oh man. editing my video took me more time than i figured it would! ha! but IT'S HERE. IT'S HERE. IT'S FREAKING HERE. my first online class contains 4 video's (about 1,5 hour in total) of me teaching you happily how to create this mixed media canvas! (for the Dutchies: don't sweat if you don't have Paypal, just email me and you can banktransfer the money. it's that easy).
and i LOVED doing this so much. i love to teach. i love to show YOU you can be as creative as anybody else. really. START BELIEVING.
it's available in English & Dutch. at your own pace. once bought, available for you for ever. you can also join my secret REVitup girls privategroup on Facebook so we can share our ideas, art & laughter. maybe some tears too. who knows. but the group is only if you want to. no need to.
after payment you'll receive a PDF with instructions for the video's & passwords. oh, and did i mention it's available in Dutch & English. YES. teeheee. on a roll here.
on the agenda today: kids have the week off, but we'll be working our little hands off at the office. no problems, i got the troops coming in today & tomorrow, so hopefully i can sneak out somewhere. i want to finish my new webshop & blog look somewhere this week. setting goals.
life is good. let's go create.
rev
when i saw the gorgeous coasters from Yvonne from Yvestown i immediately knew her pattern would be perfect for my REVitup garland!
and maybe you would love to make one too? okay. why not. it's perfect for hanging around in your home, or in your creative studio (just claim a room, the husband will be happy to get rid of the 'stuff' ;).
here we go:
you'll need:
a few skeins of drops paris and hook size 4.5. but really. any kind of wool/cotton & the hook that matches your wool goes sweethearts.
the colors i've used: coral red, light blue, aquagreen, light grey, natural, light pink, moss green, purple, orange, yellow, light yellow, grass green, mint, salmon.
the 'line' is from natural.
i've crocheted different kind of 'flowers/hearts etc' to attach to my garland. the base is this gorgeous coaster pattern from Yvonne. you'll find a detailed description with perfect step-by-step pictures here.
i've crocheted 14 'coasters'. one of each of the colors mentioned above.
in between those lovely 'coasters' i've made up a few lovelies:
heart
chain 4
3 triple crochet into the first chain
3 double crochet into the same chain stitch
1 chain
1 triple crochet into the same chain stitch (which is becoming a center now)
1 chain
3 double crochets into the same chain stitch
3 triple crochets into the same chain stitch
small circle
chain 8 + slip stitch to create a circle
16 double crochets into the circle
2 double crochets into each dc of the first row
attach with slip stitch
smaller coaster
follow Yvonne's pattern but stop at round 3
square
row 1. chain 4, slip stitch into circle
row 2. chain 2 + 2 double crochets + chain 1, 3 double crochets + chain 1, 3 double crochets + chain 1, 3 double crochets + chain 1. slip stitch into first chain 2.
row 3. slip stitch your way to the first chain 1 space. {chain 2 + 2 double crochets + chain 2, 3 double crochets + chain 1} all in the first chain space of row 2.
{3 double crochets + chain 2 + 3 double crochets + chain 1} now repeat what's between the {} till you are at the beginning of the round and attach with a slip stitch. fasten off.
flower
row 1. chain 10 + slip stitch to form a circle.
row 2. double crochets 24 into the circle
row 3. {chain 4, skip 2 + attach to the next stitch} -> around
row 4. {single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet and attach with a slip stitch} around in every chain 4 of row 3.
once you've created all those lovelies (i have a total of 30 lovelies), you can make a large chain with a simple chain stitch. i've attached every lovelie with 20 chain stitches apart.
so. you can do this. i'm sure. let's make our homes pretty & lovely.
life is good. create some more lovelies please.
rev
it's been 3 years already since i had this genius idea of building a tree. in Sanne's room. and i finally figured out i never showed it here. that is, i THINK i didn't. with a bit of an instruction and some step-by-step pictures. horrible pictures. it has been 3 years you know. i'm more tidy now. seriously.
here we go.
what you'll need:
- 2 big pieces of MDF (wood). mine were 1 meter wide, and 1,5 meter height. but just get the size you think you need.
- lots of green (scrapbooking) papers
- lots of brown (scrapbooking) papers
- felt & fabric (*)(for the hearts :), red, white, pink (whatever colors YOU love) enough to make a gazzillion hearts (*: it's fun to use 'special' fabric, like old favorite clothes that don't fit anymore)
- embroidery thread
- doll stuffing
- scissors & glue
- one mcGyver
it all starts with a lovely sketch of what i have in mind. to explain to McGyver what i NEED.
the trunk of the tree is cut out of one mdf plate. the top (the 'leaves') are cut from the second plate. (if you look closely you'll see the line where they 'touch' eachother). so i sketch. and sketch. and sigh. and sketch. and curse. but make it exactly the way i wanted.
and then McGyver comes into the action! ofcourse i try to saw it myself, but for my McGyver only the look of me handling an electronical device gives him the creeps. hehe. so he saws. i watch. and man are those little people little or what?!
