Arts/Crafts/DIY

[gluhen]

Out of curiousity, how many of you all on GDF engage in fine arts/crafts outside of work? Are there any knitters/screen printers/card makers among the Forum?

(I've been looking at Etsy and Craftster for a few months wondering this, as well as getting inspired to make goofy cards to sell just for the heck of it!)

[CkretAjint]

Always wanted to learn to screne print, just havent had the space or time to do so. but now that I am moving I might look into giving a few a shot!

[gluhen]

Always wanted to learn to screne print, just havent had the space or time to do so. but now that I am moving I might look into giving a few a shot!

Same here. :) I was actually looking at the Gocco printing system the other day. It's a little pricey, but very cool.

[chalsema]

I've made paper before... it's really fun and inexpensive. You can use it to make cards, draw on, etc.

[Virgo Nightingale]

I'm pretty crafty, but there's no particular craft I prefer or excel at. I've decorated plenty of those plain wooden boxes (lined the inside with felt, decoupaged paper on the outside, etc.).

[gluhen]

I'm pretty crafty, but there's no particular craft I prefer or excel at. I've decorated plenty of those plain wooden boxes (lined the inside with felt, decoupaged paper on the outside, etc.).

I have tried my hand at that. Do you search out antique stores for old photos/papers to use on the boxes? I've found cool medicine labels at an antique shop, but am still afraid to permanantly place it in a decoupage design. :o

[Virgo Nightingale]

I haven't gone out and searched for antique papers, though that is a nice idea! I've just gone to the craft store's paper section where they have those racks of scrapbooking paper. I found one that was red with old sheet music on it in black. I used it for a box for my boyfriend who's a musician (and his favorite colors are black and red).

I've also just painted the boxes off-white, sanded off the corners to make them look worn, spray-glued on a few of those fragile-looking colored leaves in a pattern on the top, then sealed the whole thing with a clear protective acrylic.

[WannaBrie]

I am extremely crafty! I do lots of arts/crafts...16th century lacemaking jewelry, colage, decopage and scherenshnitte (sp?) - german paper cutting. I also do some etching and printmaking although I havent' made anything new in that area in a while as materials are a bit pricey and I don't have access to a press anymore. I'm currently working on a website to showcase/sell some of my jewelry, colage work and etchings, etc... I never thought about using antique papers either, although I have some antique postcards and I did an print once using some antique letters I'd collected. I think I like the colage/decopage projects the most.

[MD]

I play basketball on Thursday nights and then go out to drink beer and play darts all night long. Is it crafty? Not so much ... but I just felt like sharing.

[balou]

I used to make wire people cards, note cards using old postcards and had some pen and ink drawings printed on notecards. Did the tent at the art fair thing for a couple years. Burned out. Now I just piddle around with a little bit of everything...watercolor, pastels, ink, crocheting...there aren't enough hours in the day for my hobbies. ;)

I do want to get back into the wire people cards again. I miss that. Here's what they looked like...
http://i23.tinypic.com/8ygw3q.jpg

http://i22.tinypic.com/2mzyzhd.jpg

http://i20.tinypic.com/33u3has.jpg

[urstwile]

Those are really cute, Balou! :)

[Red Kittie Kat]

I have a few hobbies:

Knitting
Crochet
Quilting
Sewing .. have made several Wedding, bridesmaid and prom dresses

I just got done crocheting a baby blanket for my new nephew .. if I can snag a pic I'll post it ;)
Wood crafts
Decoupage
Photography

[gluhen]

I am extremely crafty! I do lots of arts/crafts...16th century lacemaking jewelry, colage, decopage and scherenshnitte (sp?) - german paper cutting. I also do some etching and printmaking although I havent' made anything new in that area in a while as materials are a bit pricey and I don't have access to a press anymore. I'm currently working on a website to showcase/sell some of my jewelry, colage work and etchings, etc... I never thought about using antique papers either, although I have some antique postcards and I did an print once using some antique letters I'd collected. I think I like the colage/decopage projects the most.

Scherenschnitte sounds so cool! Do you have any pictures of your work? I'm looking into making an Esty "store" if I ever get focused enough to sell anything. All the work is done for me! ;)

I play basketball on Thursday nights and then go out to drink beer and play darts all night long. Is it crafty? Not so much ... but I just felt like sharing.

