Arts And Crafts Training BLog

Nature is beautiful, you know. And when you take a step to blend nature with creativity, you can have an out-of-the-world experience. Have you ever wondered how nice it would be for your kids to lay hands on such? Well, I bring you an excellent idea for their next artwork. I’m sure you wouldn’t want them to miss out on this.

Seed art is a fascinating craft practiced from time immemorial. But it is a unique art, not something you come across every day. It involves artistically using seeds on an image, and it’s much fun!

The materials needed to do this are easy to come by. They include

• Wood or Masonite

• Variety of seeds

• Glue

• Toothpick

• Picture hanger.

• Drawing materials like pencil and eraser

The process:

1. Hunting for Seeds

The fun begins way before you start “seeding” the image. Hunting for seeds in the fields or forest is where the fun begins! Get into the field with your kids and get as many seeds as you can. Get seeds of different types, shapes, sizes, and colors. You can use bean seeds, sunflower seeds, bird seeds, and a host of other seeds. You and your kids can use this avenue to learn about seeds! Ensure you collect only durable seeds!

2. Drying the Seeds

Let the seeds dry in the sun! Note that you might have to break the pods of some plants to bring out their seeds. Do this and then sun-dry those seeds.

3. Drawing the Image

Now is the time to draw the image you want to seed. Let your drawing be on Masonite or wood. The older kids can do the picture or even the younger kids. In their minds, they are Michelangelo of sorts. The image can be that of an animal or anything of their choice.

4. Attach the Picture Hanger

Now, attach the picture hanger to the back of the wood. It is advised you do this before putting the seeds. If you put the seeds before attaching the hanger, the seeds might fall out when nailing the hanger to the wood or Masonite.

5. Designing the Picture

Here, you use a toothpick to apply glue on the Masonite or wood, then start placing the seeds. Place the seeds on the image from left to right. Let your kids decide the design they want and allow them to show you their artistic skills.

6. Drying the Artwork

Let the glue dry.

7. Hanging the Artwork

Hang the artwork in conspicuous places around the house and give your kids all the credit! You can even let them inscribe their initials on their artwork as pros do!

Final Thoughts

Insects love seeds and may come visiting. To prevent this, you should spray the work with non-oily insecticides before hanging it. Repeat this every few months. I’m sure you’re ready to try this out with your kids. Let’s do this!

If you’re a crafty sort of person, today I want to point you toward one of the best deals in crafting there is, which you’ll find at a website called DigitalScrapbook.com.

For a good while, scrapbooking has been a classic example of a hobby for crafty people: you work with pages, papers, little “bits and bobs” of things and items tied to memory. Maybe you’d use a button, or a movie ticket, or a piece of lace that you took from an old dress that belonged to your grandmother, you pull out your glue and tape and some beautiful pieces of paper, and you work it all together and create an art piece.

But recently, with computers and the internet and a general push by many people to downsize, get smaller, etc., scrapbooking has started to become digital, and we now have digital scrapbooking being a craft and hobby that’s on the rise. You even have a fair number of designers who are exclusively, professionally designing for scrapbookers (though by and large the market is still not big enough to really support many full time designers).

I’ve been spending a fair bit of time researching the space, hanging out on various sites. And I want to bring to everyone’s attention a particular site, DigitalScrapbook.com, and specifically their subscription, which has stood out among the options available as an incredible deal for crafters.

DigitalScrapbook.com is a community site and subscription service. The subscription service makes it a little bit of an oddball in this niche, as the norm for digital scrapbooking is stores where you purchase individual kits or bundles.

DigitalScrapbook.com, however, has gone in the direction of subscriptions, where you subscribe, and then you get an incredible amount of individual graphics, kits, and bundles to download in return.

For any subscriber, individual graphic downloads are totally unlimited (individual graphic downloads even being available are already not the norm for the digital scrapbooking community). Kit downloads start out at 5 per day, and once you become a patron (after either being subscribed for 6 full months, or having a yearly subscription), you get completely unlimited downloads.

Given that their subscriptions start at around the price of a pizza for personal use, this strikes me as a jaw-dropping good deal (it’s no wonder you’ll see them refer to themselves as the netflix of digital scrapbooking in a variety of places).

They have thousands upon thousands of graphics, so if you calculate out the price / graphic (or even price / kit), it’s borderline ridiculous. I’m actually surprised they’re not bigger than they are (there are a few things going against them – a smaller design team than most stores, and an oldish-looking site). But if you can get over a few of the less-than-perfect things connected to the site, there’s no denying it’s one of the best (if not the best) bangs for your buck for not only digital scrapbooking, but any kind of artist that uses digital graphics.

So that’s about it for today – but I wanted to make you aware of this undervalued resource on the internet for your crafting and art-related needs!

The look to enjoy Carnival goes through several stages: choosing and customizing clothes, elaborating a great make-up, and those last details of accessories, such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. How about including a beautiful carnival mask in this ending?

If you don’t want to buy a ready-made one,  make your own! There are diverse types of carnival masks for you to choose from. On the internet, you can see different models for mask designs to inspire you. 

With our tips you can prepare the mask you want easily, to spend unforgettable occasions with your loved ones. It all depends on the determination and creativity inside you!

What will you need?

The best thing about making masks for carnival is that it is an enjoyable simple process, in which you can use all the materials you want. 

You will need some essential tools:

Paperboard

Scissors

White glue

Pencil

Items for decoration

You can improvise all materials depending on your tastes, using everything you have at your disposal listening to your creativity.

Tricks to make carnival masks

Here are some tricks to get the best results :

1. Draw the shape

The first thing to keep in mind when making your own carnival mask is the shape.

