
ing forward to working along side
you all in future issues!
Personal Note from the Editors
I am so pleased and amazed by all
the fantastic feedback we are get-
ting. I love that people say that the
tutorials we provide are interesting
and really useful.

I am really looking forward to many
more issues to come. I hope that we
meet some of you in the events tak-
ing place in Ireland.
4

Edi t or s not e. . . . . . . . p2
Cl audi ne Hel l mut h Wal l hangi ng. . . . . . . . p6
Fabr i c pur s e. . . . . . . . p12
Pr oduc t r evi ewSpec t r um Noi r. . . . . . . . p16
Submi s s i ons . . . . . . . . p20
Cl as s es and c r ops . . . . . . . . p28
Har d c over mi ni al bum t ut or i al . . . . . . . . p30
Chi l dhood t r eas ur e box. . . . . . . . p34
Yo yo f l ower t ut or i al . . . . . . . . p38

Spot l i ght on. . . . . . . . p40
Home made f l ower s . . . . . . . . p44
Cr af t i ng on a budget . . . . . . . . p50
Ci t r as ol v t ut or i al par t 2. . . . . . . . p50
Pat t er ned paper f r om s c r aps . . . . . . . . p52
Cl ay embel l i s hment s . . . . . . . . p54
Feat ur ed webs i t e. . . . . . . . p60
Wher e t o s hop. . . . . . . . p63
Chal l enge. . . . . . . . p66
Reader gi veaway. . . . . . . . p70
6

This is a fun little project that com-
bines a Sticky Back Canvas transfer
with a quick and easy photo tinting
technique. Imagine a whole wall of
these with all your family photos!
You will need:

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky Back
Canvas
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Acrylic Paints
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Extra Time
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium
Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint brushes
Scrapbook paper
Embroidery hoop
Step 1

Youll need a piece of Claudine Hellmuth
Studio Sticky Back Canvas and also an em-
broidery hoop. I am using a 7 wooden
one. Look around at the craft store and
find the cheapest ones possible. This one
was about $1.50
Claudine Hellmuth
Step 2

Im going to transfer this piece of music scrapbook paper to
the back of the Sticky Back Canvas.
Step 4

Burnish the paper
down well.
Step 3

Stick the music side of the scrap-
book paper face down into to the
sticky side of the canvas.
8

Step 5

Wet the back of the paper
and then rub off the pulp,
this will reveal a transferred
image!


Step 7

Here I printed out an image of
my grandma onto photo inkjet
gloss paper. Using Claudine
Hellmuth Studio Acrylic paints
and Claudine Hellmuth Studio
Extra Time, Place a dab of each
Step 6

When you have finished the
transfer wrap it around the
hoop and then trim off the ex-
cess.

TIP: do this while the sticky
back canvas is still damp and
then it will stretch tightly as it
dries.

onto a craft sheet and mix together with a brush. Then
paint onto your photo give a photo tined look.

Heres a close-up of the color tinting in process:
Step 8

Cut out the image when
you have finished photo
tinting.
10

Step 9

Glue your photo to the Embroidery hoop using Multi Medium, hang on a
wall and youre done!
Claudine Hellmuth is a internationally recognised collage artist, author and il-
lustrator. She combines photos, paint, paper and pen into quirky, whimsical-
retro collages. Her artworks have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show,
in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine, The New York Times, on
HGTV's "I Want That!" and on the DIY Network's program, "Craft Lab."

In addition to creating her artwork full-time, Claudine has developed a prod-
uct line with Ranger Inc. under the brand name of "Claudine Hellmuth Stu
dio", she licenses her illustrations to the gift and craft
markets. Claudine also teaches collage workshops in the
US & Canada, and she has written 3 books and 3 DVDs
about her techniques.
12

Step 1

Open an A4 canvas in the image editing software and
select a 21x22cm area. This will be the base where you
will make your own design. When making your design try
to place your more important elements towards the
I have always loved computers and
printers ever since I was a child. I
remember when we first bought a
printer I labelled and decorated
everything in my room with
printed images and drawings. That is probably why I fell in love with hybrid
techniques immediately after I learnt about scrapbooking.

I figured if I have a printer and iron on tranfer sheet I can make anything with
my own designs. So that is how I made my first pencil case and here I will
show you how you can easily make one for yourself!
Szabina Korss
You will need:
Image editing software
Digi scrapbook kit
2 21x22cm piece of fabric
(muslin or similar)
1 Iron on transfer paper (for
light colours)
Scissors, pins, thread
20cm zip
Sewing machine (you could
easily hand stich it too)
Szabina Korss
Step 2

When you are ready with the design, it is
time to print it. You have to make sure that
the image direction is right. If you have a
setting on your printer for iron-on transfer,
you will need to turn on.

If you dont then you need to mirror your image vertically. This will print the
image backwards so when printed and ironed on the fabric, your text and
image will be in the right direction. Try to print it in matte photo setting.