It's cool, MD. If you've got basketball playing/beer drinking/dart playing down to an art, it's still art!

I used to make wire people cards, note cards using old postcards and had some pen and ink drawings printed on notecards. Did the tent at the art fair thing for a couple years. Burned out. Now I just piddle around with a little bit of everything...watercolor, pastels, ink, crocheting...there aren't enough hours in the day for my hobbies. ;)

Great work on those cards! Craft fairs are fun, but it's understandable to be burned out after a while.

[frankster]

Hm. I think I started a thread on this a few months ago, I'll see if I can find it...

Here it is. (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26584&highlight=creative)

[budafist]

Etsy is cool. If I had the money, I'd buy stuff off there, unfortunately the shipping to NZ on that site is usually costs more than the item I want to buy and I just can't justify that!

No, I don't partake in those crafty things you speak of. I'd like to know how to knit though. If only I could download the skill from somewhere. The learning process is so tedious or maybe it's just coz in our hectic world I just want everything now, now, now! Maybe I just need a desert island, some knitting needles and a whole lot of yarn.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Maybe I just need a desert island
Don't you mean dessert island? :p

[Red Kittie Kat]

damn she beat me too it :D

[Virgo Nightingale]

Quick as a bunny I am, quick as a bunny...

[budafist]

No, I wouldn't be knitting on a dessert island. I'd be passed out due to sugar overload.

[MD]

It's cool, MD. If you've got basketball playing/beer drinking/dart playing down to an art, it's still art!

Well it's an art for about 3 games or so when i have a decent average. After years of research I have crafted a bulletproof theory. Let me drop a little science on yall.

My dart playing ability directly corresponds to the amount of beer I have ingested and is best represented by a bell curve (see below). The peak of the curve represents optimal darting ability and typically occurs between the 4th and 5th beer. Depending on outside conditions (quickness of play, number of people playing, speed of drinking etc.) optimal darting ability can last for as many as 4 full games of cricket. Sometime between the 8th and 9th beer is when we begin our decent back to mediocrity. Once the decent has begun there is no turning back. Occasionally a 5 or 6 mark round can be achieved by sheer luck ... but more often than not you are hitting triple 1's while still attempting to close out 20's into the 4th round

http://sinequanon.spleenville.com/archives/images/bell%20curve.gif

[Red Kittie Kat]

It all makes perfect sense now :D

[frankster]

MD, I play pool with the same alchohol/skill distribution.;) This has been confirmed by independent adjudicators.

The latest crafty project was a birthday present for my now 3 year old. Do any of you remember fuzzy felts from when you were kids? You know, the felt shapes that friction held to a felt board? Well, I masked off photos of all her little freinds from preschool, so that just thier heads were showing and then drew on childish cartoon bodies. Printed it out onto tshirt transfer paper and ironed it onto white felt. Cut them out and made a felt back board for them to go on. Both kids have been having a lot of fun with it so far. Here are a couple of pics...

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6052/fuzzyfeltqp6.jpg

At the moment I'm doing a pen and coloured pencil drawing/poster of the kid's likes and dislikes at this age (food/toys/music/animals/books etc), so they will have a little artistic diary of themselves when they are older. I'll post it when I'm done (probably another week because it's at the bottom of the priority pile, just under sleep!)

[urstwile]

Frankster, I love the felt board!

[budafist]

Felt board is cool!

[Red Kittie Kat]

aww how sweet! I love felt boards like that .. what a great job :)

I used to have one when I was young with childhood story characters ... I had so much fun with it .... Oh and colorforms ..I loved colorforms :D

[frankster]

What are colourforms? :confused:

[Virgo Nightingale]

They're essentially the same concept as the felts, except with vinyl. You could stick them on windows or any other smooth surface.

clicky. (http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=13236&engine=adwords%214397&keyword=%28colorforms%29&match_type=&gclid=CPWosfWxhY8CFSasGgodpxLN3Q)

[urstwile]

I loved Colorforms! :)

[Red Kittie Kat]

Ooh they were fun .. they are vinyl cutouts that would stick from static cling to a coated board and you would move them around dress them up .. make all sorts of scenes.

