Tut ori al s

Gi veaways
Chal l enges
And much more!
F
r
e
e
b
i e
s
! !
St enci l l i ng wi t h
Jul i e Fei - Fan Bal zer
Paper Pumpki ns
I r el and s f i rst onl i ne craf t magazi ne. . . .
I n
s
i d
e
t h
i s
i s
s
u
e

2

WELCOME to Issue 4 of Crafting
Ireland!
Hi everyone and welcome to issue 4 of Crafting Ireland.

We have lots of fantastic projects, tutorials, reviews and give aways in this is-
sue. We are welcoming on board Felicia Thomas who will have a regular col-
umn in the magazine creating fantastic mini album tutorials for us all. Her mini
albums are really amazing and we are sure you will love her column.

Our other exciting news is that we will be attending the Great Big Craft Ex-
travaganza in Athlone. This fantastic event is running on the 30th of Septem-
ber to the 2nd of October. All the shop times, classes, shops and demos that
are happening at the weekend can be found on their website.

We will be there on the Saturday and Sunday of the show. We will be running
some challenges over the weekend with some great goodies up for grabs!


Submit your work, find out more at
Craftingireland.wordpress.com
It would be great if you are attending the show for you to
stop by and say hello!

We would love to meet all our readers and put faces to the
names and fantastic submissions and lovely feedback we are
getting from you all.

As always we want to say a big thank you to all those who have submitted,
contributed or sponsored this issue of the magazine .

Dont forget you can keep up to date with us on our BLOG and FACEBOOK
page.

Keep sending in your work, and happy crafting!!

PS: Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for an announcement on the
winners of the Spectrum Noir pens giveaway!
4

Edi t or s not e. . . . . . . . p2
Bac k t o s c hool mi ni al bum. . . . . . . . p6
St enc i l l i ng bac kgr ounds . . . . . . . . p12
Ti t l es f or s c r apbook l ayout s . . . . . . . . p18
Hal l oween mi ni al bum vi deo t ut or i al . . . . . . . . p22
Al t er ed l amps hade. . . . . . . . p24
Submi s s i ons . . . . . . . . p28
I nkt ens e pr oduc t r evi ew. . . . . . . . p34
Spooky s weet bag. . . . . . . . p42
Bat pop up c ar d. . . . . . . . p45
Cl as s es & Cr ops . . . . . . . . p48
Bac k t o bas i c s Adhes i ves . . . . . . . . p50
Wor ki ng wi t h Kr af t Gl as s i ne. . . . . . . p56
Spot l i ght on. . . . . . . . p64
Pr i nt ed wal l ar t . . . . . . . . p68
Hal l oween f r ame. . . . . . . . p74
Spooky Hal l oween car d. . . . . . . . p76
Hal l oween al t er ed not ebook. . . . . . . . p78
Paper pumpki ns . . . . . . . . p80
Feat ur ed webs i t e. . . . . . . . p83
Chal l enge. . . . . . . . p88
Chal l enge wi nner s . . . . . . . . p90
Reader gi veaway. . . . . . . . p92
6

We would like to introduce a new contributor to Craft-
ing IrelandFelicia Thomas. Felicia is a crafter based in
Killarney, Co.Kerry.

She is just fantastic at making mini albums, journaling, altered art and much
more. Felicia is going to have a column in every issue where she will share
her talents with us and show you how to create some amazing things. You
can see more of Felicias work at her websitehttp://www.scrapzville.com

This mini album is easy to make and can be adapted for children starting
school right through to college.

You will need:
6 Toilet Paper (TP) tubes (3 x 4)
Patterned paper or cardstock of your choice, cut into 6 x 4 to cover
the tubes and cut to cover your chipboard on both sides.
You will also need a piece 6 x 4 fold this in half length ways for your
spine
And 2 pieces cut to 3 x 7
2 Chipboard covers (approx 4 x 6 )
Ribbon 16 long
6 tags
Ribbons, fibres and embellishments
Your favourite adhesive,
Scoring tool, bone folder and usual crafting tools.

I used TP tubes for the inside and baby flash cards for
Felicia Thomas
the covers I found these in Tesco for
1.99 (for a box of 16)
and I used a zigzag binding to hold it to-
gether.

Step 1
Flatten your TP tubes using your bone
folder (dont iron
them I tried it not
good!) and trim them all to 4 in length. Next cover
them with your chosen paper, If you cut them open
you can fold over the edge to make a neat open-
ing. Cover all 6 of your tubes.

Step 2
Next take some light
grade sandpaper and
sand the edges of
your flashcards, this will give you a fresh
surface for inking your edges and make
your adhesive more effective. I used Tim
Holtz Broken China Distress Ink for the
edges, then cover both sides of each
chipboard.

Step 3
Take the piece of cardstock
that you have folded for the
spine (it now measures 6
x 2) and score it in from
each side crease these well
with your bone folder.. Ad-
here this to the inside of
each cover , lining up your
score lines with the edges .
Felicia Thomas
8

Then using a ruler to make sure its
straight add a some ribbon across
the whole book, I used redline tape
for this. This is your closure for the
album.








Step 4
To make the binding take your 3 x
7 piece of card and score this
across the short side at every


Glue your first tube into
valley 2 (the downward V)
the next into
valley 4 and
last into
valley 6



The 3 tubes now
open like a little
book make an-
other book with
the other 3 tubes.




Step 5
To attach the tubes to the cover, ad-
here the first and last score line
to the score lines of the spine.

Repeat this with the second set of
tubes space them evenly each
side of the ribbon.

Step 6
Now its simply a case of decorating your
cover and adding tags and photo mats! For
Junior school my tag prompts are things
like : who I sat next to, and my teacher is.

But for college students you could add reci-
pes (so they dont starve) and bus timetables
(so they can get home!).

10



The mini album complete and
ready to fill in!

You can embellish in any way you
want. Felicia has used some cute
little buttons and a cute pencil
charmjust perfect!!










Inside of the mini album.



We hope you all look forward to
Felicias regular column, we cer-
tainly do!!
12

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer of Balzer Designs is
a self-taught mixed media collage art-
ist and avid scrapbooker. She has been
making art for as long as she can re-
member and loves the process of cre-
ating.

She says; I believe that mistakes are creative
opportunities and hold fast to the notion that
enjoyment of the process is just as important as
the finished product! I like to think outside of
the box experimenting with paper, paint, and
fabric always trying to find a way to push my
supplies further and see all the possibilities.

Stencils
Stencils are a quick and easy way to add strong
design to any scrapbook page! One of my fa-
vorite ways to use stencils is to create beautiful backgrounds for my layouts.

Stencils work with a variety of wet and dry media so theres never the need
to run out and buy something newunless you want to!

Today Im using the Copic Airbrush
system and four Copic Sketch Mark-
ers (RV04, RV09, R27, and 110) to ap-
ply color through my stencils. You
could also use mists, acrylic paint, or
ink pads.

