Spooky Family Portrait Card

BEST time of year for card making!

It is almost (almost but not quite) Halloween and I am trying to rein in my natural instinct to get my Halloween on. I don't want to be THAT person- actually if I was, I would be in a huge and lovely group so I am almost certainly wrong.

The spooky possibilities!

Anyway, I am trying to see other sides to Autumn as well as JUST Halloween so I am making myself create a card this time that is Autumn and earthy but nothing to do with monsters or anything monstrous.

I am becoming a bit scared of the little guy with the wings to be honest.

This is a personal journey and one that is supposed to teach me to see that there are lots of things going on in this, the greatest season of all, blah, blah, blah. Ah who am I kidding! I am totally making a Halloween card and I will square it with my zen consciousness later on!

It doesn't have to SAY Halloween to be a Halloween card! Experiment!

I  never played with dolls as a child because I always always creeped out by them. So the Paper Dolls collections have been a real revelation for me; a license to creep!
So let's get on anyway and see what I did to make this card.....

I do apologise for the appalling lighting problems - all that shiny paper on the dolls! That's my story and i am sticking to it.

You will need
-a 5"x 7" card blank
-white watercolour cardstock
-white 300 gsm cardstock
-4" sq. masking paper
-distress spray stains: crushed olive, black soot, weathered wood, hickory smoke
-iced spruce distress oxide spray
-distress archival ink: hickory smoke
-distress markers in a few favourite colours
-any Ideology paper dolls
-3" round die to cut the moon
-Mr Bones stamp set 
-dimensional foam squares
-your usual card making needs

Before we begin, a huge shout out to my friend Stacy for the inspiration for the background! I love her work and you can check it out here on her awesome blog. I am sure that you will love it too!

Start by cutting the watercolour cardstock just a bit smaller than the size of the card and cut a round shape from the masking paper

My 'masking paper' is just a post it note and I spritzed it with water to get it to stay put. You actually want the colour to bleed slightly so it doesn't need to seal perfectly.

Use the crushed olive spray to make some marks on the paper

I am working in my Splat Box - this is a really great investment.

Add the other colours of spray stain, drying off in between until you have a motley and creepy sky

I am totally keeping this green post it note when I am finished!

Dry this and then it is time for the big reveal!

As you can see, the not-quite-perfect-seal of the masking paper works well - all part of my cunning plan!

Now spritz the moon with plain water and allow the wicking of ink to occur...

Magic! Well, the magic of science of course!

I flicked a couple of spots of distress oxide spray over the moon too to increase the shadows

It doesn't take much to achieve an incredible effect.

Time for some branches! I am using the ones from the Mr Bones stamp set but where Stacy used black ink, I am going for a smokey grey so that they fade into the background a bit....

The stamp platform means that you can repeat the print and get some nice crispness.

I wasn't 100% happy with the depth of colour so I inked the edges softly with black soot distress ink

This step is optional so I haven't put the ink into the requirements list.

Okay, we need bats next!

I LOVE this bat die set - it is going to be one of those ones brought out year after year!

Consider getting some white 300 gsm card and colouring it with various spray stains. It really is like money in the bank when it comes to die cutting. I have made mine with hickory smoke and black soot. An A4 piece of card in each colour lasts ages and is really inspiring to plan with.

One of my favourite things to do with card!

Cut some bat shapes from the different coloured card and the different sized bat dies...

I adore this die!

Next I chose a few paper dolls. It is not important to get them from the same set. What is important is to make sure that they look great together and that the scale is right.

Mix and match until you get a family group that works well.

I tinted the paper dolls with some distress markers (my camera isn't all that interested in showing you apparently).

Trust me the colour is subtle, but it is there!

I glued the older boy and the two girls down first

These dolls will form the background.

Then the little boy and the dog were put on with dimensional foam squares

Even has its own spooky shadow thanks to my appalling lighting

We are almost there! I have to sew everything though so out came the sewing machine next

I love the way this frames the work. I may shade it a bit though. That is the beauty of using white thread, you can ink it and make it blend a little into the background.

Now the bat's turn...

When you put the bats on, only glue the bodies allowing the wings to 'fly'.

I glue the card onto the blank at this point. I like to put design tape around the edges of the card. This makes a really neat border.

Roll the edges over to make them look a bit more distressed.

The design  tape is the same colouring as the paper dolls (sepia) and this ties everything together. The background is more cooler colours and this element makes the card look more connected.

And finally (well almost finally) we need the card to say something

These label letters are great for making any word that you want. 

Just as I was finishing, I wondered what the little boy would look like with wings....

Some cards are never finished!

But finally (yes really this time), I realised that I had done everything necessary.

Finished and ready for Halloween!

And before you go - I have changed one of may page sections to a card inspiration gallery and it might be worth a look. Let me know what you think!
Hugs
Debbie
xx

Rustic Felted Crochet Bowl with Handles

Officially Autumn when these colours come out!

Before we start, I have some exciting news! I have at last sorted out an Etsy shop and I am in the process of putting my samples in there for sale. The samples come from my magazine work, from my books and from other patterns that I have out in the market place. They are mostly one-offs and will not be repeated. If you are interested you will find them here.

A small selection of what is on offer in the shop

Any way, getting on with it! It is Autumn and that is my favourite time of the year! Here in Germany where we are surrounded by trees, I am waiting for the colours to change and in the mean time, we are enjoying misty mornings and the first wisps of wood smoke on the air.