They looked like this:

http://www.his-forever.com/colorforms.jpg


They came in Barbie, dress up dolls, batman, cartoon characters .. I had tons when I was a little girl :)

[frankster]

They sound like fun. We never had those as kids. Sticking things on windows sounds fun. WHich reminds me, I must cut out some bat shapes and spider shapes!:)

[Red Kittie Kat]

another pic


http://www.geocities.com/area51/rampart/7498/colorforms.jpg

[Tea]

Hey...that's me! I loved colorforms. They still sell them and I almost bought a set at the Walker Art Center. They were my start in art.

Frankster...I love the felt board. What a great idea!

I do way too many things. Still do prints, bead xmas ornaments, book arts, and paint. The first one is a wood engraving. The second is a linoleum block print.
I have a couple of block prints I can post.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Who_Cares/Mom/kitchenaidmixer.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Who_Cares/Mom/youandmecoffeeprint.gif

[urstwile]

Those are cool, Tea. :)

I wish I had the patience to be crafty, I lose patience really quickly. :(

[Red Kittie Kat]

Oooh I used to do those linoleum blocks ... but mine were not nearly as good as yours lol ... I'm no good at sculpting and carving lol

[budafist]

ooOOOooo that reminds me that one day, I'd like to get back into etching. The kind when you scratch onto a sheet of card, rub ink into the cracks, rub it off again and then make a print onto wet paper.

[Red Kittie Kat]

Even now for my nieces I buy the black scratch boards .. they love them ;)

I find I am always buying them crafty things to play with vs electronics .. I guess I'm old fashioned ;)

[frankster]

ooOOOooo that reminds me that one day, I'd like to get back into etching. The kind when you scratch onto a sheet of card, rub ink into the cracks, rub it off again and then make a print onto wet paper.

Works well with a sheet of perspex too. I did one of Conwy Castle like that. Can't post a picture of it though, as I gave it away and it's back in the homeland.:o

[budafist]

Oh my goodness. I am such tard. Frankster, I meant to say plastic or perspex. I wasn't thinking. Never tried scratching on card. It's all lies!!! Thanks for not shaming me and pointing out that you probably can't do it with card.

[morea]

I loved Colorforms! :)

me too.

A bit of GDF trivia: colorforms were the inspiration for GDF Photoshop parties. :D

[Tea]

Cool Morea.

I've done etchings in zinc and copper plates, plexiglass, but the the hey what the heck is perspex?

[gluhen]

Colorforms! Did anyone get into the art of Shrinkydinks?! My mom never bought them, so I never made any. But you can get the materials to make them at craft stores now. My dreams can be fulfilled!

I've only taken one printmaking class in school. It was called digital printmaking. It was so fun. If it didn't require a vacuum-sealed light box and silicon plates and presses, I'd do it all the time. Here's a link to the "final" made for that class:

http://gluhen.deviantart.com/art/Her-Tree-of-Life-1719816

[morea]

We did those when I was a kid. We made our own out of something... not the ones you could get at the store.

Nice print :)

[frankster]

I'm guessing that plexiglass is either the same or a similar plastic to perspex and probably just a function of the great english/american language barrier that we have to contend with here at the GDF. :D

[budafist]

what the heck is perspex?

Acrylic glass:
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or poly (methyl 2-methylpropanoate) is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate. This thermoplastic and transparent plastic is sold by the tradenames Plexiglas, Limacryl, R-Cast, Perspex, Plazcryl, Acrylex, Acrylite, Acrylplast, Altuglas, Polycast and Lucite and is commonly called acrylic glass or simply acrylic.

Same thing!

[Virgo Nightingale]

I didn't realize that plexiglas and lucite were actually the same thing.... interesting...

[budafist]

I didn't realize that plexiglas and lucite were actually the same thing.... interesting...

I don't use those terms so it doesn't change things too much for me. How does it change the world of Virgo?

[AlexNJ210]

Always wanted to learn to screne print, just havent had the space or time to do so. but now that I am moving I might look into giving a few a shot!

You can do really well with some basic materials right at home and its not difficult at all. You will probably really like it. Just keep some paint thinner handy because it gets messy. :)

I did a class in college on screen printing. Its fun making the stencils and patterns and playing with the colors.