so with a lovely jig saw he creates the top of the tree (and the bottom).
how cool is that? simply create your own home decor. saves a lot of $$$ i tell ya!
now. seriously. we are changing rooms and getting rid of this carpet. hallelujah. we get light/grey 'wooden' floors and i could not be more happy. it looks so clean & nice & clean & full of space!
now get all your brown scrapbookpaper or other paper you can find and cover the bottom. i used strips of various sizes. and just glued it on the bottom half of the tree. also known as the trunk.
ahhh my old scrapbook room. it's our bedroom now. but it was so lovely to create in. when my new room is finished, i promise, i'll do a tour. all the new rooms looks delightful!
here's the trunk of the tree. ready.
ready to create some leaves? get all your greenish paper and cover the leaves / branches the way you think would be lovely.
keep moving / changing and getting it the way you want. man what an ugly room. ha.
i choose stripes.
but it just wasn't working for me. so i changed it up to circles. be free peeps. change whenever you want to change. it does not have to be perfect. NOT in a million years.
get a crazy amount of felt. see the white fabric with the small red/pink on it? that's fabric from one of Sanne's oncies (bodysuit?). i LOVED to re-use some of her babycloth that were most favorite to me. i can't get myself to giving those away. but keeping them in boxes in the attic wasn't working for me either. so working with them in my projects feels so good!
so get felt, fabric etc, and create hearts. mine are about 15 cm wide. i closed them with a simple blanket stitch (feston steek) and filled them with doll stuffing. on some i added an application. some i kept plane.
working my ass off that evening i still remember. the hearts i already made earlier. so i think you should plan at least 2 nights for the tree and a few nights (let's say 2 hearts a night) for creating the hearts. plan it. then do it.
ahhh i LOVE it when i walk outside on the sidewalk, look up and see the tree shining through her window :)
and now we are changing rooms. i asked Sanne what to do with her tree. she almost fell of her chair. what to do with it? it HAS to come into my new room mom {insert compelling eyes}. sigh. love her.
and the small dude needs 'something' too now. i've been brainstorming and had some crazy ideas. told him what i was thinking and he came up with even a better idea! awesome. i promise to take step-by-step pictures of that proces also and show you how i did it. love it that my little people come up with ideas and i can create it. with my own hands. and a bit of McGyvers.
on the agenda today: i wanted to have a REVolution day, but that's just not happening today. no fear, i'll manage to sneak it in this weak, gambling on thursday. today the office needs me because there are some big orders & even bigger clients i need to take care of. i will. i'll put on my big girl pants and play nice. today. tomorrow is an all different kind of ball game. gna.
life is good. let's make a tree.
rev
{pattern & complete step-by-step tutorial & 3 instruction video's available in my Etsystore in Dutch & Enlgish}
this was such a BIG project that i really feel kinda empty now i've finished it. the blanket was finished some time ago, so was the Dutch tutorial and the 3 Dutch instruction video's. the English translation took me a while because you know there were 19 pages (!) to translate. and i had to make 3 English instruction video's. and well, live kinda moved on also with the normal daily help-me-i-only-have-24-hours-in-a-day-stuff. but I DID IT.
you can buy the English tutorial at my Etsystore now! it's kinda magic. i promise you. my favorite crochet project ever. ever ever. ever ever ever.
on the agenda today: full office day, but luckely my sweet friend and hard worker Jacqueline will keep me company and keeps me sane. seriously. she works magic also. it's a magic day. wouldn't that be rad.
magic.
rev
picture frame: ikea. supplies: all American Crafts goodness!
White (71810) - Cardstock, Petunia's Pastries (35532) - Paper, Is it Any wonder (35556) - Fabric Paper, Goodness white (53520) - Thickers, Mixtape (61749) - Amy Tangerine Mix Tape, Wonder Raspberry (53264) - Thickers, Cherry (59520) - Pigment Ink, Aqua (27143) - Zing Opaque Finish, Orchid Bistro (35533) - Paper, Cute small (59153) - Stamp, Jared Small (59152) - Stamp. other: versamark.
get out your lovely stamps and stamp this image on some white cardstock. not too close to the edge, because we are going to stamp some more!
stamp the same image on a post-it note, make sure you stamp on top, where the sticky part is beneath. then cut the stamp out, try to cut a little bit extra around the edges (it has to be slightly bigger than your stamped image on the white cardstock).
now, put your post-it stamp on top of your stamp on the white cardstock. this is to cover it up, because we are going to make a lovely 'background'.
i choose the grid pattern stamp from the CHAP line. oh, how i love this stamp! i'm not stamping with ink, but i choose versamark and the very lovely Zing embossing powder! so, here's what you'll do: put versamark on your stamp, stamp over your image (post-it on top!), remove post it. gently scatter some of the Zing powder on top. remove the extra powder by tapping your cardstock on the side. you can put the extra powder back in the tube (just save it on some white paper, fold it a bit, and you can gently pour it back).