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Step 1
One after another, spray the two
pinks and the red marker through
the Balzer Designs Wonky Circles
stencil in 6x6.

To continue the pattern, simply
lift the stencil and move it so that
it overlaps one row of the previ-
ous placement.

Tip: I like to hold the stencil in
place with my hand when I air-
brush, but you can also use low
-tack tape to keep it in place.
Dont feel that you have to fill
the entire area of the stencil.
Allow some of the circles to be
only partially defined.



For more intensity of color, as in the bright red area, simply spray several
coats.

Step 2
Use scrap paper to mask off
one strand of the Balzer De-
signs 12x12 Herringbone
Stencil. Place it so that it
comes into the center of the
layout and airbrush with a
black marker.



14

Again, for intensity of color, airbrush
several coats.


Step 3
Repeat the same process, but this
time with the Balzer Designs 6x6
Herringbone Stencil. Place the sten-
cil just above the previous Herring-
bone mark.

You may find that the airbrush is
slightly sticky to the touch, but it
will not come off on your hands.

Step 4
Move the Balzer Designs 6x6 Her-
ringbone stencil to the left edge of
your layout and airbrush a continu-
ous line of herringbones down the side of
your layout.

To get a continuous line simply overlap
the edge of the stencil over the previ-
ously stenciled image (as pictured) and
continue on your way!


This is what your background looks
like when youre done airbrushing.

Step 5
Grab a wet paintbrush and some
black watercolor pain and finish
off your background with some
black watercolor splats.

Simply hold the paintbrush over
the layout and gently tap it with
your finger. The more water in
your brush, the better the re-
sults.


Step 6
Once the watercolor paint has
dried, add your photos to the
left side of the layout, as seen
here. My photos were taken
with the Hipstamatic app in
my iphone and printed at
2.75x2.75.




Step 7
Add your title and subtitle
and then all thats left is
your journaling!

Stencils make artsy pages
quick and easy with great
design!
16


































If youre interested in learning more about stencils Im currently offering a
free online class called Stencil 101. Please visit my blog
www.balzerdesigns.typepad.com for more information.

We say....
Julie has been published in many magazines including Cloth Paper Scissors,
Quilting Arts Gifts, Quilt Scene (upcoming), Creating Keepsakes, Better
Homes & Gardens Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends,
Somerset Memories, Somerset Digital, scrapbooking m.m. (Sweden), Scrap
Art Zine (Germany - upcoming), Scrapbooking & Beyond, Simple Scrapbooks,
Histories de Pages (France), books by Leisure Arts, F&W Publications, and
Quarry (upcoming), as well as multiple e-zines.

Julie is currently the co-host of Scrapbook Soup TV (PBS)
and has appeared several times on Quilting Arts TV
(PBS) and hosted the Artist to Artist segment on
Scrapbook Memories TV (PBS). She will also be appearing
on the upcoming season of Crafting at The Spotted Canary
(PBS). Julies hour-long instructional
DVD Collage Fast & Furious was released in July 2010
by Interweave.
Julie and her husband live in a tiny apartment with a big
art studio in the middle of New York City. She is a graduate of
Brown University.

You can find all the stencils Julie used in here store here...


These are the two stencils
used in the layout.



Wonky circles










Herringbone


18

As we all know we cannot have
enough alpha stickers!! If you are
like me you are always wanting to
buy more, saying: just in case I
may need this colour/shape.

Then when I have an idea in my head about a layout, I find that I dont have
the right alphas. So what to do???

I will show you a few ideas now how to make a matching title for your project
using what you already have around. You can click on all the images to see
the full sized layout.
Lets see first what we can
use to make a perfect title:
Alpha stickers
These are great to use as
they are, BUT we can alter
them, so they can comple-
ment our project. Depend-
ing on the surface you can change their colour with inks or acrylic paint.
Sometimes I like to give them a little shine; this can be done with Glossy Ac-
cents or Rock Candy Crackle Paint.
Foam & Chipboard Alphas
These are more dimensional, can be altered with paint,
crackle paints and inks. You can also use embossing
Timi Konya
powder on the chipboard alphas (dont try this on the foam
ones though) it gives a
really nice finished look.
I try to buy black and
white foam alphas, be-
cause they can be easily
changed. Even the black
alphas can be turned into
some light colours and
then I would leave the edge of the letters black, it gives a bit more dimen-
sion.
Stencils & Masks
You can easily make a title with stencils or masks, and the possibilities are
endless. Using acrylic paint, gesso, moulding paste, spray inks or just simply
markers to draw your letter through the stencils.




Die cut letters
Using die cutting machines to create titles is always fun. Depending on the
die you use, you
can make more or
less dimensional
titles. I like to use
Tim Holtz Decora-
tive Strips for my
titles.
20

When I cut the letters, I colour them with inks, using a few coordinating col-
ours. I like to get the edges well inked with a dark colour, and then cover all
the letter with Rock Candy Crackle Paint. After it dries I like to go back with a
darker colour ink again, and the ink will soak in through the crackles and it
will give a nice finish to your
titles.
Patterned paper
Many times you will find that
there is text or phrases on
your patterned paper. You
can highlight the text with a
frame to use it in your title.
Stamping
This is a very easy from of creating titles and if you want to make it more di-
mensional, a little embossing powder can help you out.

Using your own handwriting
I know many of you would say I dont like my handwriting!!! I think my hand-
writing is terrible looking sometimes, but I believe it gives a real personal
touch to your pro-
ject.
I like to write my ti-
tle with a pencil on
a piece of patterned
paper or cardstock
to match my layout.
I then draw a line
around it with black or white pen and just cut it out.

Top Tips


Make your title dimensional!

Use foam dots, liquid scrap dots or hot glue to lift your letters

Always plan your title with the layout!
It is good to plan things a little ahead, good to know where your title will get
a place in the composition, so it will make a one whole piece and not pieces
thrown on the background.

Enjoy experimenting with your titles of your layouts!!
22

We asked you all on our blog a while ago
what you would like to see more of in the
magazine. We loved all the responses and
we have taken them all on board. To that end we are going to try include a
video tutorial in every issue of the magazine. We know that seeing something
done in a video can sometimes be easier to follow than just step by step pho-
tos!
In this issue we created a Halloween themed envelope mini album. We used
the Graphic 45 Wizard of Oz papers. These papers were kindly provided by
Cardz n Scrapz. We hope you enjoy the video. If you use this tutorial to cre-
ate a mini album post a picture of your completed album to our Facebook
page!
Click on the image below to bring up the video....









Crafting Ireland
Your one-stop shop
for all your Card and
Scrapbooking needs!!

