no rules, just happy crafting
It’s been an exciting few weeks over here and I’m checking back in and catching up this afternoon. I’ve got two classes to tell you about but first – Mary Anne Perlmutter is the randomly drawn winner! Please email me craftwithmay at gmail. com to claim your prize!
Yesterday I took an all day class with my daughters – so wonderful! Paige Evans taught us Coptic book binding and it was a lot of fun – here are our books.
One of the questions I get a lot as a brand ambassador for Brother ScanNCut is about scanning images and what you can do/how you can do different things. When I’m doing demos or talking to folks whether hand drawn or stamps or any other image you’ve got. The #1 rule for me, is to have something with a clear line. It must be obvious what you are asking the ScanNCut to do.
For today’s example I had been stamping with a heart + floral stamp and got to thinking about how I could cut it out, and what I would do with it. I shot a short video showing the ScanNCut in action for YouTube.
I am reminded that stamping & testing things – or simply using images with clear line designs from simple coloring book images to clip art – is always a good idea! I love to test color vs black and white, cut margins, and so much more!
Remember if you are having trouble to pause, take a breath, and look at your image again. I realized my watercolor was very ‘stroke filled’ and so clearly causing havoc. Yet I was able to come up with an alternative after all. Would I have done it differently for a project? Probably. But these creative sessions of mine are meant to spark new ideas – not necessarily result in a finished project.
I am saving all three of these for possible future project inclusion. They all worked – and could all be used some place! I think my next experiment will be about sizing a general shape to fit a collage or scene without scanning. So many ideas in my head – and it’s my pleasure to share some of them here with you. Stay tuned – I’ve been crafting up a storm!
While Mardi Gras gold and bold colors seemed the obvious inspiration today, I decided instead to go for the softer, more blue side of purple hues and pair it with green colors. In this YouTube video I have walked through the coloring process if you are interested in the full tutorial. I used distress inks – one of my favorite ways to have watercolor fun simply and easily.
A few tips for a project like mine:
Soft blue-ish purple hues + green and blueish green is a classic for a reason – it’s an easy win! There are of course a lot of shades of purple and there are many color and craft project ideas. I’ll be back next month with a new idea – it’s only February but I’m loving this year of purple…
I’ve got a new class going on (it goes live this week on the 17th!) – you can find/preregister here. I’ll talk about that more next week. For today, I’ve got a gift for one of you!
In honor of Galentine/Valentine/general love for all of you lovelies – one lucky winner will get my new online class, the class kit (this is used in the “in person” class I’m teaching this weekend!), love stamps, and a surprise or two.
To enter and get your chance to win, just leave a comment here! I will draw a winner next week around the 19th and update this post. This is open to everyone/everywhere that it is legal to enter. If you sign up for class then win – of course I will refund you. Good luck – and happy crafting!
I am always looking for fun ways to add a handcrafted touch to my gifting – from class goodies to things for friends. With Valentine’s Day next week I thought it would be fun to get out some bright papers, my ScanNCut, and go to work!
the usual disclaimer that all ideas & opinions I share here are ALWAYS my own and 100% honest. That said, I share with you that I am indeed a paid consultant for Brother. Always upfront around here!
Back to the project – I first got the bags filled and measured approximate sizes so I would know what to cut. Now to show you how I created this I made a YouTube video.
For any occasion or reason from parties to Halloween the steps you’ll want to take are:
I recommend making extra tags, hearts, and flowers – after all you never know when you’ll need just a few for another craft project. I hope you’ve enjoyed this sweet tutorial – I’ve sure had fun making it!
