Reindeers and Elves: Handmade Cards

Well, there is a reason for my blogging absence...

Work.

Life.

Family.

and Instagram is faster and more immediate :)

Another reason is my commitment

 to making and gifting handmade this year.

No "Made in China" for me this year.

Oh,  one exception:

 I can't handmake a trampoline for the kids.

Here is a card I made tonight from

a vintage 1976 Golden Book 

 "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer"

Are you into Christmas this year?

Or maybe you just couldn't be christmarsed!

(got to love the Urban Dictionary)

Halloween Bunting Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered my halloween giveaway, Steph took it out!

Thanks too to my likers on Facebook 

and supporting me here too of course. 

Since I have been blogging etc

 I have met some great people,

 and been inspired by many more. 

so,thanks!

Spooky Halloween Bunting Giveaway

Halloween is in 13 days -spooky.

We don't have much time...

So I'll cut to the chase.

I'm giving a way some handmade

Book Bunting.

The book is vintage 1981,

"The Great Bear Scare"

There is a tag...

the giveaway is only for
Elle and Lou Facebook supporters.

So pop over, hit 'like' & this handmade bunting maybe heading your way next week. 

The competition closes on Wednesday morning at 10am and is only open to Australian and New Zealand residents.

ipad drawing lesson for students and adults

The Background:

 ipad drawing apps are plentiful.

They interest me for both my personal work and my high school teaching.

This is what I have been doing and am now teaching to my Yr 8 classes.

I use Sketch Book Express with the students- but Sketch Book Pro is worth the $1.

To Begin:

It is pretty simple to begin with a line drawing like Twiggy.

In the first lesson or two I get the students to use a specific pencil (no 4) 

and then they practice brush shortcuts.

"Just play with variation of thickness and opacity".

App + App = image development:

Filter Apps like Instagram, Camera Bag and my favourite BeFunky allow students to manipulate their saved image. Through these simple apps they make visual choices regarding cropping, saturation, frames, filters and more.

The students now have two images and are building up a portfolio.

A Step Further - Using screen shots and Layers:

Once you have a basic line drawing - you can add a layer.

Here I simply took a screen shot of a 1960s fabric and imported the photo as a new layer.

I erased parts of the fabric layer so that my 1960s woman was visible underneath.

A Third Layer- Colour:

SB Express is limited to 3 layers- SB Pro has 5 layers- much better!

So now with the hair I have added a third layer on the bottom for my colour.

 Having the drawing layer, the screen shot layer and colour layer separate is really important.

 When teaching this to a class, the students need to be aware all the time WHICH layer they are working on.

 The benefit of adding colour onto a separate layer?

Students can delete the layer if it isn't working.

So here we are - almost finished.

Once again, export the image to the photo library

 and extend the image by employing filter apps to manipulate the image. 

When teaching this is a great opportunity to have discussions

 about what is successful and why?

In the classroom- some points:

• Get the students to 'save a copy' regularly during the process as Sketch Book doesn't have this feature in built. 
• For younger classes and classes lacking confidence begin with a screen shot of an image and trace over the image on a second layer. One class I am working with began with screen shots and photos of a still life. Then they traced over these images - this engages all students extremely well, they don't fail and their confidence improves- BAM!

This is all pretty new to me and I am learning still.

What I do know is that ipads and tablets are now part of education

and the way I see it they are extremely applicable in Art.

 I love the potential, it is exciting don't you think?

It is also an addictive introduction for students into the power of digital apps and the further potential of more powerful software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

I am so interested to hear what anyone else is doing in this area.

Do you have a favourite drawing app?

What is your favourite filter app?

My user name on Instagram is elleandlou. 

Tissue BoxCover

I'm not overly emotional

 (well, you only have MY word on that one)

But when I go to the shops

 I don't by one box of tissues,

 I buy six!

 I am actually from loud sneezing, 

allergic rhinitis royalty.

 My tissue use is prolific.

Now while my nose likes to get a littler hyper,

my eyes work perfectly.

So this week I set out to create a tissue box cover

 that would mask the ugly boxes that decorate my bench tops.

I punched out some circles from origami paper

and mod-podged them randomly onto a mdf blank.

Finally, I sealed them with a few coats of Mod-Podge.

It was ridiculously easy, relaxing and I kind of like it-

 it certainly beats the cactus barcode design.

 I hope your nose is kind to you this week :)

Sharing here:
Craftionary

Intagraming jammin'

I've been doing it in private for sometime.

But recently I decided to take it public.

Instragraming jammin'

I may have a documenting dependancy!

 Where am I going?
What am I doing?
What was that?