Shopping

Hot Products

Craft community
forum

Excellent customer
service

Fast delivery

The completed album!
24

I always seem to have lampshades
in my house that are not being
used. I don't know where they all
come from but I know that they
don't match my current dcor at all. So they sit in the press unused and
unloved!

I decided to use a quick method to alter a lamp-
shade to bring it in line with my dcor.

What you will need:
Lampshade
Hot glue gun
Fabric
Trim or embellishments of your choice

Step 1
Take a piece of fabric that will cover your lampshade. I cheated and cut off the
end of a leg of linen trousers . The trousers had a stain that could not be re-
moved so I figured better to use them for
something! Make sure there is enough
fabric to fold over the inside of the lamp-
shade at the top and the bottom.

Step 2
In my case I simply slid the trouser leg over
the lampshade as it is a small lamp shade I
was working with. If you are using normal
fabric you would have to glue one end of your fabric on
to the lamp shade and wrap the fabric around the shade and
Nicole Mullen
then glue down the other side. Try to make this
seam as neat as possible. You could also sew it
if you wanted.

Step 3
Fold the fabric up inside the frame and glue in
place with the hot glue. I did this by pulling the
fabric up tightly and putting some glue on the
inside of the frame and pressing the fabric in
place. I would advise using
something to press the fabric
down. I used the blunt end
of a pencil. This stops you
burning your fingers!

Work your way around the
frame this way.



Step 4
When you have the bottom done you
can move onto the top. When you get
to the top you can pull the fabric very
tight up and over the inside of the
shade and glue it in. I pleated the fab-
ric slightly along the way to add some
interest to the look of the shade.

Continue all the way around the top
until you have all the fabric glued
down. Again be careful of your fingers
with the hot glue!

26


Here is the shade completely wrapped. If
you want to avoid the pleating you will have
to cut small slits into the fabric before you
fold it over and glue it down. I think the
pleating really gives the shade a lot more in-
terest though.

Step 5
I decided to use some floral trim to deco-
rate my lamp shade. My trim was white so I
used some distress ink to dye it.

To do this I put
a drop of
frayed burlap
distress ink re-
inker onto my
craft sheet
and spritzed it
with water. I
then put my floral trim into the inky
puddle and made sure all of it was wet
with the ink mixture. If you don't have a
re-inker you can swipe your ink pad di-
rectly onto the craft mat and spray this
with water. This will work just as well
but may take a bit longer, as you may
have to keep adding more ink.

Step 6
I attached my trim with hot glue again.
Make sure to press the trim into the
glue with something other than your
finger so you avoid hot glue burns. (Ahem, speaking
from experience there!!)

Top Tip:
You can embellish the shade with whatever you want.
Just be careful with what you use, both in embellishments
and fabric and make sure they are not highly flammable Items!

I also used a lower wattage bulb in my shade just to be on the safe side!

I love how the lamp turned out in my hall....

Autumn Days
28
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 three. The themes for this is-
sue were :
Autumn Days
Inspired by Halloween
Pam Blood
craftcreationsby-
pam.blogspot.com
Aideen Fallon
www.piecesbyaideen.com
Stacy Morgan
twinshappy.blogspot.com
Geraldine Reardon
littlesnippets-
blog.blogspot.com
Weenie Thomas
Dublin, Ireland
Inspired by Halloween
Pam Blood
craftcreationsby-
pam.blogspot.com
Geraldine Reardon
littlesnippetsblog.blogspot.com
32
Issue 5 Submission themes
For issue 5 we have two themes for you to work with. Again you
can submit cards, layouts or altered art projects. The themes
are:

The Night Before Christmas
Winter Wonderland

Please email your entries along with your name and blog address to
craftingireland@gmail.com by the 17th October

Remember your submitted projects can not have
been published online or in any other publication
before it is featured with us. You can find
guidelines for submitting your work on our blog
Emma Bourke paperaddict-emma.blogspot.com
34

Inktense blocks are new art medium from Derwent. They are inks in a solid
block form and they are so versatile to use.
They are water-soluble but once dry perma-
nent. You can use them on many porous
surfaces. I will go through a few of them in
this article.

They come in singles, 12 piece tins or 24
piece tins. There are some accessories that
you can buy with the blocks: grippers so
your fingers can stay clean and
GratenShake to mix your colours.

Direct to paper
You can start by applying the colours you
like directly onto the paper. Here I am
using some autumn colours to make a
12x12 layout. The colours may seem
too faint or light, but as soon as you
add a little water with a wet brush or a
water-brush then you will see how the
colours start to brighten up.

It is advisable to use water colour pa-
per, but I used cartridge paper
(165gsm). It takes water nicely, and
does not curl up or bubble.
Timi Konya
Inktense blocks are new art medium from Derwent. They are inks in a solid
block form and they are so versatile to use.
They are water-soluble but once dry perma-
nent. You can use them on many porous
surfaces. I will go through a few of them in
this article.

They come in singles, 12 piece tins or 24
piece tins. There are some accessories that
you can buy with the blocks: grippers so
your fingers can stay clean and
GratenShake to mix your colours.

Direct to paper
You can start by applying the colours you
like directly onto the paper. Here I am
using some autumn colours to make a
12x12 layout. The colours may seem
too faint or light, but as soon as you
add a little water with a wet brush or a
water-brush then you will see how the
colours start to brighten up.

It is advisable to use water colour pa-
per, but I used cartridge paper
(165gsm). It takes water nicely, and
does not curl up or bubble.
Stamping

I then used the Inktense blocks
with some different stamps. I
rubbed the blocks on the stamp
and spritzed it a little bit with a wa-
ter mister. You can just tap a wet
brush on it if you have no mister, it
works just as well.
Ink drips

After drying the stamped images with
a heat tool, I decided to make some
drip effects on the page. I grated some
different colours of the inks directly
onto a non stick craft sheet and wa-
tered it down well. I then just brushed
the ink on the edge of my 12x12 pa-
per while holding the page vertically
and just let the ink flow down the
page.
36

Stencilling
I then used one of my stencils to add more to my background. I grated some
inks into the little pot, added water and also added some Perfect Pearls. I
mixed this well and poured it into a mister and misted it all over the stencil.
Now my background is ready!!
Creating the page embellishments
Embossing
I then started to make the page ele-
ments. First I did some embossing. I
took an embossing folder and rubbed
the blocks on it and embossed my pa-
per. Then I sprayed it with some water
and waited for the colour to start to
move around on the paper. If some
places arent dark enough, then just
rub the block on the embossed paper
again. There are many possibilities with the embossing folder. It is fun to play
around a little to see what you like the best.
I tore the embossed piece of paper and coloured the edge
of it. This was easy to do, I just dipped the block into water
and applied the ink block colour directly on to the paper.
Stamping embellishments
Then I stamped with the blocks again,
but this time on some grunge paper.
The ink works perfectly on the grunge
paper. I then cut out the stamped im-
ages to use as embellishments on the
layout.
Colouring paper
I punched some paper with a bor-
der punch and coloured the paper
with the inks. This time I wanted
to make a very bright piece, so I
applied a lot of ink.

