Techniques Zone 34 Items You Must Have in Your Craft Supply Arsenal Editor’s Note: Today, I want to welcome Megan, from Rappsody in Rooms. Megan does all kinds of different DIY and decorating projects on her blog, but I am always impressed with her craft projects. I asked Megan to contribute to a series called “Craft Tips and Tricks”, realizing a more seasoned crafter might have a thing or two to share with the rest of us. And, today she is helping us get ready to craft. I totally agree with Megan, nothing zaps my creative energy more than having to run to the craft store just to get a project started. I believe that everyone approaches crafting differently. When Craft Time Turns Ugly Crafting is a special time to just relax, let things go, and let the creativity flow from your fingertips. Until, uh-oh… You don’t have the supplies you need to start crafting! Suddenly, your relaxation turns into frustration and creativity comes to a crashing halt! Huffing and puffing, and a few choice words might even happen. Sound familiar? Hooray!
Collage Ideas and How to Make A Collage 1: If this is your first time I would use a page of card stock the same size as a piece of copy paper. Later on when you are confident you can upsize to canvas's or whatever you like. 2: Decide what colours you want to use for a start. I usually chose 3-4 colours as the main features. 3: Gather all your materials together and wear some old clothes. 4: The sorts of materials you need are PVA white glue, water it down 1 part glue to 1/8th Part water. 5: Start by ripping the pictures out and instead of cutting them rip them all the way around so they have lovely uneven edges. 6: I start by coating my surface with acrylic paints or Lumiere Halo paints. 7: Start ripping out small pieces of decorated papers and gluing them on the card with the pva glue. 8: Glue on your pictures and cover them with glue also. 9: Add in little pieces of fabric. 10: Now start gluing down another layer over the top. 12: Add more layers building up till you are happy with it. 14: Let everything dry.
Pearls Pearls: Very Cultured Pearls are an organic gem, created when an oyster covers a foreign object with beautiful layers of nacre. Long ago, pearls were important financial assets, comparable in price to real estate, as thousands of oysters had to be searched for only one pearl. They were rare because they were created only by chance. Today pearls are cultured by man: shell beads are placed inside an oyster and the oyster is returned to the water. The quality of pearls is judged by the orient, which is the soft iridescence caused by the refraction of light by the layers of nacre, and luster, the reflectivity and shine of the surface. Cultured pearls and natural pearls can be distinguished from imitation pearls by a very simple test. Source: International Colored Gemstone Association
Prepping the Pages of an Altered Book Journal I recently started an altered book project that will serve as a journal of my recollected childhood memories. I’m going to show you how I prep my pages and I invite you to play along with me by altering a book of your own. If you’ve never altered a book before, I promise you, it’s very easy, and more importantly, incredibly fun. This is the book I’m using. When choosing a book to alter, there are a few things I consider. I glue every two pages together to make my pages thicker. After my pages are glued, I’m ready for gesso. I’m not worried if my pages do break away from the spine. After the gesso dries, I create a simple background for my pages. After coloring the entire page with watercolor crayon, I squeeze some acrylic paint on a palette and spritz it with water to thin out the paint a little bit. I use a 3/4″ angle brush to apply the acrylic paint to the pages. This is the finished background page.
Diamond Production Map - Gem-Quality Diamond Mining Countries World Diamond Demand In 2011 the world demand for natural, unset gem-quality diamonds was about $60 billion. The United States was the largest buyer of these gemstones with a consumption of about $22 billion or 35% of total world consumption. [2] Although the United States is the largest consumer of gem quality diamonds it has no commercial mine production. The only location in the United States that currently produces gem-quality diamonds is the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas where tourists can pay a small fee to prospect and keep any diamonds that they find. What Countries Produce Gem Diamonds? Since the 1870's most of the world's gem-quality diamonds have been mined in Africa. The map illustrates that diamond production has spread to many parts of the world. The histogram at right shows the estimated 2011 calendar year production for countries that produced over 1 million carats of gem-quality diamonds. Related: How Do Diamonds Form? Gem Diamond Production Trends Botswana Russia
Glazed, Distressed Paintings I was so excited when Kirstin and Jordan of Kojo Designs asked me to be a part of their “the sincerest form of flattery” series! I love a good challenge so I’ve been keeping my eye out for something on my “wish list” that would be fun to do! I love these prints of glazed paintings from Ballard Designs and decided to make a miniature version of the beach themed one: With a few simple steps (and an eager toddler), I was able to mimic a similar glazed effect to create my own beach painting! My family spent most of the summer at Debordieu beach (near Georgetown, S.C.) when I was growing up. Here’s how to make your own! You’ll need:Acrylic craft paints (I use the 99 cent bottle ones)Art canvasNewspaper or phone book pagesMatte MediumGloss Varnish Step 1: I started with a plain gallery wrapped canvas…. ….and covered sections with a generous amount of matte medium using small sections of old phone book pages and adhered them using the excess medium. The prepared canvas looks like this: June 7, 2010
Welcome to ICA - All About Colored Gemstones Altered Bits: Free Vintage Photos, Free Medical and Anatomy Photos, Free Background Images, Free Paper Textures, Free Images, Free Backgrounds, Free Altered Art Templates (Artist Trading Card Envelope, Altars) Free images of the moment: Free Vintage Tintype #1 Free Vintage Lady Photo Free 1812 Fashion Photo Free Vintage Child Photo Free French Botanical Illustration Free Alice In Wonderland Free Lovely Little Bugs Free Aged Paper with Numerical Chart Free Frida Kahlo Photo Free Butterfly Collection Free Altered Art Stuff! Free Altered Art Templates | Free Photos & Imagery Free Altered Art Collage Sheets | Free Photoshop Textures Free Background Images Free Art Templates Here are a few arty templates to download and use as you'd like. Artist Trading Card Envelope PSD | PDF Altar Template One PSD | PDF Altar Template Two :: View example here PSD | PDF Mermaid Doll Template PDF Free Art Bits: Free Photos and Imagery Here is a small selection of various images you can download and print to use in/on your altered book, assemblage, artist trading card, altar, art journal, or any altered art project. Click on the image number to view and download full-sized version: Free (Retired) Digital Altered Art Collage Sheets