Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2016

Is it that time already?  I can't believe how the year has flown by.  It doesn't seem long ago that I almost made it on to the Graphic 45 Design Team. It was so tantalising to get to the second round and I am not sure I can stand the suspense but here I go again!!!

We have been asked for three projects and a tutorial and I interpreted that to mean 4 project in total.  Most of the projects I share have tutorials with them so three of my projects have tutorials to share how to make these pieces.  We were asked to share projects that show our strengths and I just had to make new things because I take any opportunity to design with my lovely Graphic 45 papers and as I had just had a really good tidy up of my stash I was reminded of some papers past and in particular Poppy Fields from the Magic of Oz collection which inspired me to make this canvas.

I have made hundreds of crafting tutorials all of which are on my YouTube channel and that is where I love to share my creativity.  There are a huge variety of projects to be found over there and of course this canvas comes with its very own tutorial.  Lots of techniques including how to use paper doilies to add fabulously delicate texture to your creations.

I show you how to fussy cut the poppies, to layer them up and bring them to life.  I hope this project, whilst only using two designs of paper really shows off all that Graphic 45 personality we all love so much.  This project is for fussy cutting gurus or trainee fussy cutting gurus!  I definitely recommend you sit in a comfy spot with a cup of coffee whilst you tackle this little lot!

The feathers, cut from ABC Primer's Bed Time Stories, were easy to make as you will see but they are a labour of love and the perfect way to give wings to your heart full poppies!

I would say one of my main strengths as a designer is that I am very much led by what I am using.  That is why Graphic 45 is such a joy so many beautiful papers and so many ways to combine them to create new looks.  I hope you can see that in the designs I am showing you today.

Next up is this canvas which was inspired by a couple of peacock feather papers in two different paper collections, one was from The Couture Collection and one from the Olde Curiosity Shoppe.  It was fun to combine them together to make a beautiful peacock made entirely of paper.

Different papers and an entirely different design is born….maybe I should say hatched?! ;-)

There are four different paper collections bought together to make this piece and of course the tutorial will step you through so you can make this for yourself.  I hope my tutorials showcase my love of teaching.  I want other crafters to feel that they could tackle this or even if this piece is not to their taste that there are techniques and tips shared which could be used in other crafting projects.

I used the doily technique again which makes a pretty background for my fantasy weeping willow tree created with pinched flowers and hand cut leaves.

Check out all that fussy cutting on the tail!  I think I am all feathered out for a while at least!!!

I have often wondered if I have a particular style and I have come to the conclusion that I don't and I think when it comes to Design Team work that is a huge strength because my projects are so varied.  So on to my penultimate project and tutorial with a completely different look.

Sometimes you come across a paper you like but you just can't think of anything to use it for and this one was that for me.  I liked the colours and the cute flying pigs and the fact that it reminded me of the crows in the film Dumbo that sing If I see and Elephant Fly!

But suddenly I had an idea and this Art Journal page was inspired by my son and a sheet or two of Pigs Might Fly paper from the Olde Curiosity Shoppe collection!  I will explain more in the tutorial!

It is fun to look at the imagery in all the Graphic 45 collections to see how you can create settings for them.  Wouldn't our skies be fun if this little scene came to life?!

One of my all time favourite papers is Calico Kids from the ABC Primer collection.  Tiny strips of it make such beautiful borders which is the perfect spot for a bit of doodle embelishment!

It was fun to create this fantasy sky for my cute flying pigs to play in and although this is a humerous page it has meaning too.  As I make my tutorial I always share what I was thinking as I designed each piece and highlight how the viewer could make the elements of a project work for them even if they didn't like the final piece.  I see that as a strength, teach technique and the process of creativity and you will inspire creativity in others.