Inking Kraft Glassine Paper
To create a photo mat I used some
kraft glassine paper. First I dis-
tressed the edges and crumpled
the glassine to achieve a cracked
effect. Then I rubbed my Inktense
Blocks all across the surface. Then with a water brush I worked the colour
into the cracks.

38

Inking the Kraft Glassine paper.

Fabric Flowers
I took some muslin and tore it into
long strips. There are two ways to col-
our them. First apply the colour di-
rectly on the fabric and use the water
brush to blend the colours.
Or you can grate some of the ink blocks onto the craft sheet, water it down
and pull the fabric across the colours.







When the fabric is dry, you can
then make the flowers. To do this
cut a circle out of cardstock. Tie a
knot on the end of the fabric strip.
Put some glue in the centre of the
circle and push the knot into it. I
used hot glue, but you can cer-
tainly use fabric glue as well.
Then just twist and roll the fabric
around the centre adding little dabs of glue along the way. Be careful using
the hot glue as it is easy to burn your fingers!!
To make a leaf for the flower just fold
a strip of fabric like on the picture be-
low and glue the two ends on each
other to hold it in place.
To decorate you can add some bling
to the centre of the flower.
40


























Assemble the page and taadaaa!!










I used hot glue to adhere the elements to the background
to achieve dimensional effect.








To summarise the techniques, we used the Inktense blocks:
On paper
On fabric
On Kraft glassine
On Grunge paper
Embossed it onto the paper
Dipped in water and applied colour
Grated it to make drips and mist
Stamped with it

All this with just one art medium. Isnt it absolutely fantastic??
Where to buy the Inktense blocks:
You can purchase the Inktense blocks in sets here. Or you can buy them
singly here. You will also find all the accessories and grating tins there too.


42

Here we will show you how to make two quick projects using the freebies that
you get from Crafting Ireland in this issue.

You will need:
Paper bag
Stamp (I used Hero Arts)
White acrylic paint
Embossing ink
Clear Embossing powder
Black ink
Black felt and padding/cotton wool
4 black pipe cleaner
Crafting Ireland Freebie Digi Sentiment
Step 1
Cover the paper bag with watered down white
acrylic paint to achieve a white washed effect.
Step 2
Stamp the spider web onto the bag with em-
bossing ink, cover with embossing powder,
shake off the excess
and heat it. This will now resist the black ink.
Step 3
Cover the bag with black ink.
Distress ink is a good choice
Timi Konya
here. Blend the ink nicely, and ink the
edges darker than the rest. With a baby
wipe gently wipe the bag, the ink will
come off from the embossed areas.


Step 4
Cut a circle out of the sheet of felt. Stitch the edge with a straight stitch,
then start to pull the thread and gather the felt. Use padding or cotton
wool to put inside of your circle to form
a ball.

Step 5
You need 4 pipe cleaners to make 8 legs.
With hot glue attach the legs onto the
bottom of your ball (where the stitches
are) and wait till the glue hardens.
44

Bend and from the legs into spider legs. Cut out
some hand drawn eyes from paper and glue
them onto the spider.
Step 6
Glue the spi-
der onto the
bag as if it
was crawling
on it and also adhere the sentiment.
Step 7
Fill the bag with sweets. Fold the top over
and close it. I used tiny attacher to secure
it, but you could also just use a stapler.
Click on the
image for the
free Digital
Sentiments Download

You will need
Blank card (I used kraft colour)
White and black acrylic paint
Distress inks (black and orange)
Black cardstock (light weight)
Crafting Ireland Freebie Digi Paper
Few flowers to embellish
Step 1
White wash your card base with watered
white acrylic paint. Water down some
black paint and make some drips on the
inside of the card.
Step 2
Take a piece of paper (scrap), fold it into
half. Draw a half of a bat body shape
close to the folding. I find it is the easiest
46

way to get a symmetrical shape. Cut it out and use it
as a
tem-
plate.
Trace it
onto
black
card-
stock six
times
and cut them all out.

Below is the bat body template and the cut out
bodies











Step 3
Fold all the bat bodies into half and glue them to each other. Take another
piece of black paper and draw a shape of a bat wing. Cut out two of this
shape.







Step 4
Cut a piece of the Freebie
Digi Paper and ink the
edges.
I inked first with an orange
colour, going more into
the
paper and then with the
back touching only
the edges.
It is now two-toned.
Glue the patterned
paper on the front
of the card.
Glue the wings in-
side the card, one
wing on each side
of the fold.
Glue the body of
the bat in the mid-
dle, right on to the
fold line.
Embellish the front with a few flowers and glue the sentiment too.


48

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 KilcooleSunday 25th September at 10am to 6pm
http://cardarteventskilcoole.blogspot.com/

Crafty Angels
Children's Cardmaking Class, held in store on the 1st. October from 2-4pm.
Adults cardmaking workshop is on the 15th & 16th October, also held in
store, time 12 - 4pm.
All places must be booked in advance. Crafty Angels, Cutlery Rd, Newbridge,
Co. Kildare. Ph : 045-446678. http://www.craftyangels.ie

Scrapbook Store
More info can be found on the website http://www.thescrapbookstore.ie/
workshops.php or contact Annamarie at workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie

Jackies Cardmaking Workshops
http://jackiesworkshops.blogspot.com/

Crafty Alley
24th SeptemberCard making with Claire Buswell
Weaving workshop with Carol Feller
Oil Painting with Tina Reed
www.craftyalley.com

Scrap n Yap
Check out Scrap n Yap on Facebook for more information.


49

An Siopa Bu
Check out An Siopa Buis website for all class information.

Inspiring Ideas
Free Instore Demonstrations ongoing from 11am 4pm
October 1
st
World Card Making Day Free card making demonstration with
Mandy Brennan
October 8
th
Quick & Easy Porcelain Painting
October 15
th
Tips & techniques for Fiskars cutting tools
October 22
nd
Spooktacular Halloween crafts for children
October 29
th
Celebrate Halloween with us instore all weekend
LIKE MINDS Craft Group next meet up Thursday, October 27
th
. 630pm in the
Craft Caf.
Visit http://www.inspiringideas.com/ for more information.

Archangels craft club
Archangels Craft Club - we meet in St. Gabriels Clontarf every Tuesday 7.30 -
9.30pm and do all sorts of crafts - knitting, cross stitch, card making, beading
and scrapping etc.

We are in our 9th year - all very informal but its a place to craft with like
minded individuals. We are always on the lookout for demonstrators and en-
joy the social aspect of crafting (along with the tea and cake!) If anyone is in-
terested in coming along to join us, or maybe there is another club out there
who would be interested in doing a Christmas craft day together please do
contact me.