Top Tip: Make sure you put the transfer paper right side up into the printer.
Follow the transfer papers instructions on this.
centre, so if you cut into it
when assembling you will
still see them. I used my
new kit: Believe in Yourself.
Step 3

After printing the image on the
transfer paper, its time to iron it onto
the fabric. Read the instructions on
the packaging of your paper.

If you dont have the instructions for
your paper then do it this way: set
your iron onto medium heat. Iron the
transfer sheet for 10 minutes. Try to
14

Step 5

Pin the fabric onto the zip from
the inside, and stich the fabrics
together at the bottom and at
the zip as well.
peel the transfer paper backing paper off at the corners. If its not ready
yet then iron for another few minutes. Then peel the backing off.
Step 4

Now you have nice patterned
fabric that you need to cut into
half.
We say:
Thank you to Szabina for
sharing this fantastic tuto-
rial with us! We have listed
all the places you can see
more of Szabinas fantastic
work and digital kits be-
low....

Blog: http://sabee24.blogspot.com/
Shop: http://www.catscrap.com/shoppe/manufacturers.php?
manufacturerid=64
The kit featured in this article: Believe in Yourself by Sabees Creative World
http://www.catscrap.com/shoppe/product.php?productid=19035&cat=249
Step 6

Turn it inside out, the patterned side should be inside. Pin
everything down the pieces cant move. And now stitch it
all around.
Step 7

Turn it right side out and
youre ready. It was very
easy wasnt it?
16

Spectrum Noir is the new alcohol
ink based marker pen developed
and brought to you by Crafters
Companion. Unlike other alcohol
ink pens that are currently avail-
able on the market that have been
designed for graphic artists. Spec-
trum Noir, or Speccies, as they have been affectionately named, have been
developed specifically for the needs of paper crafters. Each pen is double
ended, with a broad chisel nib for covering large areas, and a fine bullet tip
to get into all those nooks and crannies.
There are 168 colours in total, with 12 colour-themed packs of 6 (each con-
taining 3 warm and 3 cool tones), and 4 box sets of 24, which complete your
collection with a selection of Lights, Darks, Pastels and Brights. There is zero
duplication in the packs which makes these markers great value for money.
To be completely honest, before I used Spectrum Noir, I was completely new
to using alcohol-based
markers, so I am writing
this from the perspec-
tive of a beginner. I had
tried a different brand a
couple of times before,
Katie Brett
A review on the new alcohol pen brought
to you by Crafters Companion from the
perspective of a newbie!
17
Whether you are a beginner or an advanced crafter, the way that these sets
have been put together make it so easy. The 12 main packs have been tonally
selected to work together, so all the thinking has been done for you and you
dont have to sit there for hours trying to figure out which colours blend to-
gether perfectly. Once you have mastered colouring with the basic sets, there
are then the large box sets to complete your col-
our palette and enable you to create every effect
under the sun!
The recommended card to use with the Spec-
trum Noirs is the Neenah Classic Crescent Card,
and when using this card I experienced no ink
bleeding whatsoever. The ink flows very
smoothly out of the nibs and you need just a few
light strokes to achieve great coverage and
blending. The pens are also refillable, and you
can also buy new nibs making this colouring
system even better value for money and also
more green we all like to do our little bit for
the environment! Being the messiest crafter in the world, another great plus
for me was that the pens are square, meaning they dont roll off the table!
but could never really get my head around it,
and always found myself reaching back to my
trusty old Daler Rowney watercolours. I was
totally unwilling to step out of my comfort
zone! I have to say though, that I am com-
pletely converted! It took me a while to realise
that it wasnt going to look like a watercolour
painting, but once I had got past that hurdle, it
was plain sailing!
18

The colours and numbers are also printed on
both ends of the pen, making it easy to locate
the colour you are looking for. They also have
a grey line going around one end of the pen,
making it easy to identify which end is the
chisel, and which end is the bullet tip, as there
is nothing more frustrating that constantly
opening up the wrong end! They also seem to
dry very quickly and to a very smooth finish.
Overall I find the system easy to use
and very effective it only took me
about an hour of playing and I had
got the hang of it!
Reader giveaway
To celebrate the launch of this awesome system Craf-
ters Companion has given us FIVE sets of the Essentials
pens to give away to five lucky readers!!
If you would like to win a set then all you need to do is
go to the Crafters Companion Facebook page and like
them and tell them that Crafting Ireland sent you
how simple is that!
So simply head on over to http://www.facebook.com/
CraftersCompanion and tell them we sent you to be in
with the chance to win!!
19
Summer Fun
20
Call for submissions.Calling ALL crafters we want to publish you!!

For each issue we will give you a list of themes to work with. We would love to
see what you create inspired by these themes. When you submit an image of
your project, please make sure it is clearly photographed straight-on with a
neutral background or scanned.