I doubt that I will ever be reliably convinced that Summer is better than Autumn!

Thoughts are turning to hot chocolate and sweet pumpkin soup with croutons made from an organic Bavarian pepper cheese that I found at the market. Sigh.

you can never have too many truly useful homewares

I am also loving my yarn crafts all over again because somehow it feels natural to be cosying up in the evenings with a pile of wool, a warm and sleepy puppy and that aforementioned hot chocolate.

I say warm and sleepy puppy - what I meant was interfering little busy body with no boundaries or appreciation of personal space! Bliss!

Lately, I have been loving making crochet items which I then felt and if you are loving them too, there are a few links to my work on the Clover website where you can find more free patterns. You can find one here at the moment (keep watching that site too because there are more coming). 

keys, coins or anything that hasn't got  a proper home yet - a felt bowl is the answer!

These are so easy to make and better yet, I have automated the felting process so that there is no messing about in water (not really the weather for it). They go into the washing machine. Cool huh!

One of my favourite forest treasures.

So this method is easy and fun. I have a special autumn make for you this time - it is a handy shallow bowl and I have added some fun wooden handles- you need to go for a walk in the woods for those!

Colour! 'nuff said!

So what do we need?
- a few 50g balls of felting wool in earth tones. I am using Eskimo by Drops Design. I say a few because we need to change colours a couple of times. Pick your favourites.
-a suitable crochet hook. Mine is a Clover Amour crochet hook 
#8 (L)
- a large needle
-some natural jute twine
-2 sticks about 5" long and about the thickness of your thumb
-your usual crochet needs

Some colour inspiration - and don't be afraid to use black! It really makes the finished article more modern

Terms
This is a simple crochet pattern and suitable for confident beginners. 
ch- chain
ss- slip stitch
sc-single crochet (UK double crochet)

So far so good! So let's get on and make!

Choose your first colour. Start with a ch 4

Love this colour!

Ss to form a ring

It is a bit hard to see, but this is actually a ring! You can see the area in the centre there where the stitches will go.

Row 1: ch 1 (counts as the first stitch) and then sc 9 more stitches into the ring. ss to close (10 stitches)

The ring has opened up now. At the end, when we weave in the end, we can pull it a bit and close the ring up - this sort of make is very forgiving!

Row 2: 2x sc into each stitch and ss to close (20 stitches)

Right, we are off and running now so I will put another shot in when we have some meat on the bones!

Row 3: ch 1, sc into each stitch and  ss to close (20 stitches)

Row 4: ch 1, *sc into first stitch and then 2x sc into second stitch*. Repeat to end of the row, ss to close (30 stitches)

A stitch marker helps to see where to start and finish a row. But do count too so that you have a backup.

Row 5: ch 1 and sc into each stitch then ss to close (30 stitches)

Row 6: ch 1, *sc into first two stitches and then 2x sc into third stitch* and ss to close (40 stitches)

Row 7: ch 1 and sc into each stitch then ss to close (40 stitches)

As you can see, the increases help to keep the disk beautifully flat and the no increase every second row means that the circle is maintained.

Row 8: change colour and ch 1.Then *sc into first three stitches, 2x sc into the fourth stitch*, ss to close (50 stitches)

This method means no ugly 'step' where you change the colour.

Row 9: ch 1 and sc into each stitch (50 stitches)

Row 10: ch 1 and *sc into the first four stitches, 2x sc into the fifth* then ss to close (60 stitches)

Row 11: change colour and ch 1 then sc into each stitch (60 stitches)

At this point, you will have a big floppy circle with no real structure or resemblance to the finished article. Have faith!

Trust me, nothing like what it will become!

Rows 12- 15 sc into each stitch in a spiral (no need to fasten off each round. This is only done to make nice clean colour changes).

The sides will naturally curl upwards a bit since we are not making any increases now.

Although the sides will curl up, it is still nice and flat on the base.

Fasten off and weave in the ends. You will be able to tighten up the beginning circle when you weave in too.

Some people say that you don't have to weave in the ends because the felting process will take care of them. I still like to do it. I prefer to put a neat item into the washing machine.

Righto! Now you have this big floppy thing and it needs to be felted. Normally, this felting process is wet and time consuming. Not for us!

Quite big and sad looking. It will shrink by about a third, the colours will meld together and it will firm up beautifully.

Put the finished article into the washing machine at 50°Celsius and add a couple of towels or a pair of jeans. Add soap as you would for a normal wash. This helps the felting process.
When it comes out, it still looks a bit sad but here comes the fun bit - p-u-u-u--l-l-l (and none too gently) and mould the felt to a bowl shape. Curl the edges up and ensure that it has a nice flat base.
 

As you can see, the stitches are no longer really visible and it is a lot stiffer.

TIP: I like to find something like a bowl or any suitable shape and use that to give the bowl a shape.

Have a look through your house- there is bound to be something the perfect shape and size for the job.

Now leave it somewhere for about three days to dry thoroughly and it will stay in this shape.

Finally, sew the handles on. I have used a couple of found sticks because I love the idea of that lovely textural wool and natural wood together.

I love the wood and jute together with those amazing earth tomes. This is Autumn in a bowl!

And here we have the most rustic looking artisan bowl ever! 

These are so useful to have around the house. I guarantee that you will want to make more!

I do hope that you have enjoyed this tute. Remember to check out the Clover website for some more of my felted designs (and keep an eye on it too because more are added every week).
Happy Autumn!
Hugs
Debbie
xx