Contact Christine at christinehelenokelly@gmail.com or on 0857151759

If you would like your classes or crops listed here
free of charge email the
details to
craftingireland@gmail.com

50

In this series we would like to go back to square
one and start with the basics that you need for pa-
per crafting and their various uses.

Adhesives are the must haves in our stash but sometimes it can be confusing
which one to use, when or how to use them. I have made many mistakes and
needed to restart a project just because I used the wrong type of adhesive. Has
this ever happened to you?

So where do we start?

There are a few important things that we need to keep in mind when choosing
an adhesive:

1. Acid free adhesives - If you use lots of photos on your projects, then you
may want to know if your adhesive is acid free or not. Why is this important?
Acidic products can damage your photos over time.

2. Dry clear adhesives Adhesives that dry white are not the most suitable
ones for craft projects, because even a little drop of you glue showing can
change the overall look of your project. We all know that the things we make
are homemade, but still we all want them to have a professional finish.

3. Permanent or repositionable adhesives - Some types of adhesives have a
permanent and also repositionable version. It depends on you as to which you
want to choose. Repositionable adhesives are better for those
crafters who like to see the composition first and then
make the changes if theres any needed. If you want to
change something on your project which is glued down
with permanent glue you have to be prepared that there
Timi Konya
Timi Konya
may be tearing and ripping involved when removing an
element.

4. Humidity - Crafters in countries all over the world can
experience differences in usage of adhesives. Some types
of glues work differently in less humid areas and others
differently where the humidity is high. It is for the individual
crafter to find out what adhesives work the best in the area they live.

Now lets have a look at the different glues and adhesives.
Tapes and tape runners
In this category you will find all the double sided tapes that are suitable for
sticking paper to paper. Regular double sided tape has quite a strong hold,
but if you want something really strong you have to buy Scor tape or red
line tape.

There are different companies producing these for example: Rangers Won-
dertape. You can use tape runner to apply double sided tapes like ATG guns
or small tape runners that are good if you are on the go.

It is important to know that these types never dry, so when you are making
a pocket in your mini, you would not want to use a tape adhesive to avoid
your tags sticking and getting damaged by the tape.







52

Glue stick
Glue sticks are well known to all crafters. They are easy to apply and work
great when you want to stick paper to paper.
They are also good for paper to chipboard when making a mini album, but be
aware that some of the glues stick will come undone after a while when the
glue dries out and hardens. It can take months or years for this to happen, but
if you want to keep something for a long time then it is better to find a
stronger glue.
Spray adhesive
Spray adhesive is a very strong adhesive and it is great to stick
many materials. In paper crafting it is often used when larger sur-
faces needed to be stuck together.
I prefer to use this when making chipboard cover mini albums.
My favourite spray adhesive is 3M Craft Mount Permanent Adhe-
sive.
Wet glues
There are many types of wet glue available for crafters. The most
common ones are PVA and white glues. These can be purchased in
almost any craft/hobby shop and they are suitable for gluing lots of
materials. It is important to know if they dry clear before you use it
on your projects.

There are lots of wet glue brands out there: Scotch Quick dry is
among crafters favourite, because it dries very quick.

Glossy accents
This is a clear, three dimensional very strong gloss medium.
It is used for gluing but also can be used to enhance
an element on your project by adding dimension.
Xyron sticker making machine
These machines are great when you want to do
your own self adhesive embellishments. It has a
cartridge in it and when you run through you
piece of paper or ribbon it will lay a coat of ad-
hesive on it and turn it into a sticker.
Glue dots
Glue dot are great when you want to stick down small embellishments like
flowers or bows. The come on a roll and you take off as many as you need.




3-D adhesives
3D adhesives give a nice dimensional effect to your project whether it is a
card or a scrapbook page. There are many types of these. The most com-
mon are foam dots/squares. They come in different sizes and colours, usu-
ally white and black, but you can find transparent ones too.
My favourite dimensional glue is called Liquid scrap dots. This is a product
made by Helmar. It is a gel like glue and suitable for metal, wood, paper,
buttons and lots more. It has a long dry time, but its worth it. It dries clear
and gives a great dimensional effect.
Very similar to Liquid Scrap dots
is Silicone glue. It is a strong and
flexible glue perfect for use in
decoupage and other paper craft
projects.

54

Multi mediums/gel mediums/Mod podge
These are great not only to stick pieces down, but also give a nice finish and
seal your project. They are perfect to use for art journaling or collage projects.
Some crafters say that when using these bubbling and curling occurs on their
project. To avoid this bubbling of the paper use thin layers of the glue and
make sure to burnish the paper down well. I personally really like Claudine
Hellmuths multi medium in matte and glossy.





Hot glue
This is a lot of crafters favourite, because it is suitable for sticking even heavier
objects. It also can work as dimensional glue. You can purchase cordless glue
guns and cool melt glue guns. These are a lot easier to
use than the traditional old hot glue gun.
Glue pens
Glue pens are pens filled with liquid glue and suitable
for sticking down very small pieces of paper or other
embellishments. They dry fairly quick and are easily ab-
sorbed in the paper. My favourite glue pen is the ZIG
Two way glue pen. Be careful and dont leave it open,
because it dries quickly and you wont be able to use it again.



Sheet adhesives
And finally there are sheets of adhesives available.
These are great for larger projects such as techniques
with Ten Seconds Studio Metal sheets. You can use
them to make your own stickers and other embellish-
ments. An example of this adhesive is Wonder tape
from Ranger.

In this article I showed you some types of adhesives,
but I am sure that there are many more out there. It is only the tip of the
iceberg and I am sure you can find more ideas on the World Wide Web to
use some of these must haves in your craft room!

In the next issue we will be looking at: Paper
56

Nicole Mullen
In this tutorial I am going to show you a few ways to work with kraft glassine
paper. This paper is an unusual product. So what is it? It is a coated paper that
is semi-translucent. It does look a bit like wax paper, but it is very different!

The following short tutorials will give you a few ideas on how to work with
kraft glassine.

Note
Because of the coating on glassine paper you will
find that if you try to ink directly onto it then it
tends to bead on the surface rather than be ab-
sorbed.

If you then wipe this a lot of the ink will wipe
straight off. The following tutorials will show you
how to deal with this!

Embossing kraft glassine paper

What you will need:
Kraft glassine paper
Embossing folder of your choice
Sanding block
Ink
Embellishments of your choice
Card , paper and binding to make a mini
notebook

Step 1
Cut a piece of kraft glassine to suit the size of
your card base. Put this in your embossing
folder and emboss.

Step 2
You will no-
tice that em-
bossing the
paper has broken the coating in places.
This is what we want in order to be able to
ink the paper up.

Step 3
To break the coating down even further to
make sure you get a very good coverage of
ink on it take your sanding block and lightly
sand the raised sections of your
paper.