Last but definitely not least my final piece showcases my love of creating 3 dimensional pieces from scratch and the new to my collection Graphic 45 Cityscapes paper collection!  I have made clocks and pyramids and cakes and all sorts of things and they are always enhanced by using Graphic 45 to construct and decorate!  This is still a prototype as there are a couple of design faults I need to iron out but they don't show on camera ;-)

I love to design functional pieces that look great.  I hope you agree that this is both.  I designed it to sit on your desk looking like a pretty post box and then spin it round and……..

…..Voila!  Ribbons at your fingertips!  There is no tutorial for this one as it will one day be an online workshop….once I iron out those little wrinkles ;-)

I hope you can see how much I enjoy working with Graphic 45 and that you can see what my design strengths are.  I am keeping everything crossed that this time I might make it through!  Wish me luck everyone!

Thank you for popping by!

Helen
X

PS Here are the links to previous Auditions:

http://acraftproject.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/graphic-45-design-team-audition-2015.html

http://acraftproject.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/graphic-45-design-team-audition-2015.html

http://acraftproject.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/graphic-45-design-team-2014-audition.html

http://acraftproject.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/graphic-45-design-team-2013-audition.html

A Little Bit More Graphic 45!

Hi Everyone

Another tutorial aimed at helping you think about using up those pretty paper scraps.  Lots of hints and tips as I show you how to make this card using fabulous Graphic 45 scraps!

Mixing and matching old collections with new for this card and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  It is the thing I love most about Graphic 45 papers they are so versatile and so interchangeable that you can come up with unique looks time after time.

Remember to make the inside of your card as beautiful as the outside!

Here is the tutorial with lots of hints and tips along the way to help you make the most of your paper scraps whether they be Graphic 45 or anything else.

The sky is the beautifully blue today - still chilly but spring is knocking on the door here in the UK.  Thank you for popping by X

A Little Bit of Graphic 45

Hi everyone

As you may know I love Graphic 45 and have a habit of keeping every last scrap!  So as I had a recent tidy up putting all the scraps neat and tidy in their collections I felt inspired to create!

I will be sharing a couple of tutorials over the coming days to help you get the most of those beautiful scraps!  I have told myself if I use some up I can buy more!!!!  Sounds like a plan ;-)

This tutorial shows you how to use those journaling cards that come in the Graphic 45 paper pads or the ephemera kits to turn them into frames for you cards.  The tutorial is all about seeing how I did it and then using the same principles for the scraps you have.  This card was mainly using the Couture collection with a tiny bit of something else!

As you can see we can make the inside look as lovely as the outside.

I think this could also be an outside too!!!!  Hope you enjoy the tutorial.  

Don't forget to subscribe if you want to be the first to know when I post new projects.  Thank you for popping by X

12 Journals of 2016 - February

Hi Everyone

I can't believe I taped this tutorial ages ago and am only just remembering to post about it now!  I almost missed the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016 challenge!  Better late than never though!

Tim mixed two different techniques for this months tag and it was fun revisiting embossing with texture paste and mono printing with your stencils.

As you may know I am making Journal pages based on Tim's monthly tags this year and I can't wait to see how the journal builds as the months go by.  So this months page looks like this:

One of Tim's techniques was all about creating texture with embossing paste and embossing powder and that is what lead me to make all the hearts with all the different textures.  You will see from the tutorial how I started my journey and how the ideas progressed to create the final page.

Each month I will also take inspiration from something that month brings to mind - this month of course it is all about romance and valentines!  I wrote a poem to my hubby who I have been sharing Valentines day with for over 30 years now.

Some months I may be inspired by something that has happened in that month and I will create a tag to document that and on the reverse there is, of course, a photo of Tim's tag that inspired the page in the first place.

I really hope that I inspire you to play along with everyone over at Tim's blog and to remember you don't have to create tags!

If you click on the 12 Journals of 2016 category in my Labels list on the left-hand sidebar you will see all the other pages as we make our way through the year.

'Till next time enjoy your creativity and thank you for popping by X

Imagine That!