Please make sure you only submit projects that have never appeared online or
on a blog before, and it can not have been published previously.

Thank you to every one who submitted for issue two. The themes for this is-
sue were :
Summer Fun
Colour challengeblue, yellow and green
Helen van der Gaag
http://creamieke.blogspot.com
Kim Dylewicz
onthefence-kim.blogspot.com
Natasha Beasley
http://milliesmagicalmoments.blogspot.com/
Colour Challenge
Stacy Morgan
www.twinshappy.blogsp
ot.com
Kim Dylewicz
onthefence-kim.blogspot.com
23
Anna Clyburn - Victoria, B.C
Micki Harperhttp://artfulxpressions.net/
24
Pam Blood

craftcreationsby-
pam.blogspot.com
Celina Anthony - Shepherd,
MT
Wendy Rudd-Colledge - www.Wendymade.blogspot.com
Sarah Longmore - sarahlongmore.blogspot.com
26
Issue 4 Submission themes
For issue 4 we have two themes for you to work with. Again you can submit
cards, layouts or altered art projects. The themes are:

Inspired by Halloween - Show us your work inspired by this
spooky time of year!
Autumn Days - We want to see your work inspired by autumn,
use the colours and common themes of autumn, such as leaves
to create a project that reflects autumn days.

Please email your entries along with your name and blog address to
craftingireland@gmail.com
Aideen Fallon - www.piecesbyaideen.com
28

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 craftingire-
land@gmail.com
Card Art Kilcoole
Next Full day Workshop is Saturday the 13th of August
At the Bridge Centre, Loughboy, Kilkenny
Time 10.00 to 6.00

The theme will be Monochrome with a hint of Elegance. Beautiful Black and
white cards, with a touch of colour and a romantic twist. This time we will
make 4 cards, on the day, but you will receive 2 extra kits to make at home
with full instructions, which I will demonstrate at the end of the class.
Full details can be found at http://cardarteventskilcoole.blogspot.com/
Crafty Angels
We have a kids card making class in store, on the 10th August from 11-1pm.
Kits included, and cost of class is 15.00.
The adult class is on the 20th August in the Osprey Hotel, Naas from 12-4pm.
Kits and free tea/coffee inc, cost of class is 25.00. A
We are having a weekly "crop", starting on the 23rd August from 7-10pm,
cost is 5, which includes free tea/coffee. It is a general girls get-together, do-
ing your own thing, and getting hints, tips, getting your own projects/cards
finished etc.
All places must be booked in advance. Crafty Angels, Cutlery Rd, Newbridge,
Co. Kildare. Ph : 045-446678.
29

Scrapbook Store
Our next crop is on 25th August at Whitehall Parish Centre starting 7 oclock.
Its a fun night with scrapbooking and card making challenges .
We also have our next workshop on the 29th September.
More info can be found on the website http://www.thescrapbookstore.ie/
workshops.php or contact Annamarie at workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie

Jackies Cardmaking Workshops - 21st Augusthttp://
jackiesworkshops.blogspot.com/

Crafty Alley
17th SeptemberTop Down Seamless Knitting with Carol Feller. Learn to knit
a garment from the top down in one piece.
24th SeptemberCard making with Claire Buswell.
Weaving workshop with Carol Feller
Oil Painting with Tina Reed
www.craftyalley.com

Scrap n Yap
21st AugustCheck out Scrap n Yap on Facebook for more information.

An Siopa Bu
20th AugustFelting & Jewellery making with Kin ODonoghue
27th AugustWedding Class
10th SeptemberFree Christmas card demo
Crops11th August, 30th August and 13th September

Great Big Craft Extravaganza: 30th September
2nd October, Athlone Springs Hotel, Athlone.
The 3rd annual Great Big Craft Extravaganza will be taking
place in Athlone again this year. It is a fantastic event for
all crafters full of classes, crops, demos, tutorials, shops,
competitions and challenges. The event is free in and you
only pay for the classes you attend. You can book onto the
show through www.ansiopabui.ie
30

What you will need:
(2) 12x12 Cardstock
(2) 4.5 x 7 chipboard
(1) 2 x 7 chipboard
(1) 12x8 Pattern Paper (This will be your Cover)
(1) 6 x 9.5 Pattern Paper (This will be for the inside of your cover)
(16) 5 x 3 Pattern paper (This is for matting your mini album, if you
want to build your mini with pattern paper and not card stock you will
not need this)
Creating your Cover

Step 1
Place your 12x8 pattern paper face down and stick your
chipboard pieces down.

There will be a border of pattern paper around your chip-
board that is perfect as you will be folding that over.
Eve Louw
This is a Mini album with a
ton of space for photographs
and embellishments.
Make sure to place
enough adhesive as you
do not want your project
to fall apart in a weeks
time.