Choose the shape you like more. Children’s masks can be of animals, butterflies, cartoon characters, but you can let your children’s creativity decide the best shape.

Measure your face width and length, then cut out a cardboard rectangle to frame the mask.

Before gluing or contouring the mask, it is necessary to mark the position of the eyes.

Also, to make the shape more perfect you can fold the cardboard against a corner to give it a rounded shape.

2. Coat the mask

Cover the mask with white glue and newspaper.  Gradually apply layers of newspaper with white glue on the cardboard. For best results, regard drying times from one layer to another.

3. Paint your mask

For painting your mask, you will need paints that dry quickly. We advise that you use acrylic paint or tempera. Both techniques are very convenient, can be cleaned with water, very economical, and also have a quick dry.

4. Decorate your mask

Once you have your shape done, it is the time for the fun part – decorating your mask.

After painting the base of your mask you can give it some decorative touches. Use white glue directly from the pot, make shapes, and let it dry. 

Some feathers or pearls will give a super special touch to your carnival mask.

The sparkles of sequins and glitter will make the masks even happier! Remember to shake the accessory on a sheet of newspaper or plastic to remove excess glitter.

Another nice idea is to cut some flowers, symbols, geometric shapes, stars, and other shapes into pieces of colored cardboard to be applied to the mask.

The creative development of Morris’ mastery begins with the study of architecture from George Edmund Street, which during this period had a very big name in the area. But painting absorbs the artist and soon becomes a major manifestation of his creative potential. On his journey to the art of William Morris, he directed an introduction to the works of pre-Raphaelites. An admiration for the direction that denies the conventions and academicism of English poetry and painting, prompted a special view of William Morris on aesthetics and art.

William Morris embarks on the path of reviving the harmony of nature, man and art, drawing on John Ruskin’s philosophical tracts. The statement of art historians that the objects surrounding society testify to his moral condition led Morris to heal the “crippled” generation in this regard by the industrial revolution. In his view, only handicrafts, which filled the living environment with beautiful handmade objects, can serve as leadership. Therefore, the artist’s image is transferred from the canvas to the interior: to ceramics, fabrics, wood, metal and other materials.

William Morris elevated the high rank of creator to the combined image of technologist, designer, and artist as he really was. William Morris becomes the first contemporary designer in England. He draws sketches of prints, drawing inspiration from nature, transferring decorations to wallpaper, tapestries, furniture, ceramic tiles, stained glass, and even books, combining everything into an integral interior. William Morris worked closely with Philip Speakman Webb, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal, Edward Burne-Jones and other artists and architects to create his creations.

In 1861 William Morris founded Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. for the production of home furniture and finishes. For almost a century, the company has maintained the status of Europe’s leading factory in the field of arts and crafts. Handwork, natural materials, the naturalness of composition become the three pillars on which the company’s manufacturing process rests. In addition, the company operates as a kind of school for artists and craftsmen. This helps to spread the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement and to create new creative associations led by Morris followers, including in other countries.

The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement on the art of ceramics

By that time, ceramics had been declining in Europe. Pedestal-climbing porcelain has almost completely absorbed the oldest technologies for making clay products. The decorative ceramic lining goes into oblivion, replacing unique handicrafts with impersonal stamping of porcelain and earthenware. In one way, the products get colorful décor, separating from the already prized whiteness and fragility. The deep connection and harmony of material and form, essence and artistic image were lost.

William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement revive the value of handmade ceramics. Natural material meets all the demands of the creative movement and finds a second life in its strongest artistic embodiment in English homes. Inside, artist and designer tiles reappear on fireplaces and in decoration, ceramic decors and hand-painted pots. Most of the decorative pottery for William Morris designs is by William Friend de Morgan.

Grouting is an essential material in finishing, renovation or construction work. It is used to fill joints between tiles.

Seeing old ceramic tiles in the house is troublesome. The cement between tiles, get grotesque and ugly. You probably feel this problem when receiving guests.

You may be confused about whether you want to paint it or clean it thoroughly. However, it is better to paint the cement. In fact, we have prepared some tips on what to consider when painting the cement between tiles.

Choose a color

Choose the same color as the tiles if you want to have the same effect on your floor or wall. For example, if your floor is white or beige, bet in the same shades on grouts. The cool thing is that this feature produces a sensation of amplitude

However, coloring cement with the striking color is creating beautiful and elegant colorful decorations highlighting the tile and moving away largely from traditional finishes in which the cement is generally very similar to the tiles.

Definitely, coloring cement between tiles is valid for all types of tiles as long as they have a joint that separates them from each other.

Applying paint

Floors and walls must be cleaned carefully before painting to get rid of any mildew. Wait for 30 minutes or more to start.

Utilize a very tiny hard fiber brush.

Submerge it in the paint. Subsequently, pass it carefully on the cement between tiles. It is important to be wary when applying the paint and promptly clean smudges on the tiles.

Check that the color what you wanted. If you find out that the color is not as you wish. Wait at least a full day. Then paint again to add another layer to enhance the color.

Clean the paint smudges

The tiles will most probably be smudged. Bring a clean towel or cloth and rub it over the tiles. An old sock works the same way, wear it on your hand while cleaning.

Sealing

A sealant-treated floor is simpler to keep clean. As anything falls on its surface can be removed by rubbing or sweeping easily.

The suitable sealant should be selected depending on the use and the variables, which surfaces can be exposed,

For example, the bathroom should have greater resistance to moisture, and the kitchen should have the ability to absorption of fats and oils.

Notice that you have to wait until the paint is completely dry before sealing. Then just enjoy the new, stylish, and modern look of the tiles in your home.