Monday 30 July 2018

What fun we had on the Dirty Weekend!

Hello to you and thanks for stopping by.

I really can't believe July has nearly ended! IndigoBlu certainly has had a busy month. It started off with a 20% off all orders on the first weekend in July which was a great start to the month, then there was the news of a New Stamp Range and Fabric Painting Kit coming out so myself and the rest of the DT were busy creating samples for Kays next show and then Kay, Alfie and Lou drove up to Edinburgh for one of the IndigoBlu Dirty weekends which took place on the 14th & 15th.  Kay then dived stright into the One Day Special on Hochanda on the 17th and 18th (you can still catch the shows on re-wind online for another week) caught her breath on the 19th and was back working on the 20th and helped choose a winner for the 'I love IndigoBlu' Facebook group on the 20th. And two very lucky winners were chosen and were given some brilliant prizes.

So let me take you back in time to the Edinburgh Dirty Weekend. 
Kay, Alfie and Lou were given some great feedback and I wanted to share some of it with you so I asked a small group of ladies to share a couple of testimonials with you. So if you have been umming and ahing about booking one of this years remaining weekend or some of the New Year weekends have a read.

From Shirley Murdoch........

If ever there was a workshop not to be missed, this is it! When I saw the advert way back in November of last year I knew that I had found myself the perfect Christmas present - to me from me, with love, thank you very much.

Eight months of anticipation, excitement and a little bit of nerves and finally the wait was over.
The welcome from Kay, Alfie and Lou soon dispelled any nerves.

From this point on it was non-stop fun and laughter. The pace of teaching was perfect with plenty of advice and help on hand.



As someone who struggles when it comes to drawing I am over the moon with my creations.


Had I known what the project was to be beforehand I would have been running for the hills! As I look at my finished work I can't help but smile and feel extremely proud of myself. I learnt more in 2 days than I did in 2 years of art class at school. So, for anyone debating with themselves, stop procrastinating and jump right in.
You will be guaranteed a fabulous experience.

From Christine Patch.........

Enjoying a Dirty Weekend in Edinburgh
Not what you think! 
To the craft-uninitiated, the heading of this article might well raise a few eyebrows!  However, the 30+ seasoned crafters heading to Edinburgh on 14-15 July were confident they were about to enjoy two days of wielding paint brushes, stamps, ink pads and much more to create new works of art!   We were not disappointed.  
IndigoBlu’s touring Dirty Weekend was led by Kay and Alfie, ably supported by Lou Withers.  Most of us know them from television but it was great to meet them in person.    Kay and Lou are very experienced crafters and demonstrators whose enthusiasm is infectious. 
Saturday’s task was to attempt a portrait using one of IndigoBlu’s face stencils and their acrylic paints.  Kay walked us through each stage, showing how to join up the pencilled stencil marks to create a realistic face shape and then use a series of overlaid ‘portrait’ colour paints to create the face.   Kay and Lou walked round each table, offering support and advice (and initiating our table at least into the skills of the smokey eye!)
Once the face was complete, Kay demonstrated her flowing hair technique.   I have to say this is deceptively simple – my own efforts were not quite as effective!!!   At the end of the day, it was amazing to see how different each face and hair was, showing how easy it is to put your own individual stamp on your work.  Some of us decided to finish our pieces as home, adding in a variety of finishing touches.   In my case, that included gold Posca pen lines and fabric earrings.
Sunday’s project was a little more familiar to most of us.  Using IndigoBlu’s lovely luscious paints to decorate a small journal and then using a variety of paint, stencil and stamping techniques to decorate the inserts.
The crafting side of the weekend was, of course, very enjoyable.  What made it even better was the opportunity to meet fellow crafters and make new friendships.  
Crafting can be an isolating hobby so the chance to spend time with others who share your passion is a joy.  Many of us now are Facebook Friends.
All of us spent time in the small shop which Alfie manned throughout the weekend.  We took advantage of some generous discounts to fill our bags with canvas aprons to decorate, panels to use with the apron, paints, stamps etc etc etc.
So all in all, a very successful Dirty Weekend (although I have to say most of us left with remarkably clean hands!).    A huge thank-you to Kay, Alfie and Lou for two very enjoyable days and for travelling to Scotland – we were delighted to be able to support you and to welcome you with gloriously warm and sunny weather.
Haste Ye Back. 

From Sara Annau...................
I Loved the weekend. In particular, I never saw the point of those ‘face’ stencils until we did that portrait.
Hooked and want to do another now, I was thrilled with the result.
Have added thistles for extra Scottishness!

From Fiona Powrie........
Ok. Here goes. Had a fabulous time on The Dirty Weekend in Edinburgh. Spent 2 glorious days getting down and messy with Kay and Lou.

Learnt loads and laughed loads. Ate lots of biscuits and drank loads of tea.
Will remember the weekend for months to come.
I was having withdrawal symptoms the following weekend. I wish EVERY weekend could be a dirty one! Thanks xx

Thank you for letting me share some of your thoughts and photos ladies xx
If you are interested on going on a Dirty Weekend then there are still two running this year.
Maidstone 15th & 16th September - Details here
Exeter 17th & 18th November - Details here

The One Day Special was looming for Kay so just after finishing off the Dirty Weekend, it was a dash, well a very long dash back to England, load up the car with all the New samples and Goodies and head off to Hochanda. And what great shows Kay had lined up for us.
Brand New Design It Yourself Artist Aprons and New Stamps and Stencils. 
Kay had lots of sell outs over her shows but if you go over to the IndigoBlu website you can purchase any of the New Stamp Sets and Apron sets there.
Here are a couple of photos from the shows
Stunning Apron Kits, check out the DT's samples in the background.