NOTE: leave enough
space in between the pieces as your book needs to fold. I would leave a
space double the thickness of the chipboard that you are using.
Step 2
Fold your pages and make sure it folds properly.
Step 3
Place double sided tape on
all the edges of the chip-
board, Fold over the cor-
ners. This will create a nice
and clean cover, once you
have done all 4 corners
you can fold over the rest
of the pattern paper, this
will cover the chipboard
completely and will not
leave a raw edge.
Step 4
Place more tape to stick your inner page down.
NOTE: I placed my adhesive on the pattern paper and not in the chipboard,
as I dont want glue exposed.

32

Again Fold your Cover to make sure it
folds properly. That is the cover done.
The Mini Album

Step 5
Cut all your Card Stock to 6x12, so
you will have 4 strips. Score and fold
them all at 4 and 8. Fold your pages
so they create a Z shape.
Step 6
Attach A to E. Remember only glue in a U shape, as that will create your
pocket. Do this to all 4 of your pages.

Step 7
Attach your mini pages to your cover. Place adhesive
on your last page and stick down to the back of your
cover.

This will create a lot of space to embellish the inside.
Reader give away!!
That is your mini done and dusted all you need is some
photos to put inside!
This tutorial was presented by Eve Louw from the Crafty Queens.
www.craftyqueens.ie
The Crafty Queens are giving this album away to a lucky Craft-
ing Ireland reader. All you need to do is go to The Crafty
Queens on Facebook and like us and leave a comment saying
what is your favorite paper line.
Reader give away!!
34

In issue 2 we looked at altering a paper mach box in
order to house a mini album and some treasured
childhood memories. In this part of the tutorial I will
show you how to finish off altering the box.
What you will need:
Woodgrain patterned paper
Multi-medium in matte
Walnut stain Distress Ink
Chipboard
Patterned paper
Game pieces
Other random pieces (bus ticket, bow, bottle cap)
Embellishments
Step 1
Cover the inside of the box with
patterned paper, use multi me-
dium to adhere the paper. Ink it
well to give an aged look.
Step 2
Gather all your game pieces and
let your hot glue gun heat up.
We will use the inside of the lid
as a shadow box.
Adhere all the game and random pieces to the inside of the lid. Try not to flat-
ten the piece to keep the 3D look. For example: only put hot glue on two op-
36

posite corners of the ticket, so it is not
completely adhered to the lid. Try to use
the edges of the box to adhere things to
it.








The Mini Album
Step 1
Cut the chipboard into pages that will fit into
the box. Cover them with patterned paper.
Ink the edges to give an aged look.

Step 2
Arrange them into order as you like and
punch holes on the left hand side. You can
measure the holes on the first page and
use this one as a template when punching
the holes on the other pages.
Step 3
I used rings to bind the pages.
Decorate the front and other
pages as you like.


When ready place the mini al-
bum into the box and youre
ready!!










The paper used in this project is
the Crate Paper Restoration
line.

You can find this line in a few
online Irish craft storesCardz
n Scrapz, and The Scrapbook
Store.
38

Yoyo Flowers using Clover Templates

I came across these yoyo flower tem-
plates on the internet and found very
useful. For somebody who doesn't know how to sew properly like
myself it is a great help.
Timi Konya
In this project I also tried the Citrasolv
technique from Issue 1. This time I used
it with coloured prints. I have to say it
worked well. The colours do not come
out as bright, but if you are going for an
aged distressed look you would be
pleased with the result.
Place your fabric
into the template.
Trim the excess
fabri c from
around the tem-
plate.
Stitch around the holes with thread and needle. Then
take the fabric out of the template and gather it with
pulling the thread.
Now you need to tuck in the edges, I
usually use the end of my tweezers or
small brush. Flatten your flower and
stitch a button on the centre if you
like. It's great because the folds are
even, so the flower looks much better
than when you free hand stitch.
This little template is very easy to use once you get the idea. I got my
templates from Ebay, simply do a search for YoYo flower templates.
40


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 craftingireland@gmail.com.
Our third issue spotlight is shining on Elisa Nishimura. Here is Elisa to tell
us a bit about herself and her work....
When and how di d you get
i nvol ved wi t h paper craf t i ng?

I always liked paper crafting but I got
into scrapbooking about 6 years ago, as a way to
document my daughters life and also to stop me get-
ting stressed waiting to adopt our second child.

I am Elisa Nishimura, a Brazilian living
in Dublin. I met my husband in Eng-
land. He is Irish and after we got
married we moved to Ireland, where
I have been for the last 16 years. We
have two children, a 9 year old girl
and a 6 year old boy. I am a stay at
home mum but used to work in IT in
a former life.
Later, since I am unable to throw away the tiniest bit of
scrap paper, I decided to start card making as a way to use
up the scraps. However, I still have a pile of paper scraps
and often my nearest and dearest get a shop bought card.
Shame on me!
What i s your f avouri t e aspect of paper craf t i ng?