[CkretAjint]

Any helpful sites you know of Alex? I am really interested in taking a stab at this myself!

[AlexNJ210]

http://screenprinting.tribe.net/
http://www.printmojo.com/screenprinting101.php
http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/

that should get you started. There are so many things you can do with screen printing.

[CkretAjint]

Alex your my hero! xoxox, haha

[AlexNJ210]

xoxoxo??.....................i thought you were a guy, unless you are an italian immigrant or something lol.

Uh, you're welcome......i think.

[CkretAjint]

I am a guy.... can't a guy show another one some love? What's wrong with that??

I actually am part Italian. Italian and Norwegian! I am blonde like the Norwegians and excel in other areas like the Italians ;)

[AlexNJ210]

well, uh thanks for the love, its appreciated. And i really don't want to know about those "other areas" k thanks. Night everybody!

[frankster]

I am blonde like the Norwegians and excel in other areas like the Italians ;)

Let me guess... um, you're really good at throwing yourself on the floor in the middle of playing a soccer match and crying like you've been kicked? (jk) ;)

[Red Kittie Kat]

lmao Frankster :D

[Virgo Nightingale]

I don't use those terms so it doesn't change things too much for me. How does it change the world of Virgo?
It turns my whole world upside down actually, hence my "interesting..." comment. Things are more interesting when they're upside down. :D

[morea]

Any helpful sites you know of Alex? I am really interested in taking a stab at this myself!

http://community.livejournal.com/craftgrrl/3674467.html

[CkretAjint]

Wow Frankster that was a low blow!!!! LOL :D

Actually I will cook you a spaghetti dinner and then take my battle axe to you afterwards and pillage your village!!!!

[Red Kittie Kat]

As any good Viking would :D

[morea]

did my link to the screenprinting tutorial get lost in the spaghetti and violence? :p

[frankster]

Wow Frankster that was a low blow!!!! LOL :D

Actually I will cook you a spaghetti dinner and then take my battle axe to you afterwards and pillage your village!!!!

It's the story of my life! Men that want to wine and dine me or emarry me or whatever always end up being either fire axe or battle axe wielding concerns. I have my own fire axe now, in the GDF chapel thread, just to be on the safe side.

P.S. If you are doing photo sensetive emulsion for your screens then it is possible to expose the screens with a regular sheet of copier paper that has the image photocopied onto it and has then been slathered in oil (corn oil or something). It makes the white parts translucent and the black toner doesn't let the light through. NB, requires a nice sunny day for exposure and doesn't work with very fiddly designs and you absolutely can't use a computer print out, only a black and white photocopy will work, because of the properties of the toner.

[urstwile]

did my link to the screenprinting tutorial get lost in the spaghetti and violence? :p
Nope, I've had that one bookmarked for a long time, I can't recall how I happened on it, maybe from you? Or maybe you got it from me? I'm so confused. :confused:

[urstwile]

...and you absolutely can't use a computer print out, only a black and white photocopy will work, because of the properties of the toner.
Wouldn't it work if the computer print out was printed off of a laser? That'd be the same toner as the copier, right? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

[frankster]

Wouldn't it work if the computer print out was printed off of a laser? That'd be the same toner as the copier, right? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Hm, maybe, dunno. Never tried that. I just used very ancient photocopier prints and they worked a treat.

[budafist]

A really good black and white laser printer should do the same thing as long as 100% is thick on the page and doesn't let light through.
Unfortunately, my BW laser printer at home is a cheapy and 100% black is not solid coverage.

[Drazan]

I make chainmaille (http://mailleweavers.com/shared/DSCF0190.JPG), armor (http://mailleweavers.com/shared/jade_son_full.jpg), jewelry (http://mailleweavers.com/shared/SLRF/slrf_tent1.jpg), real costumes (http://jadeadragon.com/shared/photos/elf/115_1503C.sized.jpg), draw (http://jadeadragon.com/shared/photos/thegirl.jpg), paint (http://jadeadragon.com/shared/photos/painting.jpg), photography (http://jadeadragon.com/shared/photos/worn_bee.sized.jpg), dress as an elf (http://jadeadragon.com/shared/photos/elf/Image3a2.jpg)

:)
Jade