Hi everyone

Please visit me over on the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® blog for another of my projects as part of this seasons Guest Design Team.  I am having a wonderful time and have made new crafting friends and have been using lots of new products that I am in love with!  So much mixed media fun to be had mixing and matching my products to achieve different looks as you will see in this tutorial.  A mixed media canvas full of layers and techniques for you to try for yourself.  Hope you like it.

Thank you for popping by X

12 Journals of 2016

Hi Everyone

Many of you have been asking where are the 12 Tag of 2015 that I missed last year.  I am afraid they are still missing in action but it is my intention to catch up with them and to share them with you.

This year I decided to play along a little differently with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2016.  Tim has decided to revisit and revitalise techniques from tags past!  I am going to take his inspiration and turn them into journal pages (I have soooooo many tags!)

So each month I will add another page to my journal and at the end of the year I will show you how to bind them all into a gorgeous journal to celebrate a year of creativity.

Here is my first page (a little late!)  Tim's tag was all about a chalkboard technique with some metal foil embossing.  Here is what his tag inspired:

Each page will have a companion tag and on one side is a photo of the original inspiration:

You can see I have styled the tag to match the journal page and the other side of the tag will have a photo that was either taken in the month of the page or is a memory photo for that particular month.

This month my eldest son, Damian, came home to visit us from Spain and I took the opportunity to take a few photos!  Gotta be done ;-)  So the page photo that the sketch was based on was taken 12 year ago and this tag photo was taken in January.  My how they have grown.  Callum was 17 on Friday…….Makes me feel old!!!

I hope you enjoy following my 12 Journals of 2016 and here is the video of how I got from Tim's inspiration to my interpretation.

Cutting Guide

Page Size - 10 1/4" x 7" scored at 5" and 5 1/4"
Tag Size - 6" x 5 1/4"

As you will see I had a ton of creative fun and that is what Tim's challenge is all about.  Follow this link to see what everyone else got up to.  I was too late to add my link but I will be on time for February!!  I should have that page up in a couple of days.

I'm off to dish up the tea now!  Hope you enjoy following this journey and thank you for popping by X

PS  Don't forget to subscribe to keep in touch with my progress.

Introducing a Brand New Concept!

Hi Everyone

So happy to be announcing a new collaboration with the lovely Bibi over at Rubber Dance Stamps.  As you know I have been on the Design Team for quite some time and have loved every minute!

Today we are launching a brand new concept and bringing you Stamps and Tutorials in one awesome package!!!

What you'll get:

* Access to 10 online classes  (video tutorials).
* Pdf with project photos, cutting guides, printables and suggest materials lists
* A whole set of rubber stamps, shipped to you from Rubber Dance

The Tutorials:

​Helen Allen (me) a teacher and designer with over 9,500 followers on her YouTube Channel. I will guide you through each of the 10 projects, giving you lots of great tips along the way.

The Stamps:

Will be sent to you from Rubber Dance. This time it is a whole set of unmounted, great quality, red rubber Mushroom Stamps.

The Concept:

​Do you often find yourself buying stamps with only one project in mind and then can't think what to do with them?!  Then this idea is just for you! Now you can buy your stamps with 10 video tutorials that give you all the inspiration you need to get the most out of your purchase!

Within this set of comprehensive tutorials there are plenty of techniques for you to try with your new Mushroom stamps: In addition to many fun and cool cards, you can make a pretty home decor plaque, Mini Note Books and even a Mixed Media Journal Page.

You can kick start your creativity when you buy your Mushroom Stamps by Rubber Dance with 10 video tutorials by Helen Allen.

This is the first of many Stamp and Tutorial packages we will be bringing you.  We really hope you enjoy purchasing in this way.  Let us know what you think in the comments down below.

Do you want to buy yours right now then please click on this link to see more photos of the projects and to make your purchase.  We look forward to crafting with you very soon!

Please share this post with your friends to help us spread the word!  Thank you…...and as usual thank you for popping by X