It is definitely the creative aspect. Paper crafting is a way to unwind and get
my imagination going.
What are t he t echni ques t hat
you use most of t he t i me?

I had to think about this question. I
dont think I have techniques as such
but some things appear often in what I
do, I guess it is part of my style. Like
the title just above the photo, straight
lines (I dont do slanted often) and hav-
ing a border around the layout. In cards
I often use ribbons or a thin strip of pa-
per going over the whole length of the
card.
What are your "can' t do wi t hout " pr oduct s?
White and Kraft cardstock, punches and most of all my laptop and printer!

What inspires you?

My favourite subjects for scrapbooking are definitely my children. As for the
design, I often get inspiration from other crafters, interior design magazines
and recently Pinterest.
Later, since I am unable to throw away the tiniest bit of
scrap paper, I decided to start card making as a way to use
up the scraps. However, I still have a pile of paper scraps
and often my nearest and dearest get a shop bought card.
Shame on me!
42

Have you any pl ans f or t he
f ut ure?

I came to the conclusion that I am not
DT material I am way too slow.

I would like to improve my photo-
graphic skills and redecorate my home.
At the moment theres hardly any evi-
dence around the house that shows
how much I care about arts and crafts. I
want to change that.

I also would like to participate in card-
making challenges.
Do you bl og?

Yes, I have a blog where I dis-
play my scrapbook layout and
other projects http://hybrid-
alien.blogspot.com , and one
where I showcase my digital
i m a g e s h t t p : / /
mamidoodles.blogspot.com
How do you descri be your st yl e?

Clean and simple.
Where can we see your work? Are you on any desi gn t eams?

I dont belong to to any DT at the moment. Besides my blogs, the only gal-
lery I update regularly is Studio Calicos one (http://www.studiocalico.com )

The editors each picked one of their favourite projects
from Elisas work to share with you below..

I love the white space on this bold
and bright layout. The circles and
the stitching are just fantastic. I
adore the typed journaling, this is
my favourite way to journal on lay-
outs and it works fantastically on
this page!

I love the layout of this
page. I love how simple card
stock has been used and
how fun it has been made
by stencilling on the paper
and the fun stitching and
embellishments all around
the photos.
44

There are tons of paper flower making tutorials in the
web and here i s my own twi st.

I am taking the lazy approach and making flowers out of existing ones! If you
are card making or scrapbooking as long as I am, you must have gone through
a Prima daisies shopping frenzy. Do you remember the pretty flowers that
came in pretty glass jars? Like these
,
I used plenty of them, but still have lots
left and hardly use them anymore be-
cause while I still love them, they look
a bit... let's say... out of fashion. So I
tried a flower makeover and here are
some of my results...
Pink chrysanthemum:
To make the pink chrysanthemum, I used 2 dark daisies, 3
pink ones and a smaller yellow one.
I glued one dark one on top of
t h e o t h e r o n e .
Then I folded the pink ones in
the middle, back to back. I put
a dot of glue so that they'd stay
that way.
Then folded them again, and glued
to keep in place.
Now put glue in the centre of the
dark one.
46

Now cover the dark daisies
with the folded pink ones.
Now scrunch the yellow daisy like in the image below. You need to fold back
to back, so that the petal tips go inwards.
For a variation on this
flower I took 5 yellow
flowers and coloured
the centres with a
Promarker. I then as-
sembled the flower as
in the previous steps
Glue the yellow daisy into the
middle of the larger flower
and you get this beautiful
chrysanthemum...
Coloured petals with Promark-
ers.
Completed flower.
The blue one has a fuller centre - I
simply used two yellow daisies to
achieve this fuller centre.
Red Rose:
This is very similar to the chrysan-
themum but produces a lovely rose.
This is what I started with..
Put a bit of wet glue on the
back of two of dark flowers.
Make sure it is on the backs of
the flowers!!
48

A some glue on the third larger
flower.
Put a bit of glue on the back of the
petals of the remaining two.
On the left is the glue on the
back of two of the red flowers.

Below shows the two flowers
then folded in half, back to back.
Place one of the folded ones over it.
Then the other one, on the other half.
Scrunch the small one up, petals against petals.
Glue it in the centre of the other
ones and you're done!
Then wrap the second flower
with glue on it around the
scrunched up flower.
,
This is a fantastic way to jazz up those plain flowers that may be feeling
slightly neglected in the bottom of a drawer in your craft room. It is a super
way to create lovely new flowers without spending much money!!
50

Welcome to our Crafting on a Budget section. Here we will be looking at a
previous technique, the Citrasolv transfer, as well as a few other budget
crafts!
Citrasolv tutorial part twoColour image transfer

In Issue 2 I showed you a transfer technique us-
ing Citrasolv. Using this techniques I showed
you how to transfer printed images onto fabric
and other mediums.