Step 4
Now ink the raised parts of your
paper and you will find the ink
stays on it perfectly.

Step 5
Use the embossed kraft glassine
to create a card or any other pro-
ject of your desire! I have made a
mini notebook keeping the kraft
glassine as the main focus of the
cover.
58

Creating a leather effect frame using kraft glassine

What you will need
Kraft glassine paper
Ink
Picture frame
Embellishments of your choice
Adhesive & Mod Podge

Step 1
Take your frame and measure
it to work out how many
strips of kraft glassine you will
need to cover the front of it.
Then ink up the edges of your
frame.

Step 2
Take your strips of kraft
glassine and crumple
them into a ball. When
you crumple the glass-
ine you are breaking
the coating of it, and as
a result you get a
lighter colour in the
creases of the paper.
This gives a very antiqued look.


TipThe more that you crumple the paper the
smaller the cracks and creases you will get.

Step 3
Glue your wrinkled and distressed kraft glassine onto the
picture frame. It should give
an old, work cracked leather
effect.

Step 4
I put a coat of matt mod podge
over the top of the paper and
the frame to seal it all.

Step 5
Embellish as you wish and en-
joy!












I embellished my frame with
some prima chipboard stickers
and some floral trim that I inked
with distress ink to match my
frame.
60

Kraft resist paper

One of the best things about kraft glassine paper is the fact that you can make
your own kraft resist paper with it. This allows you to clear emboss patterns
onto the paper and have these sections resist inking. You can buy packs of
ready made kraft resist paper, but it is nice to be able to make your own to
suit projects.

What you will need
Kraft glassine paper
Embossing ink
Clear embossing powder
Heat gun
Embellishments of your choice
Card and adhesive

Step 1
Stamp your chosen image onto
the kraft glassine paper with the
embossing ink and cover it with
clear embossing powder. Set the
embossing powder with your heat
gun as normal.


Tip: When you heat the glassine
paper you will see it get very
shiny, almost like it is wet or
melting. What is happening here is the coating is coming to the surface of
the paper. As soon as you stop heating it will return to normal.

Step 2
Repeat stamp to create your pattern on the paper.


Step 3
Ink over your
kraft paper.

Where the ink
goes over the
embossed sections all
you need to do is wipe the


excess ink off and it will reveal the
untouched kraft underneath it.






Step 4
Use your custom kraft resist paper
on a project of your choice. I created
a card. I think the emboss resist
contrasts nicely with the inked pa-
per.
62

Printing on Kraft Glassine paper

Printing on kraft glassine paper gives a fantastic old and vintage look to any
images used on it.

What you need:
Kraft Glassine paper
An image
A ordinary household ink jet printer

When you print the image you need to be careful taking the paper out of the
printer as the ink will still be wet and will smear if you touch it. To set the im-
age all you need to do is heat it
for a few seconds until you see
the glassine get wet looking.

This will now lock the image
into the glassine permanently.

Tip: If you stamp on kraft
glassine paper you will need
to make sure to heat the
stamped image just like above
to dry the ink and set it into
the coating.

The image I used is a fantastic
vintage wedding photo from
The Graphics Fairy.






Your image will not print out as clear and sharply as it will
on white paper or photo paper. This all adds to the vintage
charm however!

Here is the printed glassine paper held up to a window to
show you just how translucent it is....




















Because the paper is so translucent you can layer the image over patterned
papers or stamped images or text. You can even wrinkle it to make it look
even more distressed and aged.

Conclusion
I hope these short tutorials gave you an idea of how to use this fantastic and
versatile product. New and strange materials like kraft glassine can be a bit
daunting at times so I hope you now go out and give it a try and enjoy ex-
perimenting with it!!

64


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 craftingire-
land@gmail.com.
Our third issue spotlight is shining on Clare
Buswell. Here is Clare to tell us a bit about her-
self and her work....

I live in a little village in the south-west of Ireland
called Athea. (Thats in Co. Limerick.) I'm pretty
much a home bird, somewhat shy, I love spending time with my family in
our home in the countryside. If I'm not inside crafting you'll find me in the
garden pottering away.

When and how di d you get i nvol ved wi t h paper craf t i ng?
I've always been creative and playing with paper in some form or another.
Art was my favorite subject at school and painting is a hobby of mine since
early childhood. I studied graphic design at college but it was only a few
years ago after the birth of my daughter I
discovered the joys of card making.

I was intrigued by some clear stamps I
saw online, I did a little more searching
and discovered the whole world of card
making, I haven't looked back since. I dis-
covered quilling around the same time
and became hooked.

What i s your f avouri t e aspect of paper
craf t i ng?
I love the ever changing nature of card making,
discovering new techniques to try, making my
own embellishments, especially flowers. I also
love the comradery in the paper crafting commu-
nity, visiting the blogs of the many talented card
makers and getting an insight into their worlds, I
have gained a whole new group of friends.

What are t he t echni ques t hat you use
most of t he t i me?
I love distressing, sewing/stitching on paper, stamping, embossing, die-
cutting, making embellishments and quilling
when I have the time.
What are your "can' t do wi t hout "
product s?
I use a lot of seam binding, I love lace, all
types of flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts have
some fabulous ones) and of course Id be lost
without my Waltzingmouse Stamps. I always
have a good stash of patterned paper to
hand too, I love Crate Paper, Echo Park Paper,
Websters
Pages
What inspires you?
I'm inspired by lots of things, by nature, other
card maker's blogs, magazines, I LOVE Pinterest
although it's terribly addictive, it's a wonderful
inspirational source, I love to dip in! (http://
www.pinterest.com)

66

How do you descri be your
st yl e?
I'd describe my style as Shabby, I love
distressing techniques and lots of lay-
ers. Most people describe my work as
pretty, feminine, romantic and de-
tailed.

Do you bl og?
Yes, my blog is called Clares Creations
http://clare-buswell.blogspot.com/
Where can we see your work? Are you on any desi gn t eams?
Apart from my blog, I have a gallery at www.splitcoaststampers.com where
Im currently on the Dirty Dozen Design Team. Im on the Waltzingmouse
Stamps Sketch Challenge team. Im also on The Ribbon Reel design team. I
regularly design for Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine in the UK. Youll be
also be able to see some of my cards in Paper Crafts Magazine (US) in the
new year.
Have you any pl ans f or t he f ut ure?
I love Waltzingmouse Stamps and I cant imagine ever wanting to leave!
I love creating with Claires designs and the
whole team is like one big family. Im really en-
joying working with Cardmaking and Paper-
crafting magazine (UK), I love the variety of
challenges they give me.
Ive just recently started submitting to the US
magazines, its an exciting process and its
something I hope to continue with. In the fu-
ture Id love to start designing clear stamps.

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

I really like the colour combination on
this one. Red, pink and white is a col-
our combo which can be very feminine
but dynamic in the same time. I also
really like the handmade flower!