I may never know the answers
 but I am savouring the visual sensations along the way.

So, if you are on the instagram road,

 look me up:

elleandlou

1960's Fashion Print: Creatives Book Club

Once again my Creative Book Club choice

 is a quick read.

Obviously I am not one to tackle the epic...

it may have something to do with my attention span,

but I think I'd rather put it down

 to the fact that I am a visual person.

And this book is all about the visual.

All the same it does have some short sharp paragraphs

giving a brief history, circa and name of the pattern.

Useful, interesting info.

 I love the 60's!

I spent my teenage years being a try hard mod

-embarrassing yes,

 but not as embarrassing as the 80's fashion of the time.

 Yummy colour galore.

Read it if:

• If you dig the 6o's
• Fabrics are your thing
• If you want some inspiration for pattern or colour
• You have a spare half hour

Find me on Facebook

Creative Book Club: Steal Like an Artist

My local library is a regular haunt.

Every week I go and pick up 20 new books

 for my children

and

a couple just for me.

Lately I have come across so many intriguing books,

sparking the idea that it would be a waste not to share them,

especially with the creative souls out there.

So this is the first of my Creative Book Club reads:

 (that name is so daggy but, hey, its about the books not the name) 

Steal Like an Artist

(10 Things Nobody Told you About Being Creative)

by 

Austin Kleon

Last year I realised that whilst raising children and beginning a new job
 I had neglected a big part of me :

 my need to imaginative, innovative and experimental.

I realised with sudden clarity that I just needed to 'do'.

This book gives you strategies to 'do' asserting

Don't wait until you know who you are to get started.

This is great advice, cause lets face it if we all waited the world would be a colourless place.

Being an Art teacher the fruitless quest for originality 

and post modern concepts about appropriation are nothing new.  Kleon, however, does educate how to 'steal' in the honorable way. I hope people catch on.

I won't go into the rest because this book

 is short and super easy to read.

Read it if:

• Your in a creative rut
• You're a creative wannabe
• Your a student (of life, college or uni)
• You have a spare hour

Do you have a book I should read?

Indie Designers Market- D-day

Last Saturday the skies cleared in Brissie,

 just in time for the

BrisStyle Indie Designer Markets.

I have never been part of any market before so I decided it was about time I took the plunge with my vintage eco-wares.

When I went through uni I supported myself by working in retail and the hours dragged...boy did they drag.

But having my own stall did not feel like retail at all.

I enjoyed meeting the customers and seeing old friends who made the special effort to support my stall and meeting the other stall holders of course. 

I am so inspired by their creativity, quality and processes.

As an art teacher I am intrigued to find out how resin or laser cutting or spinning is done!

Little Chrissy

Kate from Mixed Bag of Threads

I may not be buying that cottage in the Bunya mountains yet (or any time soon actually) but I feel like I am learning all the time and to me that is more valuable than money!

3 Little Kittens Bunting in a Book

The Three Little Kittens

 story has always been a favourite with me.

So when I happened upon this 1974 Golden Book publication it was destined to become "Bunting in a Book".

I did leave out the pages of the mother cat

 spanking the kittens over her knee, however tempted I was.

I can't wait to find out where this bunting is destined for-

hopefully a sweet little nursery or child's room.

I'd like to think that the new owner will end up loving this story and much as me.

  

I'll bring this bunting and other "Bunting in a Book"

 to the BrisStyle indie Designers Market 

on the 14th July in the heart of Hamilton, Brisbane.

How to make a Robot Mask

How to Make a Robot Mask Tutorial

Art teachers are always being asked to just "whip up" something for someone.

It could be to screen print t-shirts for the cross country team,

make a gigantic fly for a sketch on assembly (true story)

or in this case 12 robot masks for a drama competition.

So even though it is school holidays,

this is what I've been up to.

Begin with a generic paper mask like this one.

They cost about $1 (or less) from art stores.

Grab a pencil and mark out your areas as below.

Get a kraft knife and cut out the eyes

(be careful, your goal is

 to retain your own eyesight and all of your fingers).

With silver acrylic paint,

brush on the eyes, center head and sides of the cheeks.

Mix silver and blue paint together to paint the other areas.

Use black paint and a smaller brush

 to define the feature areas.

Use a cotton bud to dot on 'rivits'

I used off-cut stickers from Reverse Garbage

to create the central detail on the forehead or you could paint something similar.

Too easy- look and it doesn't have to be perfect.

And you could add more, or less as you desire/require.

Metropolis x 12 and now...

to tackle the astronaut helmets.

Sharing this Elle and Lou Post at
Bloom designs
My Creative Space