I just wanted to show you a bit more on what
Citrasolv can do. What is that you ask? Colour
transfer !!
I tried the Citrasolv out on coloured print outs
and got some fantastic results. The technique
was the same as laid out in issue 2but with
one difference....a lot more elbow grease was
required at the braying stage!!

But the results are worth
the effort....

I took a plain white pillow
case and a peacock image from the Graphics Fairy. I re-
duced the image and printed it of as needed for the
transfer technique. I then chose my placement for it on
the pillow case and got working on it!! In the image
Nicole Mullen
here I have placed the original image on the left of the pillow
case and the image on the
right is the pillowcase fin-
ished. The resulting image is
not as bright and vibrant as
the original image but it does
give a lovely vintage image ef-
fect.

The image below is of the
same image transferred onto
a plain cushion cover. Again
the image is not as strikingly
vibrant as on the print out,
however it does look lovely
when finished.

The colour citra solv technique
was also used on the fabric in
the YoYo flowers tutorial on
page 38 of this issue....



I am delighted with how the col-
our transfer worked out, it cer-
tainly makes a striking impact on
a plain pillowcase or cushion!
52

This is a quick and easy tutorial to help you to get some of those pesky
scraps we all seem to end up with off our craft desks! I always tend to have
a huge scrap pile and never seem to manage to decrease the size of it, no
matter how much I work on using them up.

I find that this simple technique works wonders on those small scraps that
fall into the too big to throw out and yet too small to use properly cate-
gory!

Step 1

Select a bunch of scraps that complement
each other colour wise. I chose a selection
of pinks and purples. One of my scraps was
even embossed and stamped on already!

Step 2

Take a piece
of white card. I used a A5 sized piece. I then
cut all my scrap strips down into straight
edged strips. Some were 2inches, some were
1 inch and some were 3 inch. The important
thing is that they all have straight edges so
that they all line up next to one another
neatly.

I laid the strips out on the A5 card into a pat-
tern that I liked.

Step 3

When you have the papers all laid out as you like
them then glue them down to the A5 card. Now
you have a A5 sheet of custom design paper!

Step 4

I then mounted this A5 custom paper onto a card
blank.

Step 5

I repeated the process of laying out scraps and gluing them down. These
scraps were smaller however. But they were just big enough for me to die
cut butterflies out of....

Step 6

I then embellished the butterflies and
mounted them to the front of the card. I
also use the pre embossed and stamped
scrap that I
had and used that for my card sentiment.

The resulting card looks great and more im-
portantly uses up lots of scraps, and that is
always a great thing in my book, crafty and
good for the environment!!

Top Tip
You can create large sheets of this scrap pa-
per and die cut lots of shapes from them to
give unique finishes to your cards and
scrapbook layouts with unique paper that
no one else will have!!
54

I love embellishments. Who doesn't? What I don't love about embellishments
is the price of them. So I had a look around and decided to try using clay to
make my own. I purchased some clay and some moulds and started playing
around with ways to create embellishments. And guess whatits is so easy!
You need very little equipment and very little skill level to make some pretty
darn cute embellies!! I will take you through the various ways I created mine.

What you will need
Clay
Pencil & wooden slips
Embossing folder
Cookie cutter
Stamp
Moulds

Priming your clay
I used some Fimo oven bake clay that I got in my local art shop. My clay only
cost 2.10 and I found it goes quite a long way. The first thing you will need to
do is break off a block of the clay. Some of my clay came in handy pre scored
pieces which made breaking them off easier. For others that were a solid block
I simply used a butter knife to cut some off.

The clay will be very hard so needs to be primed
this means softening it to be more malleable so that
you can work with it. To do this take your small piece
of clay between the palm of your hands.

Roll the clay between your palms to soften the clay
out. It will turn into a sausage shape when it is rolled.
Roll this into a ball shape as this is the easiest way to
start with the clay. Your clay is now primed and ready
to use.

Cookie cutter embellishments
Step 1
Place your ball of clay on a non stick craft mat and
flatten it out roughly with the palm of your hand.

Step 2
Take two small slips of wood and place on either side of
the clay. These must both be the same heightthese will
help you roll your clay out to be level. Use a pencil to roll
the clay out thinly. You can use whatever you want
to roll the clay out but I find a pencil works and is
cheap :)

Step 3
Take a cookie cutter of your choice and press it into
the clay. Lift the cookie cutter off and remove the
cut out shape, in my case a heart shape.

Step 4
To embellish your shape you can use things like
embossing folders or stamps. For the embossing
folder simply open the embossing folder of your
choice and press it into your clay shape. You will
need to get the pressure righttoo hard and the clay will stick into the em-
bossing folder. Too lightly wont give a good impression. You will end up with a
lovely embossed/debossed
shape.

Be careful handling it at this
stage though as the clay will be
soft until you bake it and you
don't want to ruin the lovely
piece you have just created.
56

You can also
use stamps to
emboss your
clay shapes.
You simply
place a stamp
of your choice
on a block and
press the stamp into the clay.