I love how Claire has
managed to make a
shabby chic Halloween
card. I love the ruffled
paper and how the dif-
ferent patterns of the pa-
pers all work so well to-
gether. The sentiment is
just the perfect touch on
top of it all!!
68

I don't know about you, but I have a bit of a penchant for buying photo
frames. I don't seem capable of taking a trip to Ikea without coming back with
yet another frame! The problem with this frame obsession is that I always
seem to take ages to find the right photo or art to go in them. So my latest so-
lution is to create my own wall art!

I am going to show you a simple technique that you can do on any home com-
puter with the most basic of programmes that you will already have installed.
You do not need to be good with computers for this tutorial, if you can follow
simple directions I can guarantee you will get great results!!

Step 1
Open Microsoft Word and type out the text for your word art. I used the song
my husband and I had our first dance to after our wedding.


You can use your wedding
vows, places you have
lived, a favourite song,
quotesanything you
want!

For my text I Justified it
on the page. This spaces it
out across the width of the
Nicole Mullen
page and makes it look much
neater. The justification button is
circled in black in the first picture.

Have fun with your text, choose a
fun font and perhaps highlight
parts of it in colour.






Step 2

Select your text and copy it. Open
Microsoft Paint and paste the text in
to the blank canvas that opens. You
then save this canvas to make it a
image you can use any time. Make
sure you take note of where you
save it to!







Step 3

Open up another blank Microsoft word document. Choose insert and
Shapes and choose a shape of your choice. I chose a heart. I am using Word
2007. If you have 2007 or 2010 this will be the same for you.

70

Tip
If you are using 2003 or a
previous version you will
have to go Insert , Picture
and then Auto Shapes.

Step 4

I drew my heart and
enlarged it to be as large as
the A4 page would take.



Step 5

Now we need to fill the shape with our text that
we turned into an image in step 1 and 2. To do
this we need to fill our shape with the image.

In 2007 and later word version you need to click
on the image and go to the Format tab. In this
tab select the Shape Fill option. In here select the Picture button. You then
browse for the
image you created earlier and select this.

You will see your image be filled with your
text!









For older versions of
word you can right
click on your drawn
shape and choose
For mat Aut o
Shape. You will then get all the options needed to fill your shape.

Step 6
Your shape will have a outline/border on it. If you like this line then you can
leave it. You may want to change the colour or remove it. Personally I like it
removed. To do this select Format and Shape Outline. You can change
the colour here or remove the line.

Again for older versions you can right click, Format Auto Shape and set the
line option to None.













72

Step 7
When you are happy with how your image looks and happy with the size of it
then you can print it out. I like to print my images on light weight card, in either
cream or white depending on the frame it is going into.

Make sure you print your image the right size for your frame. I made an A4 im-
age as I had a large A4 frame for it
to go into!


Top Tip
This tutorial can be used for other
projects too. I like to create images
like this and use them on cards for
people.

Below is a card I created for my
husband. I kept it very clean and
simple and let the image do all the
talking for my card!


74

Welcome to our Crafting on a Budget
section. Here we will be looking at how to create some Halloween decora-
tions working on a budget and using supplies you will probably have in your
Halloween Frame
This simple frame is a great quick and cheap project to make to decorate
your house at Halloween.

What you will need:
Cheap wooden picture frameI used a cheap frame from Ikea that
comes in a 3 pack at 1.99
Ink or paint in orange and black
Halloween embellishments
Paper
Halloween image (for example bat or
skeleton)

Step 1

Take your wooden frame and colour it
with your inks. I simply used a wild
honey distress ink pad and swiped it
all over the frame. I used a black soot
distress ink pad to highlight the edges
of the frame to give a more worn and
spooky look.

Nicole Mullen
Step 2

Embellish the frame. I used
some bat sequins picked up
in a euro store and a small
wooden pumpkin. You could
use anything you want.

Step 3

Choose a piece of paper you
want to use for the inside of
your frame. The paper I used is a
nice bright stripy paper that had a lot
of traditional Halloween colours in
it.

Adhere your Halloween image to this
paper. I used a bat image from the
Graphics Fairy. I just printed the im-
age and cut it out and adhered it to
the paper.
Step 4

Place your image in the
frame and its done. A
nice quick, cheap and
easy project.

A few of these grouped
together on a table top
will look fantastic for a
spooky Halloween
party!

76

This is a quick and easy tutorial to show you how to make a fun Mummy
Halloween card. This could be used as an invitation to a Halloween party,
as a thank you card for the host of a party you attended or just as a fun
greeting to a friend!

What you will need:
Card stock in black, white and orange
Oval and small circle punch or die (you can also cut it by hand)
Tissue paper
Ink
Alpha stickers or alphabet die
Adhesive

Step 1
Make a card blank out of the black card
stock. Cut an oval out of your white card-
stock. And make it about two thirds of the
height of the black card.

Step 2
Cut your tissue paper into strips. You will use these
as your mummys bandages. Wind these around
the oval of white card. I placed double sided tape
on the back of my oval in order to adhere the tis-
sue paper onto it.

Step 3
Keep wrapping the oval until it is fully covered. This
is the base for your mummy face.

Step 4
Cut a small circle out of black cardstock. Then cut this in half.
This will make the eyes of your mummy. To fix the eyes
I slipped them underneath one of the bandage
strips and glued them in place.










Step 5
I die cut the word spooky from black card
and hand cut a banner from orange card.
I inked up the edges of my banner and of
the card base I had made from the black
cardstock.




Step 6
Put all your card pieces together, and
there you have it, one spooky mummy
card!

Tip: If your tissue paper looks very
white and new then take some old
paper distress ink and lightly ink it be-
fore you cut it into strips. This will give
it a more aged look suitable for your
spooky mummy.
78

I love jotter note books, it tend to always have a number of them around my
house and in my purses. This Halloween notebook would to make a list of the
party supplies you need, or would be prefect as a party favour.

What you will need
Plain jotter notebook
Halloween paper or traditional Hal-
loween coloured papers
Adhesive
Small oval die or punch
Orange card stock
Ink and embellishments

Step 1
Cut your papers to
fit onto your notebook. I used three different colours for
mine. I used one of the colours as a decorative boarder to
hide the join between the top and bottom colour papers.

Step 2
To make a small paper pumpkin for an embellishment for
your notebook die cut three ovals . Ink the edges of each
oval to give them some
contrast. You will then
place two of the ovals
down side by side and the
third on the top of the
two.

Step 3
Glue the three ovals into
place. Cut a small piece
of green card for a stem
and then you will have a
small orange pumpkin.

These little pumpkins are great for
embellishments for all your Halloween
projects.

Step 4
Glue your small pumpkin onto the
front of your notebook and add any
other embellishments you are using. I
die cut some letters for on my note-
book. I also added some tissue tape to
cover the binding on the top of the
notebook.