Kay sharing hints and tips on how to decorate the aprons using the printed panels

Kay sharing the details on her own apron. 
These are a great way to express your creativity and have a practical use also. 
(Please note any price you see in the photos are the Hochanda Prices for the one time only ODS on the shows)


So before I finish up with July I just wanted to let you know a new Event has started on the 20th July until 20th August on the 'I Love IndigoBlu' Facebook page and its called 'Challenge Yourself '. All you need to do is be a member of the group and to create a New piece of work using IndigoBlu products using the theme NATURE, and the colours Green, Blue or Yellow. Hope to see you there and having a go.

Before I go, I just wanted to add a couple of little Sneaky Peek of Louise Withers Hochanda Show coming to us on Sunday 5th August at 12 noon and 4pm.



And for an extra cheeky little look, check out this link to see what Lydia Boode from the International DT has done in her new journal!

That's all for now!
Happy Crafting, Love Sue xx











Wednesday 25 July 2018

Art

Hello dear reader,

Have you seen the beautiful ECO Mixed Media Journal.
It's a journal with Canvas, Handmade papers, different kind of burlap
and corrugated papers.




I choose the brown burlap and start with GessoLuscious Powder and








Drop some paint and water on a craftsheet and put tissue paper in the paint.

When the paper is stil wet sprinkle Luscious Powder on the paper.
Dry with a heatgun.


Stamp on the tissue paper en torn the edge, glu with Slap It On

in the burlap.


Paint some burlap flowers in the same colors.

The sentiment ART are dies and also painted. 
glu everything with Slap It On
Dry with a heatgun.

 Thank you for stopping by and read.


have a nice time

Hugs X-O-X Lydia

Tuesday 17 July 2018

Artist Tools Tag

Hello and welcome!

   It's my, Kay M,  turn to share with you to1day and as Kay is launching a fabulous ODS on Hochanda tonight at 6pm I'm being a little cheeky and giving you a sneak peek!   It's a tag using some of the new release stamps with the ever popular Luscious Powders.


As well as working with the new stunning stamps- you are going to love them! I have made my first video, filming, editing and all, it took ages to do and do hope you like the result, it will be available very soon( when I've worked out how to upload it!)  26th July - It's now on the IndigoBlu YouTube channel!

And here's one of the samples I made for Kay shows using the same stamp, these stamps are a joy to work with.

 The ODS is fabulous, you must check it out!  Kay is on
  • Hochanda   -     SKY 673 (24/7)
  • FREEVIEW 85 (6am-7pm)
  • FREESAT 817 (24/7)
on Tuesday 17th July at 6pm for the launch and again at  8pm and on Wednesday 18th July at 9am, 1 and 5pm.  We would love to see what you make with them, check out the I love IndigoBlu Facebook page!

Take care,  Kay M

Wednesday 11 July 2018

Layered Background Artist Trading Coins

Hi Everyone Mike here!

Today it's my turn to share with you a quick and fun little project creating some "on trend" artist trading coins with a multilayered paint background!

These cute miniature works of art are just 2.5" in diameter - such a fun way to practice your art techniques!

As per usual I have recorded my entire process on video for you to watch if you feel so inclined! To watch simply click the YouTube link below.

IndigoBlu products used in this project are as follows:
Duck Egg Acrylic Paint







Thursday 5 July 2018

Mindfulness #2



Morning, Carolyn here with you today sharing my recent card with you. I have been busy making stuff for the up coming One Day Special on the 17th & 18th July. Then I realised I hadn't made anything for my blog post. Its a bit early to start sharing sneak peaks so couldn't use anything I'd prepared for Kay's Hochanda show. So whilst most of the nation was watching England play Columbia I took the chance to create a relatively quick make for me.

I chose the Mindfulness #2 stamp set and thought about making a clean and simple card but it didn't quite turn out as planned.



Started by using the latest Junk and Disorderly Translucent Acrylic Paint in Indigoblu to stamp the text. 




I then added some Slap It On Matte to the paint to extend the drying time and also make it more translucent. This was used to stamp the wings and also sponge around the Girl In Profile Stencil to the edge of the card. 



 

More wings were stamped using Wimberry Pie



At this point I wasn't particularly happy with what I'd done so I then added a wash of Ultraviolet Luscious and also some drippage in Purple Luscious




I decided to break up the text so it could be positioned with space between to enable the background to be seen. This was then adhered to the stamped background which was attached to a white square card blank. This left quite a wide border so to finish off I drew freehand around the edge and added some squiggles.





I've tried to catch the shine from the Luscious in the photo below.




Thank you for popping by and taking time to read my post. Hope you'll tune into Hochanda on the 17th & 18th July to see Kay showcase more fabulous goodies. Looking forward to sharing the DT's inspiration with you all.

Happy Crafting

Carolyn
x