You can take this technique a step further by
inking up the stamp before pressing it into the
clay. Make sure to use a ink that contrasts with
your clay colour. In my case I used black ink on
white clay.

Mould made embellishments
So lets step up our embellishments. We can only
do so much with cookie cutters. Using moulds
allows us to create some stunning embellish-
ments with very little effort. More importantly for very little money. All the
moulds I used were bought on eBay for 4-6 euro each. And considering
you can use them over and over this is not a bad price at all! All the moulds I
used are silicone moulds.

Using silicone moulds

Step 1
Get a small ball of clay ready. The piece of
clay should be slightly smaller than the
shape of the mould you are using. This
mould creates four different size roses. This
mould was 7 so great value. Place your ball
of clay into the section of the mould you want to use.

Step 2
Press the clay into the mould. Make sure
to press down firmly so that the clay gets
into every crevasse of the mould.

Step 3
Make sure to have the clay pressed right
up to the edges.

Step 4
To make sure the back of the clay rose
is totally flat you can take a pencil and
roll it over the back. You want as
smooth a finish as possible on the
back so that if you are gluing the flower
onto anything it will stick well.

Step 5
Once you are happy that your clay in in
the mould fully it is then time to remove
the clay flower. Because the silicone
mould is so flexible this is actually quite
easy. You simply need to bend the mould back
and you will see it pull away from the clay. I
usually turn the mould upside down over a
craft mat and then
pop the clay flower
out.

Again be very careful
with the resulting
flower at this stage as it will still be
soft until baked.
58

Creating two toned clay
Clay comes in many different colours. However sometimes you may want to
mix the clay to get a two toned effect on an embellish-
ment. This is quite an easy process.

Step 1
Take two different colour clays and roll a roughly even
amount of each out into a sausage shaped strip.

Step 2
Take these two strips and pinch
them together at one end.

Step 3
Twist the strips around one another. Until they are
both fully entwined.

Step 3
Fold the two ends together for form a circle. Then
roll this circle into a rounded
ball of clay. Roll this ball out
into a sausage shape. You
will end up with a lovely
marbled clay. This will give
you a lovely effect on the
embellishments you make!









Layering Embellishments
A very effective way of creating more detailed embellishments is to layer up
different embellishments. A nice simple way to do this is to cut a shape out
with a cookie cutter and layer a clay moulded item on top.











You can take this embellishment even one step further. Take an awl or paper
punch and make a hole in the cookie cutter
shape. You will need to make the hold from the
front and the back to make sure it is big enough
to get a ribbon or jump ring through. You can
then use it as a charm or even a necklace.





Baking your Embellishments
Your clay needs to be baked as per the manu-
factures instructions in order to cure (set) it.
Once it has been baked it will be solid and
ready to use. You can get air drying clay but
you have to work a bit faster with it as it
starts to cure as soon as it is exposed to air.

Decorating your Embellishments
The thing I love most about this clay is that after it is baked you
60

can further decorate it if you want. For my embellishments I painted
some with acrylic paint and others with perfect pearls.


So let your imagination run wild. Remember if you make a mistake you can
simply roll the clay back up and start all over again. It is a very forgiving proc-
ess so don't be afraid to try things out and most importantly have fun!!

This is a small selection of some of
the things I made with my clay. The
flowers and wings are from a
mould, the heart are cookie cutter
cut and embossed with a stamp and
an embossing folder. The top shape
was a small excess piece of clay that
I just flattened and stamped my ini-
tial into with a inked up stamp to
get a seal effect.

Make sure to check back in issue 4
where I will look at some more
things we can do
with the clay
and moulds.
Perfect Pearls
Acrylic paint
Welcome to this issues featured websiteRaindrop Echo
Designs. Raindrop Echo is run by the wonderful Ann
Vento. Ann is a talented designer who currently designs
rubber, digital and custom stamps, dies and digi paper for
Tickled Pink Stamps, Whiff of Joy and Whimsy Stamps.
Ann also runs a challenge blogSentimental Sundays. She
offers weekly freebie sentiments on this challenge blog, along with the amaz-
ing digi stamp prizes on offer.
On the Raindrop Echo website Ann offers some
amazing resources for those of us who work
with digital imagestutorials!! She has some
fantastic tutorials on
dealing with digital im-
ages, with advice on
how to add water-
marks, resizing images,
using multiple images
and much more. She
also offers tutorials on
colouring images, and other techniques.
62

We love Anns work and the sentiments and tutorials she generously offers
to all of us crafters, and we highly recommend that you check her out!
If you would like to advertise in Crafting Ireland email us at
craftingireland@gmail.com with advertising in the subject
line for more information.