Tip: Altering these little jotters are a
great way to use up your paper
scraps!


80

These paper pumpkins are very simple to make and look fantastic as Hallow-
een dcor. You can make a few in varying sizes and group them together to
make a centre piece for a table or on a mantle piece.

What you will need:
Orange paper, I used two different shades of orange
Ribbon or twine
Hole punch, I used a crop-a-dile
Ribbon or green wire to embellish

Step 1
Cut your paper into strips. I cut mine to 2cm
wide by 18cm long.

Step 2
Use your hole punch to punch a hole in each
end of the strips. The hole has to be the same
distance in from each end of the strip. On my
strips it was half a centimetre in from the end. It is very important the holes
are in the same place for the pump-
kin to work.

Step 3
Thread the twine through the strips
of paper and knot it at the end. You
can use ribbon for this step if you
prefer.

If you are using patterned paper
you must make sure that the knot
in the twine or ribbon is on the side
of the patterned paper. This will en-
sure that your pattern stays on the
outside of the pumpkin as you start
to create it.

Step 4
Start to thread the other end of the
paper strips onto the twine one by
one. Because I am using two colours paper I have laid my strips out in alter-
nating colours. Continue to thread the strips on one by one.











Step 5
Continue to thread the paper strips and fan them out as you go. When you
have threaded all the strips push them down slightly to bow them out to
form the pumpkin shape. Tie the twine when you are done.

You now need to make a stem for your pumpkin. To do this you simply need
to roll a piece of paper to form a stem. Hot glue this to the top of your
pumpkin. If you want to embellish with ribbon you can tie a ribbon around
the stem in a bow.

For my pumpkin I used the twine to tie a bow and some green wire curled to
add some interest.

82


Top Tips
In order to make the smaller pumpkin I used paper strips that were 2 centi-
metres wide by 6 centimetres long.

You can make these pumpkins using any colour papers, plain or patterned.
You can embellish the tops with ribbon,
wire stems or even cut some leaf
shapes to add to the top.

If you find that the knot under the
pumpkin causes it to sit slightly off sim-
ply make it as small as you can. And re-
member pumpkins are all different
shapes and sizes so they do not have to
be perfect!!
Welcome to this issues featured website Big Picture Classes. This review
was done by Timi Konya who has taken some of the classes on offer.

Big Picture Classes was founded by Stacy Julian in 2005 as Big Picture Scrap-
booking. It is the leading education program for scrapbooking, photography,
journaling and personal well-being. BPC focuses on to inspire anyone with a
desire to capture memories, explore their creativity and celebrate life.
BPC offers classes and workshop in a step-by-step approach, always encour-
aging participants to use their own stash rather than spending a fortune on
each class.

The cost of the classes range from FREE to $12; and the workshops from free
to $250 for a special year-long course.

BPC works with extremely talented instructors who are there for you when
you need help. These instructors include Donna Downey, Jennie Bowling,
Heidi Swapp, Claudine Hellmuth and many more.
I have attended two workshops by Claudine and it was a fantastic experience
and I feel I have learnt a lot.

How does it work?
You have to register online to be a member. Membership is free.
Browse classes, BPC offers a wide range self-paced classes and workshops.
Every class has its own description and also a supply list is available so there
wont be any surprises during the class. If you are not sure about a class you
84

can go and read what other students say about the class in the forum, which is
free for members.

Sign up for a class!
Usually you have access to class materials for long time, so you dont have to
be concerned if you are not able to keep up with the class schedule.

What I really enjoyed?
I loved the creativity of the instructors and the structure of class materials.
There were photo presentations, downloadable extras, audio files. I dont
really like to read long-long instructions; I prefer pictures and audio files. So
for me it was really a great way of expanding my knowledge on techniques.

BPC Philosophy
...Everyone is born creative. We believe that making time to connect to and
nurture your inherent creativity is essential to your health and happiness.
We're here to help you tell your story and leave your mark in fun and mean-
ingful ways. Scrapbooking is our lifebloodit gives us our strength and vitality
as a company. We recognize that there are as many creative pursuits as there
are people. For this reason, we offer top-notch online education in a variety of
fields and formats...

When you learn to value your unique perspective, your personal expression
becomes art.

Read the blog here

Click here to Browse classes

Find your favourite instructorclick
on the image to the right.



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
86

88

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 chal-
lenge. We will then publish the two winners projects in the next issue.
Our generous sponsor for this challenge is Crafty Angels
The prize for one lucky winner is this
adorable Me to You Decoupage kit!

The spotlighted designer this issue is
Clare Buswell. I am sure you will agree
with us that her work is stunning.

Her shabby chic style is so pretty and
is just adorable eye candy.

Our challenge to you is to scraplift one
of Clares cards! We have included a
picture of the card we want you to
scraplift.

How does this work we hear you ask? Scraplifting is the practice of
borrowing or taking
direct inspiration from the idea behind a layout or design
and copying or modifying it for your own layout.
Challenge themeScraplift the card below!!
You can follow the layout, use the colours as inspiration and show us your
version of Clares beautiful creation. A special thank you to Clare for allow-
ing us to use her card.

As always you can submit any type of project, cards, layouts, altered art
and so on.

Please email your submissions to
craftingireland@gmail.com by the 17th October with
Issue 4 challenge in the subject line of your email.

We look forward to seeing your entries!

90

Thank you to everyone who
entered our Issue 3 chal-
lenge. They were all fantas-
tic entries and it was very
difficult choosing our two
winners. A big congratula-
tions goes to the winners;

And the winners are....

Emma Bourke Pam Blood














The prize was sponsored by The Crafty Alley was two sets of fabulous pa-
persone set of 7 Gyspies Conservatory and one set of
My Minds Eye Lost and found!! One winner will receive
the 7 Gypsies papers and the other winner the My
Minds Eye papers.

Congratulations ladies, we will be in touch shortly!!
Our issue 3 reader give away was
sponsored by The Crafty Alley.

The prize was over 4.5 metres of beautiful lace & trim.
We numbered all the entrants and the lucky winner as
drawn by random.org is:

Number 12 Jessica Fitzhenry

Congratulations Jessica, we will be in touch!
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.

92

Do you like digital papers? Do you find your-
self buying seasonal papers to only use per-
haps one or two sheets? Digital papers are a
fantastic way around this problem. You simply
need to print one or two pages for your pro-
jects and even though it uses ink it still works
out cheaper than buying an entire paper pack!

Simply click on the image to the right to be
brought to our Photobucket site to download
the papers!

Here is a quick example of what you can do with the
papers. I created a quick autumn themed card using
the autumn sheet.
For the next issue we would love to see more of your work. Remem-
ber the submission themes are:

The Night Before Christmas
Winter Wonderland

Submi ssi on deadl i ne i s 17t h Oct ober


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