get out your heat gun and heat it up till the embossing powder melts. my goodness, ZING is the most beautiful embossing powder i've used. color!!
of course you can use it as a square, but i love to cut it out, so grabbed my circle punch.
see the color? wowwie! lovely nail polish too huh?!
because i wanted to make lovely hearts in the 'open' space of the stamp, i decided to stamp on patterned paper, so i can have easily the size i want. cut the heart out.
now make a lovely background from patterned paper, fabric paper, mix tape and arrange your hearts. there will be a lovely saying on it to!
rearrange till everything fits the way you want it to fit. i've used pop dots to make the stamped images 'pop' out :)
lovely.
so. create one. and tell me, what rules in your house?
life is good. love rules.
rev
ready for a lovely valentine project? just for you. or for your lover. or for your favorite kid. or for the other kid :), or your cute neighbor, or just for the sake of creating.
hello. lovely canvas. "and then there was magic love". created with all the good stuff from American Crafts!
supplies: Canvas, size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 inches). Wanderlust (35548) - Paper, Yes Peas (35549) - Paper, Come together (35547) - Paper, Get around (35561) - Paper, Is it any wonder (35556) - Fabric paper, Paper leaves (77258) - House Designer Shapes, Love struck (59151) - stamps, Mixtape (61749) - Amy Tangerine Mix Tape, Textures (59147) - stamps, Spooky night (59148) - stamps, Happy day (35600) - Paper, Joyful day (35603) - Paper, Blissful day (35605) - Paper, Pleasant day (35609) - Paper, Cute small (59153) - clear stamps, Clover Cantina (35537) - Paper, Thank you small (59149) - clear stamps, Santa baby (35482) - Paper, Glitter Buttons (85563) - Elements Buttons, Holly Jolly (35543) - Paper, Double Sided Super Sticky Red Tape (61753) - Glue, Dimensional Dots (61709) - This to That Adhesive, Silver (59526) - Pigment Ink, Rouge (59521) - Pigment Ink, Black (59500) - Pigment Ink, other: acrylic paint, spray ink, black pen.
now let's get started!! gather some lovely grey-teinted and pink teinted papers! and a canvas (any shape is ok of course, i've used a 30x40 cm (12x16 inches).
roughly cut your grey papers. don't measure. don't worry. just cut different shapes and try to cover the canvas. if you have white edges, or even open spaces: that's OK.
grab some gel medium (i've used: Studio Multi-Medium Matte from Claudine Helmuth), but you can use mod podge or any gel medium. paint a coat of the medium on your canvas. arrange your papers on it, and again brush over with the medium to seal it off.
you can see some bubbles in mine. i'm ok with bubbles. if you don't like the air: you can softly rub with your finger from the bubble to the edge to loose them. cut 12 hearts (by hand, no need to make them perfect!) from the lovely pinkish papers. and one black/white. arrange them, if the look is ok to you, set them aside for later use. if not: make new ones :). life's pretty simple.
attach some lovely Amy Tangerine tape on the bottom and paint the edges white with acrylic paint.
i also painted in between the papers white to make some lovely 'rooms'. once it's dry (a heater will help the process :), you can start embellishing your canvas! i use paint, stamps & inks to make it all lovely.
i've stamped randomly, created some paper flowers with buttons in the center, inked the edges of the canvas to make the white a bit less bright, painted with white acrylic paint around the edges of the hearts, attached the hearts, buttons and stamped clouds. when everything is dry i defined the details some more with a black pen. around the edges of the hearts. around the stamps. etc. just go ahead: GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO PLAY. that's how.
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my title is written. i used white cardstock and a black watercolor pencil. i wrote out my title. made shadows. went over it with a small pencil & water. then once dry, i cut it out by hand and attached it with pop dots on the canvas.
bam. a lovely canvas! and i'm not even a mixed media artist. i just give myself permission to play, and that's when i love creating the most!
do you want to see me in 'action'? making another canvas, but i promise, the video is worth looking (over 1100 peeps already watched it (iieeeeeek), so i guess you can give it a try :)
so go on. grab yourself some papers, paint, ink & brushes and have fun!
life is good. just give yourself permission to PLAY.
rev
so. the dude figured it was about time i crochet something for HIM. and him only. and i can't blame him. lately the little girl crow has been snatching everything up that comes out of the creative factory REVolution... and he made it loud and clear that needed to stop. ha. like only he can.
so. Ruub. here it is.
he's so happy with it. he dragged it literaly into his room and watches over it like a lion. too freaking funny.
i've used this free pattern, which is awesome. i promise you, it's very very easy. perfect step-by-step pictures so you will not go wrong. and if you do (like i did. ahum), you simply start over easily.
i bought the wool at Echt Studio (online) and it's so thick & soft & lovely. i've used Phildar Cotton and crochet hook 5.
if you follow her pattern, i've set it up with 101 chain stitches. and then i made it the length i want, about 1.5 meter, but you can go on and on and on. you can make it as wide and long you like. no limits. promise.
life is good. blanket time!
rev