Below are a list of some shops that we shopaholics like to order all those es-
sential supplies from. All these stores are either located in Ireland, or else
ship to Ireland with reasonable rates.
Ireland

CardznScraps Cork Art
Supplies
http://cardznscrapz.com/

Scrapbook Store
http://www.thescrapbookstore.ie

Crafty Alley
https://craftyalley.com/
Crafty Angels
http://www.craftyangels.ie/store/
Scrapbook Store
http://www.thescrapbookstore.ie
An Siopa Bui The Yellow
Shop
http://www.ansiopabui.ie/

United Kingdom

Artist Trading Post
http://www.artisttradingpost.com/

Artistic Stamper
http://www.theartisticstamper.com/

Craft Barn
http://www.thecraftbarn.co.uk/

Craft Emporium
http://www.craft-emporium.co.uk
WOW Embossing Powders
http://www.wowembossingpowder.co.uk/
Wild Orchid Crafts
www.wildorchidcrafts.com
64

The Crafty Alley Shop is Co. Kerry's largest art and craft supplies shop al-
though through our wide network of customers and through online market-
ing, we sell both nationally and internationally.

We stock more than 12000 products in our Killarney shop which we hope to
add to our online shop in the coming months.

Classes at The Crafty Alley
17th SeptemberTop Down Seamless Knitting with Carol Feller. Learn to
knit a garment from the top down in one piece.
24th SeptemberCard making with Claire Buswell.
Weaving workshop with Carol Feller
Oil Painting with Tina Reed
Visit the Crafty Alley website for more information and bookings
www.craftyalley.com
66

In every issue of Crafting Ireland we will have a crafty challenge to help you
all get your creative juices flowing. We will select two winners from each
challenge. We will then publish the two winners projects in the next issue.
Our generous sponsor for this challenge is The Crafty Alley

The Crafty Alley Shop is Co. Kerry's largest art and craft supplies shop al-
though through our wide network of customers and through online market-
ing, we sell both nationally and internationally. We stock more than 12000
products in our Killarney shop which we hope to add to our online shop in
the coming months.

The Crafty Alley Shop was opened to provide a high quality and good range
of art and craft supplies to the artist, the crafter, the local schools and art
clubs and of course the hobbyist. The Crafty Alley Shop now offers work-
shops and classes to adults and juniors in a variety of art and craft skills.

In March 2009, we moved to a newer premises in Killarney with a purpose
built workshop room which enabled us to offer a wider range of stock and
workshops. Our aim is to provide a wide range of quality products and com-
petitive prices as well as enhance and promote the learning experience of
art and crafts to all ages. All our staff are art and craft enthusiasts who are
delighted to help you find the right product or answer any question you may
have.
Challenge THEMEPhoto Inspiration!!
Our challenge for you this issue to create a project that
Is inspired by the photo below. You can let the colours,
textures or composition and shapes of the picture inspire
your work. Just let us know what inspired you and how you
reflected it in your work!
Challenge Prize!!
We will be picking two winners from all the entries to
win the prize donated by The Crafty Alley, two sets of
fabulous papersone set of 7 Gyspies Conservatory
and one set of My Minds Eye Lost and found!!

To submit your entries please email a photo of it to
craftingireland@gmail.com by the 12th September.
Please use Issue 2 Challenge submission in the subject
line. Make sure to include your name, project and blog
address in your email to us.
Photo by Timi
Konya. A tradi-
tional Irish cottage
located in the
beautiful county
of Kerry, Ireland.
68

Thank you to everyone who entered our Issue 2 challenge. There were all
fantastic entries and it was very difficult choosing our two winners. A big
congratulations goes to the winners;
Patricia OHagan Elke Eckel
We would like to say a big thank you to Gail from Teddy Bo and Co for spon-
soring our Issue 2 challenge. Both of the winners will each get a 25 voucher
to spend in the Teddy Bo store!
Our issue 2 reader give away was sponsored by Cork Art Supplies, also known
as Cards and Scrapz. The prize is a fantastic collection pack of the Hello Lus-
cious Basic Grey papers.

We gave each entry a number and used random.org to select a winner from
all the entries. The lucky winner was number 19Weenie Thomas. Enjoy the
prize Weenie!!
Thank you to everyone who entered, and make sure to flip on over to page
70 for this issues sponsored reader giveaway!
70

All you need to do is:

Become a friend of The Crafty Alley on Facebook

Leave a comment on their wall telling them that Crafting
Ireland sent you.
Do you like lace and trim?
Want to win 9 types of it? Thats over 4.5 metres!!
Enter the Reader Give Away!
Sponsored by
For the next issue we would love to see more of your work. Remem-
ber the submission themes are:

Inspired by Halloween - Show us your work inspired by this
spooky time of year!
Autumn Days - We want to see your work inspired by autumn,
use the colours and common themes of autumn, such as leaves
to create a project that reflects autumn days.

Submi ssi on deadl i ne i s 12t h Sept ember


Article submission
If you have an article or tutorial you would like to get published
please email us about it at craftingireland@gmail.com.
Make sure to check out
craftingireland.wordpress.com for more
information on future issues